Laundry system: hamper, basket, or just a big pile?

[hankster]

The last two homes I've owned have had laundry chutes. I just throw my dirty clothes into the chute and they go down to a closet in the laundry room, where they stay (out of view) until I separate them to do the wash. Wonderful invention - the laundry chute.

Yes they are! Ours is in the bathroom so it's really handy. At bath time, strip off the dirty clothes and toss 'em down the chute where they drop into a hamper on wheels where they're ready to be moved about 15 feet to the washing machine.

 

[freebird5825]

hamper in bedroom.
dh2b carries it down for me when just full.
piles sorted on laundry room floor, until a pile is big enough for a wash load.
i line dry, then do a short de-wrinkle run in dryer.
i fold loads and leave on bed for him to put away.
i do all laundry except his w*rk dress clothes - done together.

 

[Moemg]

Since I got the laundry room all fixed up a few years ago it really stays nice and tidy. DW likes to show it off, it's nicer than a lot of kitchens.

Very nice laundry room ! Great Job !

 

[Notmuchlonger]

Living alone, I'm finding that the most convenient place to put my clothes waiting to be laundered is in a pile on the floor next to the clothes washer. I finally ended up getting a fancy bamboo hamper so my apartment doesn't look like a college dorm, but I must admit that I only use it when guests are coming over. Most of the time, the pile on the floor works best for me:

- Putting sweaty workout clothes out in the open lets them dry quicker and prevents them from getting moldy inside a hamper.
- I can see what's out on the floor, making it easy to pick and wear a pair of jeans a second day if I choose.
- It's simply less hassle not to put things into and take them out of the hamper than to do so.

But there's something about having a pile of clothes on the floor that just doesn't seem right, so I'd like to find a system that looked more "proper". I'm about to try making more closet floor space available and storing them there, but wondered if anyone has better ideas.

What do you do with your clothes that are waiting to be washed.

Similar. I have to hang up my work out clothes. Otherwise phew. My biggest gripe with staying fit is the laundry load.

 

[KB]

Uncle Honey, that's a great laundry room.

 

[UncleHoney]

Very nice laundry room ! Great Job !

Uncle Honey, that's a great laundry room.

Thanks.

It also serves as a wet bar when the parties get going. Got a little fridge and a small microwave too.

 

[harley]

When we moved to the beach we no longer had our laundry chute. It's the only thing I really miss. I also usd it to run an ethernet cable up to the top level where my wireless connection was spotty.

OT - when I was a college kid I worked in a large Department store in the DC area. Whenever anybody bought something and wanted it shipped we had to take it to a corner of the store and end it down a big curved chute for the wrapping and mailing dept. to take care of. This was before the days of the water park and similar things. I got fired 3 different times for riding down that thing. It was great! They kept hiring me back after a couple days though.

As far as the dumbwaiter, when we moved into our new place at the shore our only major storage area is the attic above the garage. But since the ceiling is 11' high, the angle on the pull down stairs is so steep that you can't go up it carrying any box bigger than a file folder box. So while I was busy designing a hand cranked dumbwaiter, DW found this https://www.bpghome.com/products/versa-lift-ultimate-attic-storage-system/. It's been well worth the cost. Every time somebody visits I show it off.

 

[samclem]

DW found this https://www.bpghome.com/products/versa-lift-ultimate-attic-storage-system/. It's been well worth the cost. Every time somebody visits I show it off.

That's very cool. I think it costs more than the value of everything that is actually in my attic, but that's beside the point. Cool, cool.

Here's another handy storage idea, while we're off topic. Harken Hoists let you store a pallet of [-]crap[/-] supplies, or a kayak, train set, pickup truck shell, etc snugged up against the ceiling of your garage

 

[haha]

I could so see a dwelling with a dumbwaiter (mechanical or electric).

I grew up in a three story house with a huge mechanical dumbwaiter.

Ha

 

[Bestwifeever]

UncleHoney's laundry room is nicer than my whole house, let alone my kitchen. Very nice!

 

[harley]

Here's another handy storage idea, while we're off topic. Harken Hoists let you store a pallet of [-]crap[/-] supplies, or a kayak, train set, pickup truck shell, etc snugged up against the ceiling of your garage

I've actually been looking at these things for bikes and kayaks. Have you used it?

 

[thefed]

We have 2 hampers, one of whites, one for colors. And much to my wife's dismay, I still pile some of my clothes... on top of the hampers... Socks, underwear, shirts and undershirts, always go in the hamper, but jeans and sweaters can often be worn more than once before being laundered so I don't want them to get wrinkled and smelly with the rest of the laundry. My wife doesn't get it though... she thinks I am just being lazy.

I knew I wasn't the only one!! I dont know why I dont return a pair of jeans or sweatshirt to the clean clothes drawer/handers...but they seem right at home on top of the hamper...then if I desire to wear them again I grab em...usually the wife just yells at me and washes them.

She's onto my scheme now though, and on occasion a truly dirty garment doest make it ALL the way into the hamper and she'll exclude it from the laundry in a meek attempt to thwart my habit. "but you said if it's ON the hamper you are going to re-wear it" baaah....


For the record, I might wear a pair of my work pants to clean ducts foronly 3 hours and have lawn care or more ducts the next day....so I just re-wear em if it wasnt a dirty day. no 2-day underwear or socks though

 

[samclem]

I've actually been looking at these things for bikes and kayaks. Have you used it?

Nope. They are not cheap, and I think I saw them at some specialty online kayak places. I'd hope they are well made.

 

[Frugality_of_Apathy]

UncleHoney's laundry room is nicer than my whole house, let alone my kitchen. Very nice!

It's exactly as nice as my kitchen.

I put in those exact same cabinets from Home Depot last year. Different colored tile floor, double basin granite sink, black appliances, and I put in 2" ceramic tile countertop with some inlaid glass tiles.

But it's basically my kitchen.


As for laundry, I like to switch it up just in case someone's trying to learn my routine to ambush me. Sometimes I use a hamper, somtimes I make a pile next to the hamper, sometimes I leave the clothes where I drop them. Sometimes I toss them into the empty room across the hall, and sometimes I just sleep in them and don't change all weekend.

 

[ladelfina]

We use a couple of things kinda like this. If something's wet it can be draped over the edge. I haven't gotten around to building a removeable stop into the frame so it doesn't collapse on the floor when the bag is removed.

 

[Ronstar]

Same here - DW puts her clothes in the basket in the closet. I do too, but I also have clothes scattered in piles throughout the house

 

[jazz4cash]

A triple hanging-mesh-bag hamper thing in the bedroom. A bag for whites, reds/yellows, other colors. It works okay for the two of us.

Like this?
Supreme Chrome Laundry Center


Works great except everybody else in the family just drops thier stuff on the floor next to it.

 

[CuppaJoe]

I could so see a dwelling with a dumbwaiter (mechanical or electric).

Reminds me of the old parody of Jackie Kennedy doing a White House Tour, "and here is the Richard Nixon dumbwaiter."

 

[Walt34]

We (well, mostly I) use a combination of "on the floor" and laundry baskets. She uses laundry baskets exclusively, except for hanging things on doorknobs. The laundry room is between the garage and the hallway and the baskets are on top of the dryer. Clothes on the floor sometimes stay where they're left, sometimes levitate to the laundry basket by themselves.

 

[Martha]

Nope. They are not cheap, and I think I saw them at some specialty online kayak places. I'd hope they are well made.

My dad rigged up a simple pulley system to lift our canoe off the car. He also had pulleys to crank up various other items in our garage/shop and barn. Pretty simple and even though he set those up 50 years ago they all still work. Next time I am out at the farm maybe I will remember to take a few pictures.

 

[freebird5825]

My dad rigged up a simple pulley system to lift our canoe off the car. He also had pulleys to crank up various other items in our garage/shop and barn. Pretty simple and even though he set those up 50 years ago they all still work. Next time I am out at the farm maybe I will remember to take a few pictures.

i have one of those homemade systems in my garage for lifting the fiberglas pickup truck cap. all we needed was some pulleys, good sturdy rope, and wall mounted cleats for tying off rope. it was designed and installed by 2 nutty engineers.

 

[samclem]

All the commercial rigs have a safety device that must be released to allow the load to lower (either a pawl on the crank used to pull the rope or a clamp that grips the rope itself). Probably something about lawyers, liability insurance, crushed skulls, etc. You'd think common sense would be enough ("don't let go of the rope or something bad will happen")

 

[Frugality_of_Apathy]

All the commercial rigs have a safety device that must be released to allow the load to lower (either a pawl on the crank used to pull the rope or a clamp that grips the rope itself). Probably something about lawyers, liability insurance, crushed skulls, etc. You'd think common sense would be enough ("don't let go of the rope or something bad will happen")

You could always just have the rope go through a locking belay like a GriGri

 

[RustyShackleford]

You could always just have the rope go through a locking belay like a GriGri

Not to derail the thread or anything ... But I HATE those freakin' things.
My climbing gym has had a couple of broken limbs as a result of
people getting lowered too fast with grigri's. I think lawyers like
them because they seem safer to their simple minds. And in the
climbing phase, maybe they ARE safer - but you GOTTA lower the
climber at some point. The only exception tomy condemnation
might be in the case where the belayer is much smaller than the
climber ...

 

[Frugality_of_Apathy]

Dropping the climber too fast is really the belayer's fault not the equipment. You're not supposed to just disengage the break and let them fall. disengaging the break just turns it into any other belaying device and you have to use pull the rope to the side just like any other belay.

I'm not a fan of getting lowered by someone else in any circumstance so I always just go to the top and repel down.