How Much Time Do We Actually Spend Doing Laundry in a Year?

Laundry feels like a small task. Just a load here, a bit of ironing there. Nothing dramatic… right?

But when you zoom out and look at a full year, laundry quietly becomes one of the biggest time-eaters in the home.

Let’s break it down.

The Weekly Laundry Reality

For an average household, laundry usually includes:

• Sorting clothes

• Loading and unloading the washing machine

• Hanging or tumble drying

• Folding

• Ironing

• Putting everything away

Even being efficient, this adds up fast.

A realistic weekly estimate:

• Washing & drying: minimum of 2 hours

• Folding & putting away: minimum of 1 hour

• Ironing: minimum of 1–2 hours

👉 Total: 4–5 hours per week

That’s not counting emergency washes, stubborn stains, or re-ironing clothes that sat folded too long.

Now Multiply That by a Year…

Let’s do the maths together:

• 4 hours per week × 52 weeks = 208 hours

• 5 hours per week × 52 weeks = 260 hours

That means most people spend between 200 and 260 hours per year dealing with laundry.

To put that into perspective, that’s roughly:

• 🗓 8–11 full days

• ✈️ Five long weekends

• 📺 Over 300 episodes of a TV series

• 🛌 An entire month of evenings

…all spent washing, drying, folding, and ironing clothes.

Ironing: The Biggest Time Thief

Ironing alone is often underestimated.

A typical breakdown:

• Shirts: 3–5 minutes each

• Trousers: 4–6 minutes

• Dresses & delicate items: even longer

For households that wear workwear, school uniforms, or formal clothing, ironing can easily become the longest single part of laundry.

And it’s usually done:

• Late at night

• On weekends

• When you’re already tired

Not exactly quality “me time”.

The Hidden Mental Load of Laundry

Laundry isn’t just physical work, it’s mental work too.

• Remembering what needs washing

• Checking care labels

• Timing loads so clothes don’t sit damp

• Making sure key outfits are ready when needed

It’s a constant background task that never truly ends. The basket empties… and magically refills.

What Could You Do With 200 Extra Hours?

Imagine getting that time back.

• More family time

• Less weekend stress

• Evenings without ironing boards

• Clothes always ready, clean, and pressed

This is why more people are choosing professional laundry and ironing services — not because they can’t do laundry, but because their time is worth more.

Final Thought

Laundry may feel small, but over a year it quietly claims hundreds of hours of your life.

Outsourcing it isn’t a luxury — for many, it’s a practical way to buy back time, reduce stress, and start each week with one less thing to worry about.

If you ever find yourself thinking “I swear I just did the laundry…”  now you know why.

Ready to Get Some of That Time Back?

If laundry is quietly taking over your evenings and weekends, you don’t have to keep doing it all yourself.

A professional laundry and ironing service can take this one task completely off your plate so your clothes are clean, pressed, and ready, without costing you hours every week.

Sometimes the biggest upgrade isn’t doing more but it’s letting go of what you don’t need to do anymore.

Get in touch with us today to see how we can help you.