To take all our washing to the launderette once a week to escape the daily washing nightmare?

When I lived in an apartment and if the weather was bad I used to get a laundry service to pick up and drop off the towels and bed linen. It was fantastic if pricey.

I think the soundtrack of my life is the washer.

But yes go to the laundromat and drink coffee! But your family still need to put it away.

Fuck em.

They can do their own washing from now on, once a week, designated day each. Just do one load of your own stuff once a week.

Do one load of towels a week for the whole house. Hide the spare towels. Give them their own towels and if they don't hang them up to dry between use then tough shit they learn the hard way and get dried with a damp towel.

Having read all your replies I think this is more than justified. Do it. Enjoy the peace.

(I had a flatmate whose cat would shit on clothes left in a pile, even with a lovely clean litter tray. The only way to stop it was to never leave clothes out. It was infuriating!)

DO IT!!!

We drop ours off on a Saturday and pick it up on the Sunday… all washed and ironed, smelling divine. My 100% cotton duvet covers are pressed beautifully, far better than I could do. Even if you are going to do the washing there yourself, it really helps you get on top of it all.

I still do my work uniform and the majority of my own clothes as I am fussy, but DP sends everything.

I don’t think you’d ever hear me say “ that’s not a good idea” regarding using this service.

Good idea op - anything that will make your life easier!

I haven't seen the OP say how old her DCs are but as she said

My DS would happily fester in a filthy room surrounded by dirty clothes and mouldy McDonald's wrappers.

and called them 'Lazy Fuckers'
then I'd say they are definitely old enough to be pulling their weight around the home.

Whatever she does decide to do she's going to have to be on a mission and not cave in when they all throw a strop at the cessation of skivvying services.

If it will make you happy then do it.

I would send them all out for the afternoon to the laundrette to do the washing, let them be bored stupid and then tell them to put it all away when they get back home. They will probably feel like their time has been wasted but then they’re wasting your time by being lazy shits.

I swear by it! And once the DC learned to drive they started taking their own instead of me!😃

If your children are older teens, surely they can do their own laundry ? Have a central area for clean clothes and let your DH and children put away their own clothes, if they need the clothes they know where to find them.

What ages are your children ? Who looks after them while yourself and your DH work 10 a day, 7 days a week ?

or would OP arrive home with piles of clean laundry to be put away, and bags of shopping sitting on the kitchen floor to be put away?

OP, I think the problem here is your family need training. One way to do this is to simply... stop doing stuff for them. Announce it. Let them sink or swim (depending on ages of DC of course)

Me too! There hasn't been one in my town for at least 15 years, probably more like 20. The nearest ones are 10-12 miles away.

We take the odd load to the laundrette for a service wash and it’s brilliant. I send everything apart from the underwear and socks. Comes back the next day, smells lovely, folded, very soft. Usually costs less than £20 for a massive IKEA bag full. If you can afford it, do it.

I did all of this when we were waiting for a new washing machine. Three weeks it took. I left it all in the launderette for a service wash and it came back all folded and smelling of washing powder. It was amazing. I might have cried (I was massively pregnant and had hyperemesis and it didn’t take much, but still)

Im also loving the click and collect suggestion for the weekly shop on your way home.

It would be helpful to know if the children are very young, or older and capable of helping.

@head2toeinuniqlo if someone leaves the clothes where the cat shits on them - they can scrape off the shit/wash clothes. Wash only what is in closed lidded basket. In fact don’t even do that. Do your own. Don’t put their clothes away either.

You still haven't said how old they are? There are different strategies for different ages

And however tired he is, your partner will have to do a bit...

Maybe they're paid more?

Once I was home, the others' laundry would stay locked in my car and be released when they met certain conditions, whether it's collecting dirty crockery, general tidying, vacuuming or putting stuff away. I'd keep my car keys out of everyone else's reach.

Love this ^^

Yes you have to stick to it

There are mums on here who have nannies, housekeepers, cleaners etc.

@head2toeinuniqlo is not asking for much a few hours at the launderette washing and drying stuff her husband and children won't do.

I personally think her family are awful, but it's her call

@head2toeinuniqlo you don't need anyone here to tell you that this workload, between home and outside working life, is really not sustainable and the mental load of being the family skivvy is taking its toll as well.

If it was practical I'd try doing as you say, a click and collect grocery order and some time away at the launderette, taking only the laundry that was put in the washing baskets or wherever you want it. I'd take the fuse out of the washing machine plug as well.

Once I was home, the others' laundry would stay locked in my car and be released when they met certain conditions, whether it's collecting dirty crockery, general tidying, vacuuming or putting stuff away. I'd keep my car keys out of everyone else's reach.

Whatever plan you put into action, follow it through and stick to it, or nothing's ever going to improve. They need to feel the consequences before they're ever going to change their behaviours.

How many Lazy Fuckers do you have, and what are their ages?

If anything over 5 years old, they CAN put their clean clothes away. If anything over 12, they CAN be taught how to launder their own clothes.

I do think it is time to deal with the root cause of your problem - the Lazy Fuckers. Over 12, I'd just stop doing their laundry.

@head2toeinuniqlo how old are the DC? what kind of job is it that you have to work 70 hours a week? This is unsustainable.

1. Put all the clean washing into large plastic sacks and dump them on the beds of said LFs
2. Don't allow food in bedrooms
3. Stop doing so much for the LFs, don't tidy their rooms. Get some large boxes and dump all their stuff in the box and put it on their beds. When they can't find something tell them it is in the box.

I'm amazed that so many of you have launderettes still. We don't have one for miles.

@lololulu raise your kids better