Do your children have individual items like:

[johnandtinagilbert]

My husband thinks I'm the only one.

[Mommyfaithe]

Yep, all my kids do their own laundy except the 2 little boys...who help me do theirs. they are responsible for hampering, helping to load and press the right buttons. Everyone else, even dh.... do it themselves.

 

Faithe

[Nan in Mass]

It depends on the age and the child. Or rather, it depends on the child's activities. If they need certain clothing washed that I am consistently not getting washed in time, they begin doing it themselves. By then, they've been sent to put loads in and change loads for me for years, so it is something they know how to do. I am happy to do it for them, but sometimes I don't get to it. They politely ask if I am going to get to it and if I say no, they fish whatever they want out, ask what I need them to wash with the items to fill out the load, fish those out, and go wash them. Even when they were at their most antagonistic and yelly, somehow laundry happened politely and easily. I didn't realize that until I was writing this out. Now if I could just figure out why and apply that to the rest of our lives together... Hmmm... This is worth thinking about...

-Nan

[Sebastian (a lady)]

My husband thinks I'm the only one.

 

With the exception of dh's uniforms, which I shepherd through, the kids do all of the laundry, including folding and delivering it to the correct drawer, closet or bedroom.

[mommymilkies]

The two oldest do.

[Spetzi]

They do their own around 11 yrs old. That works for us.

[tuckabella]

I voted no, but my kids are 7 and 4.

[hopeallgoeswell]

I voted "yes." My dds (2,4, and 8) have some responsibility when it comes to laundry, depending on their ability. All are responsible for getting clothes into their hamper. The two oldest have to put away their clothes in correct drawers. My oldest is also responsible for folding her (sometimes everyones) clothes.

[choirfarm]

My children do their own laundry or rather my oldest two. All three put it away. They also pack for trips and camps themselves. Sometimes I check to see what they pack, sometimes I don't.

 

Christine

[mom@shiloh]

I voted no because I think it's more economical to do large loads and I either hang things to dry in my basement or outdoors and my children can't reach the clotheslines. They do fold their own laundry, starting with socks and underwear when they're about three and doing it all by about nine.

[Annabel Lee]

Sort of, but more "yes" than "no", so I voted yes. My dd14's laundry is completely independent of the rest - she does all her own. My sons are responsible for gathering theirs in the hamper & delivering it to the laundry area. My ds10 does some of his own loads, with direction. The boys help fold simpler things for now but put away all their own clothes in addition to helping put away household linens. HTH

[Annabel Lee]

I voted no because I think it's more economical to do large loads and I either hang things to dry in my basement or outdoors and my children can't reach the clotheslines. They do fold their own laundry, starting with socks and underwear when they're about three and doing it all by about nine.

 

 

Oh ya, I forgot about summer when I hang the clothes out to dry. The other nine months, they'd be freeze-dried if I did that.

[KS_]

I voted no, because they don't actually do the loading of it into the machine. They are responsible for gathering it, taking it downstairs to the laundry room, and then folding and putting it away after it's washed and dried. I do all the laundry on the weekends, and it's just easier to work their laundry into my schedule.

[regentrude]

We do laundry when we have enough items for a full load (or at least a half load- my washer has a setting for that). Anything else is a waste of water and energy.

DD knows how to DO laundry - but she does not do just *her* laundry.

[i.love.lucy]

No, it's my yucky job. The kids bring the dirties to the laundry room when I tell them to. Then after I have folded it all (dd often helps with folding) they take it all back upstairs. They are supposed to put all theirs away but ds6 doesn't really do it well so I usually just tell him to put it on his dresser. The idea is that I will get up there to train him how to put it away but it often gets used again before I get around to it. The only time dh does laundry is if I am terribly behind he will do a load of his stuff. I hate it when he does that. I mean, wash it all, not just your own!:tongue_smilie:

[Crimson Wife]

I started doing my own laundry when I was 11 or 12 after getting into disagreements with my mom about how long to wear certain items before washing them.

[Zee]

I voted no because it is more economical for me to wash all our clothes together. There are just 3 of us. I suppose ds could do all of our laundry, but I don't trust him to wash my things correctly and, I don't want him folding my undies. He knows a little about laundry and I have instructions on the wall in case I get sick or something, but he definitely needs more practice with folding. He just doesn't seem to get it regardless of the number of times I've gone over it. :P

[delaney]

Nope. I am way too uptight about the laundry to let anyone else touch it. I figure it is my job since I don't have a job out of the home.:)

[Miss Marple]

My boys started being responsible for their own laundry at age 10. Each was assigned a day of the week to do his laundry. If it wasn't done that day, he would have to wait until there was a free spot in the schedule.

 

After a little while, they all began to be responsible enough that I just let them do it whenever they want. I often put a load in for them if they have brought it downstairs. Also, I'll take it out of the dryer and move another load in. But for the most part, they are responsible - I just do a little here and there as I have time or inclination.

[2cents]

Oldest does his own laundry. We do the girls laundry but they have to fold and put away.

[Julie in MN]

I didn't vote because although my youngest doesn't my older two did.

 

My rule is that whenever I see my efforts being wasted (their clean laundry is put back in the hamper, their clean laundry is all over the floor, etc) then they will do their own laundry. From then on. It happened with both my older kids, but hasn't happened yet with youngest 15yo.

 

I require them to pad their loads with other laundry except in urgent situations. I also require them to follow my standards for that other laundry, but not for their own. Needless to say, they often chose to pad with things like towels that didn't require pocket-emptying, spot-checking, etc.

 

So for your dh, maybe it's a yes here?

Julie

[Kuovonne]

Wow, I feel like a misfit. My girls do their own laundry, from carrying the hamper downstairs to putting away their clothes. They do one load with both their clothes together. All I do is remind them: when it's they laundry day, when to move the wash into the dryer, and when the dryer is done. They are 7 and 5 years old.

[wy_kid_wrangler04]

My 12 year (who will be 13 in 2 weeks :crying:) and my 9 1/2 year old do theirs but my boys and dh get their laundry done by me. Dh is just a spoiled dh and the boys are to little. They help with the folding though :001_smile:

[Sasharowan]

dd11 and ds15 do their own. Ds9 does his about half the time, usually he starts it, I have to switch it and then nag him to get it out of the dryer so I can use it. ds5 needs to learn to fold his as all the others could by his age, but he is resistant.

 

Either dh or I will do a load of ours and ds5's depending on who has the time.

[GreenKitty]

Once in a while they do, but not normally. The problem being I want to wash full loads not a bunch of little loads.

[ilovemy4kids]

I said yes, because they do their own, but they also do ALL of the laundry!

 

They are 14 and 13 and when they hit 10 was when they started. I trained the first one of 4 and they trained the next and down the line....

Sandra

[cbollin]

voting on the no side. It's definitely a family load and approach.

 

*everyone is responsible for getting their laundry collected when I say "let's get a load in the machine". Hubby puts his stuff in the same hamper as mine.

 

*youngest loves to be the one to add detergent and push the start buttons

 

*then we start some school subject for 45 minutes. after the washer is done, quick break on school. Someone moves clothes to dryer. start that. more lessons.

 

*one person pulls dry stuff out. We sort it as a team (with laundry wars, or laundry toss or something silly)

 

*I take dh's and my stuff to our room. I put mine away. Later at night he gets his stuff put away. Kids put their stuff away.

 

I like doing one big load.

 

-crystal

[dcurry]

For the most part, no. However, if my older kids don't have their clothes sorted and put into the laundry bags (in the laundry room) when I do it, then they are responsible for doing their own.

 

Everyone does not have their own hamper, we have a 3-bag laundry sorter in our laundry room. Hot (underwear, socks, towels, etc), Special (Hang-up or delicate items that the kids rarely have unless it's an AWANA uniform), and Everything else (for regular clothes that I sort into light & dark as I do laundry).

 

My 13yo daughter likes to pile her dirty clothes behind her bedroom door. If I do laundry and her clothes aren't out, she has to do them all or be without clothes for the week. My 15yo son has the same problem with clothes on his bedroom floor- but they aren't allowed to complain about nothing being clean.

[Veritaserum]

I put yes because they help or I still guide them through the process. My 10yo knows how to do it, but doesn't always remember to. ;)

[Susan C.]

I started doing my own laundry at middle school age when my mom over dried and shrunk my clothes!

 

I do all of the laundry.... kids are 17 and 21 y/o..... I have visions of all of us running to the washer at the same time if each of us did our own. Now ironing, I do not. If anyone wants something ironed, they do it. Dh irons his shirts.

[foxbridgeacademy]

I picked yes, even though that's not 100% true. I wash and dry, they fold ALL the clothes 50% of the time. I also will have them occasionally transfer clothes from washer to dryer. They have way to much fun doing it. My sister taught her then 8 yr old how to do laundry, now a year later that's his "chore". He is totally responsible for it, and loves it, not the actual work, just that it's his job (he gets paid for it). At 10 years old I did the laundry, 1/2 the dishes, cleaned the living room, and made sure my 4 yr old sister "learned" how to clean the bathroom. All of this on top of farm chores.

So being responsible for their own laundry doesn't sound like to big of a deal to me.

[Sunshine State Sue]

I gave my son the responsibility of doing his own laundry at the age of 9 because:

1. He was capable

2. He had the time (I work part-time)

3. He regularly complained about putting his clothes away instead of showing gratitude for laundry completed

 

Unfortunately, mostly the dirty clothes sit on the floor of the closet smelling up the entire room at this age. :tongue_smilie:

[Sherry in OH]

When they are capable of doing their own laundry they are also capable of doing the family laundry. We run full loads.

[angela in ohio]

My dds do all of the "children's laundry" (theirs and ds') once a week or so. They are also in charge of washing towels.

 

I voted yes, but technically they aren't doing all of their own laundry.

[MicheleinMN]

I need the obligatory *other* option. My older children do their own, but I do laundry for the younger 3 and for dh and myself.

[Harriet Vane]

My kids do their own laundry. They have since ds was 7yo. It's one of the best decisions I've ever made.

[LBS]

I mostly do it all. The 15 year old has the chore of gathering it from the five places it might be, when I ask, and transporting it to the laundry room. He also has to carry full baskets (folded) to the owner's bedroom for me, upon demand. Sometimes I need a color or type of clothing to fill a full load and I send him to paw around to find enough to make a full load of it.

 

I like doing laundry. I am proud of being a stain queen, repair queen and making clothes go farther. I was taught well by my mother and her housekeeper, my first chore-for-pay was ironing my dad's undershorts! My mother's piles of sheets had ribbons with lavendar cones tied around them. I iron shirts once in a while if there is TV I want to justify watching, but I smooth and fold very tightly so t-shirts look pressed, and neat, and this is important to me. One year, I think the year I lost my mom, the kids were wrinkled a lot and it bothered me. My college girl who lives at home, does a load of her own when she wants, and that's great. If I told her to do all her own, she would tie up the laundry room for too long. College son who lives at school got teased so much by his grandmother that I think he was challenged to NOT bring laundry home. I TOLD him to, at Christmas and Spring Break and offered to do it for him. The machines at school don't get things very clean, he may pack them too full to save money, not sure. I offer to do his, he does not ask or expect me to. I have a little DVD player in the laundry room now, and its nice to watch a movie a piece at a time, while folding a load. I wait till I have two full baskets of socks and sit down in front of the TV to match them. Sometimes my daughter sets to and does laundry for the family and I pay her. She does a pretty good job. She's too busy during the school year though.

 

I really need to teach them all to sew though. that's my next project.

 

LBS

[MamaSheep]

Sort of.

 

I am working on teaching ds to do his own laundry, but with him it will be a long, slow process. At present he sorts his own laundry and can put detergent in and fill the washer appropriately with a load of clothes. He's a little afraid of adjusting the settings on the machines, but will start them up if I manage all the knobs and switches for him. If he's in a really good mood I can get him to switch wet things from the washer to the dryer, but if he's already edgy the feel of the damp fabric triggers sensory distress and can be problematic. He can sort of hang things on hangers, but has some coordination issues that make this very awkward for him, and it will take some practice before he can do it confidently and in anything like a reasonable period of time. I haven't tackled folding with him yet, but he can match socks. Also, I don't make him handle anyone else's dirty clothes, just his own, because he has some OCD "issues" about germs and dirt and I don't want to shoot the whole process in the nether regions at this point.

 

Dd can sort her laundry and is happy to help fold kitchen towels, and she's a little better at managing hangers than her brother is. But she's very small for her age and in no way could possibly reach the bottom of the washing machine drum to pull out wet things, and I worry that if she tried she would lose her balance and fall in head first and get hurt. And she can't reach the knobs and switches.

 

Everyone at my house puts away their own clean things, though.

[Amy Jo]

The oldest do with very little help (I add the soap). The youngest will as soon as he is able. If the laundry is up to me, it doesn't get done.

[Lolly]

Mine start doing their laundry as soon as they are big enough to reach the controls. I have been known to help them out here and there if they are in a pinch. They do the same for me.:001_smile:

[Keniki]

I voted no because I think it's more economical to do large loads ...

 

:iagree: I have a front load, and I do one to two loads of each "type" of clothing each week. One load of socks with everyone's white socks in that load, one load of "grubbies" for dh and ds's work clothes, etc.

[thowell]

I voted yes but right now it is actually no. The older kids have moved out so just the little ones are left and they are not quite old enough yet. However, when the older kids were here they did their own laundry. First they needed to learn this but also I kept finding clean clothes in the dirty laundry because they didn't want to have to put them away soooo they had to start doing their own laundry. This kind of stopped that habit.

[Koerarmoca]

I voted yes but we have a system.

 

each child is held responsible to put clothes in the hamper

dd9 is to bring hampers to me

I stain treat and sort

dd9 takes them to the basement

dd12 washes them, dries them, and brings them back to me

I and dd5 fold them and sort them for putting them away

they each put away their own dd12 does hers and mine, dd9 does hers and dads, dd5 does hers and dd2's

dd2 usually proceeds to pull them all out of the drawers and unfold them all :lol:

 

we have a family closet so its easy to put things away and we hang a lot so its pretty simple for the kids to just hang them up and put away the socks and undies. I keep it simple and I will wash the clothes together knowing dd12 puts away mine and her clothes I wil do those on one day so I don't have 3 kids trying to put away at once.

 

I also do any special care laundry myself like washing diapers, wool, hand wash only stuff, and I do the ironing and take care of any dry cleaning (until dd12 is driving anyway :lol:)

[mamalbh]

Fold & put away their own clothes at 5

Wash their own at 9

[fischerl]

Same here. I start training them from age 4 or 5, and by about age 9 they're doing their own each week. It is wonderful. But as a PP said, we help each other out now and then.

[emubird]

My kids do most of the household laundry -- their own and everyone else's.

 

Someone just does whatever happens to be there whenever they need something in particular.

 

Well, when I say "someone" I don't include my husband. He does about 1 load a year.

[RootAnn]

I voted no because I think it's more economical to do large loads and I either hang things to dry in my basement or outdoors and my children can't reach the clotheslines. They do fold their own laundry, starting with socks and underwear when they're about three and doing it all by about nine.

 

:iagree: on the larger loads & my kids sorting & putting away their own laundry. The 3 yr old is hit-or-miss on getting his stuff put away in the correct drawer. I don't mind if it is just thrown in there as long as it gets there. The olders do their own & I do DH/mine/youngest.

 

There would be so much waste (water/soap) in my house if they did their own laundry, you couldn't imagine ...

[CanaryMelody]

Voted no. It is more economical and efficient for me to wash our clothes together. I expect everyone to put their own clothes away. Even my 3 year old. I put DH's clothes away though.

[Mallory]

My 11 keeps his separate and does it all on his own.

 

The kids do most of thier own laundry and household laundry- big ones do washer/dryer, everyone sorts/folds/puts away. The big boys even hang laundry out for most of the year.

 

I do very few of the everyday chores around here- kids do 90+% of laundry, dishes, sweeping, vacuming, feeding animals.

 

They do a large part of cooking, repairing (woodworking, sewing, painting, fixing fences, etc), yard/garden work, and other picking up/deep cleaning.

 

They don't usually do shopping, menu planning, or bill paying (although when my 15yo sis lived with me she did all of that too).

Edited March 16, 2011 by Mallory

[MamaT]

My kids all know how to do laundry, but I do it. It is just easier for me to wash 3 large loads three times a week and get it done. They have to put their laundry away once it's done. They all have plenty of chores to do, but that is something I would just rather do myself.

 

When my youngest three were babies, the older three did their own laundry and one little's laundry. That worked for that specific time in our family, but it's more convenient for me to do it now.