Dirty Laundry

[GGT]

Everybody generates dirty laundry. Washing clothes is one of those necessary chores. And it's never complete.

2am, and I'm running wash and dry cycles, soaking things, looking for mismatched socks ( ).....because we put it off too long after the holidays. I shouldn't complain, really, because I have a washer/dryer. Plus, my kids "do their own laundry". Sorta. Mostly.

Things like blankets and jackets tend to pile up. Once winter came they ignored lighter clothes and just piled things in their closets. The hand-me-down chain has hit a glitch, too. It's amazing how fast it can spiral out of control.

So....new parents (all those tiny socks!), single people, married couples, men and women, weigh in on The World of Laundry!

[termite]

I don't know when it happens or why, I just drop my clothes on the floor and don't think of them again until I find them in a my draw folded and ready to wear...
... the process simply repeats itself.



Everybody loves Termite...

[Ominous Gamer]

Wash when there is enough for a full load. No point in wasting water and energy. Some of my stuff I'll wear twice of so before washing. If I'm sitting at work all day with a button shirt, why would it be considered dirty? Or who is going to notice if I wear something on my day off that I wore the day before at work?

Who the hell still uses an iron?


Brandy and I split the duties, whoever is free at the time that night. Sometimes she starts it when I'm on the xbox, sometimes I start it when she is watching TV. A load runs, we lay it out in the back room, and throw it in the dryer in the morning. Remembering to get it out of the dryer is the fun part.

[Catgrrl]

I do laundry every day now. With a 7 month old who spits up and pees all over her crib and me, it's unavoidable. Yesterday was the only day I didn't run a load in the last two weeks.
It doesn't bother me though, I have a washer and dryer and I'm home most of the day. THe water bill sucks.

Before baby I only did three loads a week, on Sunday.

[Omega]

smelling your laundry is dumb because you become desensitized to your own fetid smell.

[Hazir]

I sort of wash when it makes sense; I don't run the machine empty. Typically 2 loads a week when I am on my own. I try to wear as little that needs ironing and am pretty successfull at it. Sometimes I use the trick of putting only one or two shirts in the dryer as they usually come out almost as good as ironed, which is cool.

My hamper for used clothes is the floor, my hamper for used towels is the bathroomfloor (works great to leave it with dry feet) the real hamper I use for clean laundry that should be folded and put away, but sometimes, especially for towels that part of the cycle gets cut out

[Crowheart]

Laundry is my job in our house.
Gladly take that over grocery shopping.

Every Saturday, usually is three loads.

Sometimes she'll do a load during the week which means I've made her mad about something.
She does laundry when she's mad for some reason.
So if I hear that washer during the week...oh-oh, there's trouble in River City.

[rumrunner]

Wife do laundry. Me no good at laundry. Caveman attitude complete.
Yes I am often told I should help around the house more, pfft. When the wife crawls under the house to fix pipes, or nearly severs a finger cutting out for the new french doors she wanted. I'll consider it.

[termite]

My wife is in charge of cooking and cleaning and I am in charge of defense and security...

[Being]

Sometimes she'll do a load during the week which means I've made her mad about something.
She does laundry when she's mad for some reason.
So if I hear that washer during the week...oh-oh, there's trouble in River City.

Have you ever caught her riding the washing machine?

[Crowheart]

No, but some of the looks she's been giving the dryer...hmm, don't know.

[Timbuk2]

Wear boxers, socks and work shirts once.
Wear T-shirts and daddy shirts around 2-3 times, unless stained.

Wear suits, trousers and jackets for work around 3-4 times, unless stained. Those get dry-cleaned.
Wear jeans and sweaters around 5 times, unless stained.

Bedsheets and towels I do around every 10 days.

Which means I do one dark wash and one light wash once a week, on average. Not a lot.

Around 50% of my shirts are either non-iron or easy-iron, so if hung up to dry properly will not need an iron. The other 50% need a good ironing. I don't iron anything else, unless my lady asks me to iron a dress or blouse of hers.

[GGT]

Who the hell still uses an iron?

100% cotton button-down shirts, dress pants. Not often, though. (I used to iron all my husband's shirts, after the dry cleaner kept breaking buttons.) My sister's mother-in-law irons all the time---table cloths, sheets, pillow cases. She used to iron underwear until my sis said stop that.

Around 50% of my shirts are either non-iron or easy-iron, so if hung up to dry properly will not need an iron. The other 50% need a good ironing. I don't iron anything else, unless my lady asks me to iron a dress or blouse of hers.

[Timbuk2]

I'm finickity, and meticulous to a fault. Stuff that passes over my board gets properly de-creased. My lady knows this so prefers me to iron if she's round at my place wanting to wear an item of hers I've washed.

Whereas she ironed a shirt of mine once. Once.

I also don't mind ironing - it's vaguely therapeutic.

[GGT]

Tim, how far down do you iron the back pleat in shirts, the one coming off the collar? And do you use starch?

[Timbuk2]

On the shirts I have with pleats, I feel ironing the crease about four inches down is about right. Then I'll iron the bottom of the crease flat, and come back up the bottom of the crease gently so that the crease transitions smoothly, not suddenly.

Starch ... noooo ... most modern formal shirts I buy have a non-fabric collar-stiffener in place, and when after many washes that starts to soften and the collar curls inward, the shirt is approaching throw-away time anyways.

The casual shirts I wear do not have a stiffened-collar style.

[GGT]

We have collar stays that fit in the pointy part, removable for washing. I use a little spray starch on the sleeves, collar, and front placket. Love that smell of freshly ironed shirts.

[Catgrrl]

I only break out the iron once in a while to get a tablecloth just right before a party. Or to get rid of the creases in my cross-stitch work before framing it.

[Lor]

Wear boxers, socks and work shirts once.
Wear T-shirts and daddy shirts around 2-3 times, unless stained.

Wear suits, trousers and jackets for work around 3-4 times, unless stained. Those get dry-cleaned.
Wear jeans and sweaters around 5 times, unless stained.

Bedsheets and towels I do around every 10 days.

Which means I do one dark wash and one light wash once a week, on average. Not a lot.

Around 50% of my shirts are either non-iron or easy-iron, so if hung up to dry properly will not need an iron. The other 50% need a good ironing. I don't iron anything else, unless my lady asks me to iron a dress or blouse of hers.

*high five*

BOOM! That's the way we roll.

[Flixy]

Wear boxers, socks and work shirts once.
Wear T-shirts and daddy shirts around 2-3 times, unless stained.

Wear suits, trousers and jackets for work around 3-4 times, unless stained. Those get dry-cleaned.
Wear jeans and sweaters around 5 times, unless stained.

Bedsheets and towels I do around every 10 days.

Which means I do one dark wash and one light wash once a week, on average. Not a lot.

Around 50% of my shirts are either non-iron or easy-iron, so if hung up to dry properly will not need an iron. The other 50% need a good ironing. I don't iron anything else, unless my lady asks me to iron a dress or blouse of hers.

That's about the same as me, though I hardly wear dress shirts so I don't need to iron often. Which is good, because I don't have an iron here so I have to bring it back to my parents or bring it to friends to get it ironed.

[rumrunner]

My daughter irons every week. She's in jrotc, and I don't allow her to get off easy by dry-cleaning her ACU's. Her class A's are dry-cleaned, though.