To wonder how many people don't do their spouse's laundry?

[Goostacean]

I see this on threads quite regularly: OP says they do cleaning/laundry etc, next posters say "why do you do [his] laundry?"

Do many households have separate laundry baskets- one per person? Or do people mean they take turns to do communal loads? How many of you only do your own laundry?

I've only ever seen this on MN, although in fairness I've not made a habit of asking friends and acquaintances how they manage the load (excuse the pun) in their households...

AIBU to ask what happens in your homes?

I do all of the laundry, he works outside of the home. It has at times been the other way around. I have never identified whose laundry it is.

We have separate wash baskets in our bedroom, a communal one in the bathroom for the kids, and another in the bathroom for towels. We do our own washing and both of us do the stuff from the bathroom. If a load is short, we top up with the other person's.

Works for us. Nobody else's fault if we don't have clean underwear.

We have our own laundry baskets and do our own washing. If he wants something ironed he will also do it himself, although neither of us iron regularly - once in a blue moon. He also deals with his own bedding and towels. (We are retired, have been together donkeys years and sleep in separate rooms). Works for us.

We mostly keep our laundry separate. I’m not opposed to doing his laundry and vice versa. We rarely fold for the other person because we both like things done our own way.

We all (me, DH, 17&20 yr old boys) do it. We wash lights, darks and towels/bedding. Whoever is around does it but generally it's the 17yr old because he needs his stuff now. No one looks for laundry though, if it's not in the washing basket it doesn't get done.

It always sounds a bit odd to me, because most of the posts are written in an angry manner (not on this thread) with posters implying that you are treated like the maid if you ever do anything for your husband, cleaning or cooking.

I can't see the point for us to do separate, especially because we both work, so we would have to either buy a second washing machine or fight about the time when we use it. There's usually a couple of loads a day in this house during the week, so much easier not to separate laundry by person.

It would be just as weird to me as cooking for 1 person only , and leaving your partner deal with his own diner.

We have separate laundry baskets and so do our own when we feel it needs doing, but help each other hang it out etc. I usually collect up all the towels when they need doing. We have separate beds so do those separately, but help each other strip and remake them as necessary.

We lived separately, then I started staying for a week at a time, then more and more until I moved in permanently, then we got married last weekend. Haven't seen a reason to change a system that works!

We just have 'laundry'. Communal basket for all our stuff, when it's full it gets washed by whoever has time first

Pretty much the same in our household. You are responsible for your own special wash items/delicates, everything else gets fecked into the machine together. Her smalls for some reason always end up inside my pants, the washing machine is playing games I reckon

It all goes in as one here. It's easier when separating the whites and darks to just bung it in the machine. Wouldn't be bothered then having to separate dhs out of it for him to so himself.

It also makes more sense to have a full machine going and a machine on less, if dh was doing his own the machine would be on more. Plus he works long hours so it would be after 11pm when he got to do his. Whereas I'm here daily so have loads of time .

I do know women who refuse to do their Dhs washing, they've called me a 1950s housewife but it's not like that, just makes more sense and it's cheaper for everything to go in together and to use the machine less . Plus as I said I'm here, I'm doing washing anyway.

One of my sister's won't touch her Dhs washing, she'll even have half a load but won't add his too fill machine, says he has arms can do it himself. He works shift hours so on the days he's off he goes to the laundrett and does his washing as she gives out about him getting in her way when she's doing her own washing. He pops into the pub, has a sandwich and couple of pints while the clothes are washing :)

We just have laundry, we both put on a wash as needed. It would hate to be separating it all out into mine / dh.

I don’t do my husband’s laundry. He’s fussy about a lot of it (sports stuff, work stuff etc) so I just do mine and the kids. My mother thinks this is “terrible”

DH and I are meant to share all laundry, this is fine by me, but every five or six months I realise I've done eight loads in a week and he's done none. I don't argue about it anymore, I just stop washing his clothes and towels. I sift through the laundry basket and do mine, DS has his own basket and I do that. Within a week DH suddenly realises he's running out of clean clothes or has to fish a damp towel out of the laundry. Suddenly he clears his backlog and gets back to doing a fair share of all of the laundry. I like to see it as natural consequences

on the days he's off he goes to the laundrett and does his washing as she gives out about him getting in her way when she's doing her own washing.

flipping heck, being kicked of your own house.
Picture a woman saying she has to go to the laundrette because her husband has exclusive use of the washing machine!

I do mine when I have an adequate load, DH does the same with his. Couldn't be easier.

He does most of it. He is a washing machine. He also somehow manages to generate loads of washing!! I end up doing mine if I need to wash some specific items and therefore intervene in his mass washing operation. But generally he does the lions share.

Bed linen, towels etc just get put on by whoever as and when required

I do mine, he does his, we both do kids and communal stuff.

Those saying "it's easier to do both together", remember that women do far more housework than men - who is it really easier for?

My DH occasionally does the laundry but then again I never cut the grass! We do jobs we're both comfortable with. We both cook, both clean.

We have one wash basket, everything gets washed in together. We ask each other if either of us needs anything special washing from time to time. It probably works out more 40/60 as I prefer to do it every day, DH would rather wait for the basket to be full

I don't do my husband's laundry. I do my own and usually the bedding etc. He did his own before I married him, so not sure why I'd take over, I'm not his housekeeper; I wouldn't want him to do mine as he doesn't sort. It's up to him if he wants to shove all his in together but I look after my clothes and I want bedding, towels and tea towels on a hot wash, not rammed in with jeans and god knows what on 30 degrees.

Bed linen, towels etc just get put on by whoever as and when required It's a bit like there are, like, adults living in your house MrsM

I do mine ( and DC’s, although being teens they often do their own now) and DH does his and all bedding/towels etc. He is far more pernickity about cleanliness than me. Two washing machines, a laundry basket each.
DH also does all the ironing but I usually buy non-iron stuff for me anyway.

I do nearly all the laundry as I am home the most. If DH strips the beds then he will put the bedding in the wash. When he does do washing though, even on a hot sunny day he will bung it all into the tumble dryer because it’s easy. But he doesn’t unload the dryer, I might find it a day or 2 later when I stick another load on. They are in a utility cupboard.

The way I do it means I only have a pile of ironing once a month or little bits weekly.

Those saying "it's easier to do both together", remember that women do far more housework than men - who is it really easier for

some women might, some women might also be more at home than their husbands working longer hours.
for some of us, it's easier for BOTH to do laundry in one set.

Practically, how do you suggest I organise the laundry at home if I have to wait for DH to finish with is own loads of washing? Life is too short to be around flipping laundry!

It all goes in the same basket here, and I tend to do it all. Dh and dc May put a load on if they want something particular washing.