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??

To some people it will feel too intimate, for some people it will be message "you have done this wrong", for some it will be crossing boundaries. People are different.

I always wash, hang & iron inside out.
Never heard of the sun bleaching before tho.

To those who think it was ‘helping’, how do you feel if someone ‘corrects’ a job you have done many times, and presumably to your own satisfaction, and incidentally creating more work for you later on? oh and without actually asking you first.

The intention is irrelevant.

@katepilar if I was holidaying with others I wouldn't have hung up my underwear for all to see, so wouldn't have a problem with people touching my t-shirts etc.

Interesting to note that this post involves only women involved with the laundry, OP and her MIL

Ok, so you re-wash a poo-ed on clothes where as the other PP doesnt. There's nothing ridiculous about not re-washing it.

“My” washing, no wonder women on here complain so much at being left all the domestic stuff to do, so territorial!

I think OP said my washing because she was the one who put the load on and hung it. If DH had done it it would his washing.

I don’t think so at all!

Rhe washing was hers, DHs and DDs!

Help, someone tried to do me a favour and I didn’t like the way they did it even though it caused me next to no issues. You just sound ridiculously easily offended.

OP, years ago when my first baby was 3 weeks old my dp parents came to stay.
I felt invaded, we had only been in the house 6 weeks, only met them twice, once stayed a grim weekend in their tiny cold house, didn’t want to eat when I realised that she never washed her hands thick black fingernails, shudder.
anyway,
I had hand washed dd little clothes, left them on a small airer in the south facing sunshiney kitchen as had to register the birth etc and were out a few hours as quite a journey.
We lived in a cottage with an open fire, hearth smooth tiles, fire set, decorative pine cones on top of coal, hearth swept and washed, all neat clean and tidy.
This was flaming June.
When we came back the airer wasn’t in the kitchen and I could smell smoke.
They had lit the fire, fir cones had wooshed (make great firelighters) up the chimney brought soot down, even though we had chimney swept when we moved in, white baby clothes on sooty hearth being patted and turned by clucking MiL with black fingernails.

Obviously, I did what any self respecting new fraught mother would have done and burst into tears.

Now THAT is someone interfering with laundry, although I do think your MiL should have left well alone.

How was it a favour when the washing was washed and hung out to ensure minimal dressing? MIL has caused more work for OP as the clothes are all creased now.

Exactly what I thought. So she was trying to help. But it was annoying. Maybe if she'd said she was trying to stop the sun fading the colours. Ah well, such is life....

She could always ask her DH to do some of the “work”?

'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'

Did not know this so just been outside and turned all my clothes inside out 😀

All clothes MUST be washed and dried inside out. It is criminal to do it any other way...... or that is what I was taught by my mum!

How do you know he doesn’t do his share already?

@intheatticwiththematches

...and how did the new patio look??

😂 she’s got to turn some clothes the right way round, we can only pray for her at this difficult time.

For some reason this reminds me of when my mother was visiting. She never lifted a finger to help me - the opposite actually, she made a mess and left it for me to clear up. I had taken the washing in and was folding it. It smelled really fresh with that outdoors fragrance. I picked up my toddler's dress and sniffed it before folding it and mother angrily demanded to know why on earth I was smelling the washing. As always I felt crushed. It was my well-ingrained reaction from childhood when I was constantly put-down and made to look foolish.

I don’t, but as I’ve said OP is very territorial about “her” washing and it’s all a bit 1950s to be honest! Makes me 😂 as it’s now 2023. I’m sure if she was that worried about the amount of extra work this entailed, she wouldn’t have had time to post on MN.

She should just relax and enjoy her holiday really?

this comment wins Mumsnet today!!

😃😃😃😃😃😃😃

ah yes, NEVER get any of those on Mumsnet 🙄

That sucks 😞

My mum was the same when she visited. Expected to be waited on hand and foot, even when I had a small child.

Although she would help with the laundry - or so she thought. I'd often find that taken down and folded up for me, while it was still clearly damp. Infuriating.

Nothing to do with being from a hot country! I'm old and old school and always hang washing inside out.

But also very carefully for minimum creasing!

I love smelling my washing. Especially when it's dried on a really breezy day!