January 10, 2025
The average American adult has on average, 5 hours of free time every day outside of time working. While 5 hours, on paper, may seem like a lot, there’s quite a bit to get done in this period of time, and how we spend can be very telling. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the large majority of men and women spend time daily doing household activities like housework, cooking, lawn care or household chores. Women were reported to spend 2.7 hours on these activities every day, and men spent 2.1. Of this time, one of the largest and most fussed-over tasks is laundry.
The never-ending cycle of wash, dry, repeat consumes more of our lives than we care to admit, and to the dismay of many, it seems to be a chore that never ends.
Breaking Down the Weekly Laundry Routine
No matter if you wait til Sunday night to wash all your clothes and kids’ soccer uniforms or space out your loads throughout the week, the process is the same: Sort, wash, dry, fold, and iron, if applicable. These menial, brainless tasks run the lives of many men and women around the country. I’m sure we’ve all heard some variation of “Oh, I can’t go, I have nothing to wear!” or “Just spray some perfume on it, they won’t know that you didn’t have time to wash it.”
Ecozone’s study of 4,400 mothers found that the average mother spends five months of her life doing laundry by the time her child reaches the age of 18. Let’s break this number down a bit more to get some perspective.
Said mother will spend about 26 minutes per load on pre- and post-wash tasks. This includes clearing out pockets, picking up laundry, folding clothes, hanging up clothes, matching socks, and putting away clothes. This process happens, on average, six times per week. Adding on the time it takes to iron clothes, the grand total average is 3.5 hours per week.
Factors Influencing Laundry Time
Of course, these 3.5 hours can vary depending on the family’s size and lifestyle. If you are single, living alone, and only cycle through one outfit a day, you’ll likely spend less time doing laundry. However, if you are the mother of 4, all of which are enrolled in some sort of sport and have an affinity for messily eating spaghetti, chances are, you’ll spend quite a bit more than 3.5 hours a week on laundry.
Your laundry machine also plays an important role in the time it takes to do laundry. Unfortunately, laundry machine makers have not quite figured out how to make a high-speed and low-energy machine, so we are left either paying with our time or with our wallets. There truly is no winning.
Comparing DIY Laundry vs. Professional Services
Let’s get real: laundry is boring and mundane, and your time could be much better spent. What would you do if you had 3.5 hours of free time every week? Start a book club? Start a business? Take your dog to the park? Build a spaceship and try to find a planet where laundry can be done at the snap of a finger? The stress of clothes sitting in the washer getting mildewy or in the dryer getting wrinkly would disappear. But how? The simple and obvious solution is outsourcing your laundry.
The Hidden Costs of Doing Laundry at Home
Unfortunately, it’s not just time you’re wasting; it’s money too. The hidden costs associated with doing laundry at home are enough to convince you to make the switch. A study done by Arcadia found that if you were to run your washer and dryer 7 times a week for an entire year, you would pay around $110 annually. If you are one of the lucky few who only has to do laundry for yourself, running your washer and dryer once a week would cost you just about $15 annually. Proctor & Gamble found that the average family washed 300 to 390 loads a year, spending $180 to $600 per year on detergent.
This same study found that the average American household spends at least $1,500 yearly on laundry.
Aside from the time (182 hours annually), what could you do with an extra $1,500? The obvious choice is to use that money to get that time back!
Benefits of Using Charleston Prestige Cleaners
Professional laundry and dry cleaning services like Charleston Prestige Cleaners help families get their time back by taking the burden of laundry. Charleston Prestige Cleaners offers free delivery and pick-up services to the majority of Charleston, North Carolina! All you have to do is sign up online and we will bring you a garment bag. Fill your bag with dirty laundry, leave it on your doorstep, and let us know. We will pick it up and return it in just a few short days, washed, dried, and folded to your satisfaction.
How Charleston Prestige Cleaners Can Help
There’s no shame in seeking out professional help with your laundry. Think of it as checking off one more thing on your long list of to-dos. Charleston Prestige offers wash-and-fold, dry cleaning, stain removal, and garment care. With decades of experience, we can guarantee no accidents of shrinking, color bleeding, or tearing that might happen when you’re on your sixth consecutive hour of laundry.
Take a load off and get your time back when you choose professional cleaners like Charleston Prestige Dry Cleaners.
