# Whose job is it to check pockets for Chapstick when doing laundry? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 19, 2012, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-job-is-it-to-check-pockets-for-chapstick-when-doing-laundry/616192 "2012-03-19T03:00:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Jasper\_Kent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9a28c/32.png) [@Jasper\_Kent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasper_Kent)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-job-is-it-to-check-pockets-for-chapstick-when-doing-laundry/616192/41 "2012-03-19T12:32:38Z")
Both. ---
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-job-is-it-to-check-pockets-for-chapstick-when-doing-laundry/616192/42 "2012-03-19T12:34:57Z")
> [@Cubsfan](#): > > Keep in mind we have separate laundry bins and I typically do my own laundry. Sometimes she will grab mine and throw it in with hers as a favor. I check my pockets at laundry time and always have. I think that’s the point though: if I’m doing the favour of doing someone’s washing, it’s my boat, my rules. The alternative is no favour. I think you making the adjustment of checking your pockets before it goes in “smellies” is not that terrible a sacrifice to make for someone doing you a favour. Also, I disagree with **Shade** , checking immediately would be much more efficient. If you do laundry once a week and then go through all your pockets you will pull out seven chapsticks and in the meantime you will have bought whole hordes of new ones. You will find the scribbled note of that thing you were supposed to do and forgot. You end up with a pile of pennies and useless crap sitting on the washing machine, that you don’t really do anything with. And after a week it turns out your wife _had_ given you that £50 note after all and you put it in your back pocket without thinking and you could’ve avoided the arguement if you’d just checked your pockets that night. Chaos :eek: (OK, it may be a slight exaggeration, but y’know what I mean 😉 ) ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-job-is-it-to-check-pockets-for-chapstick-when-doing-laundry/616192/43 "2012-03-19T13:04:23Z")
> [@Cubsfan](#): > > My wife and I battle over this because she will grab my dirty laundry and mix it with hers and not check the pockets. She get mad because there’s always Chapstick in the dryer and sometimes it ruins clothes. > > I believe if she is putting my pants in the wash she should double check for Chapstick but she believes it’s my job to not put pants with Chapstick in my dirty laundry to begin with. Don’t know what your arrangement is, but at our house, my wife does the laundry, and we have one laundry basket. Whoever puts something in the laundry basket empties the pockets first, but my wife generally makes an attempt to check for any unfound items in the pockets before doing a load of laundry. You and your wife seem very interested in pushing responsbility off onto each other; sounds like a fun household. :rolleyes: A more productive approach would be to admit that _both_ of you have an interest in chapstick not going through the laundry, so _both_ of you probably ought to be motivated to help prevent that from happening. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-job-is-it-to-check-pockets-for-chapstick-when-doing-laundry/616192/44 "2012-03-19T13:28:24Z")
Empty your pockets before the pants go in the laundry bin. I’ll check, but the responsibility lies with the pants-wearer. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-job-is-it-to-check-pockets-for-chapstick-when-doing-laundry/616192/45 "2012-03-19T13:29:54Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > If I told my wife it was her responsibility I believe she’d just tell me to do my own damn laundry. …and then it would still be the launderer’s responsibility. The launderer being you. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-job-is-it-to-check-pockets-for-chapstick-when-doing-laundry/616192/46 "2012-03-19T13:35:33Z")
I do the laundry about 80% of the time in our household, and between scrubbing the shit out of the little one’s oneses and the occasional accident from the big girl panties, and looking for food stains on both kids, I don’t have time or desire to check adult’s clothes. If it’s in the laundry basket, it’s ready to do. For the OP, the solution is clear. Either check your own pockets before they got in the basket or ask her to not do you any favors. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-job-is-it-to-check-pockets-for-chapstick-when-doing-laundry/616192/47 "2012-03-19T13:47:21Z")
All money is mine. Otherwise, I present the item to my husband and tell him, “This is nice and clean now.” Last night it was a nice and clean tire valve. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-job-is-it-to-check-pockets-for-chapstick-when-doing-laundry/616192/48 "2012-03-19T13:50:01Z")
I voted “launderer,” but I’ve changed my mind. I thought your wife was just grabbing any old clothes that you had taken off. If you are putting clothes in the “these need to be washed” location, then you need to empty the pockets first. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-job-is-it-to-check-pockets-for-chapstick-when-doing-laundry/616192/49 "2012-03-19T14:06:05Z")
I’m with **Cubsfan** , after understanding his situation. His wife knows he usually checks his pants just before doing his own wash, and not when he puts them in _his separate_ laundry basket. She should either check the pockets, or stop washing his clothes. (Their approach is so foreign compared to the way it works at my house, I didn’t pick up on it just from the OP.) ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-job-is-it-to-check-pockets-for-chapstick-when-doing-laundry/616192/50 "2012-03-19T14:26:48Z")
> [@Cubsfan](#): > > I think I mentioned this in the op but incase it was missed we have separate laundry bins and I normally do my own laundry. She just does it as a favor sometimes when she’s doing hers. No clothes should go in a hamper or basket without the pockets being emptied. If you had left them lying on the bed or something, that’s a different case. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-job-is-it-to-check-pockets-for-chapstick-when-doing-laundry/616192/51 "2012-03-19T15:25:43Z")
I’d say both. When i do the laundry, I check all pockets. Of course whatever I find is mine. I have a wonderful collection of acorns, rocks, and pennies. I don’t keep the used tissues. ---
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-job-is-it-to-check-pockets-for-chapstick-when-doing-laundry/616192/52 "2012-03-19T15:39:06Z")
Given the further clarifications, the clear answer is that since the OP is derelict about his pockets, and knows how to do laundry himself, then he should simply tell the wife to never touch his. Then whatever happens is entirely on his head. No adult should be putting anything in the laundry basket/hamper without having checked the pockets, in any case. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-job-is-it-to-check-pockets-for-chapstick-when-doing-laundry/616192/53 "2012-03-19T15:40:26Z")
You shouldn’t purposely leave it in there, but the person doing the laundry should always check the pockets before throwing it in the machine. I mean, why wouldn’t you? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-job-is-it-to-check-pockets-for-chapstick-when-doing-laundry/616192/54 "2012-03-19T16:44:12Z")
Simple solution: don’t use Chapstick. It’s not necessary. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-job-is-it-to-check-pockets-for-chapstick-when-doing-laundry/616192/55 "2012-03-19T16:49:35Z")
> [@Drain\_Bead](#): > > It’s the pants-wearer. I assume that if you put a pair of pants in the laundry, you’ve emptied all valuables. You’re an adult. > > My husband wears those cargo pants with 8 billion pockets. He hasn’t left anything in them since the time I washed and dried his passport about three weeks before he was set to take a business trip overseas. Agreed. I usually do the laundry, my Dearly Beloved will if I’m outa town or if she feels so moved. It’s pretty even. It’s entirely my job to clear the pockets. Being mighty fond of cargo pants means I am capable of storing enormous amounts of tiny things here and there. Not the Washer’s Job. IMHO, the responsibility lies solely with the Wearer. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-job-is-it-to-check-pockets-for-chapstick-when-doing-laundry/616192/56 "2012-03-19T17:12:58Z")
When laundering pocketed clothing, I check for coins, keys, eye drops, combs, folding money, checks, notes, candy, gum, pens, pencils, pillboxes, paperclips, personal electronic devices, insulin syringes and/or needles, and sun glasses. I never have checked for chapstick, or, since I play woodwinds, cork grease. One more checkbox to add. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-job-is-it-to-check-pockets-for-chapstick-when-doing-laundry/616192/57 "2012-03-19T17:20:37Z")
> [@C3](#): > > As the launderer, my policy is that if there’s something in a pocket when it gets to the washing machine, it’s mine. I’m a lip balm fiend, so chapstick in a pocket would be a score. I have no use for golf tees, so they go in the trash. The best is the stray twenty dollar bill. Time for a beer with the girls! **Seriously, I keep a piggy bank in the laundry room and no one in my family seems to have noticed it.** > > So, for us, it’s the wearer’s responsibility to remove items from the pockets, but I double-check because you never know what you might find. I want you to know I got a big smile out of the part I bolded. Thank you. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-job-is-it-to-check-pockets-for-chapstick-when-doing-laundry/616192/58 "2012-03-19T17:23:47Z")
the person putting stuff in the machine is always responsible for their actions. it is stupid for a person to put clothes in a dirty clothes repository (chute/hamper/basket/pile ) without thoroughly checking. it may mean that a article of clothing gets checked more than once, such are life’s burdens. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-job-is-it-to-check-pockets-for-chapstick-when-doing-laundry/616192/59 "2012-03-19T17:35:05Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > No clothes should go in a hamper or basket without the pockets being emptied. If you had left them lying on the bed or something, that’s a different case. This. I was all set to answer “the wearer, of course,” until I read the OP and decided I need a clarification: > [@Cubsfan](#): > > My wife and I battle over this because she will grab my dirty laundry and mix it with hers and not check the pockets. If the wife grabbed the pants before they were “ready” to be laundered—like, the instant they came off **Cubsfan** ’s body—and threw them into the washer, it’s her fault. If I made the rules, they would be as follows: There should be a hamper or basket or to-be-washed pile for clothes that need to be laundered. It is the wearer’s responsibility to check the pockets before putting clothes into this pile. If someone other than the wearer puts anything into this pile (which they shouldn’t have to, if the wearer is an adult, but may if they choose), they should check the pockets when doing so. Once they’re in the pile, the launderer may safely assume there’s nothing in the pockets, and is absolved of all guilt should that assumption turn out to be incorrect. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-job-is-it-to-check-pockets-for-chapstick-when-doing-laundry/616192/60 "2012-03-19T17:38:02Z")
I bought my husband a [valet chair](http://www.amazon.com/Proman-Manchester-Mahogany-Chair-Drawer/dp/B0002XC29M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1332178109&sr=8-1) so that he could empty his pockets and lay out his clothes for the next day, and he uses it religiously. I paid $25 or $35 for it at a local thrift shop. He was just tossing his pocket litter all over the place, but this item has really helped him keep his shit together. Or at least his pocket shit. He absolutely refuses to wear lip balm, by the way, no matter how much he might need it. However, he does tend to put small bits of machinery in his pockets. When those little tire valves stems or spark plugs or whatever go through the washer and dryer, well, it does the washer and dryer no good at all. And usually does the odd bits of machine parts no good at all, either. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-job-is-it-to-check-pockets-for-chapstick-when-doing-laundry/616192.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-job-is-it-to-check-pockets-for-chapstick-when-doing-laundry/616192.md?page=4)