Laundry is not hard

I have come to realise how lucky I was in the past 6 weeks of using a shared laundry room where I mostly managed to get a washing machine (of 3) but only twice got the only dryer that works (and neither day had time to let things get fully dry). So I have mostly dried my clothes draped all over the small apartment I was in as I didn't have a clothes horse and the extendible line over the bath didn't hold much.

Here at home, I will peg out things to dry outdoors on days the weather allows. We use the dryer a lot. But we also do a lot on the clothes horse - we tend to wash while we're out at work and then put them on the horse in the late evening as we go to bed as they are then pretty dry by morning.

Like most things, it is only easy if you have the right tools and equipment.

I don't have a tumble dryer so in the winter especially it is not a 2 minute job, it's a job that takes as long as it takes for one load to dry before I can do the next load.

Lots of people who might find pegging out washing physically draining or be juggling entertaining young children while the pasta boils or not have other people in the house who are able to put their own clothes away.

Normally you live with other people who you have a good enough relationship with that some used undercrackers don't bother you (partner or kids)

@NeedToChangeName I do one small load a day on a eco wash and I have a heated maid like this one, they are amazing so cheap to run and clothes dry in a few hours, I wouldn’t be without it. We never have a build up of washing ever (unless we go abroad)

I actually wanna set up a business abroad for holiday laundry. Imagine somebody meeting you at your hotel, a day or two before you go home taking your case doing your laundry and dropping it back of at your hotel before you fly home. I would pay for that I!!!

How do people pick up their worn underwear or other people's?
Luckily I live alone.

Saturday's forecast (23rd Dec, London) is dry and 12 degrees so I'll be throwing stuff in the washing machine on Friday night so it can be hung outside on Sat morning. While it may not dry completely, I'd rather have the moisture evaporate outside than inside.

Washing is fine, its drying when you have no space that's the tricky bit. I hate seeing it all the time!

Little and often is the way to go, I think. I wouldn't wait until there were 5 loads waiting to be done

Heated airers are amazing https://www.independent.co.uk/extras/indybest/house-garden/household-appliances/best-heated-clothes-airer-indoors-b1892835.html

I don't pick up dirty underwear

@LaughingCat if your DH's socks are inside out, no need for you to turn them back. Just leave them as they were

Does anyone have any tips for when you have 5 loads of washing that needs doing?
I think I wait too many days between loads..
Someone said that washing isn't a pain or when doing a man's cos the washing machine does it!! 🙄
Erm what about the picking up dirty underwear?
Hanging up and waiting a day or two for it to dry before putting more washing in.

Issues are

• sorting the things out before and prioritising what you need clean and what others in house need clean sooner
• figuring out when you have the space and time to hang it, ie do you need space in the house at that time, so have to wait to do it. Are the washing hangers free or still got drying things on.
• figuring out how long it will take to dry, better to do washing in warm and dry weather
• timing it so when it's done you'll be in and in a state to hang it out
• hanging it out
• monitoring if its dry and ready to fold
• folding it up
• putting it away
• knowing you have enough detergent

Its all these decisions
And some of the physical energy
>> executive function requirement.

Good for you, really wish it was only 15 mins for me, washing, drying, hanging up, separating, folding for 7 people 🙄🙄 especially when I have 2 daughters the same size and 2 sons the same size, my Brain is worked into overtime figuring out who’s clothes are who 😂🙈 and don’t even get me started on socks, pants and boxers 🙈🙈

I agree, laundry is soooo easy. I just make the housekeeper do it, yah yah.

I agree. As I've already said, some people make extra work for themselves - and then like to moan about it!

Christ if anything I envy you having the bandwidth in your day to take the time to write a post just to make others feel inadequate.

Not physically or mentally demanding, but boring, constant, repetitive, thankless and never ending. Washing is created about as quickly as it's done in this house!

Spoken by someone who does not also own cats... 😂

I like to save all my washing up until I run out of clothes and I'm forced to wash everything in one long and boring day of alternating between the washing machine, tumble dryer, radiators and clothes horse. Then I use the piles of dry clean clothes as an open wardrobe until I have to repeat the process.

We specifically went for an apartment with washer and dryer included within the apartment, I could not have coped with a shared laundry room and having to book time slots (we turned down employment and moving here sooner partly due to no guarantee of an apartment with included washing machine and having a baby at the time, could not fathom how we would cope with poonamis/blow outs/vomiting bugs etc if you only had a shared laundry room with booked time slots required?) . I wonder if it is becoming more common to have washing machines and dryer included in the apartments.

We did have a shared, pay for (£1 at a time) tumble dryer in one apartment in London once, which we used sparingly, but we had our own washing machine in the apartment and no children at the time so that was manageable at least.

Personally I can't imagine doing 2-3 loads of laundry every day! I get by doing one 1 every other day, despite having a husband (who changes clothes more often than I think necessary) and 2 children. Sure the laundry basket is usually always at least half full, but we have enough clean, dry clothing to get by. I also rarely use the tumble dryer, except once a month when I do a wash every day over 4 days and get all the towels, bedding, tea towels and other tumble dryer stuff done, I also get caught up with all the other normal laundry and get to enjoy an empty laundry basket for a short while,

I also don't iron stuff, huge waste of time imo, we don't need to wear suits/shirts pretty much ever, I got rid of the iron altogether in fact. I do suspect (quite strongly) that I may be ASD, so maybe that explains why I avoid doing too much laundry or adding too much unnecessary faff to the job.

yes, but our grans and mum's had so much more to do.! I'm disabled- 75 with severe arthritis.Imagime life without an automatic washer and a light shark Hoover! I do small loads daily and thus keep on top of it.My poor mum had no machine, her hands were red raw every winter. She had a mangle.

Yes its easy but it's still a shite chore todo hanging everything waiting a day for it to dry as no dryer then ironing and folding, Lucky your so fantastic at keeping on top of your laundry 👏👏

That's what the chlorine is for. And chlorine washes out easily with warm water.

I would rather scrub the oven.
My laundry room is in the basement and I keep forgetting to go downstairs. And there isn’t enough room to hang things up down there so I have to lug a basket back up.

You (or your children) are immersing their bodies in the water you are so worried might contaminate your pants in the swimming costume is in the same washing machine load as them.

Seriously, what do you think happens in the washing machine? The clothes get washed.

I’m not sure, I just don’t need my knickers washed with other people’s pee