AIBU or are they PFL (Precious Fucking Laundry)?

[Barksdale]

I live in student flats. We share washers/dryers. If the washing sits in the machines for 20mins+, there's an unwritten rule that the laundry is carefully taken out and popped in a pile on the sofa in the laundry room for collection.

It's Sunday, all machines are on the go pretty much all day.

I go down, find 4 machines with washing just sitting in them. I pick a load, pop it on the sofa.

Come down later and find the world's snottiest passive-aggressive note, that includes the phrase "I don't know where YOU'RE from, but in England it's common decency to WAIT" and the claim that I have no right to touch their "personal belongings".

AIBU or PFL?

I bet you wish that you'd dumped the washing on the floor!

I think I'd be annoyed to find my washing moved, but then it would be my fault for leaving it in the machine.

I'm guessing that they have something to bring the washing down in & coleect it, they just don't leave it there.

at the bottom yes.....the first part of your message was that the OP was being unreasonable because some poor little racist flower might not have known where her washing was for a minute....
priorities, priorities.

If I didn't know about this rule, and I went down to find my washing had suddenly dissapeared, I would have panicked like fuck.

You don't know why that washing was still in the machine. The person could have had an excellent reason as to why it was still there

it still doesn't excuse the fucking note though

It's a tiny room so the person would probably have seen his/her washing on the sofa (which is right by the door) before looking in the machine, so I don't think they could have panicked about where it had gone.

From the note, it just seems that s/he thinks they have a right to leave their stuff there until it's convenient for them to fetch it, not that they panicked about where it was.

Soubriquet - it was in the same room and clearly visible. Why would you panic when you can see your laundry.

fwiw, when I was a student we ALL stayed there and watched it because otherwise someone would open the machine (even forcing it mid cycle) and dump stuff on the floor, or help themselves to whatever they felt like taking. We also frequently had to stand there for up to an hour to even get a machine. The moment a wash was done, someone would open the door and start dumping stuff out if the owner wasn't there.

Piling it up conveniently to one side is doing them a fucking favor.

Well done for reporting, OP. If everyone else goes by the same rules, you'll probably find the note-writer will pick up on it soon enough.

Soubriquet - it was in the same room and clearly visible. Why would you panic when you can see your laundry

We only know this bit now. The room could have been huge for all we knew

So now I can say yanbu

I'm a bit precious about my laundry. I like it done my way and I don't like other people touching my stuff.

However, there is no way on earth I would translate annoyance about my washing being interfered with (even if I couldn't find it for a whole 20 seconds) to going and getting a piece of paper, writing a racist and passive aggressive note, finding something to fix it with and going to stick it onto the washing machine.

Knowingly writing something like that in halls where half the people are of Chinese enthinicity is obscene.

OP, I'm really glad you reported this. That note was rude, full stop, but if you HAD been an overseas student, or if any have seen the note, it makes the university seem unwelcoming and, at best, xenophobic, at worse racist. Good university admin definitely want to know about this. They probably won't care too much about the rude note to you, but the nasty attitude to overseas student is a problem.

And you were totally right to move the clothes, btw, the quicker people realise they can't leave their stuff lying around, blocking machines, the better. I remember the same set up in my halls and I sat with my stuff and a book whilst it was washing because so much stuff used to go missing. Including knickers and things. Perfectly normal knickers used to disappear all the time, very odd. And bras, which are bloody expensive.

Some people are rude twats, but seriously it's not worth another thought, let alone bothering the building manager.

The minute the machine stops it's fair game to be removed. If there's a basket then great, if not the sofa. Job done. Anyone that doesn't like it can feel free to park their bum on the sofa until the machine is finished.

Put a note saying

'You're right you don't know who I am. You also don't know which of your socks I used to wipe my arse on either."

YANBU

Shared laundry facilities are rubbish when people don't use them properly.

I lived in a shared house for a while where one woman used to put her laundry in before work and never, ever took it out herself - even if she came home after work then went out again, her laundry would be in the machine until somebody else needed to do their own washing. She expected the rest of us house mates to hang her laundry, underwear and all, on airers for her, every single bloody time. She'd even complain if it wasn't hung "properly". After hanging it out one time too many I started dumping it in a basket and she was furious and accused me of ruining her clothes by not hanging them out, even tried to bill me for items she said were "ruined"... but they were no more ruined by being dumped wet in a basket than left wet in the machine... Other house mates were too timid to stand up to her and always hung her clothes up for her and said I had better do that too... It made me murderous and was one of the reasons I moved out of the rather beautiful house as soon as I could afford a bedsit in a shittier area - with my own washing machine in the tiny kitchenette!

The racist note is obviously another level and totally unacceptable - glad you've reported.

I agree. The racist note is totally unacceptable. Well done for reporting it.

I fucking hate sharing laundry facilties. I live in work provided accommodation and it's the same. 6 machine and 6 dryers between 36 apartments. It's feral. People put bleach in machines. Stuff goes missing. People will switch your wash off mid cycle if they think there won't be a dryer available to them by the time theirs finishes or they open a dryer and upon seeing that it's in use, will close the door without switching it back on!

If you ever want to create rage and hatred amongst a community, have them share laundry facilities.

The note was rude. YANBU. I'd have to reply.

I'd love my own washing machine

I agree it was a rude note however,
note wars in the laundry room? Is this what students get up to these days? [disappointed face]

'Dear Sir/Madam

You are a cunt.

I shall continue to move your laundry if you continue to be a lazy bastard and refuse to move it yourself.

Best wishes

Phantom laundry warrior'

Would be my reply. I am English also. Maybe not English enough...

I'm loving all the fantasy revenge notes

I love HoneyDragon´s note.

I would probably not say anything but try to find out who did it and then at every opportunity I could find, dump her washing on the floor, or remove one of her socks from every wash and stuff it behind the washing machine, or something similarly petty.

But actually, this takes on a more serious note when you say that 50% of the residents are Chinese. I´m glad you have reported the note. The administration need to follow this up.