How much time daily for laundry, family of 8

amother

Mon, Jan 27 2020, 11:49 pm

We’re a family of 8 kah and lately the household tasks have not been manageable for me. I want to hire someone to do only laundry related tasks: sorting the clothing, putting into machine, putting into drying, hanging delicates, folding, ironing and putting away into bedrooms. Also changing linens. (I do I linen change per room daily). How much time do I need to allow for everything to get finished? Is 3 hours a day, 5 days a week enough time? ( we fill up a load of each kind daily, 1 whites, 1 light colored, 1 darks, 2 towels/rags, and a few nicer items that Get washed on hand wash cycle by itself, then hung up.) how much time would you give it?

Gerbera

Mon, Jan 27 2020, 11:59 pm

Linen change daily?? Wow that's a lot of work! We are a family of 10 ka"h and absolutely no way I spend anywhere near that amount of time on laundry per week - but minus the linen changes as I do weekly not daily.

amother

Saddlebrown

Tue, Jan 28 2020, 12:02 am

Family of 11, but I don't really sort, don't do delicates. The only "sorting" I do is washing bulky items separate than clothing, because otherwise the washer tends to get unbalanced.

We've started having our kids put all their clothing in their own hamper, so nobody needs to sort out whose is whose - we just return to the basket and put it back in that child's room. VERY occasionally I'll do a load of boys and men's white shirts with whitener and hot water.

I need to do 1-2 loads of laundry per day to keep on top of things, but I don't really fold, haven't ironed in ages, and barely sort (as I said). I'd guess that 3 hours should be enough, but they'll probably have to leave a load running as they leave and transfer the next day. (Unless you have 2 machines.)

chocolatecake

Tue, Jan 28 2020, 12:28 am

We are a family of 6. I have different hampers in the laundry room for whites, delicates, colored and linen towels. I do a few loads throughout the week but mainly run a laundry marathon motzai shabbos/sunday. As things come out of the dryer I put it in the proper kids basket. I also take the things off the drying racks that belong folded and put it in the proper baskets. My cleaning lady comes on Monday and folds everything. I bring the baskets upstairs and put everything in the right drawers. I don't buy things that need to be ironed...

amother

Crimson

Tue, Jan 28 2020, 12:57 am

We are a family of 8.

I do laundry twice a week. Laundry cycles probably run 5 hours but I’m not actively doing laundry all that time.

My cleaning lady folds. She spends about 1 hour, twice a week folding and hanging laundry. (Not putting away). And putting linen back on beds.

If you want to do all loads every day it would be 5 hrs minimum just because of the amount of time it takes to run a load.
You would save a ton of time by grouping loads. Like darks and linen Monday. Whites and towels Tuesday. Delicates and linen wendsday. Or whatever works.

I.e. doing wverybload every day.
sort laundry - 10 minutes
Dark load - 45 minutes inactive time
Strip beds - 15 minutes
Soak whites - 10 minutes, 1 hr inactive time
Laundry load wash/dry dark load - 45 minutes inactive time
Light load wash / dry linen - 45 minutes inactive
Fold dark load - 20 minutes
White load wash / dry lights - 45 minutes
Put linen on beds - 20 minutes
Fold light load - 20 minutes
Towel wash / dry and hang whites - 1 hr inactive time
Wash delicates / dry towels - 45 minutes
Fold towel - 15 minutes
Hang delicates - 15 minutes

amother

Denim

Tue, Jan 28 2020, 1:05 am

It also depends on your machines and how long each cycle takes. The newer HE machines might be more energy efficient but they are definitely not time savers!

Are you (general household, not specific you) not able to do any laundry at all? Could you save some time throwing in a load before your help comes and having her start by dealing with the hang dry stuff from the previous day or the leftover ironing or changing the linen and making beds and prepping the next load?

Would it be cheaper to send out your laundry to a laundromat that offers pickup and delivery service rather than paying by the hour in your home?

Raisin

Tue, Jan 28 2020, 6:08 am

You really change everyones linens every day? That is a huge job and unnecessary unless you all wet the bed or just gave birth yesterday. Once a week is plenty.

My cleaning lady puts away some of my laundry (towels, linens, kitchen towels) I asked her not to put away clothing because she usually gets it wrong but she never listens. Mad

I try and put it away before she comes.

Unless you do some of the actual loads or have other tasks for her to do while a load runs she will be sitting and doing nothing for a while.

amother

Lavender

Tue, Jan 28 2020, 6:13 am

I think she said that she changed linen of 1 bedroom, daily. Presumably so she’s not doing all the beds on one day. But I agree it’s unnecessary. My family size is less than half of Yours and we still do it a lot less often: as long as people sleep clothed you have much more leeway. I’d look to transition to washing pillowcase only.

amother

Tue, Jan 28 2020, 10:04 am

thanks for all the suggestions!
sorting doesn't take much time since I also have separate baskets for darks/whites/lights/towels/delicates in the laundry room. but with a hamper in each room that the kids put their clothes in every night when they change into pajamas, that needs to be brought to the laundry room every morning and divided according to load, not family member.

I'd do staggered loads and not every load per day but then it piles up in the laundry room and stinks. and there would be so many darks after 3 days I'd have to divide it into 3 loads anyways, it wouldn't all fit into the machine. delicate things that need to be washed individually I can do at night one cycle after the next so not to waste time. I know these loads take forever. and I dont' know why but somehow I have at least 2 loads of towels daily, even though my kids only change towels every 2-3 days not every day.

I think whites and lights are the only thing I can do every other day.