Why do people get obsessed over laundry?

[Anonymous]

Why do people get so obsessed and overwhelmed by laundry?

It’s not like you a washing it by a river-you put it in the machine and it’s done.

[Anonymous]

Nowadays everyone is overwhelmed with everything, laundry is no exception.

[Anonymous]

People divorce over dishes and laundry.

[Anonymous]

I don't get overwhelmed by it, I just hate it. I like chores that I can just get done. Give me 30 min and I'll clean straight and be done and that's that. I hate that I have to load the washing machine, then in 45 min switch it over. Then another 45 min take it out of the dryer and fold and put away. And repeat if it's more than one load.

I also have ADHD and I manage it pretty well with lists and strategies I've developed over time. But that timing of laundry is always a struggle because there have been many times I've left it in the washing machine for hours.

[Anonymous]

I’m assuming you don’t have kids?
We go through one load a day. Moving it from washer to dryer, then folding it, sorting it, putting it away. Not Terrible, it’s like 20-30min a day total time spent. But let’s say you go on a 3 day mini vacation. Or you get the flu and so 3 days. Suddenly you are 90 minutes in the hole. Now imagine that happens every other week- for some reason, ever 14 days, you have to skip a few days. That means you are not infrequently staying home on a Saturday so you can obsessively switch over laundry loads, fold, sort, put away, then repeat an hour later all afternoon.

[Anonymous]

Cooking can be fun.
I like washing the dishes, water is soothing.
Laundry is neutral. I'm not the one actually washing the clothes!

But cleaning and tidying... ugh. Bane of my life. My ADHD just doesn't work with those chores.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do people get so obsessed and overwhelmed by laundry?

It’s not like you a washing it by a river-you put it in the machine and it’s done.

Really? No one switches it to the dryer or folds it or puts it away? The machine does it? Where can I buy one???

It’s a timing thing. Turns 20min of work into a task that takes all day, for like one load.

[Anonymous]

Nowadays some people like to make a big deal out of everything they need to do.

I don't like doing laundry but I have to do it, so im not wasting my energy complaining about it. Im just going to get it done. I live in NY and need to go to the laundromat but find the good in it. Since im out I can walk down the block to DD and get a latte while im waiting for it to wash.

[Anonymous]

It's not just laundry. In the period where I was working full-time and doing everyone's laundry, and my husband would complain about how I folded his clothes, it's not like he was consistently doing dishes or cleaning the bathroom or much of anything else around the house. Now I still do the kids' laundry but he'll at least throw a load in if I ask, but more to the point, he does both his own laundry and other tasks around the house without me asking.

[Anonymous]

Because it never ends. You get through the 4 loads that have accumulated over the week from skipping a couple days on busy weeknights , you put it away, you pat yourself on the back, and then in 2 days your laundry basket is overflowing again because you rewarded yourself with a day off laundry the next evening after work. I wish we just lived in a nudist colony

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m assuming you don’t have kids?
We go through one load a day. Moving it from washer to dryer, then folding it, sorting it, putting it away. Not Terrible, it’s like 20-30min a day total time spent. But let’s say you go on a 3 day mini vacation. Or you get the flu and so 3 days. Suddenly you are 90 minutes in the hole. Now imagine that happens every other week- for some reason, ever 14 days, you have to skip a few days. That means you are not infrequently staying home on a Saturday so you can obsessively switch over laundry loads, fold, sort, put away, then repeat an hour later all afternoon.

We're a family of 4 (one of whom is now in college) and never, ever, have any of us stayed home for a load of laundry. We separate thin fabrics that take less time to dry from heavier fabrics that take more time to dry, because each washing load goes directly into the dryer, minus the delicates bag that gets hung out to dry. There is no separation by owner or color or type of clothing except for the drying time factor. Over many years I've realized colors don't bleed (I do a separate wash of new items separately to make sure because we had 1 incident in 20 years, and then everything is treated the same).

Laundry is just not on our list of problems.

[Anonymous]

I agree. I (DH) do laundry for my family and I don’t know why it’s a big deal. You just put it in and machine does all the work.

[Anonymous]

I grew up in a family of four, and one load of laundry was washed, folded and put away six days a week. Various family members pitched it. Two children reached adulthood knowing how to both iron and fold fitted sheets. No big deal.

[Anonymous]

Some people just like to waste their energy complaining about how things are.

[Anonymous]

I am puzzled by these people who stay trapped near the washer and dryer.