Does everyone wash their own laundry in your home?

[sassenach]

Ahhh...you don't separate whites and colors?

You must not have a lot of whites (we don't).

 

I'm not sure what counts as a lot of whites. We have t shirts and undershirts, socks, a few dress items... not a lot, but not a little. I haven't separated colors out in over a decade. Our whites are still white!

[TranquilMind]

I'm not sure what counts as a lot of whites. We have t shirts and undershirts, socks, a few dress items... not a lot, but not a little. I haven't separated colors out in over a decade. Our whites are still white!

We only have the T shirts and socks that my husband wears.  He also uses white towels at the gym so I wash all that together.  The rest of us pretty much only have colored clothing items.  I'm not sure how they would stay white or the colors wouldn't bleed.

I also use that gentle bleach stuff on whites, and it would discolor the other stuff. 

 

[dirty ethel rackham]

We do laundry together because we wouldn't have full loads if each did their own. They all know how. If anyone needs something washed, then it is on them do start that load, asking anyone who has laundry to bring it and sort it in the laundry room. I hate matching socks, so I leave it for other people to do while watching tv.

 

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[elegantlion]

We do our own laundry, but we are three adults. I will occasionally fold ds's laundry if it's still in the dryer when I need it. My mom does her own. Ds started doing his own laundry about age 13, he tends to throw everything in one load and doesn't really have whites anyway. I like not being in charge of other people's items, which partially stems from ex being uber picky about, well, everything, but even laundry. 

[JanetC]

I do laundry on Wednesdays and Saturdays. If someone needs a particular pair of pants on a particular day, they have to plan around that.

 

We have a high capacity washer, so it's easier to put everything together to use the machine efficiently.

[Loesje22000]

I was the main washes.

Since this summer dd has to wash her own bed and bath textile, just to get used to a certain was rythm.

I hope to add more during the next years.

She knows how to wash since 6/7 yo.

[happypamama]

No, they don't, because then it wouldn't be full loads. And most of them are too small anyway.

 

I do regular laundry (i.e. not kitchen linens, sheets, towels, diapers, etc.) on certain days, and they have to put their clothes out for DS2 to collect or put them in the hamper in the bathroom before those days. My one son does forget to put his out and will bring a whole bunch down when he runs out, so I have threatened to make him do his own, which I probably could do because he'd have enough for full loads.

 

The older ones and DH do switch laundry, haul it upstairs, and start loads occasionally, generally at my request. I fold DH's, mine, and the babies' laundry. The three big kids' clothes I sort into a big pile for each of them, and I sort the 5yo's into piles (pants, shirts, etc.), and we put them away together.

[Cindy in FL.]

I do all the laundry here. We have at least two loads each day, sometimes three (not including linens). I sort, wash, dry, and fold. I prefer it that way and it goes very smoothly. I usually take the clothes out of the dryer and lay them flat in the basket. That way they don't get wrinkled and I can fold them later while watching a tv show.

[RioSamba]

Everyone does their own (except youngest) and it is BLISS. DS started learning how not too long after he turned 10. It took him about three months to solo. He wanted to do it but for some reason he found it intimidating. I printed out very complete instructions for him and taped them up in the laundry cabinet, and that gave him the confidence that he needed. For unfathomable reasons, DH took over DS's laundry recently and it was awful. Thank goodness he's stopped.

 

I've mentioned before that DH occasionally helps by gathering, commingling, and then amassing large piles of clean laundry on the (ack!) floor. He is the whirling dervish of laundry and it's the stuff of my nightmares

 

DD is extremely particular about how her clothes are laundered, so she requires no reminding. I still remind DS, but he is becoming more and more independent. Sometimes I wash their sheets, and I usually wash their towels. Rescue is seldom needed with clothes, so when it is, I'm happy to help.

[nd293]

We do a family wash. With 4 people I only do one or two loads of clothes a week, so it would be a waste to wash separately. Sock - well we have two solutions there - first everyone's black socks are a different brand so they look slightly different (eg the brand name on the sole, stripes on the toes), second, the kids sort out the socks, fold them and place them on each person's bed (one of their jobs around the house).

[Cinder]

The kids have been doing their own laundry since around 9yo. Dh usually does laundry for both of us; I probably do it about a third of the time. He also takes care of his work uniforms and the whites since all the whites are his. I take care of the household-y items like towels.

[mamakelly]

My kids all do their own laundry with the exception of my 8 year old (who does some of his own, but needs folding help). They have plenty of dirty clothes for a full load, and if they don't, my washing machine adjusts based on weight.

[amsunshine]

We all pitch in doing the laundry.  Every Saturday, we put two hampers in our girls' room and they separate their colors and put their two biggest loads into each hamper.  Then, they put the hampers in our room, where we add our own clothes according to the colors already started by my dds.  One of us then takes the loads into the laundry room to start the first load in the washer.  We take turns putting clothes in the dryer/on the drying line and starting the next load.  The empty hampers come back to dds' room where they add any remaining loads of laundry they have and the cycle starts again.  We all take turns taking laundry out of the dryer, separating and folding.  Then, we all put away our own laundry.  

 

We've just gotten into the habit of doing this every weekend, and it seems to work for us.  We look at laundry as a team effort.

[Mbelle]

I like the sock bag idea that was mentioned!

 

We have a mini laundry basket and put all socks in there.  Then we match.  Athletic socks stay in there and dh and 2 big kids share.  My feet are much smaller so I can't use theirs.  Little guy has all the same color socks.

 

DH and I wash a load whenever we see the need.  Big kids bring down their own clothes (ideally on Sat morning) and at  least get them started in the wash.  

 

 

[Isabella]

My kids all did their own when they were home. They have been since about age 10-12. They had been helping me for years before that do they knew how to wash, hang on line, fold, iron etc. I bought them 2 washing baskets each that fit under their bed. They put their dirty clothes in there until they had a load then did it whenever the machine was free. It worked very well and they are glad that I encouraged their independence, as they are very competent with all household tasks now as young adults. My middle DD has had her own cleaning business since she was 19, and her clients have always been impressed with her thoroughness and efficiency.

[TKDmom]

My kids do their own laundry once they get to be 11 or 12. I've always separated it by person. Sort of. Boys used to share a hamper, so their clothes were washed together. When older ds started complaining about sorting, I got him his own hamper. DH and I sort our clothes by color.

 

The biggest pitfall for me is waking up on a cool morning to hear, " I have no clean pants!" I tell them to start their laundry and find something not too dirty to wear in the mean time.

 

DD15 had some whites turn grayish, because she never separated colors. I've been teaching her to separate lights and darks, and throw in whatever towels are sitting around waiting to get washed to make it a full load.

 

My kids don't naturally pick up after themselves either. But they don't like to wear stinky dirty clothes, so they wash the laundry. Folding, on the other hand... that takes some nagging, and no fun activities until the pile of laundry gets put way

Edited November 1, 2016 by TKDmom

[TKDmom]

Oh and socks... we end up with a few random socks in almost every load. I put them all in a pile and command everyone to come find their own socks. I don't want to keep track of 6 people's socks, but we manage to remember what our own look like.

[J-rap]

Sometimes my kids would wash their own clothes when they had a big pile, but they'd always fill up the rest of the load with things like towels or sheets or other things around the house that needed cleaning.

 

Honestly, some of my kids have become pickier than me about their laundry, so that's another reason to let them do it themselves!

 

 

 

[rocassie]

All the kids have hampers that when full will be a full load in the washer.  We do not separate by colors or anything though.  A few special care items, they put in my "special care" laundry bag and I usually wash those.  Each person in the house has about 1 load a week of clothes (in the summer the kids can go a little longer between loads), including my DH and myself.  I imagine that I would be doing the same amount of laundry just more frequently if I combined all our clothes.  Maybe not, who knows.  Towels, bedding, and misc things, I wash, but the kids may help fold and put away.

[Rachel]

My 8 & 6 year old do their own. The 4 year old has to bring down his own hamper when it is full but my husband and I take care of it for him. He does get to help fold, but I use the term fold lightly. I used to sort the kid clothes into lights and darks. I recently quit sorting and haven't noticed a difference at all. I bought each kid a basket that when full is the perfect size for a load. We have a front loader which adjusts the amount of water based on the size of the load so it hasn't affected our water usage much at all. Since switching to this method it has made laundry much easier to deal with.

 

My husband and I have more clothes that need to be handled differently, so we still sort ours.

[Rachel]

Oh for socks each person has a large lingerie bag that I clip to the hamper. When you take off your dirty socks, you put them in the bag. Zip the bag closed on laundry day and you don't lose socks and you don't get confused about who each sock belongs to. I would caution you to make sure the mesh isn't too fine if your kids tend to have grass and leaves stuck to their socks as it will stay stuck to the socks unless it can escape the bag.

[Suzanne in ABQ]

My kids have all done their own laundry from about age 10.  Before that, they helped me sort it.  When I got my front loader, they asked how it worked, so I showed them, and I never did their laundry again.

 

They each have enough clothes for 10-14 days, so there's plenty two fill two loads.

 

The main pitfall is that it doesn't always get put away properly.  Sometimes it lives in the laundry basket for a couple weeks until it's all been used up.  But, it's clean, and I rarely notice any wrinkles.  Best part is that I don't deal with it at all, unless I feel like being nice (I might fold it for them).  

 

I now do laundry only for myself and my dh.  

[Julie Smith]

My boys share a room, and a dresser. I don't seperate their clothes. I just put their clothes on their bed and expect them to put it away. Their dresser is labelled, "shorts, t-shirts, socks..." They don't share clothes though since they are slightly different sizes and Youngest wears mine craft themed t-shirts, and Eldest wears t-shirts he has gotten from running races. 

 

[JustEm]

It is now a team effort in this house. On laundry days the kids will gather all the dirty clothes and bring it downstairs, they will fill the washer and I supervise turning the washer on the correct setting and putting detergent in. Ultimately, I expect them to be able to start the entire load themselves but right now we're in the learning phase. Then once the first load is done I take it out to hang it while the kids are loading the washer again. When I come in I help them start the washer and then we wait until it is time to collect clothes. They pick towels and dish towels off the line and fold as I get the clothes and fold. Then we all put it away.

 

The second load either goes on the line if the weather conditions are good enough to get them dry in time or they go in the dryer, which is on its last leg.

[KungFuPanda]

The drawback is if you like to leave your laundry in the dryer until you're ready to deal with it, someone else will take your laundry and crunch it into a basket. If you have a load in the washer too, they will dry it for you, then cram it into the same basket with the first load. Then, later, you have to re fluff it all in the dryer once the usurper has cleared their stuff out.

Another problem is someone rotating the laundry and putting stuff in the dryer that you want to line dry.

[redsquirrel]

DH is in charge of laundry. We don't make the boy wash their own because it's a better use of water if we can just do it all together.  They both know HOW to use the machines though, and dh will recruit a boy or two to help him with laundry.  And when ds2 went away to a summer program, he was responsible for his own laundry when he was there. 

 

But we do laundry on the weekends. At some point DH announces that everyone should gather laundry. Then he and possibly a boy will turn things right side out, separate into loads etc.  He also collects towels and sheets and anything else that might need washing.  Then, over the course of the weekend it gets washed.  Often on Sunday evenings the boys fold their stuff while watching a movie. It gets taken to rooms, but I'm not sure it gets put away.

 

Every now and then the system breaks down and laundry doesn't get done on a weekend. If that is the case, I'm the relief. I will do it on a Monday or ASAP.  Sometimes, if I know we have a big weekend, I will consent to doing laundry on Friday during school hours.

 

We have ballet clothes that must be done on Sunday and ready for Monday. That stuff doesn't take up much room, so it's easy to do both boys' stuff together in one load. And it air dries quickly, so even if something happens and it doesn't happen on Sunday it is easy to get it done monday morning and have it dry by monday afternoon.

[redsquirrel]

Every person in the house does his or her own laundry, including sheets.  Towels can get tricky and if I see a pile of them, I just throw them in or add them to my load.

 

We don't separate laundry.  We never have.  I just wash everything together, whites, colors, etc......I have never had a problem.  

 

I'm the same way.  Hence, dh does the laundry. I've never had a problem but it bothers him. I told him if he didn't like it he was free to take over the laundry and he did. I will step it when needed and then I do tend to separate things out like he likes, only because it's not my job so I am willing to do it like he wants it done. It's not very often so I can live with it, lol

[Wheres Toto]

I've tried having the kids do their own laundry.  It takes too long for them to get a full load and then all of a sudden it's an urgent matter because dd doesn't have any pj's and ds doesn't have a clean gi, or they don't have a bathing suit when it's time for swim lessons.

 

So I started doing the washing and drying but giving it to them to fold.  Despite numerous tutorials on folding, they basically ball it up and throw it in a drawer.  So I had to decide if I cared if they went out in clothes that looked like they slept in them.  

 

Then I decided to fold the clothes as they came out of the dryer, which is easy enough, and stack them into piles by person.  So they are handed a stack of folded clothes to put away.  That's slightly better (although some things still end up balled up) but they shove it in drawers and the drawers won't close.

 

I think we need some new lessons, some rearranging of drawers (haven't done this for the winter yet anyway), and more time in a day.

[Ravin]

BIL and SIL do their own laundry for themselves and their baby. The rest of us throw in together, and I do most of it, except I have gone on laundry strike with DD because I heard one too many complaints that I was spending too much time doing laundry.

 

For socks, a solution is to put initials on the toes.

 

For wanting certain items done, I would invite your boys to do the laundry themselves if they have a deadline on it. That is basically what DH and GF do: they will do a load of laundry mid-week if they need something in particular washed sooner than when I get around to it on the weekend.

[6packofun]

Yes, everyone mostly does their own once they have a full load.  Many times our girls or our guys will combine, though if they need something but don't have enough for a full load.  So it's efficient since we ONLY do full loads and then everyone pretty much has their own stuff to put away and hopefully socks, etc. aren't lost.  Even dh does his own, although we combine with our youngest sometimes.  Kids learn to do their own laundry at about 14-15 here.  I still do the sheets, towels and extra stuff, though.

[EMS83]

They have laundry days, and it's an obedience thing.  Mismanaged laundry means more laundry to do.  I have to ignore the fact that things may be hung or folded inside out, not folded super neatly, might the lost in the drawer, and may "accidentally" end up back in the hamper.  Worst case scenario is they realize they don't have garments they need when they need them, then they have to do laundry ASAP or wear something from the hamper.  I still do 95% of the youngest's laundry.  He's in charge of moving baskets and putting things in the washer, sometimes laying things out flat so they don't wrinkle.  In a year or so I'll hand it over to him and help with what he can't physically reach (knobs, soap, shifting the load).  DD does hers start to finish.  Middle sorts, dumps, and folds.  I still fold their socks.  But each person's socks are in their own laundry load.  I wash mine and hubby's clothes, rags, and MBA towels.  Their sheets are shared; they strip them and toss them in the wash, but I put them back on the beds.  Laundry, to me, is whatever works.

[CadenceSophia]

I didn't see it mentioned, although I only skimmed.. They make these little circles for socks. They are rubber with teeth on the inside. When you take your socks of you stick them in. They go through the washer as a pair and you can put them right in the drawer in the band. I expect all laundry to go down the laundry shoot every day so mesh bags wouldn't work for us unless we had a ton. If DH wants matched socks he knows what to do :) And I am training DS 8 to use them too.

[Storygirl]

Another idea for socks. Buy diaper pins of different colors and assign a color to each person. One gets yellow; one gets blue, etc. Have each person pin their socks together with their colored pins. The socks will never be separated, and you will always know who they belong to.

 

This was my mom's solution, and it worked! I should probably do it for my family's laundry :p .

[Storygirl]

Each of my kids has his or her own laundry basket in the bedroom. When the basket is full, the clothes gets washed. It's enough to make a full load. Sometimes I throw it in, and sometimes they do. Everyone folds and puts away his or her own. If they aren't available to do it when the dryer is done, I just put the basket of unfolded laundry in the person's room, to be folded later.

 

I used to separate by lights, darks, and whites, but I don't any more. I don't notice a difference in the whiteness of my whites. I do wash my jeans separately from the rest of my clothes, because they bleed.

 

 I realize I'm not as picky about laundry as some, but we don't look wrinkly or have dingy clothes from washing things altogether. It all works fine. And I spend a lot less of my time sorting clothes.

Edited November 3, 2016 by Storygirl

[kiwik]

I think it would be odd. Each kid doing whatever washing is there on a set day seems OK but everyone doing their own says flatmates not family to me. Ds9 and I share socks, ds7 has smallet feet. I just chuck them all in a shared box. I also don't care if my socks aren't exactly a pair provided they are the same colour. We all have black socks.

[Moonhawk]

Yes, everyone does their own wash, even the toddler, lol.  The kids need help to reach the soap. But, they know the settings, put their laundry in, and call me once they turn on the water.  I have a piece of paper taped to the wall next to the washer with all the settings in case they forget.  The toddler needs help but he wants to do as much as possible by himself.  

 

Everyone has their own laundry basket.  They dump it all at once.  My mom dies that I don't color sort their clothes, but each kid doesn't have enough of a certain color, and when I tried to pool-for-wash-and-sort-later, the clothes got all confused and no one could find their favorite whatever.  Clothes aren't dingy, though.  They are wrinkled, but that's another problem. :)

 

Socks have a size written on the bottom, btw, because no matter how we divide the laundry, socks are always missing, found, and mixed. 

 

I do the kitchen towels, bath towels, and sheets if we forget to include with their clothes. 

 

[This started, I should note, as trying to dissuade my then 4 year old from wetting the bed out of laziness.  But he LOVED doing the laundry -- backfire! -- and then my daughter got jealous she didn't get to do HER laundry too, and the toddler saw this as obviously something Big Kids do so of course he wants in.  So, it was a happy accident for us, not something I was intending to give them the responsibility of at a young age.  But, I'm not taking it back now either, lol.]

 

[KrissiK]

No. Nobody has enough for a full load, especially since my boys have plenty of clothes but being junior highers have their favorite 2 shirts and only wear those. And I don't mind the washing and dying part. Each kid has their own laundry basket for clean clothes, so I wash and sort (the boys have their own specific brand for socks and underwear, so that's easy for me to sort) and they have to fold and out away. Although that generally only happens when I nag. My oldest boy just uses his laundry basket as his closet. Which for the most part, I really don't care about. You know, choosing battles and all that.

Edited November 3, 2016 by KrissiK

[Veritaserum]

All my kids wash their own except my 4yo. His clothes go in the hampers dh and I use. Usually I wash those, but sometimes dh does a load.

[Chris in VA]

Everyone does his own. I started teaching my two boys young, when dd came along and I just couldn't manage the laundry. Our dryer was in the hallway back then, and laundry would end up piled up there! I didn't teach folding right away--we call those "The Wrinkly Years."

 

I was washing dh's, tho'--and he'd do mine. But there were too many times he'd wash something of mine that needed special care, like line-drying or something, so we ended up just doing our own. We always have enough for full loads, but we also have adjustable water levels.

 

Ds27 does all the towels for the family on Sunday nights. It's very sweet service to open a closet and have all the towels done. (Dd wishes he'd clean their bathroom instead, but there ya go.)

 

We don't really sort, although I won't wash towels with my clothes (hair gets everywhere) and i separate most jeans from more delicate things. Generally, though, we are a "mixed load and hope for the best" family.

[HeWillSoar]

My boys all do their own laundry.  I do still help the 12 year old fold but I need to start letting him take care of the whole task. 

 

It's interesting to see how the different personalities play out with this.  One kid does his more regularly, taking good care of his clothes, folding and putting away.  He's also one that keeps his room very tidy. The other is just a mess, waiting until his basket is overflowing and then just dumping the clean clothes in a basket to pull out as needed, which results in wrinkled clothing.  I hate that but he's 18--trying not to micromanage his life at this point. 

 

For socks, I try to stick with the same type per person to help tell them apart.  One kid only has black socks, the youngest has white with colors and the smallest size, and the oldest has plain white socks.  Sometimes it's hard to tell his and DH's apart.  Even with them doing their own clothes, socks often get left behind so it's helpful. 

[cottonmama]

At my house, every bedroom has two hampers, so dirty clothes are separated into lights and darks right away.  (Except my 5yo boy who has a room to himself and whose clothes are almost all dark, so it isn't worth a separate basket.)  

 

I only wash the clothes for my own bedroom.  My 5yo does his own laundry, and my 8yo does hers and her 3yo sister's.  I let the kids use laundry pods so they won't make a mess with the detergent.

 

Every bedroom has a clean laundry basket... which unfortunately is usually full of clean but unfolded laundry.  Clothing is rarely put away unless I do it... but at least everyone has clean clothes!

[AmandaVT]

I probably am the laziest laundry person ever, but I'll share what I do. 

 

Our washer/dryer is upstairs in a cubby area between the bedrooms and bathroom. So at night, or when it's time to change clothes, everyone puts their clothes into the hamper or the washer. When the washer looks full, I run it, flip it to the dryer and when it's done, call for DS. He helps me sort and put things away. 

 

Twice a week, I run a towel load and once a week, I wash our sheets. That's about it. No sorting (unless I'm washing something for the first time and worry about bleeding - then I stick it in with the towels). 

 

As for socks, DS and I can wear the same socks, but it's easy to sort them out. He puts his socks away in his sock basket in his room and I do the same. If they mix and mingle, it's ok. 

[Teacher Mom]

Yes. After recovering from the flu one year, I realized that NO ONE had done laundry for two weeks. My husband had gone to the store to buy him and dd (10 years old at the time) underwear and socks rather than doing laundry. After my EPIC meltdown, everyone started to take care of their own clothes.