toSort or Not to Sort......laundry Quandry

[GeorgiaPeach]

Sounds like me....
I do white, black/grey, jeans, blues, orange/yellow, green, red/pink/purple and khaki. But then again, I also iron eveything before it goes back in the closet.

Sounds like the "old" me. When we first got married, I ironed everything! Every thing was ironed before I would wear it....jeans, tshirts, etc. After first child, I only ironed some things. After second child, it only got ironed if it was REALLY bad. I absolutely LOVE Downey Wrinkle Releaser. I rarely get the iron out anymore.

Once I realized that I would spend 15 minutes ironing a blouse for church and by the time I got to church (after wearing a seatbelt), you couldn't even tell.....I gave up trying to do it all. Ironing is the one thing I just let slip and haven't looked back

 

[chefshawna]

Ironing......What's that?????? You mean the cycle on the dryer? LOL I'm with you on the wrinkle releaser!

 

[ChefBeckyD]

hmmm, let see - I do towels and pajamas/sweatshirts as one load, and then everything else gets separated into darks and lights/whites. That's as far as I separate.


And my dryer is the only iron I use!

 

[daniellemorgan]

I wash everything together in cold water. If there are sheets involved then I usually wash them with towels and sweatshirts, but still in cold water. It really does make life easier!

 

[friday]

I make my boys do their own wash. I go into their rooms and fish out the towels, but other than that- not my problem (they are 11 and 13). I wash my dh's whites separately- he has lots of white shirts for the office that need to look nice. So, towels, dh's whites, and everything else. I still hate the stuff. Laundry sucks. I want to hire a teenager to do it for me. Would that be going too far?

 

[sfdavis918]

I make my boys do their own wash. I go into their rooms and fish out the towels, but other than that- not my problem (they are 11 and 13). I wash my dh's whites separately- he has lots of white shirts for the office that need to look nice. So, towels, dh's whites, and everything else. I still hate the stuff. Laundry sucks. I want to hire a teenager to do it for me. Would that be going too far?

IMO, it would only be going to far if you had to sacrafice food on the table to pay for it!!

 

[GeorgiaPeach]

IMO, it would only be going to far if you had to sacrafice food on the table to pay for it!!

I think she's already sacrificing food off the table....look what she's feeding that poor baby (avatar)

 

[wadesgirl]

You iron what... Okay, sometimes I iron my shirts and pants if they need it for PC shows but other than that... I work in a factory and all winter wear the same black zip hoodie because it's so cold in there! I mentioned earlier that I don't really sort much, just jeans, shirts and whites. That's it. Works great in our house.

 

[Intrepid_Chef]

I am single and therefore I often toss in one load that has everything. Only exception is things that bleed (I tend to have some dark things to wash with my jeans) and when I bleach my whites. My washer has a low water setting.

I wash everything in warm, cold rinse.

 

[raebates]

I hate to sort laundry. Years ago we moved from a small trailer into a good-sized home. At that time (our 21-year-old DS was in 1st grade), I set up three hampers in the laundry room--1 for whites, 1 for colors, and 1 for jeans. There's a towel hamper in the bathroom. I have my own hamper in our large, walk-in closet, since my clothes don't get nearly as grungy as the guys'. It made it so much easier for me, because I didn't have to sort through everything if someone was out of tighty whities. As our DS got older, it also made it easier for him to do a load or two of laundry.Our DS lived at home for about two years after he graduated from high school. At that point, we gave him two hampers for his room. He used one for jeans/hoodies. Everything else went in the other. He did his own laundry. He's actually thanked me for making sure he knew how to do laundry, remove stains, and press a shirt. Many of his college friends had trouble the first couple of months at school.Since it's just the two of us now, The Furry Guy uses the laundry room hampers. He tends to put everything in one and wash everything together. (Yes, he does his own laundry.) He wears t-shirts and jeans/cammies, but no real dress clothes at all. It's not like he's going to hurt anything. My own laundry I just sort into line-dry and dryer-safe. On the rare occasion that The Furry Guy wears something besides his standard gear, he usually puts it in my hamper.

 

[climbercanoe3]

Yup my hubby does all the laundry around here. I love it, because I do not enjoy doing laundry and I guess he does. I have enough other jobs around the house so I do not mind at all. I think he does dark and light loads and occasionally an all white bleach load. He hasn't screwed any clothes up yet, so he gets to keep his job.

 

[wadesgirl]

I hate to sort laundry. Years ago we moved from a small trailer into a good-sized home. At that time (our 21-year-old DS was in 1st grade), I set up three hampers in the laundry room--1 for whites, 1 for colors, and 1 for jeans. There's a towel hamper in the bathroom. I have my own hamper in our large, walk-in closet, since my clothes don't get nearly as grungy as the guys'. It made it so much easier for me, because I didn't have to sort through everything if someone was out of tighty whities. As our DS got older, it also made it easier for him to do a load or two of laundry.

Our DS lived at home for about two years after he graduated from high school. At that point, we gave him two hampers for his room. He used one for jeans/hoodies. Everything else went in the other. He did his own laundry. He's actually thanked me for making sure he knew how to do laundry, remove stains, and press a shirt. Many of his college friends had trouble the first couple of months at school.

Since it's just the two of us now, The Furry Guy uses the laundry room hampers. He tends to put everything in one and wash everything together. (Yes, he does his own laundry.) He wears t-shirts and jeans/cammies, but no real dress clothes at all. It's not like he's going to hurt anything.

My own laundry I just sort into line-dry and dryer-safe. On the rare occasion that The Furry Guy wears something besides his standard gear, he usually puts it in my hamper.

I do believe that teaching your children to do laundry is a good thing! I didn't learn from my dad but from a friend. I wouldn't trust DH to do the laundry, he has a hard time figuring out what temp, setting and how much detergent to use. Plus all the shirts that I keep buying that I realize are dry clean or hand dry only after I buy them!

 

[rennea]

I hubby does the ironing around here. I don't do it good enough from what I have been told

 

[Michelle817]

This post is funny to me- as a lifelong "non-sorter," it seems funny to me that so many people make a big deal out of it. The only time I wash things separate are if they're new & dark. Otherwise, everything gets washed together, on warm. I have no problem with my clothes! Oh, and this is laundry for me, my husband, and 2 little boys.

 

[MissChef]

What an interesting thread!
I have kept a hamper in each of my kids' closets from the beginning! I just tell them to bring it to me when it starts getting full, and I tell them that if they notice something is getting low that they had better let me know, or they will have to wear dirty clothes!!! Like my son has this huge habit of putting on a new pair of socks EVERYTIME he needs to put on his shoes!! Ugh!!!
In my house I am forced to do things this way for the most part. My daughter has sensitive skin and I have to use detergents and dryer sheets that are "free" of any dyes or scents for her. The only thing I wash together of all of ours in our whites. I am tempted after reading this thread to put a small bin in each of their closets and have them put their whites in there, then it would be less sorting for me! My son and I usually share in our laundry because he is growing so fast that I wash all his clothes in cold unless they get really dirty! The cold keeps them from shrinking so bad and my clothes, I've always washed mine in cold, and I throw my hubby's church clothes in with that load. My hubby has his own load because he needs them to be washed in warm/hot and tide or the stains and smells do not come out!!!
I wash towels seperately and sheets seperately! Only because again, I wash the towels in the "free" detergent and DD's sheets go in with those and then I wash DS and our sheets together because I love the smell of clean sheets! I love good smelling laundry and my DD's loads just smell so boring!!!
I need to find a better system for the towels, because often my kids will throw their towels in their hamper, and then I'm forced to sort! My DD makes my life a lot harder in the laundry dept.! I was forced to do it this way for her sanity! or she'd itch like crazy! (Eczema!) Oh, also I have to double rinse all of her clothes, the whites and the towels, anything that has to do with her, I have to double rinse! She get's her clothes washed in cold! My water bill is high enough, I have to control the electric! LOL~!
Very intriguing post Georgia Peach!

 

[MissChef]

Sounds like me....
I do white, black/grey, jeans, blues, orange/yellow, green, red/pink/purple and khaki. But then again, I also iron eveything before it goes back in the closet.

Forget that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Today was the first time I picked up the iron in about 6 months! LOL! My shirt needed to be ironed for church this morning and I went to the ironing board kicking and hollering the whole way !!LOL! My hubby had it out for himself already, so I just told him to leave it, I needed it and his eyes almost popped out his head! !

 

[erinyourpclady]

Forget that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Today was the first time I picked up the iron in about 6 months! LOL! My shirt needed to be ironed for church this morning and I went to the ironing board kicking and hollering the whole way !!LOL! My hubby had it out for himself already, so I just told him to leave it, I needed it and his eyes almost popped out his head! !

It's ok...I know I have "issues"! LOL!!

 

[KellyTheChef]

Forget that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Today was the first time I picked up the iron in about 6 months! LOL! My shirt needed to be ironed for church this morning and I went to the ironing board kicking and hollering the whole way !!LOL! My hubby had it out for himself already, so I just told him to leave it, I needed it and his eyes almost popped out his head! !

Yea..no ironing here unless it's a BIG event (funeral, wedding, job interview)

I actually had to get the iron out yesterday, but it was to iron on a patch to DS's favorite black Tshirt that has a hole towards the bottom of the shirt!

 

[PamperedChefDebi]

Wow, I am floored by the fact that so few of you really sort things. I'm pretty anal about sorting it to some extent. Now I'm thinking I may need to reevaluate!!

 

[wadesgirl]

Wow, I am floored by the fact that so few of you really sort things. I'm pretty anal about sorting it to some extent. Now I'm thinking I may need to reevaluate!!

It's not worth your time! I've never had anything change colors, shrink, etc!

 

[raebates]

I do believe that teaching your children to do laundry is a good thing! I didn't learn from my dad but from a friend. I wouldn't trust DH to do the laundry, he has a hard time figuring out what temp, setting and how much detergent to use. Plus all the shirts that I keep buying that I realize are dry clean or hand dry only after I buy them!

The Furry Guy is authorized only to do his own laundry. Once, during our first couple of years of marriage, he did the laundry. He ruined one of my few good blouses. :grumpy: That was the last time he really did any of my clothes.

 

[wadesgirl]

The Furry Guy is authorized only to do his own laundry. Once, during our first couple of years of marriage, he did the laundry. He ruined one of my few good blouses. :grumpy: That was the last time he really did any of my clothes.

Another funny thing about DH is that he really won't do his laundry but also will not check his own pants before he puts them in the hamper. I have washed his wallet, several pens and a couple pay checks (luckily it's just the statement since we have auto deposit). I've warned him several times that I do not check pockets, if he has anything important than he needs to remove it himself.

 

[raebates]

Oh, yeah, and any money found in the washing machine or dryer is mine.

 

[friday]

I think she's already sacrificing food off the table....look what she's feeding that poor baby (avatar)

THAT IS A HIGH QUALITY KITCHEN TOOL!!! Only the best for my little one!!:balloon:

 

[wadesgirl]

Oh, yeah, and any money found in the washing machine or dryer is mine.

I do the same thing, with any spare change found around the house. I put it in a piggy bank that eventually gets funneled into our saving's account that goes to our future house.

 

[friday]

Oh, yeah, and any money found in the washing machine or dryer is mine.

Of course it is! That is your pay for doing the stuff. Sometimes I find myself with a nice bonus!

 

[ChefBeckyD]

Oh, yeah, and any money found in the washing machine or dryer is mine.

Usually, it was falling out of my pockets to begin with....... (I'm the one who forgets to check pockets - DH is really great about it.)

 

[ChefBeckyD]

THAT IS A HIGH QUALITY KITCHEN TOOL!!! Only the best for my little one!!:balloon:

LOL!

 

[jrstephens]

Here's how I do mine:

I have two baskets in the bathroom"
1 for towels and bath cloths and socks
1 for all others.
Luke has his own basket in his room.

I wash all of Luke's together except I have start putting his jeans in with ours and if something is solid red I put it in with our reds.

I sort mine into the following groups:
Jeans
Whites and geys and other light colors
Reds and maroons
Black and other dark colors
Towels and bath cloths and socks and stuff get washed seperately.
My sheets are washed seperately b/c usually when I wash then and the pillow cases nothing esle needs to fit.

I wash everything in cold water.

I have a FEAR of bleeding clothes and messing some up.

When the baby gets here, he will have his own basket and they will get washed all together in a baby detergent. I did this with Luke until he was around 1 or so.

Russell most of the time has started washing his white socks and underwear on his own b/c he says I do not use enough CLorox2/bleach and I say he uses too much!

I do not put up the towels and cloths either. They are left in our bedroom in their own hamper. Drives my mom CRAZY!!! But I HATE to fold them!! I keep saying I need to get in the habit of doing it but I just cannot do it!

 

[rennea]

Here's how I do mine:

I have two baskets in the bathroom"
1 for towels and bath cloths and socks
1 for all others.
Luke has his own basket in his room.

I wash all of Luke's together except I have start putting his jeans in with ours and if something is solid red I put it in with our reds.

I sort mine into the following groups:
Jeans
Whites and geys and other light colors
Reds and maroons
Black and other dark colors
Towels and bath cloths and socks and stuff get washed seperately.
My sheets are washed seperately b/c usually when I wash then and the pillow cases nothing esle needs to fit.

I wash everything in cold water.

I have a FEAR of bleeding clothes and messing some up.

When the baby gets here, he will have his own basket and they will get washed all together in a baby detergent. I did this with Luke until he was around 1 or so.

Russell most of the time has started washing his white socks and underwear on his own b/c he says I do not use enough CLorox2/bleach and I say he uses too much!

I do not put up the towels and cloths either. They are left in our bedroom in their own hamper. Drives my mom CRAZY!!! But I HATE to fold them!! I keep saying I need to get in the habit of doing it but I just cannot do it!

I've always been told you should wash your bedding and towels in hot water to kill bactria and dust mites. But I guess if you use bleach it might just do the trick too.