How I sort the laundry

[Covert19]

I had a revelation this week. My DH was sorting the laundry and he kept on asking me which basket various items should go into. He was getting a bit exasperated, as he couldn't work out my method, and then I realised that my sorting method is highly subjective. Here's how I sort the laundry:

• Entirely white things, plus the children's sheets which are white with pale grey spots/stripes - except for white dishcloths (see below).
• Bath towels, dishcloths and tea towels, regardless of colour
• Pale coloured clothes and table cloths
• Dark coloured things that don't make me queasy
• Dark coloured things that do make me queasy

So the DH was confused because his pants and socks go in the queasy pile, whereas my son's socks go in the queasy pile, but his pants go in the non-queasy, or white pile. My pants go in the queasy pile, and my socks go in the dark non-queasy pile.

NB my own pants don't make me queasy, but I want them to have a good long wash with the other really dirty stuff.

I've now typed queasy too many times at it no longer sounds like a word.

Anyway, it all makes perfect sense to me and I can get the laundry sorted very quickly, but nobody else in the house has a hope. Luckily, if someone else is doing the washing, I don't interfere with their sorting method as long as it's sorted by colour in some way.

Is anyone else's laundry sorting method as subjective as mine?

I'm the polar opposite. I just grab a load full from the basket and shove it in the machine. I don't sort colours. All same temp. Then it all goes in the tumble dryer.

No.
Lights or darks. Same temperature. Do you have too much time on your hands?

I've never sorted things on a queasy/non-queasy basis, just colours. Whites and very pale colours, reds and bright colours, denim, blacks and dark colours.

What exactly is queasy?

I do:

Whites
Light colours
Dark colours
Towels

Modern day washing machines are very effiecient at getting clothes clean, so unless your DH regularly soils his underpants I don't understand your "queasy"

I have lights/colours/darks.

Occasionally DH does what he called a 'mixed wash' where he puts colours and darks in together because he can't be arsed to wait for a full load, that makes me feel a bit twitchy.

And every now and again we have an item of clothing where I can't decide if it's a colour or a dark, and that just tends to linger in the bottom of the basket for a while in order for me to make my mind up (and in the mean time DH just flings it in with his 'mixed wash'... )

Are you Monica Geller? Who has time for that???

@Ginfordinner

What exactly is queasy?

I do:

Whites
Light colours
Dark colours
Towels

Modern day washing machines are very effiecient at getting clothes clean, so unless your DH regularly soils his underpants I don't understand your "queasy"

"Queasy" is a bit unsettled in a sick sort of way - like you want to hold it at arm's length.

The DH's pants get very sweaty as he runs nearly every morning (in yesterday's pants). Ditto his socks. And he has a lot of running kit that gets sweaty and/or splashed with mud.

The DH's pants get very sweaty as he runs nearly every morning (in yesterday's pants). Ditto his socks. And he has a lot of running kit that gets sweaty and/or splashed with mud.

With modern washing machines and modern washing powder you really don't need to separate "queasy" stuff from non "queasy" stuff.

I'm not surprised your DH is confused , queasy washing is like a whole other world

Is anyone else's laundry sorting method as subjective as mine?
No just you

I also have an individualised method. My partner does his own and he follows traditional wisdom, sports wash for sports clothes, then lights and dark, pants on hot, etc.

I do mine and the house laundry. One load each of towels on hot and bedding on medium hot, then one load of all my clothes on 30.

I sort lights/darks/things that can't take bio powder.
Sometimes whites get own load (with bleaching agent)

Too much thinking with other sorting regimes. Life is Too Short.

Ooh, there's some venom on this thread.

Whites, cottons, synthetics and brights, here.

Wow who has time for that... 🙄

Lights and darks here, all same temp, darks have liquid, lights have powder. And that's it

Whites, usually sheets and towels, 60.
Coloured wash 40.
Tea towels, kitchen towels and cloths 60 or 95.
Socks and gloves altogether as they're usually covered in hay and fluff 40!
Dog wash, bedding and towels, 40 or 60, depending on muddiness.
Horse wash, numnahs and leg bandages, 40.
And I usually do the sock wash after the animal wash!

Hot lights (towels, dc white work shirts, socks etc)
Hot darks (socks, jeans, dark cotton shirts etc)

I do cooler washes for less robust stuff as well:
Black/navy
Green/grey
Reds (we are a family with many burgundy-coloured jumpers)
White & other pale stuff.

Underwear goes in whatever suits its colour and/or quantity of lace. No way could I explain my piles to anyone

Towels / bed sheets
Shirts
Everything else together

@dudsville

Ooh, there's some venom on this thread.

You can wash that out at 60 degrees.

In this house it's...

Bedding
Towels
Tea towels
Lights and whites with a colour catcher
Darks

I wouldn't wash tea towels with clothes but that's as far as I go.

2 laundry hampers - 1 for lights and one for dark colours (kids have 1 each in their rooms which are a mix)

Wash loads are:
Whites only
Mixed lighter colours e.g. pale blue, pink, grey, etc
Mixed dark colours e.g. gym kit, jumpers, jeans, dark t-shirts, etc
Tea towels and underwear go in whichever colour load they match up with
Towels done together as a full load
Bedding as full loads or matched with a coloured load depending how much is there.

Generally i separate mine into:

• new darks I dont want to fade quickly
• older darks that have already faded
• colours
• delicate/handwash
• jeans
• towels
• sheets.

I actually went off piste and lashed 2 bras in, in a laundry bag the other day, on the handwash cycle and the sky didnt fall in, so may do that again.

Im wondering what to do about the mulitcoured bikinis that have been in the laundry basket since the end ofJuly though...

Whites
Darks (have these the most)
Greys (for some reason we have a lot of grey clothes)
Reds (same as above)
Random colours (every once in a while)