Easy Minimalist Laundry Routine to Save Time

I used to do laundry every day, but moved to a weekly laundry day, which made all the difference.

Many people are surprised when they hear it only takes me one day to do laundry for our family of seven, so today I want to share my minimalist laundry routine.

If you are looking for time-saving laundry tips and advice on how to optimize your laundry process, this one is for you.

We do not sort through any of our clothing since I wash all of them with cold water, but I do separate out our towels. I also normally wash the bedding on a separate day, which does not take too much time, as it does not involve folding.

The first step is gathering all of the laundry baskets together. My first load is usually the clothing that is already in the washing machine, as we use it as a hamper during the week.

I am not picky about detergent, so I just get whatever is on sale when I am shopping, but I have recently been thinking about making my own.

Laundry is a much more automated household chore than we even realize. Even if it takes me several hours to get through all the laundry, this actually involves very little active work on my part.

A wash cycle in my machine takes 14 minutes to run, but the actual time that I am actively working is 1 minute or less: throwing the clothes in, adding detergent, setting the timer, and then closing the lid. Then, before I know it, the wash cycle is finished and the clothes are ready for the dryer.

The step that comes after the clothes are dry is honestly one of the main tricks of this minimalist laundry routine. I gather all of the clothing while it is still warm and move it to another location to lay them flat. During this step, I separate out the bottoms from the tops, but do not bother myself with whether they are turned right side out. This process takes about two to three minutes per load.

Once I empty my laundry hamper, it becomes a laundry basket, which I use to move clothes from one location to the other. Once all the tops and bottoms are sorted out and laying flat, all of the socks and undergarments are put back into the basket.

Since the machines are doing the bulk of the work during this initial phase of laundry day, I take the opportunity to get other things done around the house, such as prepping meals, cleaning, gardening, and maybe even reading a book.

This entire process of setting up the washing cycle, drying and laying the clothes flat, is repeated over and over until all of the clothing is ready for folding. I would say I do around four loads on average, and with five minutes per load, this makes 20 minutes of active work on my part.

I always save the towels and shower curtains for the last thing, since they do not need to be folded. While those items are being washed and dried, I focus my attention on the clothing folding portion of this routine.

I either fold the clothes in my bedroom or on the dining table. I always take the opportunity to listen to a podcast or an audiobook while I fold, since pairing it with something enjoyable makes the time go by much faster and keeps me entertained.

I work in an assembly line fashion, setting neat piles for each family member, separating tops from bottoms. I like to fold the clothing so that it can be stored vertically in the dressers. Any item that needs to be hung in a closet is set nearby for later.

Folding takes the bulk of the active time it takes for me to go through my family's weekly laundry. It takes around 25 minutes to get it all done. I know that I could shave some time off by not folding socks or undergarments and just placing them into the correct drawers, but spending an extra few minutes to have neat and tidy drawers is worth it to me.

Once everything is folded, I load up that same basket with the kids' clothes to bring them upstairs. Sometimes it takes me a couple trips to bring everything. Because the clothing is separated by child already, the process of putting them away is very quick, only about ten minutes or so. The empty basket is then tucked away under the bathroom vanity, ready to accept dirty clothing once again.

Back downstairs, my and my husband’s clothes are still on the table, a short walk to our bedroom. I then do a quick cleaning of the table and put back the centerpiece. About this time, the towels and shower curtain have finished drying and I can get them back into the bathrooms.

All in all, the total amount of active time that it took to do the laundry is a little more than one hour, and I can forget about washing clothes for another week.

Minimalist laundry routine

This is my entire simple minimalist laundry room routine. I have found that doing it all in one day saves me a lot of time and energy, so I am very happy with this method. Do you have any other minimalist laundry tips? How do you do your laundry? Share in the comments below!