I can finally speak up about our 10 day "staycation" with ILs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can only imagine what they are posting on the UK Urban Granny (and Gramps) forums. Some gems:

- Our young American DIL put this ridiculously large bottle of soap to try and convince us to do her dishes.
- Touristy stuff was so dull and boring, but she kept insisting that its the most interesting, as its the capital city of the most powerful nation in the universe. Geez after 90 minutes of it, you'd think its enough already!
- Americans and their need for dryers... pshah. And then they claim to be environmentalists.

Take me back to world that makes sense. At least we'll have the excuse of being "too old" to make another trip. Thank God (and long live the Queen).

You are funny!
I think this could be the case...... if my inlaws owned a computer or had email/knew how to use the internet, but they don't! LOL

OP

Brit here, many people in Britain air dry their clothes. The dryers are different and don't get things that dry. I can completely understand why they would want to take their clothes hom rather than risk them shrinking in your dryer. I really don't understand the rest of your complaints, apart from the one about "rinsing" your dishes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here.

Wow - this has gotten nasty and many assumptions have been made about foreigners and respect for differing cultures.

FWIW, I went to University in the UK. I lived there for many years and am well aware of the cultural differences. As you can imagine, the types of people I met as a 25 yr old in London are not the same types that are from a tiny town up north. So my vent was just that....my inlaws are lovely, decent people who just have very different habits to ours and grew up in a very different way with regards to hygiene and education.

And yes, all cups and dishes went in the sanitize cycle after they left!

Hang on, what you mean is that they washed the dishes by hand (using warm water and soap) and you wanted to "sanitize" them?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You complain about this? Try having abusive, narcissistic, and mean-spirited for a change. Pfffft.

+1

I have to agree with this. Some MILs need to be burned at the stake. At sundown. With all of the DIL's present. Maybe a public stoning. Sorry, getting lost in a vision......

. After reading DCUM family, I think the same could be said for dils. Sad, that there are so many vile and self-centered people.

Signed, Bitter MIL that is puzzled that pleasant DIL does not care to spend time

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here.

Wow - this has gotten nasty and many assumptions have been made about foreigners and respect for differing cultures.

FWIW, I went to University in the UK. I lived there for many years and am well aware of the cultural differences. As you can imagine, the types of people I met as a 25 yr old in London are not the same types that are from a tiny town up north. So my vent was just that....my inlaws are lovely, decent people who just have very different habits to ours and grew up in a very different way with regards to hygiene and education.

And yes, all cups and dishes went in the sanitize cycle after they left!

Hang on, what you mean is that they washed the dishes by hand (using warm water and soap) and you wanted to "sanitize" them?

You didn't read the OP. The cups were rinsed with just water and return to cupboard. No soap. Ewww, but that's the only valid complaint listed.

[Anonymous]

I'm also a Brit. OP I can totally empathize with you. 10 days with the in-laws is hard work no matter how much you like them and cultural quirks can play into that. Personally, I am bamboozled by the American obsession with dryers. My (American) husband tells me that I can't hang the clothes out to dry in the back garden because it isn't allowed. I'm not sure whether he is having me on or not but either way it is odd. Dryers literally eat electricity and they are TERRIBLE for the environment. Plus they trash your clothes eventually. Why, why, why don't americans line dry clothes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You complain about this? Try having abusive, narcissistic, and mean-spirited for a change. Pfffft.

+1

I have to agree with this. Some MILs need to be burned at the stake. At sundown. With all of the DIL's present. Maybe a public stoning. Sorry, getting lost in a vision......

. After reading DCUM family, I think the same could be said for dils. Sad, that there are so many vile and self-centered people.

Signed, Bitter MIL that is puzzled that pleasant DIL does not care to spend time

Not even close. My kids are still quit young. I Am simply mature enough to see two sides of the picture. It is quite enlightening. You should try it sometime.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm also a Brit. OP I can totally empathize with you. 10 days with the in-laws is hard work no matter how much you like them and cultural quirks can play into that. Personally, I am bamboozled by the American obsession with dryers. My (American) husband tells me that I can't hang the clothes out to dry in the back garden because it isn't allowed. I'm not sure whether he is having me on or not but either way it is odd. Dryers literally eat electricity and they are TERRIBLE for the environment. Plus they trash your clothes eventually. Why, why, why don't americans line dry clothes?

I suppose if you live in a subdivision, line drying clothes might be against the Home Owners Association rules. I always wonder though, when air drying your clothes in an apartment in the UK, where do you hang them? How do you make enough space to hang all of your clothes to dry? (sincere question). I live in a house, and wouldn't have enough space to dry all of my clothes (unless you have some tips up your sleeve). I don't like to hang clothes out because they always come in with bugs on them; and I also think about all the pollen and other allergens. My dh likes to tell the story of when he was a kid and put on a pair of pants that had been line dried, and was immediately stung by 3 bees in his pant leg.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm also a Brit. OP I can totally empathize with you. 10 days with the in-laws is hard work no matter how much you like them and cultural quirks can play into that. Personally, I am bamboozled by the American obsession with dryers. My (American) husband tells me that I can't hang the clothes out to dry in the back garden because it isn't allowed. I'm not sure whether he is having me on or not but either way it is odd. Dryers literally eat electricity and they are TERRIBLE for the environment. Plus they trash your clothes eventually. Why, why, why don't americans line dry clothes?

I suppose if you live in a subdivision, line drying clothes might be against the Home Owners Association rules. I always wonder though, when air drying your clothes in an apartment in the UK, where do you hang them? How do you make enough space to hang all of your clothes to dry? (sincere question). I live in a house, and wouldn't have enough space to dry all of my clothes (unless you have some tips up your sleeve). I don't like to hang clothes out because they always come in with bugs on them; and I also think about all the pollen and other allergens. My dh likes to tell the story of when he was a kid and put on a pair of pants that had been line dried, and was immediately stung by 3 bees in his pant leg.

So I have dried clothes without a dryer everywhere I lived in the UK. In my small London flat, I used to hang clothes on an airer and on the radiators. In my house in the London suburbs, I just used to pop them on the line out in the garden. YOu do have to be organized to ensure that you wash things and then dry before moving onto the next load but it becomes totally second nature. Here, I sometimes string things across the bannister on the stairs in my little act of anti-dryer rebellion. But if I had my way, I'd put up a line in the back garden and just dry them all there. The weather here, particularly in the summer is perfect for it. And I've never been stung by a bee in trouser leg….

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm also a Brit. OP I can totally empathize with you. 10 days with the in-laws is hard work no matter how much you like them and cultural quirks can play into that. Personally, I am bamboozled by the American obsession with dryers. My (American) husband tells me that I can't hang the clothes out to dry in the back garden because it isn't allowed. I'm not sure whether he is having me on or not but either way it is odd. Dryers literally eat electricity and they are TERRIBLE for the environment. Plus they trash your clothes eventually. Why, why, why don't americans line dry clothes?

Some neighborhoods do not allow clothes to be hung out to dry - this could be stipulated in the Homeowners Association Rules. Your husband is prob referring to this.

Line drying clothes take forever (esp in UK) and leaves clothes hard and somewhat crunchy (especially jeans and thick materials).
Dryer leaves clothes soft, although I admit some items do shrink in high heat settings. Sorry, the high electric bill argument doesn't wash with me. I costs what - an extra $5 a month if that?

-OP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm also a Brit. OP I can totally empathize with you. 10 days with the in-laws is hard work no matter how much you like them and cultural quirks can play into that. Personally, I am bamboozled by the American obsession with dryers. My (American) husband tells me that I can't hang the clothes out to dry in the back garden because it isn't allowed. I'm not sure whether he is having me on or not but either way it is odd. Dryers literally eat electricity and they are TERRIBLE for the environment. Plus they trash your clothes eventually. Why, why, why don't americans line dry clothes?

Some neighborhoods do not allow clothes to be hung out to dry - this could be stipulated in the Homeowners Association Rules. Your husband is prob referring to this.

Line drying clothes take forever (esp in UK) and leaves clothes hard and somewhat crunchy (especially jeans and thick materials).
Dryer leaves clothes soft, although I admit some items do shrink in high heat settings. Sorry, the high electric bill argument doesn't wash with me. I costs what - an extra $5 a month if that?

-OP

I'm much less concerned by the cost and much more concerned about the environmental impact of running a dryer. But I realise that this too is a cultural perspective.

[Anonymous]

I absolutely love the smell of sheets dried outside - nothing like it!

[Anonymous]

Perhaps op's mil should have allowed her to was her clothes. Then, the mil could have draped her wet clothes all over op's house to dry.

[Anonymous]

Please ......... drying clothes outside may work when it is warm enough but what happens when it gets cold?

As far as drying clothes outside in the UK, that is a joke given the weather there and the rainfall which can come quite unexpectedly. Yes, when I lived there people did dry them on the radiators of their heating system and it was not exactly the most edifying spectacle. Besides, drying clothes on a radiator does not equate to drying it outside where it dries in the sunshine and dry air.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm also a Brit. OP I can totally empathize with you. 10 days with the in-laws is hard work no matter how much you like them and cultural quirks can play into that. Personally, I am bamboozled by the American obsession with dryers. My (American) husband tells me that I can't hang the clothes out to dry in the back garden because it isn't allowed. I'm not sure whether he is having me on or not but either way it is odd. Dryers literally eat electricity and they are TERRIBLE for the environment. Plus they trash your clothes eventually. Why, why, why don't americans line dry clothes?

Because it would take forever and a day? I can do 4-5 loads of laundry in one day because of the dryer. Where will you find the space to line dry 4 loads all at once? I'd have to do 1 load a day if I were going to line dry, and I can't stand doing laundry as it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Please ......... drying clothes outside may work when it is warm enough but what happens when it gets cold?

As far as drying clothes outside in the UK, that is a joke given the weather there and the rainfall which can come quite unexpectedly. Yes, when I lived there people did dry them on the radiators of their heating system and it was not exactly the most edifying spectacle. Besides, drying clothes on a radiator does not equate to drying it outside where it dries in the sunshine and dry air.

Agreed ....I can't understand how having sheets draped over railings and random socks & underwear on radiators is something you would prefer to do, considering you have options.
Not to mention the damp & humidity that builds up in homes from all that laundry.