Keeping up with the Laundry

I'm one of those people who loves doing laundry. I love to tackle a tough stain. Just last night, in fact, Mr. B got paint out of his favorite striped shirt (see below) by following my stain instructions. They're intense: Scrub at the stain while it's fresh. Shout it out. Put in the washer immediately. Voila, the paint was gone. But I have to admit, even this laundry loving girl was a little overwhelmed to go from being responsible for her own clothes, to having a second person's clothes to take care of. It took me a year, but I think I've developed a system that will work.

Here's our laundry "room". It's upstairs, which makes things easy. This means that after a run or workout, I can throw my sweaty clothes directly into the wash, run to the shower, and not have to worry about flashing the neighbors. It's the little things in life, you know. It's very small, more of a closet. This is fine for the two of us, but the day little bambinos enter the picture it might get chaotic.

Here's our laundry hamper. I recently acquired it at Bed Bath and Beyond with a 20% of coupon. Here's why it's perfect:

1. Each compartment holds the perfect amount of clothing/towels/sheets for one load.
2. It's on wheels, which means we can keep it in our closet (we don't) and wheel it to the washing machine, or quickly wheel it out of sight when people come over.
3. Even though it's easy to move, it's easy on the eye if I choose not to - sort of blends into my khaki life.
4. It has three compartments. I don't believe in washing my brights with my darks, they're very different colors and they don't belong together.
   
5. It's solved a whites vs. lights fight I've been silently fighting with Mr. B - he was raised in a "throw it all together" family, and I am firmly in the "whites with whites, lights aren't whites" camp.
   

Here's my other laundry essential, the compact drying rack. It's perfect for delicates, sweaters and it folds and stashes away easily.

There's the striped shirt, paint free and drying beautifully.

Here's how I keep up with it:

• I (and by I I mean we) do laundry on Sundays and Wednesdays. Occasionally I'll do a load of sheets or towels on another day of the week, but Sundays and Wednesdays are the big laundry days.
  
• On Wednesday I do as many loads as I can before leaving for work in the morning. This usually means that one load gets left in the dryer for Mr. B to put on "refresh" when he gets home in the afternoon.
• Sunday is the big day - sheets, towels, any full compartments in the hamper (I don't wash partial loads of clothes), and occasionally the sofa slipcover.
  
• I hate to fold, but if I do it when they're fresh out of the dryer, it's more manageable.

So, what's your laundry method? Spill.