Laundry may seem like a simple household task, but when you break it down, it's surprisingly time-consuming. According to information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median person spends approximately 1.5 hours each week doing laundry alone. But that's only the active time. When you add sorting, stain pre-treatment, waiting for cycles to finish, re-washing damp loads, and folding or ironing, the total often jumps to 3 to 4 hours weekly.