To take all our washing to the launderette once a week to escape the daily washing nightmare?

[head2toeinuniqlo]

A new launderette has opened in our suburb.

We are a family of four. I WFH, around 70 hours per week. I am also responsible for all the cleaning, cooking and washing for the family. The problem with the washing is its sheer relentlessness. Not only that, but none of these lazy fuckers put their clean washing away. It invariably ends up back in the dirty washing hampers and, if a pile of clean clothes is left unattended, our cat will shit on it so it will need re-washing. I am so exhausted and trying to take some of the daily grind off me.

The launderette has captured my imagination. I see it as a possible sanctuary. It is brand new and shiny with loads of machines and places to sit. I am thinking I could drive down on a Saturday morning, chuck all the clothes in the machines, get myself a coffee and a croissant and sit there for a couple of hours in peace, reading a book.

It won't be cheap, but can I justify it?

@head2toeinuniqlo how did you become responsible for everyone else’s laundry and what happens when you just do your own?

I do a service wash every two weeks for all of my bedding and clothes, uniforms, towels, the lot. it costs me £60 a time and I get clean, folded, socks paired, laundry back 4 hours later. It's a god send. Do a service wash.

Anything found out of place in kids’ bedrooms GOES ON THE BED. Not being nasty, the robot Vac needs a clear area to work(!)
Including their own basket of clean clothes.
That way it will annoy them so much, they will put their stuff away just to be able to sleep.

If they’re small children, do a wardrobe sort-out together so they know where things are supposed to go.
And a coat stand or rail for still wearable outfits. It will be a dumping ground but that way they’re off the floor and the cat can’t reach them. School uniform on a hanger for the next day.

But yes to the launderette!

How old are they?

I started DS young and got him to help.me. now he has his own basket and his washing goes in there and put on his bed and he puts it away. If he doesnt do it straight away and puts the basket back on the floor, I put it back on his bed. He has 3 days to put it away because that's when I need to basket for and to be fair he's pretty good at doing it because it's now part of his routine

Does the cat actually shit on the clean washing? Or does it sit on it? (Our cat used to sniff out the clean washing pile for a snooze every time)

oh - just read your update, it actually does shit on the clean washing 😳 yikes.

Individual wash baskets and airers in kids rooms. Everyone does own washing and puts on own airer. Launderettes are expensive, probably not something to do all the time.

Just to clarify as there seems to have been some confusion: our cat SHITS on the clean washing.

Oh, OP, this has brought back memories of my mornings or evenings in laundrettes as a youngster - I bloody loved laundrettes! Reading books and people-watching. I definitely didn't see it as a waste of time, it was more of a relaxation time.

Also the cat - my old boy used to wee on everything, and like you I'd been to the vet multiple times and nothing was wrong. I think he was just senile - it began when he was about 16 (he died at 21).

I've also worked 70-80 hours a week - and no reasonable employer would ask this of a person. I realised I was not working for a reasonable person and was basically working for a would-be cult leader. Keeping people exhausted is what cults do, so you can't think straight - because if you could, you wouldn't sacrifice your life to them. That's what you are doing - you have no life, only work and house-drudgery.

Those working hours need to be addressed as a priority - I only had my grown son around, and even so it was horrific. Having a whole family of lazy fuckers on top is just too much.

I would 100% do this if I could.
I also have the issue of people not putting clothes away (although no cat). I've taken to refusing to do more of their washing if they don't put the first lot away. Works when they finally run out of clothes lol

I've been doing this for years. It's my non-negotiable luxury. I only do small things and delicates at home. Everything else - off it goes.

I'd stop washing their clothes. They are responsible for putting away or dealing with the cat shit.

Do you have a DH?

He works even longer hours than I do 😞

To get people to put clothes away, you could start with a big clothes clear out and wardrobe organisation session to make sure everyone knows where their clothes are meant to go, has enough coat hangers, knows how to fold t-shirts neatly and has plenty space for everything.

Then when clean washing starts piling up, you kidnap the wifi router and hold it to ransom until every single thing is in its rightful home

Why are your kids so lazy??? Don’t wash their clothes if they won’t put the clean ones away…

This 👆How old are your children?

My DS would happily fester in a filthy room surrounded by dirty clothes and mouldy McDonald's wrappers.

Refuse to do any cooking or anything else till it's done

Repeat every time

Then train them how to do the washing so it's their time and effort they're wasting

“iron”? What is this word? I don’t understand it at all!

Do it OP!

Which I'd refuse to wash if it's because they're too lazy to put them away

How old are the lazy fuckers OP?

How old are they?

How do you manage family time at all? Do your kids not get anytime with either parent? Also, how are you going to find hours to sit in the launderette when you need to do 10 hours of work that day too? Honestly I don't think you have a laundry issue, I think you have a life issue. I don't mean it rudely, but surely this isn't a great life for any of you. You must just be so fed up

Depending on where you live, there may also be services that pick up and deliver.

Completely understand the cat issues and we had similar with our old cat. We discovered she didn't like the feeling of cat litter so we left a completely empty box for her to toilet in. Sorry if you've tried this but it would never have occured to me that that could be causing the issues until someone suggested it.