my laundry system

People often ask me how I 'do it' with four children.  Funnily enough, I have also asked this question of other mums, usually when I see them doing things well that I struggle with.  I am generally a fairly organised person [one has to be with a larger family] but it doesn't always come naturally.  I think it is learned, or perhaps something I have chosen to do to cope better.

One of the things I have always struggled with is washing.  Not the turning on of the washing machine, that's easy.  But actually washing clothes, getting them dry, folding them and putting them away every time I wash.  I don't know what it is, but I just struggle to get every part of the process complete.  I always seem to have clean unfolded clothes in a basket [or three] hiding somewhere, dry washing hanging on a line inside or out for days on end, ironing in a basket not ironed etc. etc.

I have been working on trying to improve this reality for many years.  While my current system is not perfect, IF I actually follow it I am able to keep more on top of the ridiculous volume of washing that a family of 6 seems to produce.

Basically my system is made up of two parts:
1) I do at least one load of washing every day no matter what [sometimes I have Sundays off]
2) I wash only one or two people's clothes in a wash [makes it easier to sort and fold]

I usually end up needing to do two loads a day, more if I miss a day.  I also tend to put two people of very different sized clothes in together, so it is very easy to work out whose socks/singlets are whose.

I also try to fold straight off the washing line, because otherwise I never seem to get back to the folding!!

Do you have a laundry system that works for you?  I'd be interested to know how you tackle this issue.