With two kids and me and hubby both working, we do a load of laundry every weeknight (that leaves us with weekends together without having to worry about doing laundry). One night, it's whites, the next, it's darks, another is towels, another is sheets, and the other is the random load that always manages to appear. One of us gets a load going while the other is fixing dinner, then when one of us is cleaning up dinner, the other moves the laundry from washer to dryer. Our oldest (in kindergarten) usually helps fold, especially on sheet/towel nights. It seems like we're always doing laundry, but it's never as overwhelming as it was when Saturday = laundry day. The laundry sorter definitely helps, though.

I'll also echo Dee's suggestion of opening mail over the trash can/recycle bin. That has cut down a lot of our counter-clutter.

^ For the record, I never, ever, ever sort lights/darks/whatevers. Ever. And I've never had a problem. So long as you use a detergent that's good for colors, it's usually fine. One load of laundry=much less time.

Regarding sorting colors, they make these sheets called Color Catchers that suck up all the color floating around so nothing changes color. I've literally washed white dress shirts with red shirts and have had no problem. As long as the clothes have the same temperature setting, you're good to go. I will admit that this is a lazy college guy thing to do, lol.

I also have a problem with letting the dishes pile up on me - especially since my roommates and I (four total) have very different schedules and tend to cook independently. What I've found to help (and it sounds really obvious) is to take care of each dish right away. You're going to be more motivated to wash/rinse and load the dishwasher right after dinner as opposed to later. The more you wait, the more you become okay with putting it off and then before you know it you have a huge chore ahead of you. Making it a small chore right away has helped me manage all of the dishes.

Thank you for posting about the color catcher sheets. I have wondered if those really work. I too used to put everything together (except sheets & towels) when I was single doing my laundry only. Hubby insists on using bleach with whites, so he is in charge of doing whites loads and I do the rest.

I have found the same to be true with washing dishes and have taught the kids the same (though this took a couple months to accomplish with them and refusals to wash the dishes they mess up/use).

My biggest laundry suggestion is only wash clothes that are dirty. Worn does not equal dirty. And as my mother always said, if you're clean when you get out of the shower, the towel isn't dirty. Hang it up. With 5 kids, there would never be an end to the laundry. Also, as we sat watching TV my mother would always plop a load of clean clothes in front of us to fold.

We were put to task in the house from VERY young. Seriously, I bet we were doing chores at 4 years old. Obviously not vacuuming and dishes, but putting your own books away isn't too much to ask.

And finally, seriously, have you priced a cleaning lady lately? You might be surprised at what it costs to pay for 4 hours a week, which can make a massive difference in your mental health.

All I can say is, the woman you marry is going to be VERY lucky.

Well, that's what I always say! :p

But seriously, I'm so particular about the way I like things I tend to take matters into my own hands. I hope my future wife has the patience to deal with that.

I think you're a distant enough relative that you're eligible to marry my daughter :)

I can't even imagine one load. I'm jealous. With whites, darks, lights, sheets, towels and delicates I have four minimum every week. I try and combine loads when I can, but I've never been able to do just one.

I do two 1/2... Darks/colors and Whites/Light colors
Every two weeks I do a big load of sheets/towels/kitchen cloths on a higher temperature
And those Color Catchers work! Never had issues with color transfers