To think that it takes more than 5 minutes to hang out a load of washing

[Resurgam2016]

All over Mumsnet people are heard saying 'it only takes 5 minutes' to hang out a load. Kim and Aggie say it too.

I am sorry you are all WRONG. I have done time trials under controlled scientific conditions timed myself and it takes at least 10. I am not a slow pegger but I am a thorough one. So WIBU to declare that a proper 'hang' (

I hang clothes out, except socks, which I bring in & hang on the soctopus while perusing MN & having a brew. Back out & take the recycling at the same time. Multitasking. Also known as the Lazy Person's Guide To Housework

I don't iron and I don't have a tumble drier so hanging out has to be done in a precise way to make sure the clothes are wearable when they are dry and not a crumpled mess.
This means that it is very much more of a 10 minute than 5 minute job. I do preload the (s)octopus in the kitchen before hanging out though and try to make sure that it's "balanced" so big knickers on opposite pegs

I think we might need to address the HANG classification fundamentally:

'Tight HANG' simply the time taken to pin clothes to the line = 10 mins

'Loose HANG' to include all the soctopus-ing/ line set up etc = 20 mins

Views?

I endorse this message. It definitely takes longer. Laundry is the bane of my life.

Ive just hung four loads that had to be brought in from the rain yesterday - it took AGES. I have a specific way of hanging.

Hm, I don't think line set up should be included in 'loose hang'. Didn't you say earlier that the international of measurement of based on the assumption that all was already set up. Just trying for consistency

The soctopus is amazing and where it's really changed my life is bibs.

Can I add a slight tangent - doesn't putting on a load of washing also take much longer if you do it properly. Tell me if you want me to start my own thread, OP, but while my DP thinks you just pop it all in the machine, you have to

• identify and sort the clothes for the load (lights, darks, etc)
• turn stuff the right way round
• de-ball socks
• get stuff out of pockets
• search for stains/marks
• Vanish said stains/marks

I reckon it takes me 12 minutes.

Between 5 and 7 minutes here. All smalls go on the airer in the utility room (and this is DD's job - she's 3.5 yrs, and this happily occupies her for a good 10 mins).

Having had a flock of birds cover my clean line washing with their evil blackberry filled poo, my washing is in the tumble dryer for the foreseeable future. Grrr

I just timed myself.
8 mins 15 secs from washing machine, out to the garden, everything hung out and back inside.

I lived for more than half my life in houses that were VERY close to railway lines - so if you hung the washing out in the garden it would come in vaguely grubby looking and often worse than before it was washed. This was countered in the house I grew up in by there being one of those lovely airers that hang from the ceiling in the kitchen.

So I tend to use radiators, banisters and over-bath hangers rather than ever hang washing outside.

Yanbu OP. No way can I hang out a full load in 5 mins (I can bring it in pretty quickly esp if raining)
There's a wash on atm. I'm going to time myself.
PS - no tumble dryer here, and 2 socks to a peg.

YABU. It sounds like you might be faffing!

We have a 10kg washing machine. If that bugger is full, you're out there for a good 10 minutes. Possibly 15 if it's the children's clothes.

I tumble everything. hanging washing adds hours of work to my day. I do 3 loads a day. If i hang anything the kids yank it off the line and drag it thru the mud too which adds more work. baby stuff takes so long to peg out. In the hot weather this summer i still had my tumble dryer on and fan to cool the room.

Surely socks just get hung over the sides of the laundry basket and left outside in the sunniest part.....and life is too short to pair socks! Buy them all the same for each person!

Darked On / Spider Willy Dragged.
So we must add train polluted to the list of washing hazards,
not to speak of washing taking flight and landing about 3 fields away

S

YANBU - I often have five minutes before I leave for work and "just pop out to hang the washing out" before I leave, and am then late for work, so I can confirm it takes longer than one thinks.

One peg per sock or one peg per pair of socks? Only asking for specific details as my friends bf left her coz she didn't know how to hang socks

Depends on the wash - one with bed linen much less than one with a million socks. Also, when are you timing from? Our washing machine is in the basement so are we counting from getting from the washing machine to the line as well?!

I'm going to hang out a "normal" wash now - I will time it and report back.

Shortly going to hang out a white wash and hope it escapes bombardment of
evil blackberry filled poo as you so rightly describe it, pinkpetrol.
Bad enough shaking off any sneaky arachnids.
I stop using my washing line from about the first week of October until March unless there's an exceptional sunny dry day.

It's takes me about 5 minutes to hang out all the big stuff. I am not crazy so don't colour code my pegs. Underwear goes on one of those peg hanger thing, that takes a while cos with 7 of us there is always lots of undies. I don't have a drier.

Love this thread!

Yes- def more than five mins.

I have a small whirly type on legs that takes one load if I space it all right. Every second line. They are too close together otherwise.

I use my dryer for towels so feel too guilty to use for socks and pants. I have a pulley in the boiler room too which takes a load. And yes to soctopusii. I have two and they are great.

Hmm so many interesting issues to consider in the establishment of the definitive timings for this metric.

On reflection I was wrong to suggest that the timing is just the hanging part. After all you can't HANG without setting up. Unless Kim and Aggie and the 5 minute mumsnetters have a specialist crack team for this aspect of the task. I do think preloading the socktopus (and not including this timing) is a stretch of the rules though.

Perhaps any time dealing with hazards/ wayward washing should be considered time out (pause the stopwatch). Anyway I am just off to hang the second load of the day and am going to time from opening of door to final peg.

Will report back

I often have to add a good three minutes to find the peg bag. I realise it's not that difficult to put it back in the same place every time but apparently that simple task seems to evade me or more probably DH.