Life would be so much better if we did not have laundry to do every weekend. Seriously, what we would not give for a day dedicated to rest – and rest only, without running errands, keeping up with chores, and managing the bills. It would also be great to spend the whole Sunday with your family, right? Having movie marathons, barbecues, or just hanging out together. 

But with a whole load of laundry begging for attention, these things are easier said than done. You need to wash your work clothes or you will end up missing work. The same goes for your kids, as they need to wear something for school. So yes, we are with you on this one. 

You would never think of something as mundane as doing the laundry to take up a lot of time, but it does, unfortunately. 

Doing the laundry does not begin with the washing machine. Because the average individual washes two loads of laundry every week, the total prep time would be 30 minutes. And that’s just the prep time! We are not yet factoring in the actual laundry time, which could take a good 20 to 40 minutes, depending on the load and the type of clothing. Drying also takes up almost the same amount of time. The bottomline: laundry is time-consuming!

To further support our claim on how much laundry takes over our lives, we referred to the data from the American Time Use Survey. 

The American Time Use Survey was done by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and one of the topics examined was how much time Americans spend doing laundry. They discovered that the average American woman spends 17 minutes per day doing laundry, whereas men spend only 5 minutes per day.

A month's worth of 17 minutes per day adds up to over 8 hours. That's a whole workday lost to washing, drying, and folding. Not to mention the time spent on related duties like ironing or driving the dry-clean-only items across town to the dry cleaner.

So, what else could you have been doing with all that time?

Spend time with your family, because your rest days should be with them. Go for a hike as a family or a camping trip. You can also take this opportunity to finally eat at that new restaurant in town that you have been wanting to try for months. Or join a fun run, festival, or go out on a picnic as a family!

If you’re more on the homebody side, maybe it’s time for some home-cooked meal. You can set up a barbecue, or finally follow the recipe you have saved on your phone. At night, watch the latest movies and bond over popcorn.

Of course, you can also take this time to yourself. Read a book, take a long and relaxing bath, or sleep as much as you want. There are surprisingly a lot of ways you can do more and feel better!