MIL turned all my washing inside out!

[JanS17]

We are on holiday at the moment with DH’s family (me, DH, DD, MIL, SIL, BIL, and dog).

Yesterday I did a load of washing (mix of mine, DH, and DD) and before we went out for lunch, I hung it all up nicely on the clothes rack and put it out in the sun to dry.

When we got back from lunch, MIL said she had moved a few things around to help them dry faster. I was a bit confused as the clothes were hung up as I wanted them to begin with but shrugged and said ok.

Yesterday evening I brought the rack of clothes inside and found that she has turned every single item of clothing (except socks - thank goodness!!) inside out!!

I am equally confused and pissed off. Why would she see my nicely hung out washing, and think to herself that it’s a good idea to remove every single piece of clothing, turn it inside out, and put it back?? Why was she even touching my washing in the first place???

The clothes are now all creased where she’s hung them crooked, and I have an extra chore of turning them all back the right way round again.

AIBU??

YABU - she was just trying to help (??)
YANBU - what was she thinking??

She will have been trying to prevent fading in the sun, and in her eyes this was helpful.

I agree with you tho, it's unhelpful, annoying, and creates extra work for you!

She was staying to help.

I'm surprised you didn't know that you should always hand washing inside out in the sun as it's prevents bleaching and the faded line where it's hung over.

And then anything that needs ironing is already inside out for that.

She's done you a favour teaching you the right way

Stuff does need moving around to dry but literally only to the other way up (but right way out) unless dark colours in bright sunlight which probably are better off dried inside out.

Hanging it up crooked and inside out is definitely unacceptable!

Obviously she shouldn’t have touched your washing.

I used to live in the West Indies, and we would dry clothes inside out if drying them in the sun, to protect from fading.

Is MIL West Indian or from a hot country?

If not, I’ve got nothing 😎

I often turn my (nicest/newest) clothes inside out when I hang them to dry on bright sunny days because it prevents sun bleaching. She might have been trying to do something nice!

Some people think that if the clothes are hung or washed that way they lose their colour much slower than otherwise (it might be true). I think she actually did you a kindness. It can’t have been fun for her to do that so you might want to be kind when you tell her it’s not needed as your stuff is old already or something like that.

Just iron them. It'll be fine.

She was trying to be helpful.
it’s to stop them fading

It's certainly true in my experience... I once left a new skirt to dry all day and came back to find the outside was a different colour to the hem underneath.

I think she was trying to help OP. I'd find it annoying too though!

My grandmother does this and it’s to stop clothes getting bleached by the sun. Also if little insects land on the clothes and poop, then it’s on the inside not the outside 😂 My neighbours also do this too.
True to my Grandmothers reasoning about clothes being bleached by the sun, I one day hung my partners black jumper over the clothes airer and it got a sun bleach line right across the middle of the jumper in the few hours it was out there.

Just a theory as to why your MIL may do it!

As others have said, to stop them fading and to make sure double layers of fabric-pockets etc-are dried.
are you always so easily offended?

Imagine this thread had she turned the socks inside out.

I always wash, dry (and iron) clothes inside out. It helps protect the fibres and keeps them looking good for longer.

She was doing you a favour!

I think she should’ve kept her nose out - not her washing.

Some people have too much time on their hands.

Same here. It was slightly odd of MIL to go to the effort of turning them all inside out though!

When my MIL looked after my DC whilst I worked, at first I hated her doing my washing, but I got used to it. She couldn’t sit still, hardly sat down, but she never turned things inside out and what did annoy me was she washed jumpers on a normal 40 degree wash, whereas I preferred them on a colder wash to last longer. But in the end, she was a such a helpful person. When she ran out of jobs, she would sit and sort out socks.

The sun is great at getting stains off white clothing so imagine what it does to your dark stuff. Your MIL was doing you a favour .

She was trying to help! Why would she have gone to all that effort maliciously.

Unnecessary move.

Helping without being asked is rude.

That's what we would do in Spain. The sun really destroys the colour of nice clothes. She was being helpful

This would also really annoy me. It's meddling and insinuates that you don't know how to do something that is a basic part of running a home. I live in Spain and don't hang things out inside out although my MIL has advised me that I should!

YABVU - for all the reasons previously mentioned. Don’t be that DIL.

Only on MN and only if it’s a MIL.

What an awful MIL you have!