# To my girlfriend ( a laundry rant)... **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 30, 2008, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-my-girlfriend-a-laundry-rant/475077 "2008-11-30T18:34:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2008, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-my-girlfriend-a-laundry-rant/475077/61 "2008-12-01T23:56:22Z")
No…often times they’re not even completely inside out – just a half-assed ball of clothing which, if you decide to wash it that way, will never get fully dried in the dryer because of all the bunching of the fabric. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-my-girlfriend-a-laundry-rant/475077/62 "2008-12-02T00:55:02Z")
My wife used to be a laundry Nazi…until she realized that with three kids, two jobs, cooking, cleaning around the house, mowing a half-acre yard, etc, etc that we have to SHARE the work around the house and that sometimes, I’m just going to have to do it! ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/59ef9b/32.png) [@Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_fight_the_hypothetical)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-my-girlfriend-a-laundry-rant/475077/63 "2008-12-02T03:20:50Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > Then you need to decide if you’re being helpful and fucking it up, or she’s being overly picky, or what. Towels give off a lot of lint until they’re very well used & washed. If you don’t believe me, wash one of your black t-shirts with towels and hold a black light up to it. You’ll look like you just got caught in a powdered donut factory explosion. Unless the towels are very well used and washed, in which case she’s going on principle, and not reality. Which does happen. > > Being helpful but fucking things up is cute with little kids, but it’s a pain when adults do it. The fact that you were just “being helpful” isn’t helpful if your work does have to be re-done, and it’s not an excuse for getting upset. If you have to use a CSI flashlight to determine if the laundry is done right the problem is not the laundry. ---
**Author:** ![pbbth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@pbbth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pbbth)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-my-girlfriend-a-laundry-rant/475077/64 "2008-12-03T17:28:50Z")
Why not do the laundry together once or twice? Then you can see exactly what is important to her and what is not, laundrywise. For me it is very important that I use a specific kind of soap but I have no problem with putting all of my clothes in 1 huge load and washing everything on cold. After doing some laundry with my boyfriend I know he is the exact opposite…he wants his clothes separated but he will use whatever soap is on sale. If we ever did start doing laundry for one another I would gladly separate the colors and what not as long as he was willing to give on my brand of soap. Perhaps you can work together for a load or two and figure out where you should compromise. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-my-girlfriend-a-laundry-rant/475077/65 "2008-12-03T17:33:30Z")
> [@Hal\_Briston](#): > > Oh I do love my wife, honest and for true. Every little thing about her. Well, maybe with one exception. > > Is it really that hard to turn your clothes rightside-in after you remove them? I won’t even harp on the fact that they get turned inside-out in the first place, something that I manage to magically avoid when undressing. But to leave all your clothes turned inside out adds a ridiculous extra step into doing laundry. Wouldn’t it easier to turn them rightside-in right away, rather than have to do it for thirty articles of clothing at one time? Wash, dry and fold 'em inside out. I guarantee she’ll turn them rightside-in when she wears them. I hope. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-my-girlfriend-a-laundry-rant/475077/66 "2008-12-03T23:48:52Z")
One other idea that has worked for us on personal choice contentious issues is simply to each their own. You wash your own clothes, your SO washes their own clothes. We’ve done this for toothpaste (because _someone_ is anal-retentive about squeezing from the end) and toilet paper (because _someone_ doesn’t know how to put it on the roll correctly, and we have two bathrooms), two of the biggest trivial fight-causers. ---
**Author:** ![Influential\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Influential\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Influential_Panda)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-my-girlfriend-a-laundry-rant/475077/67 "2008-12-03T23:59:28Z")
An old girlfriend was in my bathroom brushing her teeth when she saw for the first time that I don’t squeeze from the back. I could tell her OCD was going to explode. “If we ever move in together, you are going to squeeze the toothpaste from the back. This is horrible.” "Sorry, baby. This bird, you cannot change 🆒 " "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH ---
**Author:** ![Rune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e68b1a/32.png) [@Rune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rune)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-my-girlfriend-a-laundry-rant/475077/68 "2008-12-04T00:05:37Z")
If the chick is so into doing the laundry, then let her do it. It’s women’s work anyway. She should do be doing the cooking too of course. ---
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-my-girlfriend-a-laundry-rant/475077/69 "2008-12-04T01:29:06Z")
> [@Influential\_Panda](#): > > An old girlfriend was in my bathroom brushing her teeth when she saw for the first time that I don’t squeeze from the back. I could tell her OCD was going to explode. > > “If we ever move in together, you are going to squeeze the toothpaste from the back. This is horrible.” > "Sorry, baby. This bird, you cannot change 🆒 " > "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH What is the deal with the back toothpaste squeezer people? (Sorry, just felt like Jerry Seinfeld for a second there) When it’s a half to 3/4 tube, it’s hard enough to keep everything going toward the front. I usually just wait until it’s about a quarter full and then run the tube along the edge of something, like the sink. Takes about 5 seconds and organizes all the toothpaste to the front. Easier than trying to wrangle the whole thing every time you use it. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-my-girlfriend-a-laundry-rant/475077/70 "2008-12-05T00:30:54Z")
In defense of partners accused of OCD, I must point out that some people think that running anything in a machine is adequate “cleaning”. If one points out the food still stuck to the dishes, one is assured they have still been “sanitized”. There are people who will throw clothing in a dryer on hot before checking to see if the grease spot came out. There are even people who - brace yourselves - do not fold towels in thirds, or fold over the edges of contour sheets. Some people like to do things rights, and others are happy with good enough. Your right to be respected as an adult ends at the food particles on the plate I just took out of the cabinet. > [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](#): > > What’s wrong with towels or sheets on high? I like rough towels and crisp sheets. In fact, since the dog died, I only use the dryer if some jeans I want to wear aren’t dry in the morning. You want laundry OCD? Before the dog died, wet clothes got sorted in two piles; one went in the dryer, while I hung the others on the rack. Then I would hang the warmed clothes on the rack. Dry clothes went _ **back in the dryer** _; one set on low while I shook out the other set. The second set went in the dryer on medium while I folder or hung the gentle set. Then the second set was folded. And I have 5 or 6 different types of laundry loads, not including table linen (which always get washed separately). And my sorting rules were much like **featherlou’s.** And my opinions on laundry detergents and additives are … firm and extensive. Needless to say, the spouse does not do my laundry. ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-my-girlfriend-a-laundry-rant/475077/71 "2008-12-05T01:38:08Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > It’s a form of criticism and it implies that he’s incapable of doing mundane tasks correctly. My wife has a habit of telling me how to do simple tasks when I do them in ways she’s not used to. After a while it starts to bug you. I get this A LOT. Telling you something is “wroing” when there is no right or wrong way (just your way and my way) is as good as calling you stupid - and who likes being called stupid? The other laundry peeve of mine - I have my own chest of drawers - I put away my own washing, they are even in a separate room. Every three months or so my wife will go look in the drawers and issue the royal edict “clean up your drawers - they are messy” Well first, they aren’t messy, they are how I like them, second, you never use them or look at them, third - what business is it of yours? piss the fuck off and leave me alone instead of making work for me ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-my-girlfriend-a-laundry-rant/475077/72 "2008-12-06T05:31:04Z")
My fiancé used to be extremely critical of me doing anything any way other than the way he learned to do it. He’s gotten MUCH better about it since then. He now realizes that just because something isn’t done his way, that doesn’t automatically mean it is done “wrong.” ---
**Author:** ![Influential\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Influential\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Influential_Panda)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-my-girlfriend-a-laundry-rant/475077/73 "2008-12-06T19:30:11Z")
So, if I’ve got a white shirt or jacket with some black print or design on it, does it get washed with the whites or colors? The helpful tag says wash “with like colors.” ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-my-girlfriend-a-laundry-rant/475077/74 "2008-12-06T19:47:03Z")
> [@bengangmo](#): > > I get this A LOT. Telling you something is “wroing” when there is no right or wrong way (just your way and my way) is as good as calling you stupid - and who likes being called stupid? I call it “nag day.” Happens every couple-few weeks. All of the sudden I’m being followed/stalked around the house with my every movement being criticized. I have to say “so, it’s nag-day, huh? Everything I do today will be wrong? I plan on ignoring you today, just so you know.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-my-girlfriend-a-laundry-rant/475077.md?page=3)