Laundry is not hard

[Viohh]

Why do people make such a meal out of laundry? The machine literally does it for you. All you need to do is put the clothes in the machine - a 15 second job? I do 2/3 loads a day no problem with a large dog and twins.

We have separate machines but even when we don’t use the dryer it’s not difficult. Just maintain momentum. And folding is what a 2 min job? I put everyone’s clothes on the stairs for them to take up.

I agree with you OP

I find laundry a quick and easy task

Heated airer is a great help

And I dump all the dry clothes on the floor and the family put their own away

It's not that hard but it isn't a breeze. The putting it in is the easy part as my family know they have to put their washing in the laundry basket....though I do sometimes scour the bedrooms for other items.

Hanging out is a chore. We have a dryer but I barely use it as it's hard on electricity and not everything can go in.

Worst part is sorting and putting it away. If I left it on the stairs, everyone else would step over it forever or until they either needed a particular item in the pile or I had exhausted myself with nagging them to do it.

50% of items in our house are black. Sorting them into what belongs to who is a challenge.

After that I generally put them away myself as the rest of the family are fine with leaving their clean clothes in a pile on the floor, forgetting they're clean and putting them back in the laundry basket.

Yes, they are all over 18........

Why do people make such a meal out of walking? Your brain literally does it for you. All you need to do is put tone foot in front of the other - a 1 second job? I do 20,000 steps a day with kids and a large dog.

And now think about how that sounds to someone who can't ambulate - whether that be in a wheelchair or uses another form of walking aid (I do use crutches). That's what it's like for me to read something about how <random task> is so easy and how other people find it a breeze.

Yes. It’s fucking relentless.

And, for all the OP’s total smugness about how it’s so easy to do two loads a day, she has very clearly minimised what’s actually involved.

You’ve got to get the dirty laundry from laundry baskets (or floors!).
You need to separate out the whites etc.
You need to put the machine on.
Some time later (may be 3 hours or more), you need to come back and dry the stuff. That might be chucking it in the tumble dryer. Or it could be arranging it all on a bloody airer (that becomes a constant decorative feature of your home).
Some time later again, you need to go back and take it all off the bloody airer or out of the dryer and then go through the tedious process of folding everything.
There may be ironing involved.
Then you need to put it away (even leaving it as a trip hazard on the stairs and then nagging people to put their stuff away is not a minute job)

Laundry is a Sisyphean task.

It’s also impossible to automate most of it. It’s full of wait time and tedious manual stages.

I've never found laundry particularly onerous. I do an average of six washes a week. I don't tumble dry anything but have a big heated clothes airer which dries a couple of loads overnight and then folds up almost flat. The ironing takes about an hour and a half most weeks, and I find it quite relaxing to iron sitting down with the TV on and a nice hot drink.

Laundry is not hard.

But it is a tiresome, repetitive, depressing, thankless drudge, which I loathe.

It's always twins.

@schmuzz I’m also a twin.

Between my mum and her 4 siblings there are 3 sets.

Most definitely always twins in our family

Good for you op.

People have different chores they “favour”. Washing is my pet hate so I am always on top of it even with both working busy jobs and having 2 kids 4 and under. I do 2 loads a day minimum, I HATE the washing basket having anything in it. so I’d choose to do that and sort the airers and fold and put away (also hate clean washing everywhere) and I delegate other chores to my husband.
heated airier is an absolute god send by the way if you don’t have one! We have a washer dryer but I rarely use it due to cost and don’t like the tumble dried smell

I agree Op don’t worry!!!

Why would the OP worry?

Just feeling a bit less smug is not a horrible outcome.

@Viohh I think you can get a blue Peter badge from eBay.

Laundry is like kitchen cleaning I’m this tik tok video. https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGeNjAFRY/

There’s no point in feeling smug over it. Or pretending it’s not a tedious, sysiphean task.

Because I think people are being a bit harsh. Op didn’t mean it to sound smug. I grew up in a house where my mum all she did was complain about laundry and housework like she wished she never had children and it made me feel guilty for living with her. Now i have my own child and own place I realise it really isn’t as bad as she said. Maybe op has had a similar experience.

I hate it. And I only have one child and no dog of any size - so shoot me.

Putting it in the machine is fine. It’s the getting it dry. We don’t have a dryer - nor room for one, and our bills are high enough without the extra electricity. We have a very small house, so all this ‘I do ten loads a day’ just isn’t possible (in winter) because it takes a full 24 hours if not more to get one load dry and no point doing another load until there’s somewhere to hang it.

One thing I didn’t imagine about being a parent - the amount of my life that would be spent turning all the tiny socks back the right way round.

I concede we probably do need a heated airer, I think that might be my first purchase of 2024.

It is effing hard if you are all outsized, and need to stretch every item lengthwise before hang up and no clothes can go in the dryer as they shrink

if we were all normal height/size yes it would be easy

maybe

Please. Ten year old twins? Not sure what the dog has to do with it tbh. Ten year olds are old enough to be helpful.

We have four kids, including a baby. And we don't have space for a separate dryer so we have a washer dryer and it's not as good plus of course you can't run both simultaneously.

We live in a small house and struggle for drying room especially in winter.

YABVU and smug, what's the point of this post other than to just make other people feel inadequate?

I loved my twin tub, and managed to find a new one long after people had started using automatic machines!! I never used tongs however??

Laundry is the only household chore I actually enjoy, and I love seeing the clean clothes on the line. I also like ironing and would far rather wash and iron than do things like vacuuming, dusting and cleaning, or cooking.

Are you a SAHM?

There is no way not to be smug with AIBU to think laundry is not hard?

you feeling unwanted by your mum is a different issue to recognising that laundry is not some two min job.

Pretending that the household labour women do is actually negligible is not helpful. It makes it easier for men to pretend that taking the bin out once a week is comparable to being responsibility for the laundry. She’s just making a fuss about him not pulling his weight.

Erm what are you trying to say here....
Many people do laundry. Do you want a pat on the back, maybe a gold medal??? Its life get on with it

Sorry, what is the point of this post?

"Why do people make such a meal out of laundry dishes? The machine literally does it for you."

It's hanging up that takes the time (and space!). If I was happy to stick it all in the tumble dryer it would be quicker ISH but I don't want to kill the planet.

I seem to do 10+ washes every week and there’s only four of us. Its a right ballache.

But this triple laundry sorter has changed my life. Honestly. One bag for whites, one for lights and one for darks. I have a separate wicker basket for reds and delicates. I only wash a bag when it is full, which means fewer small washes, and everyone puts their dirty things in the right bag, so no sorting. The bag lifts off the frame so I just carry it to the washing machine.

deal:%20Amazon%20Basics%203-Bag%20Rectangular%20Laundry%20Sorter,%20White,%2077.5%20cm%20x%2046%20cm%20x%2084%20cm%20https%3A//amzn.eu/d/bnVadB6

i hope that’s worked, but it’s the Amazon basics : bag laundry sorter for £23.