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?

NB anything like rugby kit/gardening clothes get their own long overnight wash!

I don't have the queasy issue because DH does the laundry 😂😂😂

When I occasionally stick a load on I avoid his pants 🤮

I can barely be bothered to separate out the whites.
Dh disagrees with me - so he does the whites, bedsheets, towels etc.

If anyone wants anything different they need to step in and step up quickly before I bung it all in together.

Having low standards works for me.

I just do lights and darks but I separate out the synthetic fabrics and wash them in a special bag to reduce pollution from microfibres washing off them. We actually have a laundry hamper that has a section for lights and a section for darks to minimise the sorting that has to be done before being able to put a wash on. Sometimes I wash towels separately but that's only because I don't use fabric softener on them.

Oh and I wash everything at 30 on the easy iron setting! Even my reusable menstrual pads (but I do also rinse them after use). I can't say any of our washing makes me queasy tbh, even the mind-bogglingly stinky tops DP has worn to cycle to work.

My dc are learning to wipe their arses and I don't fancy their sometimes marked pants washed with tea towels. In fact, I don't like anyone's pants washed with tea towels. I have a big pile of them and enough to do a half wash setting in my machine once a week.

I do

Black wash
Dark wash
White wash
Light wash
Bedding and towels together

Separate wash for baby in non bio which also gets split into lights and darks

DH used to insist pants had to be washed separately to everything else. I agreed that there was no issue with doing that, as long as he was the person going to be sorting the washing, putting it in the machine, drying it all and putting it back in the wardrobes and drawers afterwards.

Needless to say, our weekly washes are now:

• Adult dark
• DCs dark
• DCs white
• towels and bedding x 2

*We only have an Adult and DC split due to who shares washing baskets!

Clothes
Nappies
Towels
Sheets

Sometimes the nappies go in with the clothes (they get a prewash first) so needless to say I have no queasy factor.

Life is way to short to sort clothes. If something needs washed carefully, do not put it in the laundry basket. I also have a no pocket checking rule, DH has been well trained.

Jeans
Whites
Towels
Pyjamas and underwear
Dark heavy items
Dark light items
Coloured clothes
Red clothes
Bedding
Sports/swimming stuff
Tea towels and cloths

My weekly washes:-
Towels
Bedding
Clothes (lights, darks, whites all in together )
Pet stuff
Don’t have enough clothes to wait for a full load of whites or darks etc so all gets lumped in together.

Interesting how many people have a "red" load. I love it when there are enough non-boak darks to make two loads; then I sort them into green/blue/grey and red/black/purple.

Yellow causes me issues though.

Whites and lights
Brights
Darks
Towels and cloths
Bedding

I do clothes, towels and bedding separately. Clothes divided up, a pile of towels pulled out and shoved in and bedding split in two (from the one bed) - purely so they're washed properly.

Clothing divided into a black pile, white pile, light colours and dark colours.

My clothes
Husbands clothes
Kids clothes
Dog bedding
Towels
Bed sheets

No colour sorting. If there’s a new item or very dark or red stuff in there I shove a colour catcher in.

T’is easy:

White cottons 90 degrees (this will include white tea towels / flannels / underwear).

White polycottons (bras / bra tops) 60 degrees

Darks 40 degrees

Colours that don’t work in either (like the bastard green sweatshirt that bobbles like a white tissue left in a black wash) 40 degrees on their own

Not a complicated as yours - I do....

Lights (we don't own much white stuff)
Colours / darks
Bedding
Towels

Dog towels and blankets get washed separately.

@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"

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

Colours piss me off, especially DS' v expensive red Ralph Lauren boxer shorts. Never quite sure how hot to wash or brave enough to stick in with whites!!

And I thought I was crazy with my sorting.

Here's mine;
Towels and bed linen at a high temperature
Whites
Everything else
I also wash my work uniform after every shift ( since Covid)

I love it when there are enough non-boak darks to make two loads; then I sort them into green/blue/grey and red/black/purple.

It pleases me no end to see a washing line full of all the same colour or type of clothes.

2 washes here. Toddlers clothes and my underwear (regardless of colour) with sensitive powder/conditioner then anything else with stronger smelling conditioner and extra scent pearls.