Who does the laundry?

[mayerling]

In a house where a family lives, who do you think should do the laundry?

I feel that one person should do the laundry for everyone. Not necessarily the same person; people could take turns doing it, but it seems very inefficient to have each person do their own laundry. I've always found it strange when I heard people say things like "I had to do my own laundry when I turned 12", or something along those lines. I see the point in teaching children responsibility, but I don't think they need to do their own laundry all the time to learn it. They could just do all the laundry some of the time.

 

[megumic]

We're just a family of two right now, so this could change, but I think that since everyone wears clothes, everyone should contribute to the laundry. DH and I both do laundry when it begins to pile up. We're both responsible for moving it along, folding it and ironing it. Not sure what is most efficient when kids come into the mix, but I maintain that everyone should contribute!

 

[iheartscience]

We both do laundry. Sometimes we do each other's and sometimes just our own. I think people being responsible for their own laundry makes sense, especially because then you can only mess up/ruin your own clothes.

ETA growing up I did my own laundry starting around age 10. I have 4 siblings, so 1 person doing all the laundry would have a huge workload. I think it makes the most sense for people to do their own laundry, especially in a family with several kids.

 

[jaysonsmom]

In a house where a family lives, who do you think should do the laundry?

I feel that one person should do the laundry for everyone. Not necessarily the same person; people could take turns doing it, but it seems very inefficient to have each person do their own laundry. I've always found it strange when I heard people say things like "I had to do my own laundry when I turned 12", or something along those lines. I see the point in teaching children responsibility, but I don't think they need to do their own laundry all the time to learn it. They could just do all the laundry some of the time.

I kind of agree to this. My kids and husband take turns helping me with laundry, but I'm the one who heads up the task every weekend, and I "re-sort" if they make questionable sorting errors. I don't see the point of everyone doing their own laundry only because I like to sort by function and color (khakis, brights, pastels, whites, blacks, denim, towels/sheets). I don't see how anyone could do "their own" unless they mix everything together.....

As for the helping part, we sit and fold together, then each person puts away their own clothes in their closet/dresser.

 

[sctsbride09]

I do the laundry for DH and myself. Like Thing, I did my own laundry from a young age too. It was good for me, built responsibility. My DH on the other hand, his mother did his laundry until he was a grown man. NOT HAPPENING in my house. When we DO have a kid, they will be responsible for their own laundry just as I was, at a reasonable age of course. The only reason I do Dh's laundry is because I am a housewife ( I loath that word, but cant figure out a better way to describe), and that is how things work in our house. If I had a full time job, chores including laundry would be split even steven.

 

[Haven]

DH and I each do our own laundry. I do not want anyone doing my laundry, and as I HATE folding clean clothes, I don't want to do anyone else's laundry.

I don't see how this is inefficient, we only throw a load of laundry in if we have a full load. I can see it being inefficient if people were doing very small loads, but man oh man--who wants to do laundry more often than necessary?!

I started doing my own laundry around age 12. I complained that my father ruined something in the wash and that was it--it was my turn!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

None of us do the laundry. I've discovered it's actually less time consuming to buy all new clothes every week.

For blankets/towels, my cat has been trained to lick them clean and he's very efficient at doing so. Much more so than our Maytag.

 

[charbie]

None of us do the laundry. I've discovered it's actually less time consuming to buy all new clothes every week.

For blankets/towels, my cat has been trained to lick them clean and he's very efficient at doing so. Much more so than our Maytag.

I once heard Britney Spears only wears underwear once and never washes it...just thows it away and buys news. Sounds good to me.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

None of us do the laundry. I've discovered it's actually less time consuming to buy all new clothes every week.

For blankets/towels, my cat has been trained to lick them clean and he's very efficient at doing so. Much more so than our Maytag.

I once heard Britney Spears only wears underwear once and never washes it...just thows it away and buys news. Sounds good to me.

Yeah, makes sense. Our water bill is SUPER high...we pay $200 *A MONTH*, so why risk raising up the rate by washing anything?

 

[Autumnovember]

Whenever I'm at my moms house, she does my laundry and my dads (and not because I ask her, she just does). Between FI and I, he insists on doing the laundry because when he was younger his mother messed up two loads of laundry with bleach and he has been scarred ever since. Can't complain, I don't mind not doing the laundry.

 

[charbie]

DH starts the loads, sorts, moves it along, and then I fold it whille watching TV. I can't trust DH to fold clothes. He leaves them inside out, and basically rolls it into a ball.

 

[packrat]

I do it all. Digging under beds and dressers to find all the dirty stuff, guessing what's dirty and what's not. I'm home all but 1 day a week generally, and I saw how JD did clothes before we got together-everything in one load. I can't/won't do that. I like to fold laundry. He doesn't fold properly and he doesn't put things away properly. I find kitchen dish rags in with the bathroom washcloths and it's utter chaos and madness.

 

[Haven]

DH starts the loads, sorts, moves it along, and then I fold it whille watching TV. I can't trust DH to fold clothes. He leaves them inside out, and basically rolls it into a ball.

I'm just like your husband with the folding. I detest folding laundry, and it's such a futile task, anyway--it's all going to end up RIGHT BACK IN THAT DAMN BASKET SOON ENOUGH.

If Britney Spears wears new underwear without washing it first that makes me feel really sick. ICKY.

DH and I both wash the towels and sheets. Whoever gets to them first washes them.

 

[suchende]

BF does both our laundry, but we each put our own away once it's back in the apt.

 

[manderz]

We both do. Sometimes we do our own, sometimes we alternate. Depends on who runs out of clean clothes first We both despise laundry though, so it's mostly a battle of who breaks down first.

 

[mary poppins]

DH is good at doing laundry but I insist upon doing it all because I don't want him to ruin my clothes that aren't supposed to go in the dryer. I sort everything after drying and then fold or hang all except his underwear and shirts. He has a special way of folding his shirts with one hand. Apparently I don't do it correctly, so I leave it for him. I also iron whatever needs to be ironed. I like doing laundry and ironing, and he's happy not to deal with it anymore. Works for us.

I don't think there's a set arrangement that will work for every family. Just depends on works out best for everyone. However, I think it is best to do whatever is most efficient in terms of time, water and energy usage. Kids should help with any part as soon as they are responsible enough to do so which varies with age and maturity.

 

[katamari]

I do the laundry, as in put it in the machine and transfer it from the washer and dryer. We fold and put away our own clothes. Anything that needs to be ironed, though, goes to the cleaners.

I like laundry as a chore, because it has some flexibility. Plus, it means DH cleans the toilet.

 

[kenny]

With us it is almost 50 50.
I do it a little more often.
We have no domestic help.

 

[Jennifer W]

We do our own laundry. DH used to do it, but he ruins stuff. I have extracted my things from his washing basket and gone independent on this one. It's just better for my clothes and probably for our relationship too. DD's laundry is done by whoever remembers, usually before she runs out of clean stuff.

 

[yiska]

I do ALL the laundry and fold both of our clothes and make sure they get back to the right place etc. However... I love doing the laundry!! It's all done in a machine it's such an easy chore! And I work in retail so I am a bit anal about folding. Because I do the laundry, BF does all the washing up and takes the trash out. We've been living together for 3 years and used to split things but now we just do the chore we don't mind doing and leave the other stuff to the other person. When I was younger my mum did almost all the laundry but I was often asked to help hang it up to dry/iron/fold etc.

 

[mayerling]

I guess I can understand not doing all the laundry because of lack of space in the machine, and lack of time - assuming there's multiple loads to be done. But purposely selecting only your own clothes to do seems a bit strange.

For those of you that do your own laundry, do you also do just your own dishes (assuming no dishwasher)? As in, you go to the sink, pick out the dishes that you used, and only do those?

 

[zoebartlett]

I was one of those kids who had to do my own laundry when after I turned 12. I remember my mom bringing me down to the basement and teaching me how to separate clothes and how to decide which setting to use on the machines. I'm sure she taught my sister when she was about that age too, but I don't remember.

My husband and I do our own laundry. Neither one of us want to be responsible for doing something to potentially ruin one another's clothes. Plus, it's easy enough for us to just concentrate on our own things. It works for us.

 

[zoebartlett]

I have friends whose moms still did their laundry when they went home for vacations in college. I never understood that.

ETA: Mayerling -- we take turns unloading/loading the dishwasher.

 

[davi_el_mejor]

I have the most time off, so that means I do the laundry (usually... sometimes I get help). It takes about 3 hours a week. The two of us are clothes hounds so we can easily go two weeks without needing to do laundry. I usually do a trip to the laundrymat every 10 days or so. Three washers,four driers, $18 and 3 hours of my life. It's ok though, the laundrymat has free wi-fi

I don't care how my clothes are folded, however, the SO does. Their clothes are folded to their preference, mine are folded but without as much care as theirs. My least favorite part is the actual putting of clothes away. If I had my way, I'd have everything layed out on a shelf in the open or on the floor or where have you. But noooo. For the sake of homely happiness I begrudgingly put my clothes away, in a dresser and closet.

When I was single I used to just collect a months worth of clothes, drop them off at the wash and fold. Pick them up the next day all folded and clean. Ahhh single life

 

[pennquaker09]

Ninety five percent of the time,I do all of the laundry in the house. Occasionally, Nate will, but I don't hold my breath. We both have a skill-set and house work isn't something he's particularly good at. He doesn't like that I do a lot of the cleaning and housework and has said many times that I could hire a full time cleaning person.

 

[JewelFreak]

DH wouldn't know how to do laundry if his life depended on it. His Dutch mama spoiled her first-born boy rotten & he just soaked that up! He also has negative energy around electronic things -- messed up countless answering machines, no idea what he did, and when he plays a dvd I have to fool with the tube for 10 minutes to get it working right again. I won't even let him use the microwave! My washing machine looks like the navigation panel on a 747, it's so wildly electronic -- no way will he get his paws on it. Probably method in his madness -- he never has to do those chores!

--- Laurie

 

[yennyfire]

I do almost all of the laundry in our house. DH gets confused about what to put in the dryer and what to hang, so I prefer to do it myself. I do have the kids (ages 4 and 6) help me by taking their laundry to their rooms and putting away what they can. Growing up, my Mom did all of the laundry in the house. She had to teach me how to do it when I was going away to college. I don't know if I'll have the kids do laundry when they get older, but I know that they'll continue to put it away!

 

[April20]

Well, when we were in our house with a laundry room, we each did our own as needed. DH goes thru a lot more clothes than I do, so he generally did his when he ran low. I would throw a load of his in if I noticed his bin was full.

Right now, we live in a loft and haven't gone out to get a stackable w/d. DH generally does all our laundry now since we have to physically go out and do it and I'm gone for work a lot during the week.

I don't mind laundry, he doesn't mind laundry, so it's never been a big deal.

My mom made my brother start doing his own laundry when he was about 12. He was generating more clothing than anyone else in the house and she decided he needed to understand his impact. I think when one person has twice as much as anyone else, they should do their own!

 

[iLander]

We each do our own, and do whatever else is in the washer/hamper too.

This has lead to what we call "cheater laundry", where someone will leave their laundry in the washer, and whoever comes along next throws theirs on top of it and do the whole load. We're pretty casual though, and no one cares.

We recently devised a new allowance system for DD, and she get $2 for each load washed, dried, folded and put away. She loves it, and for once in my life, all my towels are clean.

Very clean . . .

Oh, and I never buy anything that requires special care. If it says "dry clean only" I usually put it in the washer anyway. If it comes out, great, if not, I toss it. If it needs to be washed separately, it isn't.

Life is too short.

 

[soocool]

I do the majority of the laundry. DD does her own hand washables and does the towels and the sheets on the weekends for me. DH washes the utility towels when needed.