Can't cope with washing clothing

[MonsteraMother]

I'm relatively competent in most areas of life except this one. I cannot fucking get it together to be on top of the washing. I sometimes buy new socks just because I can't face the bloody sock mountain and pairing them all up. I own over 60 pairs of knickers as I only seem to have the time and space in my life to catch up with washing during school holidays.

For context, we have a 4 bed house with a washing machine, a tumble dryer and outside washing line but no utility room - just a small office/box room which is always stuffed to the max with the wash baskets and the sock basket. We also have a cleaner once a week but she doesn't do anything to do with washing.

My excuse is that I work incredibly long hours (7am to 7pm) and have 2 young DC. DH does lots to help too with cooking, dishwasher, all school runs but he is also crap at washing. We have 4 wash baskets and they are all full of washing in various states.

AIBU to ask for your help? Surely at my 'close to menopause age' I should be able to get a grip on this one area of life.

Please give me your tips...

I feel your pain. It's the most relentless task. My tip would be to get that once a week cleaner folding and putting clothes away for 30 minutes of her time. Then your goal is to have no laundry left on the day she arrives - everything washed and dried and ready for her to tackle.

oh also i dont iron. I dont BUY clothes that need ironing.

I have an iron and a board that comes out twice a year for weddings and funerals lol

as the other person abover said, shirts jumpers dresses get a hard shake and hung on a hanger to dry then in the wardrobe.

I wash probs 6 loads a week

Don’t separate it. I hate red stuff and don’t buy it so that solves that problem.

Put a load on in the morning. Put it in the dryer when you get home. Or, do it all in one day. I do all mine Friday and Saturday.

a side note - make sure everything actually needs washing. My DH will wear his jeans for one meeting and then they end up in the wash. They don’t need washing after 2 hours wear. Big things like hoodies aswell if they aren’t ‘dirty’ don’t necessarily need a full wash after every single wear. I find lazy people in my house just Chuck everything in their wash basket even if it saves them tidying up ! Be strict on that.. good luck xoxo

I'd love to have a tumble dryer but don't have room in my appt. At the moment it's a real struggle to dry stuff with the heating not yet on and perpetual rain outside.

Honestly I feel your pain! I have a room of doom with piles of clean washing. It’s the putting away I just can’t be bothered with. Rest of the house is ironically immaculate. It’s a big house and lots of stairs so I can never be bothered to go “all the way” to the top. I’m not lazy in any other part of my life. Just got back from holiday and discovered laundry service. Took whole bag of holiday clothes there and picked up the next day all clean and IRONED! For £20. Best £20 I’ve ever spent.

Also my mum used to go on about how tumble driers were expensive to run so I only use ours in emergencies! Am I mad?? Looks like people use them daily!

Don't bother pairing socks. Life is too short

Buy the socks with colour-coded toes and heels to simplify pairing?

Same socks for everyone. Black. That way they all get paired together. Small ones for kids. Adult ones for adults.

I feel your pain! Our house generates so much washing I’m sure there are people living here I don’t know. The hassle for me isn’t putting it in to wash it’s the drying and then allocating out. I recently bought big plastic boxes - one for each of us. We all keep them in our room and bring them down when washing needs sorted. I then split the clothes into each box and the kids and my husband and I take them to our room and either put them away or work through what’s in the box for clean clothes. Dirty laundry goes in wash basket in toilet.

I apologise now because I haven't read all the messages, but I love the timetabling idea. However, simplifying the clothes everyone has will help enormously. As you say, you even have loads of undies, as an example. It may mean everyone has loads of everything. If you have a really good sort out and reduce it all right down, the washing situation won't be overwhelming and it will be simple to stay on top of.

The problem I had wasn't the washing and drying it was putting the clothes away. I absolutely hate it and there was a permanent pile of clean clothes on the armchair so we could never actually sit on it. We bought a 4 tier shelf and put 4 labelled washing baskets on it. Now when dry the clothes get put in the right basket and when the basket is full it gets put away where they belong(rarely gets done before as I hate putting it away) If anyone is looking for something they know where to find it instead of having to raid the armchair and make the clean pile of clothes look like a jumble sale. Everyone empties their own basket.

Have a huge clothing clear out - seriously you dont need that many knickers and school age kids dont need loads of clothes either. We live in a small house and have around a weeks worth of outfits on rotation for each season, the ones not in current season are washed then packed away in the loft along with that seasons shoes. Then you just have a weeks worth clothing for each person plus bedding and towels to wash every weekend x

People like you are rare, and can make a real difference in the lives of people like me. 😄 I know someone like you. I've seen her face light up when met with a bed full of laundry to put away. I am so jealous. Perhaps they will one day isolate the gene for "love of laundry" and a therapy will become available to the rest of us.

How old are the kids? Can they pair the socks?

i have a timer on my washing machine, so quite often stick a load on before bed with timer set so that it finishes in the morning and I can quickly hang on airer/washing line or throw in the drier.

my downfall is the putting away and the more I have the less I want to do it!! No tips there I’m afraid 😂

You are so not being unreasonable - it's 100% the hours you are working. You're doing so much as it is, it's impossible to keep on top of washing when you're working in more clothes etc and making more all day, trust me! It is boring but I got home from a city break recently and decided on a film marathon. I then made it my mission to get through as much washing as I could and it made me feel great! As it dried I ironed it with the television on in the background and just kept going. It was boring, I had to get organised and even put a stew in the slow cooker to be simmering away as I went so I knew I didn't have to worry about dinner later on. Got there in the end, firstly with the holiday clothes we had bought back, then the oldest clothes in the baskets first and so on. You can do it! Don't be hard on yourself though, I'm convinced you cannot work full time and always be on top of the washing. I'm very house proud and struggle so you are not alone

You can play "sock sorting" with the kids. Counting , colours, times tables... When they're older, a tiny bit of pocket money for a sock sorting task.

I hate doing the washing but I hate it lying around more🤦🏻‍♀️
So I do whites then everything else.
clothes folded/hung up staight away so I don't need to iron.
black socks for everyone so they are all pairs. Except the baby who has plain white. No patterns ect to help with pairing.
i set the washing machine to come on before my husband gets home and ask him to pop it in dryer when he gets home as I work 8 to 8. I put it away when I get home if husband hasn't already done it. He's normally making the baby his dinner/bath/bed so doesn't always get him.

Excellent advice!

i get this, it’s just takes up loads of time, I try and do mine little and often so it doesn’t build up and is quick to put away etc

a other option could be using a launderette service (if you have one), comes back washed, folded, ironed? Could be worth every penny.

I feel exactly the same as you and I only work 32 hours a week though I am a single parent so no partner to help, but I get very overwhelmed with the washing and trying to keep up with it which is a never ending task in my house so I feel your pain xx

Some of the responses here are judgmental and nasty.

The OP works from 7 to 7. It must be exhausting. She asked for tips, not sarky comments. Thank goodness there are some nice people on this thread who have made some helpful suggestions.

If you have a launderette nearby, it might not seem so daunting if you can at least get the clothes dry.

Have a favourite podcast or radio programme that you can only listen to whilst doing laundry. I do this with cleaning the kitchen, which is otherwise my big problem. It means I clean it for 13 minutes a day, which keeps on top of it.

I have a big basket fir clean socks and don't bother pairing them. I have 4 teens!