Most meaningful quality of life splurge

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cleaners hand down.

+1 no question.

[Anonymous]

Cleaner, 💯

[Anonymous]

Celebrate the raise with a splurge item/activity but otherwise do no change your lifestyle. Instead, save the money and earmark for something important to you: savings, travel, renovation, car, etc.

Tally up what cleaners or a laundry service costs before going that route. That’s how I determined the money was better spent elsewhere (travel).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cleaners and laundry service. I spend 8-10 hours a week on laundry for my family. Way worth it to get that time back.

What?!? How many people are in your family?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I put the extra money towards travel and savings.

I’m baffled by people who complain about laundry. You put it in and walk away. What’s so hard?

Cleaners would be nice but I’d rather have that money for a nicer vacation.

Do you actually do the laundry in your house? Putting it in is one of many steps. Sorting, washing, drying, folding, putting away. Let me guess, your wife does all the laundry?

I am the wife. And I have a demanding job and a handful of kids.

We have laundry baskets in each room for clothes and laundry baskets in the 3 bathrooms where we shower.

I alternate days of clothing and towels. Sheets are done every week or so separately. We have multiple sets of back up sheets.

I do a load of something each night.

My teens/tweens have been trained to do laundry and are responsible for folding and putting away their laundry. Sometimes I do it for them, but mostly I leave it on their bed or desk for them to put away.

Laundry is only hard if you make it hard.

How much do people spend on outsourcing laundry? Regardless, I’d rather put that money towards a nice vacation.

Laundry is 2.5 dollars per lb.
you are gong nowhere for vacation even assume you have 100 lbs/month.
the run down motel by daleware beach is going for 699/night on weekends.

[Anonymous]

I started a non-profit, and it's been so rewarding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Savings. Don’t change your lifestyle.

most people have increase of cost of living due to inflation and housing prices. or children growing up with more demands.
I spend way less money on myself than 20 years ago as a poor college student. but childcare, food and basics keep going up each year. I think I am actually downgrading my life style every year after a raise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I put the extra money towards travel and savings.

I’m baffled by people who complain about laundry. You put it in and walk away. What’s so hard?

Cleaners would be nice but I’d rather have that money for a nicer vacation.

Do you actually do the laundry in your house? Putting it in is one of many steps. Sorting, washing, drying, folding, putting away. Let me guess, your wife does all the laundry?

Seriously. Laundry is the bane of my existence.

But 8-10 hours? I do laundry twice a week for myself and two kids. DH does his own. It is not 8-10 hours. But I don’t pre-sort or iron, and kids put their own laundry away once I fold it - plus I’ve stopped turning the clothes right side in. They can do that when they wear it and they do, even if they somehow can’t manage to do it before they drop it in the hamper.

+1. I can’t figure out how laundry takes 8-10 hours. Are people changing 7 times a day? We have a family of 4 and we run one white load and one color load a week. It definitely doesn’t take 8-10 hours.

There's no way this is true unless your kids are tiny. Mine are 13, 15 and 17 who play sports. Easily we can do a load a day, not counting towels and sheets.

NP. Mine are 13 and 15 doing travel sports and I agree - I am always doing laundry. BUT it is just putting it in the wash and dryer. It's not like it's that hard. I run multiple loads through the week for sure! I actually don't mind folding. I would never outsource my laundry as I do high house cleaners and use dry cleaners. I would say one thing that makes my life easier is our machines are upstairs and it's nothing to stick something in the washer or dryer as frequently as needed. When it was in the basement or if you have to constantly carry dry clothes to fold up steps, that sucks. I just take it out of my dryer and fold in my bedroom in front of the TV so it's not a big deal.

You guys have time to be in front of the TV?

You get the idea...put clothes is wash...maybe 15 mins if you are collecting it from hampers. Do anything else till the washer dings. Spend 5 mins putting it in dryer. Do anything else till dryer bings. You did not spend two hours on laundry.

you can't really do anything meaningful while you wait. want to hit the gym? a full session is 60 min. want to take a barre class? that's 90 minutes. want to watch an episode? that's a full hour. just because you are not "washing" doesn't mean your time isn't tied up in said errands.

[Anonymous]

And all these hidden tasks such as sorting laundry by color, spray n touch stains, flips the socks inside out, flip the pants outside in to protect hardware. towels need hot water, clothes need cold water. if you have a front opening washer, wipe the rubber clean after use to prevent mold, and clean out the dryer after use... no wonder everyone who works from home have nothing done except their laundry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I put the extra money towards travel and savings.

I’m baffled by people who complain about laundry. You put it in and walk away. What’s so hard?

Cleaners would be nice but I’d rather have that money for a nicer vacation.

Do you actually do the laundry in your house? Putting it in is one of many steps. Sorting, washing, drying, folding, putting away. Let me guess, your wife does all the laundry?

I am the wife. And I have a demanding job and a handful of kids.

We have laundry baskets in each room for clothes and laundry baskets in the 3 bathrooms where we shower.

I alternate days of clothing and towels. Sheets are done every week or so separately. We have multiple sets of back up sheets.

I do a load of something each night.

My teens/tweens have been trained to do laundry and are responsible for folding and putting away their laundry. Sometimes I do it for them, but mostly I leave it on their bed or desk for them to put away.

Laundry is only hard if you make it hard.

How much do people spend on outsourcing laundry? Regardless, I’d rather put that money towards a nice vacation.

Laundry is 2.5 dollars per lb.
you are gong nowhere for vacation even assume you have 100 lbs/month.
the run down motel by daleware beach is going for 699/night on weekends.

OP is almost doubling her salary. She could go on a vacation. And you can go tons of places for under $200/night. That's totally what I would do. (And do, we live on basically the same budget as we did when I made $50k less.)

The other lifestyle splurge I'd consider if I were OP is a babysitter so you can get out on your own sometimes. Unless you have local family, it's cost prohibitive at a lower income.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I put the extra money towards travel and savings.

I’m baffled by people who complain about laundry. You put it in and walk away. What’s so hard?

Cleaners would be nice but I’d rather have that money for a nicer vacation.

Do you actually do the laundry in your house? Putting it in is one of many steps. Sorting, washing, drying, folding, putting away. Let me guess, your wife does all the laundry?

Seriously. Laundry is the bane of my existence.

But 8-10 hours? I do laundry twice a week for myself and two kids. DH does his own. It is not 8-10 hours. But I don’t pre-sort or iron, and kids put their own laundry away once I fold it - plus I’ve stopped turning the clothes right side in. They can do that when they wear it and they do, even if they somehow can’t manage to do it before they drop it in the hamper.

+1. I can’t figure out how laundry takes 8-10 hours. Are people changing 7 times a day? We have a family of 4 and we run one white load and one color load a week. It definitely doesn’t take 8-10 hours.

There's no way this is true unless your kids are tiny. Mine are 13, 15 and 17 who play sports. Easily we can do a load a day, not counting towels and sheets.

NP. Mine are 13 and 15 doing travel sports and I agree - I am always doing laundry. BUT it is just putting it in the wash and dryer. It's not like it's that hard. I run multiple loads through the week for sure! I actually don't mind folding. I would never outsource my laundry as I do high house cleaners and use dry cleaners. I would say one thing that makes my life easier is our machines are upstairs and it's nothing to stick something in the washer or dryer as frequently as needed. When it was in the basement or if you have to constantly carry dry clothes to fold up steps, that sucks. I just take it out of my dryer and fold in my bedroom in front of the TV so it's not a big deal.

You guys have time to be in front of the TV?

You get the idea...put clothes is wash...maybe 15 mins if you are collecting it from hampers. Do anything else till the washer dings. Spend 5 mins putting it in dryer. Do anything else till dryer bings. You did not spend two hours on laundry.

you can't really do anything meaningful while you wait. want to hit the gym? a full session is 60 min. want to take a barre class? that's 90 minutes. want to watch an episode? that's a full hour. just because you are not "washing" doesn't mean your time isn't tied up in said errands.

DP. You can do other chores or simply relax while waiting on the laundry. It’s not like you are standing there staring at it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I put the extra money towards travel and savings.

I’m baffled by people who complain about laundry. You put it in and walk away. What’s so hard?

Cleaners would be nice but I’d rather have that money for a nicer vacation.

Do you actually do the laundry in your house? Putting it in is one of many steps. Sorting, washing, drying, folding, putting away. Let me guess, your wife does all the laundry?

Seriously. Laundry is the bane of my existence.

But 8-10 hours? I do laundry twice a week for myself and two kids. DH does his own. It is not 8-10 hours. But I don’t pre-sort or iron, and kids put their own laundry away once I fold it - plus I’ve stopped turning the clothes right side in. They can do that when they wear it and they do, even if they somehow can’t manage to do it before they drop it in the hamper.

+1. I can’t figure out how laundry takes 8-10 hours. Are people changing 7 times a day? We have a family of 4 and we run one white load and one color load a week. It definitely doesn’t take 8-10 hours.

There's no way this is true unless your kids are tiny. Mine are 13, 15 and 17 who play sports. Easily we can do a load a day, not counting towels and sheets.

NP. Mine are 13 and 15 doing travel sports and I agree - I am always doing laundry. BUT it is just putting it in the wash and dryer. It's not like it's that hard. I run multiple loads through the week for sure! I actually don't mind folding. I would never outsource my laundry as I do high house cleaners and use dry cleaners. I would say one thing that makes my life easier is our machines are upstairs and it's nothing to stick something in the washer or dryer as frequently as needed. When it was in the basement or if you have to constantly carry dry clothes to fold up steps, that sucks. I just take it out of my dryer and fold in my bedroom in front of the TV so it's not a big deal.

You guys have time to be in front of the TV?

You get the idea...put clothes is wash...maybe 15 mins if you are collecting it from hampers. Do anything else till the washer dings. Spend 5 mins putting it in dryer. Do anything else till dryer bings. You did not spend two hours on laundry.

you can't really do anything meaningful while you wait. want to hit the gym? a full session is 60 min. want to take a barre class? that's 90 minutes. want to watch an episode? that's a full hour. just because you are not "washing" doesn't mean your time isn't tied up in said errands.

Ok I get not wanting to leave the house (though I do) but you can not make dinner, do other chores, chat with someone, play with kids or dog, read a book, do a craft or hobby...literally anything while your washer or dryer is going?

[Anonymous]

Cleaners. Full stop.

Kids can be taught to do laundry much easier than forced to clean each week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I put the extra money towards travel and savings.

I’m baffled by people who complain about laundry. You put it in and walk away. What’s so hard?

Cleaners would be nice but I’d rather have that money for a nicer vacation.

Do you actually do the laundry in your house? Putting it in is one of many steps. Sorting, washing, drying, folding, putting away. Let me guess, your wife does all the laundry?

Seriously. Laundry is the bane of my existence.

But 8-10 hours? I do laundry twice a week for myself and two kids. DH does his own. It is not 8-10 hours. But I don’t pre-sort or iron, and kids put their own laundry away once I fold it - plus I’ve stopped turning the clothes right side in. They can do that when they wear it and they do, even if they somehow can’t manage to do it before they drop it in the hamper.

+1. I can’t figure out how laundry takes 8-10 hours. Are people changing 7 times a day? We have a family of 4 and we run one white load and one color load a week. It definitely doesn’t take 8-10 hours.

There's no way this is true unless your kids are tiny. Mine are 13, 15 and 17 who play sports. Easily we can do a load a day, not counting towels and sheets.

NP. Mine are 13 and 15 doing travel sports and I agree - I am always doing laundry. BUT it is just putting it in the wash and dryer. It's not like it's that hard. I run multiple loads through the week for sure! I actually don't mind folding. I would never outsource my laundry as I do high house cleaners and use dry cleaners. I would say one thing that makes my life easier is our machines are upstairs and it's nothing to stick something in the washer or dryer as frequently as needed. When it was in the basement or if you have to constantly carry dry clothes to fold up steps, that sucks. I just take it out of my dryer and fold in my bedroom in front of the TV so it's not a big deal.

You guys have time to be in front of the TV?

You get the idea...put clothes is wash...maybe 15 mins if you are collecting it from hampers. Do anything else till the washer dings. Spend 5 mins putting it in dryer. Do anything else till dryer bings. You did not spend two hours on laundry.

you can't really do anything meaningful while you wait. want to hit the gym? a full session is 60 min. want to take a barre class? that's 90 minutes. want to watch an episode? that's a full hour. just because you are not "washing" doesn't mean your time isn't tied up in said errands.

Ok I get not wanting to leave the house (though I do) but you can not make dinner, do other chores, chat with someone, play with kids or dog, read a book, do a craft or hobby...literally anything while your washer or dryer is going?

If your washer takes 50 minutes, it's ok to leave it in after it finishes to complete your one hour episode or gym class or whatever. That's the beauty of having them at home. (If you're in a laundromat or shared housing situation it's a different story, I'll give you that.)

[Anonymous]

I got a new couch and it was life changing (for me). our couches before this one were an ikea loveseat (fine, but you can't recline or really sink into it) and a larger hand me down one that was also fine, but had no armrests and wasn't deep enough to lounge.

I got a one time influx of cash and bought a crate and barrel sectional two years ago and I still think how grateful I am to have a comfortable couch every day