April 1, 2019
How to Quickly Catch Up On Laundry After Vacation
We took a little trip last week to Florida and while I was doing the laundry and playing catch up this weekend I asked Instagram (follow me here) if they’d like to see how I quickly catch up on laundry after vacation. The majority – 91% of the followers said YES – so here’s a little post on how I do a quick laundry catch up.
As someone that is easily overwhelmed with laundry piles, coming home and doing loads and loads of laundry after vacation is not what I want to do BUT putting it off will only make me more overwhelmed. So….I have a little system to get it started and then everything washed, folded and put away so I can get on with my cleaning routine as soon as possible.
How to Quickly Catch Up On Laundry After Vacation
- First things first, empty those suitcases and duffel bags. Take everything out, wipe the exterior of the suitcase if necessary, and put the suitcases and duffel bags away.
- I always start with washing the swimsuits because most of the time they are coming home slightly damp because we are usually head to the pool or beach for one last dip before jumping in the car or on a plane. I put the swimsuits in the washing machine on gentle and line dry – check your swimsuit for care instructions – you can also sink wash and roll up in clean bath towel to remove excess water.
- As the swimsuits are washing I’ll have the kids gather up their dirty clothes from the trip and add it to any dirty clothes in their hampers and drag the hampers to the laundry room. My husband and I will do the same and we’ll have a train of baskets ready for the washing machine.
- Once the swimsuits are out of the washing machine and hung up, I’ll start in on my husband and my clothes. Wash on warm or cold (depending on if the load is colors or whites) with a scoop of oxygen whitener and laundry powder (watch for Clean Mama Home Laundry Powder in the next few weeks!). I don’t always use the quick wash cycle on the washing machine, but this is the time to use it!
- Once the first load is moved from the washer to the dryer, I start up another load of laundry and transfer the wet clothes to the dryer.
- Once the dryer is done, I put that load of clothes on our bed and start folding and putting the clothes away.
- Wash – dry – fold – put away — REPEAT until completed. Everyone pitches in and helps to fold and put away their own laundry.
Coming up with a system for this process has been so helpful for that painful re-entry from vacation. Have any tips to share? I’d love to hear them in the comments! Look for another post in the next week on what I do BEFORE we leave to make vacations even more enjoyable!
Quick Tip: Bring a laundry bag along in your suitcase and put your dirty laundry directly in that as you vacation.
You can see my favorite laundry products in Clean Mama Home and on my cleaning favs page – happy laundry!
Here’s a post on how to quickly catch up on laundry anytime.
Curious on how I teach my kids to do laundry? Check out this post.
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Tiina Says
I have 4 baskets I fold the laundry into straight out of the dryer. One for each person and a spare for linens & towels. It speeds things up for us.
Stepha Says
This is wonderful. I am always behind on laundry. But this past week I have purged clothes to help with that chaos.
Austyn Says
We’ve been staying in VRBO’s lately bechase we find it easier with little kids. I do laundry while we’re there during nap time towards the end of our trip. I use one suitcase for the remaining dirty clothes from the trip and pack the rest of the suitcases full of clean, folded clothes. I unpack the clean clothes straight into the dressers once we get home. 🙂
Allison Says
We usually stay at a place with a washer/dryer so I wash daily on vacation as well. When we come home everything is already clean and we just put away. Also because we stay in places with washers we usually on pack 3-4 outfits for a week long vacation. It has worked well for us for several years. I will add we are a family of seven with 3 teenagers so it would be a ridiculous amount of clothes if I waited a week to wash. 🙂
Monica Says
I have been doing this lately and works like a charm! No unnecessary clothes for just in case… and makes the come back a breeze
b r Says
Post authorGreat! Glad it’s working so well for you.
Jen Morris Says
Hi Becky!
Loved your post! Ive always dreaded the return-from-vacay laundry piles!!😳
Question: I LOVE your aqua bar mop towels and need more! When will these be available in the shop again?
Thanks so much!
Jen
Lisa Says
We have also just returned home from a spring break ocean beach vacation. The last few years I’ve started staying at Air B&B’s that have a washer and dryer. We pack 1/2 as much as we need and plan to wash and wear multiple times. The benefits are much less to haul around, and very little wash to do upon returning home.
While on vacation I stick with my morning routine of putting a load of wash in first thing in the morning, and then in the dryer before heading out for the day.
We use hangers for things that need to air dry, pack powdered detergent and a fold flat laundry basket.
Little Miss Housekeeper Says
I look for Hotels that have laundry rooms. I spend that last bit of time washing our clothes so we have clean clothes when we get home. When we camp and don’t have access to a laundry facility, I set up the laundry train as well. I may spread out washing during week for items that are not needed right away, like towels, bedding or winter wears. Washing towels on towel day may only add 1 more load and it take the pressure off the first day back
Kim Pegram Says
Thanks to all for the great ideas!
Lin Says
When packing for the return trip home we put all my husband and my clean clothes in one suitcase. I then sort all the dirty laundry and put it in a laundry bag. Then put the bag in the empty suitcase. This way when I get home I have the majority of the laundry ready to go and all in one place. Super time saver!
Lindsay M Says
I love going to the laundromat after vacation and getting everything done at once. My mom used to take us after camping and we’d get lunch and make a folding train.
Bev Says
This is a subject that most people don’t want to talk about but after a really bad experience when returning from vacation several years ago, my system has become that nothing re-enters my home until it has been in the dryer for at least 20 minutes. I take my laundry baskets into the garage and sort while emptying suitcases. We use soft sided suitcases or duffle bags that can be put into the dryer and this is done once they are emptied. This is precautionary so that no unwelcome guests are carried into our home. Extermination is so costly!!
Bev Says
This is a subject that most people don’t want to talk about but after a really bad experience when returning from vacation several years ago, my system has become that nothing re-enters my home until it has been in the dryer for at least 20 minutes. I take my laundry baskets into the garage and sort while emptying suitcases. We use soft sided suitcases or duffle bags that can be put into the dryer and this is done once they are emptied and the first load of laundry is in the washer. This is precautionary so that no unwelcome guests are carried into our home. Extermination is so costly!!