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.

"Since all I do with the washing is bring it downstairs out of the communal wash bin, sort it into piles of dark and light, place it in the washer with a washing tab and conditioner and push a button, I do it all myself. "

Is it all tumble dried, because if not you also need to hang it out and then separate it back into piles by person so it's actually quite a lot more work for you than just doing your own.

"Individual washes dont waste money, water or washing liquid -I just wait until I have a full load its not difficult to understand"

This. I think I've typed it about a 100 times and people still don't understand. Use your brains people.
3 people in a house. 3 loads of 1 per person uses the same amount of water and electricity as 3 mixed loads.

"For instance none of us has a enough white clothes to make up a full load after a week. "

No white bed clothes to go in as well if you absolutely need the white thing quickly?

I think they're all busy doing the laundry

It makes me laugh this thread. It’s not as though any of us has to go down to the river to scrub the clothes on rocks!

No but if we did there'd be the ones who spend all day by the river

No white bed clothes to go in as well if you absolutely need the white thing quickly?

Washing for the sake of it then instead of having your white top routinely washed with someone elses

It's all good and well people saying it's easier for one person's (the woman 🙄) to do all the washing but reading these posts it would appear you either don't work or work part time.

When both of you work full time it's a different story.

I have one white blouse and one white t shirt. if I didn''t put them in with the kids school shirts and dh's white shirt they would never be washed (our bedclothes are red, dd's are mint green and ds's are sky blue. (though the kids do have white fitted sheets.

We just kind of throw stuff in whenever the baskets are full (have different ones for colours) and it’s whoever is closer at the time my 7 and 11 year old do 95% of it right now becasue I’m pregnant and too difficult to bend to transfer loads. I do most of it as a general rule when I’m not pregnant (as I’m usually around the kitchen more often and I’m in the need of the clothes the most) or OH at the weekend when he’s home. But we have no rules about it, just... do it if you see it.

Can’t imagine living in a home where doing laundry is a big deal to be honest

I’m more surprised that some people do laundry more than 2-3 days a week.

If the laundry baskets aren’t full or there is nothing urgent that needs a wash, laundry Is done over a day and a half at most, every 10-14 days usually. 3 full loads on a quick wash unless heavily soiled and drying for about 2 hrs or less on a dry cycle. Put the first load on in the morning and by time bedtime comes it’s all been done.

I'm working from home today. It's a beautiful day so I've hunted down a load, raided the teens bedrooms to fill it and put it on so I can hang it out at lunch. A decent day can't be wasted. No way would I be thinking it's not my turn or that's not my laundry.

One person may have

Stretchy black lycra
Light lycra
white cotton shirts
black jeans
black hoodie
lacey bras & camisoles
sweaty gym gear
woolens

How can that all go in one wash all mixed up?

Anything dark and brightly coluored inc gym kit goes on a 30 degree 'mixed load' wash.

The white shirts would be done on a 'half load' setting but I don't really wear white shirts anyway. Most of my work clothes are dark or coloured.

I don't really have many woolens but when I do I just chuck lightly soiled, other stuff in with them to make enough of a load to do on the wool setting.

I do't really have much lacy stuff or delicate stuff but again when I do I chuck some other similar couriered, lightly soiled stuff in with them to make enough of a load to use the 'delicate' setting.

Hand wash stuff on the other hand... that hangs around in the bottom of mashing basket for WEEKS and I vow never to buy hand wash stuff again...

We work on the basis that, if laundry is put in the washing basket in a timely manner (ie. each day's dirty washing is put straight in the basket) then it gets done when there's enough for a load.

But if someone just chucks their dirty washing on their bedroom floor, and lets it pile up until there is more than a machine load of washing there, and then 'tidies up' by scooping it all up and filling the laundry basket, then they can bloody well do it themselves!

Nb. dh and I do not accumulate weeks' worth of dirty washing on our bedroom floor, and we have done our best to train the dses out of it (by making them do it themselves), and it rarely happens now.

Now they are all older - in their 20s - and two of them live away from home most of the time (one has graduated and is working, and another is at university - the middle one has graduated but is living at home whilst he does his teacher training), but if they come home, they do tend to haul big bagfuls of washing with them - and they just get on and do it themselves!

I’m more surprised that some people do laundry more than 2-3 days a week

Hahahhahaaa I do 2-3 full loads a day .

I also couldn't wash my clothes with my bedding as my bedding takes a full load in itself. Per bed. So that's 4 loads on just bedding a week. 3 loads on towels. 1 load on whites. 6-7 loads on colours. 1-2 on coats. 1 on blankets from the buggy and car. 1 on muslins and tea towels. and usually 1 on miscellaneous things (cushion covers being sicked on/getting old clothes out of storage etc). That's not including a couple of loads for Fil.

Oh - I forgot to say - when we reached the point where they were all at secondary school, so each needed a clean shirt every day, I did a bit of maths and realised that, with dh's work shirts, this meant I'd be ironing 20 shirts a week - so I instituted a new rule, that the boys had to iron their own shirts.

Off their own bat, they decided that, instead of each ironing 5 shirts at the weekend, they'd set up a three week rota, and take it in turns to iron 15 shirts at the weekend.

I definitely sort by colour / type rather than by person. I won't go searching on floordrobes, but will give a last shout before putting a load on. Generally I wash clothes and ds1 strips, changes and washes the bedding, so I know he's more than capable. I prefer to hang it up though because I like it done a certain way (live in a flat with no tumble dryer so airer space is at a premium). Often I do a big pile of ironing on a Sunday, but if he needs anything specific inbetween he can do it himself, I'll probably teach ds2(11) soon as well. They both pull their weight generally around the house too.

“One person may have

Stretchy black lycra
Light lycra
white cotton shirts
black jeans
black hoodie
lacey bras & camisoles
sweaty gym gear
woolens

How can that all go in one wash all mixed up?”

The more important questions are, why would you separate Lycra by colours? And what is the stretchy Lycra that’s not gym stuff...and why would a black hoody need to be in a different wash to black jeans?

I can't believe how much time people spend on laundry!!

Stretchy black lycra
Light lycra
white cotton shirts
black jeans
black hoodie
lacey bras & camisoles
sweaty gym gear
woollens

The only thing i would do with the list above is separate it into light and dark and then wash them in 2 loads. I would pick out the woollens and lacy things before it went into the tumble.

I do two loads per day.

I chuck a load in before I leave for work in the morning & then put another load on just before I go to bed at night. At weekends dh usually does a few loads at the weekend.

I want one of these machines you all seem to have where doing laundry is just a matter of chucking aload in the machine in the morning and another at night time and that is all there is to it. Presumably the machine, dries it, sorts it out and decides which black t-shirt belongs to which teen, folds it, then puts it away in the respective wardrobe.

Where can one buy these magical machines???

I don't buy white and I wear nothing that needs to be ironed or washed separately. When we had 7 of us here the washer went on once every day (and dishwasher) and that worked well. Sports kits add to the loads. Now my youngest are at university for the first time since about 1984 (!!!!) I have a full load about once every 2 weeks and that is when I put on the washing. I have made sure I have 14 pairs of knickers so it lasts that long. Whole new world once the children go.

Mind you the best time was when I did not know how to work the washing machine and their father did all the washing including the 3 of them who were in cloth nappies at night (and baby and toddler in cloth nappies all day)... there were a lot of cloth nappies to soak and wash every day in those days in the 80s.

Ok to elaborate.

Morning on my way to work chuck a load in eg normal darks.

Evening get in from work transfer load to tumble dryer (next to washing machine) set it off.

Dh comes in from work. Have tea. He takes load out of dryer & sticks it in ironing basket.

I get back from taking Ds to activities. Just before bed I iron any clothes I need for the next couple of days & check Ds has uniform. Dd comes & checks if she has any stuff that she needs. Dh usually irons his shirts first thing in the morning. I sometimes iron a selection of other stuff (dh has a weekend blitz)

One of us (usually me) sticks a white load in just before we go to bed. One of us (usually dh or Dd then sticks that load in the tumble dryer the next morning.

I have a triple laundry sorter - whites, colours and wool/delicates.

Everyone sorts them before throwing in the basket and then loads get put on according to the type. 40 for mixed coloured clothing, 90 for white sheets etc.

Then they're sorted into baskets when clean - one for each person to put away. Except for the ironing which all gets mixed into the ironing basket.

It would so complicated for anyone to wash just their own clothes as you can't mix colours and whiles or wool vests so you'd need so many empty washes? No idea how people make that work!