Can we talk honestly about Laundry?

[Giggleslikespickles]

I have a husband and two young boys and I CANNOT keep on top of my washing unless I become obsessed and it’s all I do and all I think about (yes I’m over exaggerating but genuinely feels like this sometimes)

I need some helpful tips or like minded people to make me feel better about my failures 😝

I’m literally always routing through clean clothes that are still on top of the washing machine because I hate how soul destroying it is putting clothes into piles and then walking upstairs over and over again to put them away just to se them either thrown on the floor or back in the laundry - it’s monotonous, tedious and quite frankly boring

What can I do to make my life easier and embrace the task? I’m done being surrounded by clothes that aren’t in the places they should be

Every night clothes get dumped in a pile at the top of the stairs, whoever gets up first puts the wash on, it then gets pegged out or into the dryer.

If it gets pegged out tops are hung on coat hangers. If it dried on the machine as soon as it's finished it's folded into a basket and put on the stairs. When it's taken in from the line it's folded so it eliminates creates and having to sort out washing.

Next person to go up takes the basket up with them .

Make it your husbands job. That’s what I did. It is his responsibility and I don’t get involved other than to put my own clothes away.

he doesn’t do it the same way I did but that’s ok. I used to fold and put away everyone’s laundry. He will sort it into baskets then it’s up to us to put away our own. He also makes the kids (12 &14) get involved by putting clothes into the dryer, taking them out for sorting, hanging up the clothes that don’t go in the dryer.

it’s one less thing for me to think about.

As my husband describes me I’m a “binge washer” 🤣🤣🤣happens once a week for the mega washing. Generally 8 mega washes on a Saturday (we all wear daily clean pjs can’t deal with 2 days wearing 😬 all wear fresh clothes generally which is bad but we do go through a vast amount of clothes)

4 kids. Each bedroom / changing area has a washing basket (count the baskets when you wash in a Friday / Saturday as I sometimes miss one 😭) clothes not in a basket it’s not getting washed.

How’s your washing machines / tumbles? I think mine are 14kg and they are stacked and it’s double. X 2 So mega wash in a weekend starting fri night as they take 1.5 hrs to wash and then the odd sports kit for 15/30 mins in the week. Always check the weather forecast too if Sat has sun get the machines rocking on a Friday night 🤣

Weenkend huge collection of clothes is good as the hubby can see / help a bit on hanging out 👍

I over buy too all kids got 6 shirts / 4 trousers / skirts so no drama

plus buy excessive clothes / pj so im covered and less stress for me.

its the way I cope with the heap of washing / children

once dried out of the tumble they go in a blue ikea bag into the “sorting area station” 😬 it’s sorted every 7 days max that’s my window.

no irons here get out of the washing machine quick and hang on a coat hanger or a drying area (inside or out)

So on a Saturday, you have 49 pairs of PJs alone to wash? Just mind boggling.

The idea that the Op is a self professed “minimalist” made me chuckle.

Not. A. Chance!

What on earth is your house like? The just be “stuff” everywhere?

Why? Are you so very very very busy you only have time to wash your daughter’s school clothes once every few weeks?

what about your own clothes? The same approach? Ie wash your own clothing very rarely? @Ddakji

6 x 7 = 42

It's called neglect, but I expect the excuse is global warming or some such nonsense.

Oddly enough another thread says does 3-4 laundry loads a week and there’s only 3 of them in the house.

Poor daughter.

Lol I usually get that reaction. The oldest is 17 the youngest is 1. No twins! One ex husband who is great with the older ones one soon to be ex husband who is nowhere to be seen! I actually love it they're all brilliant 😊

Paper clothing could be a good shout 😂😂😂

Not 'neglect' again. (See also going to Macdonalds once a week thread).

Neglect would be not providing warm clothes in winter or clean underwear, or sufficient food, or a bed to sleep in, or a dangerous house, or leaving home alone for hours at a very young age.

Neglect is not deciding a skirt / trousers / jumper need washing less frequently than you happen to think. Unless these things obviously smell to a bystander or are visibly dirty the poster and her DC can decide on their own standards for these.

I'm not one of those "wash after every wear" people but that is actually really upsetting to read. You make your child wear the same trousers and jumpers for weeks on end without washing them?

I'm sorry, but that's actually neglectful.

It was 4am and I was half asleep, in my defence 😳

Letting your teenager go to school in the same clothes for six+ weeks at a time absolutely is neglectful.

Disagree.

Clean shirts and underwear. Regular baths / showers. Beyond that it is generally just different standards (excepting noticeable smells and looking very grubby).

I would wash those more frequently myself, but it isn't 'neglect'. Try contacting SS to report neglect for that reason, I doubt you would get very far.

I wouldn't use social services as any kind of bar for neglect - they're chronically underfunded and understaffed.

Trousers and jumpers worn by a teenager for six weeks at a time are going to smell. There's absolutely no way they won't - unless said teenager is actually a robot. Or maybe a cat.

What if Susan has two white tops and Ben has one? Surely you would wash them together, or do you not separate your washing? Another one here who doesn't understand people doing their own washing.

What rubbish! When I went to school we wore gymfrocks, and later kilts. They only got cleaned once a term, and no-one smelled. We wore wool jerseys and cardigans, they can be worn for weeks on end without being cleaned.

Yeah that makes sense. My 2 never want to change after school. My eldest does club's on Friday and Saturday and my youngest does them Monday, Thursday and Saturday. I kind of just stick those bits in with any random stuff through the week. I suppose it's trickier with potentially up to 3 sets of clothes each per day. Could you try buying more sets of uniform? One for each day and then washing all uniform at the weekend?

The OP says they have 15 sets each already....the problem is they are just left to pile up! I sympathise with this but there's no way I could live like that!

I can guarantee you that people smelled, it's just you were used to it.

I wore a school skirt that was "dry clean only" and it was definitely grim by the end of each half term - but trousers are a whole different ball game as they're right up near your crotch. Bleurgh.

Neither of us actually own any white tops, lol. But yes, if we did, we might wash them all together but it's just never been an issue.

Social services involvement is your benchmark for what constitutes neglect?

good grief

Yes. I'm an adopter. If someone says 'neglect' that is my go to.

There are loads of other words that you could use such as slovenly, but for me 'neglect' when it comes to child care is a line whereby you might ask for outside help.