I use the normal/cold setting for almost everything, and sort loads by dryer vs. non-dryer stuff.
Dark colors and light colors/whites. It’s laundry, I don’t really want to spend that much time on it. Admittedly we don’t generate that much. It’s just two of us and both of us work desk jobs (i.e., minimal sweating) so 2 loads per week. Occasionally it’s three if I get the bug to do all of the sheets.
I keep it simple, but not “college kid with pink-t-shirts” simple.
I sort into 4 categories:
Whites (typically undershirts and socks; washed on hot, sometimes with bleach)
Darks-Warm (jeans, underwear, socks; washed on warm, no bleach)
Darks-Cold (t-shirts and anything needing to be washed in cold/colors)
Other (generally sheets, towels, etc…; usu. washed on warm)
Everything is pretty much dried on “Regular”
The stuff I want the wife to wash I toss in the hamper. The rest get hung back up.
Whites
Grays/blues/greens/yellows
Darks
Reds
Work uniforms
Towels and sheets
It’s only the two of us, so we accumulate until there’s enough for a viable load.
Everything gets cold water/oxyclean except for the whites and towels/sheets, which get warm water/bleach. Everything is on the “air dry” dryer setting. It takes longer, but it does prevent shrinkage in many items. I’ll do a final zap on the regular heat setting for the towels, however.
The work uniforms are separated because my husband’s PT job and my job involve cooking grease. It permeates everything, so we have a separate hamper and wash for them.
I’ve never noticed any jeans wearing out when washing them with other items.
I throw my bras into a mesh bag and they’re put in with the gray/blue wash. I always hang them to dry.
+another 1.
The only exception is clothes I wore when working on the car or heavy yard work. Those go in a separate pile and are washed when there is enough of them to justify a load.
Me, husband and 4 year old.
I’ve got no wools (husband is allergic) and no delicates (satin underwear? What would be the point?) so everything I own is either cottons or easy care synthetic blends. We avoid stuff that has to be dry-cleaned too.
[ul]
[li]Whites, go on “warm” with white detergent.[/li][li]Blues, go “lukewarm”[/li][li]darks, “lukewarm”[/li][li]reds “lukewarm”[/li][li]I hand-wash some sweaters that would get lint rolls in the laundry and that only need a quick rinse, anyway. [/li][li]Every forthnight, I do the big Sock Laundry. Socks in our household have lots of pet hair on them and I don’t want the hair to rub off the other groups.[/li][/ul]
My goal is to do max 3-4 machine loads a week, so if there’s too little darks or reds, those go in together.
We line dry and our cleaning lady does the ironing and folding.
I put everything in the washer. But afterward, I don’t dry my synthetics, or my towels, because the latter can dry on the shower curtain rod.
I combine my pants, and shorts with heavy waistbands, into one dryer, and the rest of the stuff I want to dry in another. That way, the pants will each get more individual drying power and come out completely dry, while if I put them in with the shirts and whites, the shirts and whites would dry, but the pants and shorts would not, and then would make the shirts and whites damp again after the dryer is done.
(1) Light stuff
(2) Dark stuff
And maybe some separate washing for delicates.
Lights
Darks
Sheets
No/minimal drying (that gets hung dry from shower curtain, door frames, etc.)
Athletic wear (small loads, timed soak to get the sweat out of wiking fabrics)
Towels can end up in any of the first three to balance out as necessary.
I used to separate the whites and the non-whites. But then I realized I was perpetuated a racist system of laundry segregation.
Okay, actually I retired and stopped having to wash white uniform shirts.
First load (large): Sheets and towels, and underwear if it fits in the washer. Wash on warm, dry high.
Second load (large): Sleeping/lounging clothes (sweats, flannel pants, tshirts) and underwear if it didn’t fit in first load. Wash on warm, dry high.
Third load (medium or large): Work pants (all khakis). Wash on cool, hang to dry.
Fourth load (medium): Work shirts (all dark colors). Wash on cool, hang to dry.
Tide Pods, sometimes generic dryer sheets. Still mourning the loss of the Purex sheets that had everything built in.
I’m single. I take everything except underwear to the laundrymat and pay them to do it. Those guys can fold like you wouldn’t believe. Underwear goes in warm water on the delicate cycle and I hang it in my spare room to dry.
In my case, I have a standard washer so it’s not big enough to hold a week’s worth of laundry. Once it’s broken out, there has to be a system. 
Again in my case, the distinction is what will be dried and what won’t, so I can wash the dryables first and have them drying while the other things wash, minimizing overall laundry time. Washing dark work shirts with khakis leaves lint on the shirts so it’s worth it to keep them separated.
Yes, I don’t have much of a life.
If Mrs. Plant asks me not to wash something with something else.
My personal system (that would horrify my mother)
-
Dryables - jeans/t-shirts/socks/underwear etc
-
Nice colours - Work shirts/pants - these are hung to dry
-
Nice lights - white/yellow/greys - also hung to dry
-
Sheets/towels
If I wear all coloured or all light shirts to work for a week I can keep it to 3 loads on the weekend.
Dryer vs. non-dryer for me, too. Other than that, whatever I can fit in the washer.
Cold water stuff, sometimes split into lights/darks if the load is big enough
Warm water stuff, again sometimes split up
Bras
Jeans
Sheets
Towels
- Black fabrics
- Everything else.
I live alone, and I don’t have many clothes. At night the dirty stuff gets tossed in the washer. In the morning, I take something clean from the dryer. When the dryer’s empty and the washer’s full, I do another load. Additional loads for bedclothes and jackets, as needed.