Laundry is a bit like the silent ritual that punctuates our weeks without us really paying attention to it. And yet, it occupies a huge place in our daily domestic life.
According to ADEME, the Ecological Transition Agency, a standard 7 kg domestic washing machine is used on average 198 times per year, which represents approximately 3.8 washes per week per household. In other words, the washing machine runs almost every other day in the average household. A figure which takes on even more meaning when we know, again according to INSEE data, that 94% of French households are today equipped with a washing machine. The washing machine has definitively replaced the washbasin and the basin, and today it would hardly occur to anyone to wash their clothes by hand.
This figure of almost four washes per week is worth paying attention to. This is not an isolated case or an exception of large households: it is a national average, which includes both single people and families with children. This sustained pace is partly explained by our current hygiene standards, but also by an increase in synthetic materials in our wardrobes, which tend to retain perspiration and odors more than natural fibers such as cotton or linen. Result: the machine turns, again and again, in a cycle that sometimes seems to never really stop.

What this task actually involves

Doing and hanging laundry includes sorting laundry according to colors and materials, filling and launching the machine, then hanging once the cycle is finished. It's a two-step task that requires retracing your steps: starting the machine, doing something else, then coming back to hang out the laundry before it starts to smell damp. Allow around 15 minutes for the entire operation, excluding cycle time of the machine itself which generally runs between 1 hour and 2 hours depending on the program chosen.

Tips and tricks for more efficient laundry

Favoring washing at 30°C rather than 40°C or 60°C changes a lot of things: modern detergents are designed to be effective at low temperatures, and most of the energy consumption of a washing cycle comes from heating the water. Reserving high temperatures for cases that really justify it (baby linen, occasional disinfection, very dirty laundry) allows you to significantly reduce the bill without sacrificing the cleanliness of current laundry.
When hanging out, shaking each piece firmly before hanging it considerably limits drying time and reduces creases, making future ironing even simpler. Spreading with a minimum of space between the pieces, rather than packing them on the line or drying rack, also accelerates air circulation and therefore overall drying.
In terms of organization, grouping your laundry by material rather than simply by color better protects fragile textiles: jeans and a cotton t-shirt do not have the same washing needs, even if they share the same shade. Finally, not overloading the drum remains a simple but often forgotten rule: a drum that is too full washes the laundry less well, which sometimes leads to restarting a second cycle, needlessly doubling time and consumption.

With almost four washes per week on average according to ADEME, laundry is not an occasional chore: it is a routine that has firmly established itself in the daily life of almost all French households. You might as well approach it with a little method, so as not to waste more time and energy than necessary.