Do you check his pockets when you do laundry?

[Mrs.Toad]

dh and I are both in the habit of emptying our pockets before removing our clothing at night, so no, I never check his pockets or mine when I do the laundry. I'm teaching the kids to empty their pockets too, but since they are less likely to remember, I do check theirs.

 

[punkin]

Two issues here:

1) I usually check pockets but sometimes I forget. It is not my job to check his pockets. I do it as a courtesy and as a way of prolonging the life of my machine.

2) If my DH yelled at me for not checking his pockets, he would be doing ALL of his own laundry. I am not his slave or cleaning woman. I do what I do because I love my family. It is not my obligation to wash the clothes of a grown man perfectly capable of washing his own. If it was in the hamper (or "down the chute" at my house") it shuld have been made ready for laundering.

 

[EthansMom]

I don't check pockets. On the one or two occasions that it's been a problem (for DH), I've told him, "I don't check pockets and you know I don't check pockets, so how is this my fault?"

 

[salmoneous]

I gotta side with the guy on this one. He has made it clear his pockets need to be checked before going in the wash. If he hasn't found a way to check his pockets after 14 years of talking about it, he isn't going to learn.

I hate to say this, but you need to have laundry duty taken away from you. He's got to take over.

 

[Nancy]

Agreed. I told him the same thing. I think he was pretty stressed about ruining his checkbook and wanted someone else to blame. I know his mother always checked his pockets, and I was wondering if I am in the minority becayse I don't.

Denae

Tell him you are not his Mommy and he should take the stuff out of his own pockets. I NEVER check anyones pockets anymore. (I used to check the girls pockets when they were small, but not anymore). Of course, they pretty much wash all their own stuff now. If something gets ruined oh well they learned their lessons, and if they leave money in there it's fair game! I have a huge plastic cup that all money goes into that I find in the machine. If no one claims it the money goes into the vacation fund.

My DH complained one time about how I washed the kitchen floor, guess what I haven't done in almost 20 years? I damp mop once in a while, but I don't scrub anymore. Yep, he now does it. If he complained about the laundry he'd be doing his own too.

 

[disneymama73]

Yep, I always check all pockets.

But I have to say, since the day he woke me up from a sound sleep after I had taken care of a newborn and two small children all day and night, held a pair of jeans up and said, "JEANS!" I have rarely done any of his laundry. I'll do it if I absolutely have to. After all, I do want him to go to work.

No one needs to be chewed out like that.

 

[bsnyder]

Whomever does laundry, checks pockets and gets to keep whatever is in the pockets. If I find loose money - it's mine!!! Sometimes, I score the jackpot!!!! The kids are even willing to help sort laundry and check pockets More often than not, it's my tissues which cause more of a problem in the washing machine and dryer, if I overlook a pocket. With the finders keepers rule, everyone has become more diligent about checking their own pockets before they hit the basket.

This is how it works in our house too. And with two absent-minded college students home occasionally with HUGE loads of laundry, I sometimes score the jackpot too. Although after a momentary celebration, I remind myself that it was my money to begin with...

 

[Disney1fan2002]

Nope! It took a few years of training (him losing important papers) for him to realize it is HIS responsibilty to EMPTY his own pockets before putting pants in the laundry.

I do empty the kids pockets. In a few years, when they are old enough, I am going to use my moms idea. When we were teens, my mom would empty our pockets before putting the clothes in the washer, but she KEPT any money. Oh boy, did we learn fast to empty our own pockets.

 

[RC Fan]

I check pockets. All of them. I have found everything from $100 to a ball point pen to a Kleenex and I am not about to suffer the consequences of ANY of those items going through my washing machine!

I agree! I would rather be safe than sorry.

 

[Disney1fan2002]

Although after a momentary celebration, I remind myself that it was my money to begin with...

OT for a minute, but when we were kids, we used to mob our dad when he came home from work. DAD! DAD! Do you have any pennies? He would fish into his pockets and pull out a huge handful of pennies and divided them out to each of us. We would run off and put them in our piggy banks. Then, after a while, we would ask dad if he could change our pennies into silver.

Then the cycle started all over again. Boy we thought we had a SUCKER. But, looking back, I am sure he was fully onto us.

 

[ckay87]

I don't check pockets and I don't take criticism well (putting it mildly.) I'm a baaaaad wife!

 

[SC Minnie]

I don't check his pockets because he does 90% of the laundry

 

[pearlieq]

I check DH's pockets, but he isn't allowed to expect me to do it.

If he put it in the hamper, it should be ready to wash. If I check the pockets and find something, lucky him. If I don't check or miss it, tough luck to him!

 

[mickeyfan2]

I am terrible about checking pockets. DH checks each pocket when he does the laundry. Guess who has stuff in the pockets

 

[goodeats]

Of course I check pockets! That's how my mom taught me to do the laundry.

And yes, if he hasn't learned after 14 years you should probably give up!

 

[ead79]

I don't check his pockets. Luckily DH is pretty good about emptying them, so the worst we've had is a disintegrated receipt and some loose change.

To me it sounds like your husband was really mad at himself for leaving the checkbook in the pants, but he took his anger out on you instead.

 

[NMAmy]

I check his pockets when I do laundry--he checks my pockets when he does laundry. He is much more absentminded about it when throwing stuff in the laundry basket than I am and sometimes I miss some little doodad he has in there. That's just the breaks--I can't imagine him fussing about it.

Oh, and whoever does the laundry gets to keep the cash. And like bsnyder, when I find money in dd's pockets, I get excited and then realize it was mine to start out with!

 

[kelleigh1]

First, hubby better not think about screaming at me for not checking HIS pockets before doing the laundry. If he wore them and he took them off then he can certainly check the pockets himself.

But if I'm doing the laundry, I usually (not always) check hubby's pockets. When we did the laundry in the laundry room in our apartment, I usually washed it and a few times washed ticket stubs, receipts, money and his lighter - which always freaked me out. Now we take our clothes to the laundromat and he's usually the one washing them (work schedules determined this) so he's responsible for checking the pockets - although he probably doesn't half the time. (And since he quit smoking, no more worries about lighters.)

 

[Dina]

The only pockets I check are mine and the kids-- for chapstick and crayons which have ruined a few loads of laundry. The chapstick is actually worse than the crayon.

I've washed DH's entire wallet more than once. I'll lay out his cards to dry after I've done it, but I won't listen him chew me out-- and when he tries (and he has) I just dish it right back to him-- I don't take no crap.

I also have a policy that whatever money I find in the laundry goes in the dollar bill coffee can that I save for the next Disney trip (we have a big jar for change, and a coffee can for ones and money found in the laundry)

 

[froglady]

I check DH's pockets, but he isn't allowed to expect me to do it.

If he put it in the hamper, it should be ready to wash. If I check the pockets and find something, lucky him. If I don't check or miss it, tough luck to him!

If I find something, wonderful. If I ruin something, it's the fault of whoever left it in the pocket..even if I'm the culprit. But I will NOT be blamed for someone else's neglect, which is what I consider throwing clothing in the hamper without checking pockets.