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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To wonder why other people's homes don't have huge washing piles?

277 replies

Fairynufff · 24/07/2009 10:41

Do you remember the pictures in Ruplestiltskin of the rooms filled with straw? Well my house looks like that - but with washing instead of straw. I feel like it's a full time job just managing it, and I don't even iron!

No one else I know seems to have the same problem. They all have lives, spend time with their kids and have full time jobs? What do they do with it all? What secret to they know that I don't?

OP posts:
trixymalixy · 25/07/2009 00:56

I don't mind doing the washing, but we have mountains of clean clothes which build up.

Part of the problem is that when everything is clean there isn't actually enough room for everything to get put away.

nickschick · 25/07/2009 01:13

I do at least 3 loads a day...... first thing in morning I do towels from night before then get them dried on airer/line or drier,then I do a light wash bulked up with pillowcases or whatever then a dark wash then at night I wash things like shirts/tshirts etc that can be hung on hangers and dried overnight.

We rarely have more than 1 load actually ready for the machine but thats cos I keep at it - if i let it go just 1 day then the 'catch up' is awful.

Ironing is my downfall despite at least an hour a day i al;ways have ironing to do.

moondog · 25/07/2009 01:15

Three loads a day!!?
Fuck me, this is all so unnecessary.
Haven't you lives to lead?

moondog · 25/07/2009 01:15

Three loads a day!!?
Fuck me, this is all so unnecessary.
Haven't you lives to lead?

nickschick · 25/07/2009 01:23

Well moondog theres 5 of us and my fil so it does add up - 3 a day is a minimum sometimes it can be much more today for example its been 5......... I do have a life too tho and I dont wash things unnecesarily.

SOLOisMeredithGrey · 25/07/2009 01:23

My house = Chinese laundry!

midlandsmumof4 · 25/07/2009 01:34

You really have to see my kitchen. Have three sons aged 19-23 plus OH & I work full time. Washing machine & dryer is on constantly. Each time I think I have an empty basket-its not. Don't iron if I can help it. Take clothes out of dryer at the right moment & fold clothes carefully into piles for each son. Expect them to put them away themselves but its usually left in laundry area until they need something-men eh .

ninedragons · 25/07/2009 05:36

Don't have too many clothes in the first place. Go though the stuff when you're at the folding stage and put half of it in a bag for the charity shop.

We are fairly minimalist with regard to linen and clothing, which forces us to keep everything chugging through the system.

moondog · 25/07/2009 05:50

Do they all live at home Midland? Why are you doing their laundry? They are grown men!

seeker · 25/07/2009 07:28

Do none of you 6 loads a day change sheets every day people ever give a passing thought to the environment?

Do none of your children ever say "Mum - think of the poor polar bears"?

CarpePerDiems · 25/07/2009 07:54

Midland, why on earth aren't your grown-up sons doing their own washing? Even better, they should be put to work folding all the washing!

purepurple · 25/07/2009 08:17

I do one load a day, I put it in before i go to work and take it out when i come home
it then goes on the airer in the conservatory
I have stopped doing ironing, except for shirts
I expect DH and Dc to take their piles of clean clothes upstairs and put them away

cat64 · 25/07/2009 09:09

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Message withdrawn

Fillyjonk · 25/07/2009 09:24

well yes moony I do have a life to lead

on balance, think its best I don't live this life I have to lead naked and wet, at least not outside the house.

So onwards with the laundry.

nickschick · 25/07/2009 09:43

Cat64 what about bedding,towels and stuff?

I quite honestly need to do 3 loads a day.

Poppity · 25/07/2009 09:52

Fairynuff, I have the same problem, 3 dcs and dhs work clothes have to be washed every day.

As you say, it's not the washing, but the drying/putting away. My house is constantly strewn with drying washing due to our crappy weather. Doors, acks of chairs, exercise bike, pictures, all covered in washing.

I will not have a dryer and am at how many of you do!

I don't mind really until I get an unexpected visitor

2rebecca · 25/07/2009 12:12

I have 2 of those foldable driers and couldn't manage without them as in Scotland. Also have whirligig. Have washer dryer but rarely use drier for environmental and noise reasons. When I lived in an upstairs flat the downstairs neighbour used to put on all the machines during the night and they were under our bedroom and I hated her for it. Fair enough if you have a mansion and can sleep through the annoying white noise and vibrations. Don't think our electricity is cheaper at night anyway.
Some people are def ott re towels and bedding washing.

forehead · 25/07/2009 12:47

My personal bug bear is having unironed clothes around the house, so i tend to fold all the clothes away and iron them when needed. Having lots of storage space is also useful as you are less likely to have clothes lying around.
I love this thresd, bacause now i don't feel like i am the only disorganised person.

cat64 · 25/07/2009 17:18

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

flyingmum · 25/07/2009 17:50

Husband hates washing machine and dishwasher to be on at night when asleep as he worries about house fires. According to SIL who works in the fire service the biggest cause of fires is faults with washing machines, tumble driers and dishwashers. He has the heebie jeebies about it and won't sleep. I have to say it all went out the window when autistic son was going trhough his scared of the washing machine phase when about aged 5 and I had to do the washing when he was asleep to avoid a panic attack. But now said son is 14 and doesn't even give the machine a glance except to load and unload it for me.

I have teetering piles of washing due also to husband not liking putting machine on when going out to work (me and him work) in case of said blowing up thing. I did once come home to find the tumbler dryer smoking and having gone bang when we were out so I suppose he has a point!

It all gets done though and actually its one of the jobs I don't really mind - as opposed to ENDLESSLY cleaning the sodding kitchen after the ravening hoards of wolves have been through it!

nickschick · 25/07/2009 18:15

cat64 I suppose its just different habits- we have clean bedding every week usually twice-and I wouldnt use a towel that had been used before ,its not just drying our skin we are rubbing off old skin cells .....im not saying my way is any better than yours indeed to you it seems that I just make myself work - but thats the way I do it- each to their own I suppose.....even when I havent had a washing machine ive had to use the launderette most days so much so they actually stayed open a extra 40 mins once for me .

PrincessToadstool · 25/07/2009 18:18

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Pollyanna · 25/07/2009 18:30

It's all about systems

I have 5 children aged 10 and under and manage to keep on top of it. I work 4 days a week.

I have a washer and a dryer. 2 dirty washing boxes (one for dcs and one for me/dh).

I do one wash a day. when dry I take it out of the dryer/off the line etc and put it straight in a basket - each dc has their own basket. the things that absolutely need ironing go into a big basket. On Thursdays i do all the bedding every week. i wash it all in one day (2 loads). On fridays I do all the towels. On saturdays I do all of the uniform/and empty every other dirty washing box (maybe 3 loads). On sunday the oldest dcs put their own ironing away. We put the others away then the baskets get full. Every few weeks dh does the ironing (mostly his shirts and pairs up random socks)

I am a slattern in every other way. But I am proud of my washing systems [smug]

now if someone can just tell me how to keep on top of the piles of paperwork, bills, newsletters, crap etc, I'd be eternnally grateful

LovingTheRain · 25/07/2009 21:21

Fairynufff - I'll take a picture of my current pile if you like! (Trust me, it will make you feel loads better! - it's really huge!!!)

My neice(2) is living with us at the moment and she has created even more washing so I now have 5 DC to wash clothes for instead of four.

I hide all mine in the utility room so no-one else can see it!

On a regular day when I am organised, I can go anything from 2 - 5 loads of washing a day depending on what clubs the DC have had etc etc.

Best tip is to put it all away as soon as it's dry

MamaHobgoblin · 25/07/2009 22:31

Ours is a nightmare, but we're both in denial about it so it lurks. Most of it's on the sofa in the kitchen/back room bit - that's the clean-but-unironed-and-unsorted pile.

There's almost always a full rack of bibs/muslins/cloth wipes/toddler clothes (don't like using the tumble much and can't tumble the plastic-backed bibs anyway) and of course that's indoors at the moment because of the sodding rain...

There's always a heap of clothing waiting to be put away upstairs, and DS doesn't help matters by emptying his drawers and strewing the sofa pile on a daily basis.

And there's an overflowing ironing basket.

There are only three of us, and some days we do three loads. And I'm not one for washing unless it's actually dirty/crawling about. DH actually countered a suggestion of mine about TTC again soon with - what on earth are we going to do about the laundry then?

Those of you with utility rooms - at least you can shut the door on it and have somewhere to sort it!