The Outdated Laundry Practice That Is Making Your Home Feel More Cluttered & Chaotic

For much of history, laundry has been treated as a full-day, once-a-week ordeal. In Victorian times, Mondays were even set aside as the go-to day for washing clothes. It used to be a physically demanding, all-day task: Soaking, scrubbing, wringing, and hanging garments out to dry took hours, especially for an entire household's worth of laundry. But the tradition of a designated laundry day seems to have stuck, even as machines become faster and dryers become standard within the home. With all of these technological advancements, it stands to reason that the weekly approach to washing clothes may need an update to fit a more modern schedule.

An outdated routine is something everyone gets wrong about doing laundry. When clothes, towels, and bedding accumulate for a full week, hampers overflow, rooms feel messier, and wash day turns into an overwhelming mountain of laundry. Luckily, you can transform laundry from a dreaded weekly challenge to a series of quick, simple tasks if you do smaller loads throughout the week. You'll get the satisfaction of fresh, clean clothes without letting piles take over your home.

Saving laundry for a single, dedicated day may feel efficient in theory. But in reality, tackling everything all at once just means heavier loads, which can overload your washing machine and put unnecessary stress on your dryer. This can reduce cleaning effectiveness at best and damage your washing machine's drum at worst. As if that wasn't bad enough, weekly washing can also completely disrupt your schedule. An all-day laundry marathon can eat into evenings, weekends, or even other chores.

A better approach is to spread your laundry throughout the week. Run a load before bed or first thing in the morning, letting the dryer finish while you go about your day. However, if you plan to wash clothes at bedtime, be mindful of letting them sit in the machine overnight since this can cause a mildewy smell. Some machines have a delay timer setting that allows you to "schedule" a wash so damp laundry doesn't have to wait around while you sleep. 

A little extra organization always helps, too — using multiple hampers to separate lights, darks, and delicates can make pre-sorting simple. Smaller batches should make folding, sorting, and putting your clothes away feels less overwhelming. This approach also reduces clutter around your home, as dirty laundry won't pile up throughout the week. Over time, you'll notice that a bit of consistency beats a single, exhausting day devoted entirely to laundry.

While spreading laundry throughout the week can make the undertaking more manageable for many households, it's not a one-size-fits-all solution. For people living in apartments or condos without in-unit washers and dryers, this approach may be difficult or impossible. Even if you can master doing laundry at a laundromat, shared facilities often have limited machines, which makes running frequent, smaller loads inconvenient. Additionally, it might not be financially feasible to pay for each individual load if you're doing multiple washes per week. The fees associated with pay-to-use washers and dryers can quickly add up.

Even for households with in-unit laundry, lifestyle factors play a major role in whether or not this method is achievable. Busy schedules, irregular work hours, or caring for children can make running multiple loads throughout the week an impossible strategy. Some people may prefer a single laundry day that aligns with their unique schedule and energy levels.  Recognizing the limitations of this approach can help you reduce clutter and stress without feeling pressured to adopt a method that simply doesn't work with your lifestyle.