To wonder why people only do their own washing?

[sweeneytoddsrazor]

Just that really.

I see so many posts where people say DP's or any child over the age of about 12 do their own washing. Surely it's easier to just empty the laundry basket and do one wash of everyones washing rather than have 4 people do 4 washes with not much in it.

I love the idea that it takes so long to teach a DC how to do laundry that they have to start at 10 years old.

No. It doesn't take that long to learn the process of laundry. The actual learning when kids do things for themselves is to do with helping them to come to the realisation that clean clothes/ clean dishes/ clean bathrooms etc don't just happen as if by magic. When children (especially boys) do regular chores they get a sense of the frequency with which chores need to be done. When they run out of pants after the age of about 13 they only have themselves to blame.

I like to keep my kids chore free.

They have their whole adult life to do chores. I would prefer if they were concentrating on their studies and enjoying being young.

I did no chores at all as a child, it was easy peasy to learn when I got my own place.

OK. ..my son's dad grew up never having to do chores. I have literally never met a man so useless and seemingly incapable. But everybody is different I guess.

If your DH's can't turn washing machines on it has nothing to do with doing chores as a child. You must be thick if you believe a man when he says he can't do it. Either that or he's thick!

I wouldn't marry a man who plays stupid in order to keep me chained to domesticity and avoid it himself! LTB!

I used to do it all, and now do mine and the DC's. I refuse to do his as he thinks nothing of working from home 3 days in a row while I'm out all day and not even putting a wash load on.

I never 'taught' my kids to use the washing machine for reasons I've already said and guess what? The two eldest boys used their initiative and taught themselves to handwash-a more useful skill than knowing which button to press on the washing machine I feel.

speakout I kept mine pretty chore free as well though I realize I might not have had the luxury I'd worked full time. It was for the opposite reason to you though. I was little miss Cinderella at 11 doing the lion's share of housework and cooking, I resented it. When I left home it was a cinch just having to do my own stuff.

Badtasteflump

How you’ve drawn the conclusion that I am angry, only you can say! 🤓

I can see the merit in seperate loads for seperate people.

Right now I do all of it as on maternity but can see the merit of just doing one quick wash for each dc to avoid the sorting.

Definitely see the merit in teens doing it themselves on e they get to the "where's my..." stage.

I don't get my teens to do their own laundry to teach them how to use a machine - I do it because I hate getting clothes out of the tumble drier, sorting them, folding them, putting them in tbe relevant bedroom only to find them unworn in the laundry basket or worse on the floor. I do it because am their mother not their servant.

And to those likening it to plates and dishes - all our plates are kept in one place and we all use them. If we had one set of clothes for everyone kept in a communal cupboard then I would do communal laundry.

I'd find it strange too; just not how it works here and would find it much more of a faff. We'd do more loads, though smaller ones each time, too if we all washed separately.

But we also don't have a problem with only one person doing the housework. As it is me or dh will be a load on when it needs doing. Normally at the weekend, or Friday evening. Then one of us will empty it and hang on airers or in tumble dryer. Dh then does the ironing in a Sunday. We all out our own stuff away. 16y dd can do a load of washing and will do occasionally but tbh it's not something she does regularly. Me and dh have a bit of a routine of days etc so it's just easier for us. Dd does other stuff.

I guess if people have issues in the household where others don't do a share of the workload they may find the individual washloads more necessary.

I used to do all the washing. I used to dry and fold my OHs clothes and leave them on his side of the bed. He would then throw them on the floor when he got into bed, so I no longer wash them!
I still wash my DD's, mine (obviously) and all the towels/bedsheets (else they'd never get done)

My ex used to moan that I did too much washing. So I stopped doing his.

We have one laundry basket that has a separate section for lights and darks. I find that big enough to have without having to have a laundry basket each. I just don't know where we'd store them to start with - no room in the en suite, can only really fit one in the main bathroom and bedrooms really aren't that big enough here and don't particularly want a laundry basket in there anyway.

If I only did my own I'd have to have very small loads. I'm not the type of Mumsnetter who washes every item after one wear. In the winter it's take me about three weeks to have enough whites of my own for a full load, unless I started also washing our towels separately I guess.

I find it wasteful in energy as it is to have to wash my gym clothes during the week - I do just put them in a quick 20 minute wash though as I don't really sweat much and they get a longer wash each week. I wouldn't want to wash my proper clothes on a short wash every time though - they wouldn't get properly cleaned.

I wouldn't marry a man who plays stupid in order to keep me chained to domesticity and avoid it himself!
No neither would I. For the record my son's dad isn't and has never been my husband!

Aragog -and this is precisely why everyone should just do what works for them rather than wondering endlessly why others aren't doing things the way they do.

Re sorting after - we have three baskets in the laundry room for clean clothes - one basket for dd, one for me and dh and one for the ironing. Dh does the ironing once a week - need anything before then you do it yourself - and makes three piles on the table. Whoever is passing takes the pile(a) upstairs and places in the appropriate bed. Each put own away; same with the baskets - put their own away.

I do everyone's washing (mine, dp and 5 yr old dd). Once I got annoyed by dp never bothering to put his away and I tried to leave it but it lasted about a day because it felt daft doing a few bits and leaving it. If we have guests I'll offer to do theirs as well because I don't like people messing with my washing.

@ScoobyCan I can see why he's your ex!

It’s not so much the washing as the drying and sorting and putting away after, but maybe if the drying’s done in a dryer it’s not too bad.

i was made to do nothing growing up, no chores, everything was done for me, when I moved out at the age of 21 I could make myself a pasta bake or beans on toast that's it.
I had the reality check of a lifetime, I had to ask and Google how to do anything like cooking and hadn't realised how often things really needed cleaning.
I absolutely hated having to all of a sudden do all this work and it took a long long time for me to actually even like doing anything, I used to bitch and moan all the time whilst doing it.
Now I finally actually enjoy cooking and ironing etc...
I would teach my children from as young an age as possible so they don't end up like i was.

Amazed at how many responses this thread has had. I still fail to see how everyone doing their own teaches kids to be responsible adults. They are perfectly capable of doing that with everyone mucking in and helping out with different chores at different times. All mine can cook, use the washing machine, hoover, iron and wash up but what they do depends on when they are home and what needs doing. Nobody just does their own, one might put the washing in, one might hang it out, another get it in and fold it. whoever is in last on the night before recycling puts the bins out etc.

My only rule is that if it isnt bagged and brought down it wont be done
Bingo!
Thats precisely why I do my own !
How doing my 2 loads of washing per week can be a faff when it now takes me virtually no time to do my own now,is beyond me
I dont get involved in any stage of doing their washing - zero faff

Sweeney - so the conclusion being, after 13 pages that your way us the right way after all.

I think everyone does what works for them. There are two adults and one very stressed teen (A levels) in this house. We all wear very different clothes, and it is much easier just to do colour loads as opposed to people loads.