View Full Version : Inside out/right-side out. The eccentrics guide to clothes washing.
I'm eccentric in many ways (I will admit), but lately my eccentricities are coming out (extra) in my method and approach to clothes washing.
Take for instance undies and shirts and socks. If I don't turn these items inside out before laundering, I feel as though the items aren't getting as clean as they would had I turned them inside out. (Am I making any sense)? :laff:
So, here's my question, do you turn the items I mentioned above inside out before laundering? If your answer is yes, what other items do you launder inside out?
Just as a side note, I do launder jeans and delicate items (inside out) to help save them from fading and wear, but that's another issue. :D
oh good lord no, its a miracle that things even get into the washer as it is, I won't be handling them more than I have to. I don't even fold my underwear, I just stuff it into a drawer. Sometimes I will fold DH's, sometimes not, but if I don't he will fold it.
That reminds me that I currently am extremely annoyed at the state of my socks. I NEED MORE SOCKS! Black ones, for winter.
Wildflower
1-31-11, 3:10am
The only things I turn inside out to wash are delicate items like sweaters to avoid piling, and tops with embroidery or other decorative stuff that might come off while being agitated in the washer. I do wash these in the gentle/handwash cycle too, but still want to be careful with them.
I hate touching other people's socks, and I hate it when they throw them in the laundry so they're balled up or half inside out so I have to actually handle them when they're dirty. Husband's undershirts are also gross, so however they come down the laundry chute is how they get washed. There are a few fancy shmancy shirts that I wash inside out so the decorations don't get wrecked.
Life is too short to worry about such things. Our time on earth is fleeting.
The only things I turn inside out are shirts with unusual decorations on them. I also hang those to dry, instead of tossing in the dryer.
Otherwise? If you have to worry how you launder it, donate it. Save life energy.
"The way you throw it in the basket is the way I wash it. Balled up socks, twisted 1/2 in 1/2 out jeans and all. If you want to complain about the way it looks when I hang it up or put it in your basket then you might want to think about the condition it's in when you toss it in the laundry room."
DH and I each do our own laundry, so I really don't know what he does. I don't turn anything inside-out.
Clap, clap, clap! Great posts you guys. >8):|( Reminding myself as I'm typing this just how eccentric I really am.
Actually, I don't turn anything inside out if it's an underlayer or pajamas, because I find that the side facing outward gets more pills on it, and I want the pills as far from my skin as possible. Most other stuff, yes, inside out so it gets less wear on the outside - also means I can just yank everything off wildly, which is sort of fun and faster. I agree, DH's clothes usually get washed in whatever state they hit the hamper.
I don't have any eccentricities on washing, but I do turn jeans inside out when hanging up to dry so the pockets get completely dry.
Oh ... well ... yeah, I turn some things inside out when hanging them out to dry, to keep the sun from bleaching them. I suppose I could turn them inside out when I wash them and then I wouldn't have to do it when hanging. Six of one, half dozen of another ...
If I'm hanging laundry outside then I hang it in the shade. I have a clothesline under a roofed area for that reason. I'll put stuff that doesn't fade easily in the sun, but not good clothes or dark colors. I know that not everyone can have a shaded clothesline, though.
loosechickens
1-31-11, 8:16pm
My sweetie does the laundry and if I know what's good for me, I don't delve into his methods any more than I would visit my local sausage plant to see exactly how the product is made. I don't want to know......... what is important is that I have not had to deal with it for some years now. Any deficiencies of excellence are more than made up by that fact. ;-)
Since, upon occasion, I have ended up with pink bras after he's gotten a new red T-shirt, I suspect that sometimes he is less than careful about color separation.
I do have one pair of black linen pants that I turn inside out before I put them in the wash, because we don't usually use the dryers, and some of the machines leave lint on the clothes, and that way most of it is deposited on the wrong side. I doubt seriously whether my sweetie has ever even noticed that they were wrong side out when he washed them.
I suspect that with his own underwear, he wears them, probably turns them inside out while taking them off, they go into the laundry like that, get worn inside out the next time, get turned right side out while taking them off, and the dance goes on.....if he's in an accident, he probably has about a 50/50 chance of having them on right side out, which seems to be fine with him.
He gives me mine to put away, and if I notice that they are inside out, I fix it. Or I turn them right side out when I put them on. I'm picky that way....if I'M in the accident, I want to be 100% sure of having them on right side out, because I think my dead grandma is probably still quite concerned about that.
The upside of all this? I don't even know what the inside of the laundry rooms here at Glen Eden really look like, and we've been doing laundry here off and on for years.........sometimes when we are traveling and out for the day, he does the laundry somewhere, but I usually nap in the car.
"The Laundry Princess'
You know what I like you guys? The fact that there's always a good laugh involved here with most thread topics I start which helps coax me and lighten the mood. :laff: Thanks for that everybody! I'm actually seeing mental images right now of clothes flying everywhere, in and out of laundry baskets and hampers, and clothes strung up on the line, and then certain items being worn "oddly", as in possibly inside out!!! ROTFLMAO!
You are all my bread and butter to happiness and success! :)
No; I don't turn anything anyway except how they hit the basket like many above...
DH and I have discussed this many, many times that he turns all his shirt/t-shirt inside out and then I need to put them right to fold...have hated it for 46 years
he says his mother did it that way so he still does...no doubt he won't change now...hehe...but for all the things he has always helped with around the house this is not one of them.
Miss Cellane
2-1-11, 11:15pm
I do my best to make sure that underwear and socks go into the laundry right side out, so that when I'm putting the laundry away, I don't have to do it then. However, in my experience, underwear likes to turn itself inside out while in the washing machine. Underwear that starts out inside out tends to stay that way, but right side out underwear reverses itself. Yes, I've done experiments. No, it's not just one brand/type/style of underwear. No, it's not just my underwear. Socks, on the other hand, mostly come out the way you put them in.
What I really want to know is exactly what the underwear is getting up to in the washer.
As for other clothes, I will only turn something inside out if it is a dark color. Sometimes the washer and dryer can fade things faster than they would normally.
Laundry is one of the few things I love, because it's so easy to feel competent and accomplished... how freakin' pathetic is that!
The way the clothes go in the laundry is how they go into the washer, are dried and folded. I used to turn clothes right side out when folding - tee shirts, undies, socks - but decided if it's not important how it went into the laundry then it's not important how it comes out and is folded. Why make more work for myself when it is not important to the wearer. Exception for small children's clothing.
Danna. I love your husbands style! :+1::D
Miss Cellane. ROTFLMAO! Going to keep a close eye on undies now after you mentioning the inside out thing. I do know there are times where I'm folding laundry and I think, "hey, this is great, "it" or "they" turned themselves right-side out again"! :laff:
Redfox. I love doing laundry too. I'm a fuss-nut when it comes to proper procedures involving the washing and drying aspect of doing laundry, and when it comes to folding, well let's just say I'm anal! >8)
Goldensmom. As I read through your post I couldn't help but laugh at the thought of my kids (when they were younger) and learning to dress themselves. They'd come out of their rooms (bedtime)- pajama bottoms on backwards, shirts inside out, and even occasionally shoes on the wrong feet when they went out to play! It was hilarious! Never failed to stir a good laugh. Nothing like seeing a kid wearing pants with the zipper opening up the back! ROTFLMAO!
I prefer not turning the clothes inside out just because it is extra work to switch them back when I put them away. I absolutely can't stand seeing things in the drawers that are inside out. *S* However, when I hang clothes on the clothesline outside, I always turn the coloured clothes inside-out to prevent fading. I learned that trick from my former father-in-law. He always did the laundry and hung the clothes outside. He said if you hang them inside-out, they will fade on the inside (where it doesn't matter). I thought that made sense, so I have been doing it ever since.
When it comes to laundry Hattie I'm a stickler through and through. Everything has to be washed (just so), dried (just so), then put away (just so). Items needing attention as in "pressing" are tended to promptly after laundering, then hung with pride. I'm such a fuddy-duddy that way! >8)
Laundry is one of the few things I love, because it's so easy to feel competent and accomplished... how freakin' pathetic is that!
I guess we're both pathetic then!
I can't say I turn socks and undies inside out... too much extra work! I do turn jeans and items that bobble easily inside out though. Not sure if it actually helps.
goldensmom
2-4-11, 10:36am
Goldensmom. As I read through your post I couldn't help but laugh at the thought of my kids (when they were younger) and learning to dress themselves. They'd come out of their rooms (bedtime)- pajama bottoms on backwards, shirts inside out, and even occasionally shoes on the wrong feet when they went out to play! It was hilarious! Never failed to stir a good laugh. Nothing like seeing a kid wearing pants with the zipper opening up the back! ROTFLMAO!
It's great how kids don't mind if the wear their clothing right side out or wrong side out, frontwards or backwards. Watching them after they have dressed themselves this way is a simple pleasure (and free entertainment) for adults to enjoy. Somewhere along the road to adulthood we learn that things have to be 'just so' but kids reminds that they don't have to be 'just so' all of the time.
My 1 year old Golden spent a good amount of time yesterday lying on the floor chewing a toy . As I watched her, I wished I could get that much pleasure out of such a simple activity. Think I'll go find a toy to chew, unfortunately for me it will most likely be made of chocolate.
This is a great thread to read, in terms of seeing just what differences we have all within the category of "functional." By that I mean we are talking about actually getting the laundry DONE.
At our house, during the winter we use the dryer and so my DSD14 gets her clothes back in the way that they entered the laundry process. If my clothes are inside out or DH's are inside out, I'll straighten before putting them away (because he'll do the same for me). Since DSD hasn't yet joined the family laundry force, she likely doesn't know what a pain it is to turn her clothes (they are not one way or the other, but frequently one leg of her jeans will be inside out and the other outside in...you know). So she gets the full experience...at least when I do laundry. Also I put her clothes, more or less folded, on her bed for her to put away. Her dad no doubt straightens her clothing, folds it carefully and puts it away.
I did check this out with a friend of hers...whose mom also returns clothes wrong-side out. So it is not just evil stepmotherhood on my part.
loosechickens
2-4-11, 12:56pm
hard for me to even picture a 14 year old who hasn't joined the laundry force. My kids, from the time they could pull a chair up and climb up on it to work the controls, took care of doing their own laundry. I never expected them to do the family stuff, but they sure did their own, the whole time they were growing up.
I can't even fathom doing a 14 year old's laundry, let alone folding it for her and putting it on her bed. My hat's off to you for providing such service. ;-)
I'm with you on this one. My kids did their own laundry starting in grade seven, when they had the "laundry module" in their Home and Family course. My DSD is the only child of older parents, divorced, and there is a bit of indulgence there. She's a really good kid, though, generally, and I think she'll actually grow up just fine. Anyway, as a stepmom it is not a battle I'm willing to engage. But I do agree with you, LC.
Originally Posted by redfox
Laundry is one of the few things I love, because it's so easy to feel competent and accomplished... how freakin' pathetic is that!
Originally posted by Beckyliz.
I guess we're both pathetic then! And adding myself to the pathetic list too! :)
Mira. As long as it makes you happy and content then I say it works! :)
Goldensmom. I sometimes think- "I have to be more like my kids", because you're right, as long as kids are fed and watered everything else is good! :) ("Hey sweetie, you're wearing your pants inside out". "What's that mom, my pants are inside out"? "This new toy you bought me sure is a lot of fun")! :laff:
Leslieann. A great read. It will be interesting (once your daughter joins the forces) to see how and if she will change in relation to the care and preparation of laundry before and after the laundering process. I'm going to stay tuned for it. (I have faith in her). :)
LC. I was one of those 14 year old kids who was still (for the most part) getting my laundry done for me by mom! :laff: But, (heavy on the but), I did do laundry for myself regularly- and even pinned stuff up on the line. My daughters on the other hand are second and third mothers in our home. They're just as domestic as I am at all things home related, and all my boys know it! DH too!!! :laff:
Miss Cellane
2-4-11, 5:02pm
My parents were somehow convinced that if any of their children touched an expensive appliance, said appliance would be broken within seconds. We never caused any malfunctions that I know of, so I don't know where this attitude came from--but it existed until the youngest of us was well into his 30s. We had purchased a new dishwaser for my dad, and he wouldn't let any of us even load it, so convinced was he that we'd break it.
However, as the oldest girl child, I was initiated into laundry when I was about 13 or 14, but I was only allowed to do basic things like the sheets and towels. I can remember just before all my brothers headed off for college, Mom took them into the laundry room and taught them how to use the machines and sort the clothes. Then they had to do all the family laundry, under her supervision, for two weeks, to make sure they knew what they were doing.
It's odd. We all did tons of other chores, like all the dusting and vacuuming and floor washing and cleaning the bathrooms (yes, even the boys) and changing the sheets and making the beds and setting the table and washing dishes and cooking dinner one night a week, and watching the littler kids, but laundry was one chore that Mom did the bulk of.
loosechickens
2-4-11, 5:11pm
yeah, I hear you, Leslieann.....all those things are doubly difficult if you are the stepmom.....all too easy to get that "evil stepmother" label, so you have to pick your battles carefully..... ;-)
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions Inc. All rights reserved.