Or is this not how anyone does washing?!

[Sofiegiraffe]

Who is BU here, me or DP?

When I put a wash load in the machine, I pick up each item individually and sort of make a mental note of it so I have a rough idea of what is going into the machine (in case anyone asks where an item of their clothing is, or in case I'm wondering "where's that pair of black trousers of mine?", for example).

DP claims to just "pick up a load of stuff and shove it in". He doesn't put them in one by one. So if it's a darks wash that he's put on, and I ask "are my black trousers in that wash?" or "is DD's pink dress in that colours wash by any chance?", he won't know. All he knows is that he shoved a load of dark or coloured stuff in.

He thinks that's a perfectly reasonable way to do the washing. I think surely no one else does this? Surely most people look at what they're putting in so they at least have a rough idea of what's going in?!

Who is BU? Please settle this once and for all!

@SausagePourHomme

No time for all that. Just bung it in.

This

I do sort of know what I'm putting in as it just stays in my head once I pull it out the washing basket. I don't do a dark wash as we hardly have any dark clothes, one pair of black jeans each.

We also dont have work clothes and normal clothes. And it's only special occasions where I need to plan DSs outfit so it doesn't really matter. But I'll still know what I've picked up and put in the machine.

I wash whites (which includes all my towels and sheets) on hot and everything else goes in at lukewarm. I don't check for specific washing instructions for different fabrics, with the exception of wool, silk, and cashmere items, which all go in their own separate, small hamper anyway.

When my DCs were small I used to take a look at their clothes as I put them in the hamper to check for stains, and treated them there on the spot before leaving them in the hamper to wait for the next washing day.

As they grew up, they learned to treat stains themselves before bunging their clothes in the hamper. Obv I do the same myself. I find it's best to treat stains the day they happen and not wait until wash day to inspect the clothes and treat.

The only time I inspect clothing after that is if I'm washing something new and I need to check the dryer instructions or if I've forgotten if something needs to go on the drying rack.

I haven't noticed clothes getting destroyed or even worn out because of disregard for water temp suggestions. The dryer is unforgiving though.

I do separate whites and darks but that's it

@Sophiegiraffe, my washing HQ is also in the basement (this is where the majority of American laundry is done) and in all my 30+ years of being the chief laundress in the family I have never had to check what's in the wash

This is because everything that gets taken off goes into the laundry basket as soon as it's in need of a wash.

If it's not put in the laundry basket it goes onto a re-wear hanger on a hook at the back of a bedroom door. Everything else is in its drawer or closet. Clothes are either clean and I correct storage or being washed or hanging up behind a door. Nobody needs to keep a mental note of the whereabouts of individual items of clothing.

There are no clothes in piles or strewn around so. I mystery about where clothes are.

Getting the laundry cycle done in one fell swoop (wash, dry, fold, put away) and keeping the clothes that are ready to wear (or wear again) in good order means never having to take note of what's in the wash, and it's possible to bung it all in on wash day.

And I keep my laundry hampers in the places where people take off their clothes - bathroom and bedrooms.

I did this when I lived in a house with an upstairs and in single floor apartments. All had basement laundry areas.

The only reason for a hamper to go to the basement is to bring it to the washing machine and up again full of clothes from the dryer.

@Sophie, I had all five of my DCs pretty much single handed and a H (now exH) who got out of laundry duties when he wouldn't stop using chlorine bleach in every load.

I had to schlep baby plus toddler plus laundry three flights down an outside stairs to the basement in all weathers including snow in order to do the laundry in coin operated machines. Then all the way back up again.

I would never in a hundred years have thought of doing it your way.

I’m wondering if OP and partner have such filthy work clothes that they both have to strip naked in the basement before entering the house.
Is that it @Sofiegiraffe? I’m trying to understand….

@Momicrone

If its important to you, surely you do it yourself

I agree. All my house know if it's not in the laundry hamper It wont get washed. And if they subsequently need it they know where the washing machine is and how to work it

Wow you’re mad! No one has time for that. I might notice something as it goes in but don’t write a bloody list!!

I do check what I am putting in as not all my darks (for example) can be washed in the normal wash - my dark woollens are washed in a hand wash cycle. So I do "look" at each item to assess whether it's right fir the wash I am doing. However I'd never remember what had gone in and what hadn't. If my DH asked me "are my work trousers in the wash?" I may or may not remember putting them in. And that's not the purpose of me checking the items. Checking them to make a mental note of where each item of clothing is in the washing and putting away cycle is slightly unusual I would say.

@ManyATime

I’m wondering if OP and partner have such filthy work clothes that they both have to strip naked in the basement before entering the house. Is that it *@Sofiegiraffe*? I’m trying to understand….

Erm. No. I'm struggling with how you've formed that bizarre conclusion but it is bank holiday Monday so... it brings out all kinds of people I guess.

I think ManyATime is wondering why you would keep a washing basket in the basement, when going there involves going outside and down and is awkward as you have to take the baby there. Surely the best place for a washing basket is as close to where you take the dirty clothes of as possible?

I actually don't think the issue here is whether you make mental notes of clothes or not. I think it's that your washing system is way too complicated. Have one basket upstairs so it's handy for everyone to put dirty clothes in and put a load of washing on as soon as there is enough (and not too much) for one load - which you'll easily be able to see if all the dirty washing is in one place. Then you know that the washing machine contains exactly all the dirty clothes that were in the basket, and there will be no crucial items of clothing missed out.

@BadNomad

I throw my essentials in first then top up with everything else. I wouldn't know anyone else's unless they specifically said "can you make sure my navy trousers are put in the wash please". I have no space in my head to memorise who needs what and when.

Yes, that's how it works in my house. Of course some items get priority, and the person who agreed to make sure they were washed by Monday will probably be able to confirm whether those few items have been done as promised.

But they shouldn't be expected to remember the whereabouts of many items. School/work uniform, plus possibly (as a special favour) somebody's favourite shirt they want to wear to a party. This much, my brain can manage. More than that takes away from other things I need to remember.

This has literally blown my mind! We do about three loads a day...I'd never do anything else if I was doing washing inventories!🤣

@judesbiggestFan 3 loads a day?! How many people live in your house?!

I'm half with the OP.

I take a pile of clothes and drop them in front of the washing machine. Then I take one item at a time to make sure it's turned inside out and throw it in the washing machine. So I don't throw a pile into the washing machine but one thing at a time. Though, I'm not specifically memorising what is in the washing machine.

But I suppose with my method, I could reasonably recall most of the things in the washing machine.

So, I have a foot in the OP's camp.

Team shove!

Also, while I have a laundry basket in the bathroom, I don't have a washbasket to take clothes to the washing machine in the kitchen.

I sort darks from whites on the bathroom floor, scoop them up and take to kitchen. After, placing one item at a time into the washing machine, when the washings done, I take one item at a time from the washing machine. When I have three or four items I grab some pegs and hang on the line if it's a dry day. I cannot bear to have washing basket on the ground outside, so I do without one. Others may think this strange, like the OP's system, but it works for me.

YABU

I just separate darks and lights. Sometimes something might get mixed up in there that should only go in at 30 degrees usually dh expensive designer stuff that is prone to shrinking. I tell him to keep them out separate or tell me if they are in the basket. Generally though I just grab all the darks and fling them in the washer at same time. I've never heard of anyone doing it your way tbh.

I take note when I'm taking them out the washer as I have to separate in to what can go in tumble dryer and what can't.

“ I’m wondering if OP and partner have such filthy work clothes that they both have to strip naked in the basement before entering the house.
Is that it @Sofiegiraffe? I’m trying to understand….

Erm. No. I'm struggling with how you've formed that bizarre conclusion but it is bank holiday Monday so... it brings out all kinds of people I guess.”

My hypothesis was admittedly unlikely. However, it was one in which keeping a washing basket in the basement is not a completely batshit idea. I try to think the best of people.

I just shove it in.

@ManyATime

It has the clothes in that we've carried down to be washed. I thought that would be obvious.

It's not hard to understand.

Washing basket on landing ends up with enough clothes in for a wash; but they are not of a matching "type", ie a mixture of darks, whites and colours. I don't put a wash on until I have enough for a full load of one type. But basket on landing is full. I carry basket down to basement; empty it into basket down there and take landing basket back up to landing. When there is enough for a wash of a particular colour (usually in the next 1-2 days), I put it in the machine. Then both baskets are empty, and we start again. It saves me putting the clothes from the landing that have filled the basket, on the basement floor while I wait for a full load.

The basket in the kitchen means I don't have to go either upstairs to the landing, or downstairs to the basement, each time I want to put either a tea towel or one of the baby's vests / sleep suits in the washing basket.

It's a system that basically prevents me running all over the house with washing given we are across 3 floors, or leaving washing on the floor. I just have a basket in each location.