To think laundry isn’t the easiest chore

I look after the laundry in our house.

DH would wash a pair of jeans & one sock.

A little bit off topic, but can I suggest that if you’re drowning in laundry (and can afford it) bundle it up and take it to a launderette for a service wash. They’ll wash, dry, fold and usually pair socks so you collect it all done. (This is also a game-changer after a holiday).

After a service wash, you’ll have an empty laundry basket for once and can ‘start afresh’ with a routine that works. I found little and often was easiest and less items dry better on an airer than trying to fit loads on.

Yeah, it’s relentless, and I empathise but it can be made easier with a routine; when it piles up it can be so overwhelming. Unless stuff is filthy or smelly a quick wash will also be fine.

I didn’t have a washing machine when I first moved in with my husband in 1976. We saved for a couple of years to buy a little single tub washer, and then bought our first modern style washing machine when we moved house in 1982.

It's not particularly hard, just tedious and relentless.

It's the putting away stage. Especially with mixed loads so I have to manually recall who owns what. Is it still DS1's or has it passed on to DS2. Who owns which sock pattern? How did those pants sneak in there?

Add in DCs with impaired executive function and general lack of enthusiasm to put away their clean things as well as a tendancy to simplify it by dumping clean stuff in the dirty box for quick illusion of having done it.
DS2 just doesn't cope with the tens of micro-decisions of putting stuff in different drawers and his brain just stalls in overwhelm mode.

Short cuts:
Keeping drawers at a capacity so stuff can be shoved in without folding
Not pairing socks- using drawer dividers to shove in casual/ sports/ school socks
Buying one theme of socks in multiples e.g. DS1 has grey comfort socks for school, DS2 has colour toed socks.
Only ironing for weddings, funerals and job interviews

Still tedious though!

But that's one small part of it. First you have to sort it; then make sure you are in when the load finishes so it doesn't get smelly; then either peg it out to dry or sort out what can and can't go in the tumble dryer; then watch the weather and collect it all in if it starts to rain; then fold it carefully so you don't need to iron it ( unless you do iron - which is another pain!) Then sort it into piles and pair up all the socks; and deliver to bedrooms. If you have small kids then you also have yo put it all away in the right drawers. The whole process is time consuming. And it's relentless. Maybe if there's just 2 of you but if you have family then you have to do a load a day. It's nonsense to say that you put it in the machine and switch it on: that's what my ds says because he never does any fucking washing!

Oh bore off!!! 🤣 Thinking about how much technology has come on will not make me feel better about my laundry load until an affordable robot is built that will fold and put away my clothes for me 🙈

I don't personally agree although it's not an assigned chore or any one person's job in our house. Usually DH will put a wash in the machine before coming up to bed. I work from home so will empty the machine in the morning and either put it on the line outside or hang it on the aired drier. Takes no more than 10 mins. At the end of the day it's taken upstairs and dumped in the ironing basket.

DH does all the ironing whilst watching youtube videos/football highlights, he usually does a few pieces per night so it doesn't build up. We don't find it to be all that much of a chore.

I have a small child (5) and her weekly uniform, underwear and rainbows wash is one load alone. And I have a 7kg machine!

Garlic cannot possibly be washing 2 people's clothes and some bedding in one load every two weeks.

I do washes per person. It makes it a lot easier to tackle (mentally) and also requires less space to sort as you're not sorting it into so many piles.

She's managing to put in 20+ tops, 20+ bottoms, 28 underwear, 56 socks, half a dozen or so bras, half a dozen jumpers etc. (plus some bedding!!)

She must have a TARDIS or something.

You need to change your attitude to it. The very worst of the laundry jobs is now done by the washing machine. Keep remembering that, keep being grateful that you don’t have to slave over a tub of water or a mangle. My grandmother had no washing machine when she started her married life. That’s not even a hundred years ago. More like eighty. Not really a long time. I tell myself that every time I shove the washing in the machine and think ‘god, this is boring’. It’s a far easier job now, just keep on top of it and don’t wash stuff that’s hardly been worn!

I just do don't see how garlic can fit in that many clothes! Even for one person, but they're saying there's two adults in the house 😱

One load, minimum, needs to be washed, dried and put away per day in my house or it gets very overwhelming.

Id far rather be in charge of the washing than the cooking.

How big is your washing machine that can fit two weeks worth of clothes and bedclothes or TWO PEOPLE?

Seriously. That's like 28 pairs of pants, 28 pairs of socks/tights, 28 tops... 20+ bottoms... A few jumpers/cardigans...

That’s even weirder than once a fortnight!

If you keep everyone’s laundry separate and wash and dry eaxh individual’s laundry on the same day, you may find it easier to sort

I do 3-4 loads a day 🤦🏼‍♀️

When l first got married l had a twin tub washing machine..now that definitely was a chore and half.. my first automatic was bloody brilliant that l went and bought my mum one too.. this was 1985.. so 40 years ago..
Today it's easy.. bung it in.. let it wash.. bung in tumbler.. take out and hang up or fold
Easy peasy.. even l can do it and I'm severely disabled.

Absolute worst. But then pairing socks is also horrendous.

I’ve never really thought of washing and ironing as being a ‘mental load’ 😆. I do at least one load every other day and probably three loads over the weekend. I tend to save the ironing up and spend a couple of hours getting it all done on Saturday or Sunday in front of the TV, and I find it quite relaxing.

I don’t find it hard. It’s just boring and never ending. I’m pretty good with the washing and drying part, it’s the putting it away that I hate the most. And ironing. Plus DH has outdoor work wear that gets washed on a weekend that takes forever to dry. And then there’s the joy of school uniforms!

And what is it if you miss a day you suddenly have about 10 times as much the next day?

You'd really roll those eyes if you grew up with washboard, tin tub, dolly and mangle! Closely followed by the infamous twin tub that took all day. And no tumble dryer or central heating.

You are right OP.
Putting the bins out is the easiest chore.