At what age did your children become responsible for their own laundry?

[WhoWants2Know]

My kids are 14 and almost 13. Up until now, I have washed and dried all the clothes, folded them and put them on a separate shelf for each child to put away. Which they forget. Until I remind them, then nag them, and eventually lose my temper and shout about it.

This summer, the piles have grown, and the kids dig through them and drag everything about. Then they can't find their clothes and get angry at me because they can't find what they want to wear. (Which is generally exactly where I said it would be.)

After the millionth argument about "me losing their clothes" when it's my responsibility to do the laundry, I decided I didn't want to do all the work and also be yelled at for it. So I gave them each a laundry basket and a peg hanger for their small bits to dry on.

They feel like I'm being mean and making life difficult, but is it really that much to ask of teens? I asked at work and one of my colleagues said her 20 something child still brings laundry home for her to wash!

Started at 13, now aged 24 and 26.
My machine has a sensor for water level.
They tend to wait to have a full load before they do one. I have also noticed they don’t have many whites 😏

My daughter is 13 and we have just started this cos I think its a good life skill when they leave home plus I'm supervising her using cooker for making noodles or beans or soup no one else is going to teach her

When they left home for University.

As per the very first answer, it doesn't make sense to me to have each family member all trying to do their own washing separately. Really inefficient.

It makes absolutely no sense to do washing individually in the household. It's the least energy efficient and environmentally friendly thing to do.

When I was young my mum did the household laundry up until she got a job with a long commute. By then my brother and I were around 14/16 or maybe a year older. Then the household laundry became our responsibility. She gave us a cheat sheet of temperatures and washer and dryer settings, told us how to sort the clothes and fold things to her liking, and to put things away in the right places. Then she left us to it. It was a good life skill to learn.

It was added onto our other chores which started several years before, like daily dishes/vacuuming the hard floors (but not the carpeted ones, that was once a week) and emptying the bins. Along with less frequent mowing the lawn, sometimes washing the car, and cleaning the aquarium. It was in exchange for a weekly allowance (small pocket money).

In my household now, I do some of the laundry, when a load is full or I've run out of something. My DH will do a load occasionally, and the cleaner will usually put a load or two on each week. We have a baby on the way, so it'll probably a few years yet before I teach him to do laundry.

As I said up thread, people keep saying this without any evidence. My machine only goes on full. Why is that bad for the environment? Whether I do it (and had to sort and fold everything) or whether the teens do their own.

It is a job I dislike, I am not their servant.

Yet, you were questioning someone doing two loads (dark, light) for four people a week. I was pointing out that our family does the same amount, one clothes wash between two a week. My 16 year old DS and I share the washing, work split about 50/50, just not done in separate loads. I don't want to leave my clothes a full fortnight and we'd run out of things, weekly works well.

My DS(now 8) has been conditioned to put his dirty clothes in the washing basket since he could walk, and checks pockets and turns socks the right way round.

He knows how to use a washing machine (when I went to university there were lots of people who didn’t). He will also help hang things up and fold eg sheets. In the last six months or so he has been given piles of his clean clothes to put away.
Not ironing yet. Definitely all a work in progress.

I am determined he is not going to grow up to expect someone else to run around doing his dirty work.

13. I would have done it sooner, but she couldn’t reach the soap dispenser.
    it’s a nice self contained chore for a child to have. We have a routine where she runs her laundry one day a week.

About 12 ish. But it was a blanket rule as I got pissed off so youngest was probably 10.

We do a family white wash. Everyone does their own colours from A-Z. Family of 6.

I do DH because he does a hell of a lot for the rest of us.

I'm aiming to limit everyone to a max of 2 loads a week including bedding & towels. 10kg machine.

Why? Running individually doesn’t mean the loads aren’t full. We each just run a load when we have a full load to run.

But assuming they helped with hanging up the wet washing, folding it when dry and putting it away long before that?

We don't have enough clothes for that

DD is 11 and has been putting her clean clothes away herself for a couple of years now but doesn't put a wash on herself because it wouldn't really work out right, she doesn't have that many clothes that she likes wearing so would need to wash them before there's enough for a full load. Might start getting her to help with it though, so filling the machine and putting it on, she used to do this a few years ago when I was having troubles with my knees and couldn't easily go up and down the stairs to the washing machine (basement) but probably can't remember any more how to do it.

Why? What's the difference if the washing machine is full with one persons clothes or a mixture?

It's still the same amount of washing and the same number of loads just done differently 🤷🏼‍♀️

DD is 9 and at the moment is only expected to put her dirty clothes in her laundry basket. I might teach her how to use the machine this year.... At the moment she doesn't have set chores she does but she is expected to help out with tidying up, loading the dishwasher, laying the table, etc as we need her to.

You are right, it doesn't make a difference if it is full. As we do a wash between us a week we'd need enough clothes to do fortnightly if separate. We would run out and need to do a wash before the load was full.

Mine are 6 and 3 and are expected to put it all in the laundry basket which lives on the landing. I wash, dry and iron and when I peg it out they come and help me and they help pair up socks then we put it into whoever's basket to go away so they understand the process but aren't overly involved if that makes sense

The key part of your comment is if the washing machine is full

it is more likely to be properly full if washing everyone's clothes at once

The key part of your comment is if the washing machine is full

But everyone who separates laundry has says they only do full loads. People ignore that and insist it's inefficient.

it is more likely to be properly full if washing everyone's clothes at once

Surely it depends on your family and circumstances?
I have no problem creating a full load of washing in a week. I can assure you it's properly full too.

Each to their own eh?

Surely the sensible option if you don't want to "be their servant" is that everyone takes a turn at putting on a full load of everyone's clothes?

I always roll my eyes at the whole "being their servant" thing. It's about being a family - they aren't lodgers, they are your children. Do you make them buy and cook all their own food too?

a family works together.

But everyone who separates laundry has says they only do full loads. People ignore that and insist it's inefficient.

and many have said you need to have a lot of clothes for that to work. I agree with that. If washing everyone's stuff a load is always absolutely full.

It surely only works of you don't separate out dark and light clothing otherwise you'd need a full load of each.

Agreed. Working together means if one person (DS) leaves the house half an hour later they can finish putting out a load that was put on a bit late. If one person (DS) gets home at 3:30 and it starts to drizzle they can rush and get the washing in.

I have teens.

they are responsible to wash & change their bedding and to take their dirties to the laundry baskets.

I usually put on a wash but don't fold theirs nd put it away. that's on them.
ocassionally (usually when one is out of clean items) I ask them to put a wash on. I also sometimes ask them to hang up laundry to dry.