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??

If you are in the UK the sun is strong enough at the moment to bleach clothes surprisingly quickly.

I always hang washing inside out, prevents fading by the sun, she was trying to help.

YANBU - how could she be helping if she did not finish the job. She should have taken the clothes in when dry, turn them right side up and folded them neatly for OP. That is proper helping, not passive aggressive showing the OP how to do things the right way in the guise of helping.

Your mil needs a hobby

On sunny weather like the one we are having, I always turn my clothes inside out to prevent sun fading.

This thread reminded me of a time I visited my father, who I always had a prickly relationship with.

He'd gone out, the sky started looking very bleak so I went and checked his washing on the line. It was dry so I brought it in.

As it happened, the clouds passed and it didn't rain. When he got home and saw his shirts in the basket, he challenged me about it, then went out and hung out all his DRY washing again, Wanted it aired properly, he said.

I thought he was a passive aggressive arsehole, but this thread has shown that there's 2 sides to every story and perhaps I was weird and overstepping!

I do think hanging inside out is better though:

• no fading
• pockets dry better
• sunlight kills any bacteria left in underarm/crotch area
• no visible peg marks when you're wearing stuff

She was trying to be helpful but it wasn’t her washing, she should have left it alone.

My mum used to turn all clothes inside out to wash them, she always claimed it helped cut down on bobbling and on patterns being damaged or faded. She used to leave that way as she said the seams and pockets dried better and again it precented fading - not that we get enough sun in the Manchester to fade clothes. 😂Not sure if this is just old wives tales that have been passed down or not. She also used to soak my dad and brothers white socks/underpants in buckets of boiling soapy water before washing them too.

Amazing what some people are 'confused and annoyed' by.

If my mil did something like this, I'd assume it was something helpful and intended to help, ask her about it, thank her and think no more about it.

Annoying but move on. Bigger things to worry about in life. I do get it though, I’d be annoyed too.

FFS she was trying to help, stops the sun bleaching your clothes, can’t believe that over 50% of you think mil was being unreasonable, it’s common sense to do this, a lot of manufacturers put it on their labels to turn stuff inside out before washing to help preserve the longevity of an item. See here https://www.whirlpool.com/blog/washers-and-dryers/should-you-wash-clothes-inside-out.html#:~:text=Washing%20your%20clothes%20inside%20out%20allows%20the%20inside%20of%20your,still%20ensuring%20a%20thorough%20wash.

I feel sorry for your mil, she was trying to help you.

I wash, dry and iron clothes inside out, my mum doesn’t and I remember myself as a teenager having the same skirt as a friend and mine was all faded compared to hers.
your MIL was trying to help, she turned your washing inside out, admittedly odd and not something I would do to someone else’s washing (if you had put mine out right side out, I would have to change it though) but it’s not like she was trying on your underwear! Give her a break.

The sun can really fade colours, so she was being helpful. Maybe thank her.

Well. I had no idea about the fading thing.

So, yet another job for OP then?
How is that helpful?

Is it helping? Or is it saying 'you've done this wrong, and now I'm going to make more work for you'?

Obviously she shouldn’t have touched your washing
Why though. It's not something really precious. It's just clothes.

It seems people are just over sensitive and quick to react to nearly everything. Would OP be as reactive if her mum as done this?
We were taught about sun fade on clothes and it appears she wa trying to help. Op first reaction is to be 'confused and pissed off'!
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
To be fair OP didn't know about sun fade so.....🤷‍♀️.

She was trying to be helpful competitively out womaning you

You don't need to turn them all the right way, they get turned the right way when you put them on.

@CM1897 my T-shirts become inside out when I take them off, in fact all my clothes do so no extra work 🤣.

Wait until you check your bedroom draws @JanS17 .

You know those really nice jeans you have with the ripped knees? She's sewn them up.

Except here, in this example, many hands made more work.

Amazing how none of my clothes are bleached yet I hang them out all year round (if the path is dry the clothes will dry).

Your mil knows the right way to get clothes dry and you don't. Simple. Everyone over over age of 30 knows this if theyve been taught well. Don't blame her for doing it right.

O could think of lots of tweaks I could add to other people's way of doing things and I'm sure people coming to me could do the same.

Actually implementing it though....