Do your kids do their own laundry?

[JoiseyMom]

Yes, my DD14 does her own laundry and has for about 2 years. DS9 wants to learn, but I don't think he is quite ready. The older 2 (now adults) started doing laundry when they were about 10 & 11, I was single back then and they wanted to help . They both do laundry, iron, cook and sew! My DDIL is very happy that her hubby cooks!!

 

[mtemm]

I started doing my own laundry when I was 13, and most likely will have my kids do the same (eldest is 8, so that is the plan, but not the reality, at this point). I don't see how it is a waste of water at all, assuming they are doing proper sized loads.

 

[MushyMushy]

My 19 year old son certainly can do it, but honestly I'd rather nobody else do it but me. DD gathers it all up from the bedrooms and bathrooms for me and I do the rest. It just seems like when anybody else does laundry, they always do something wrong with it -- use hot when they should use cold, use too little or too much water for the size, use too high of a setting on the dryer....

But then it could just be all one big conspiracy to get me to do it.

 

[allison443]

It doesn't waste water but it uses the same electricity to do a small load as it does a large load.

Okay, but OP specifically said "Isn't that a huge waste of water?" and that's what I was addressing.

 

[LisaR]

Okay, but OP specifically said "Isn't that a huge waste of water?" and that's what I was addressing.

Sorry, I should have also noted the electricity.

I also question the waste of water even if your machine adjusts. The machine must fill up to a certain level and it may be able to hold more clothes even at the smallest load.

Say I want to wash ONE sock. The machine will fill up to the lowest level but I could certainly fit more than one sock in there. I know that nobody would wash just one sock but I can't really think of a better way to explain it.

I only wash if I have a full load.

 

[chasbos]

My 2 oldest have been doing their own laundry since they have been 12 - the oldest started doing hers when she yelled at me for not having certain clothes clean and they were dirty under her bed and my 2nd oldest started doing hers when I kept finding the clean clothes under the dirty clothes.

The other 2 are whole lot smarter because they do not want to do their own laundry so they follow the rules - put your clothes away and bring down the dirty ones when I ask (how hard is that!)

My wash machine only puts as much water is needed for the amount of clothes that are in the machine (it weighs them) so no wasting water there.

The girls usually wait long enough that they have plenty to fill the machine.

 

[coneeny4]

My DD is 12 and she does everyones laundry. She asked to do it and we just put our own away.

 

[mtemm]

I had plenty of clothes when I was a teen to fill the machine easily, so no small loads!

 

[SmallWorld71]

I can't imagine them doing their own laundry though. Isn't that a huge waste of water? I get wanting them to know how to do laundry but I am way too cheap to have them do it separately.

It's only a waste if everyone does small loads which would only be an issue if you each only had a couple days worth of clothes. Around here, when your hamper is full and you have a full load, you wash your clothes. With bedrooms and bathrooms on multiple levels it makes a lot more sense than trying to mix everyone's laundry together to just separate it again.
I know my mom had the best of intentions, but when I was growing up she would divide the chores around the house by having everyone do certain things. I was responsible for my laundry and that of my younger sisters. My brother helped in the kitchen etc... As a result, I became really good at doing laundry but didn't learn how to cook until I was married. I take a different approach in my house and we share the responsibilities for all the chores.
So, yes, my boys do their own laundry. (14 &11) DH does his, too. We will help each other from time to time if someone needs it. I still do DD7's as she is not physically capable of carrying her laundry down the steep cellar stairs and she can't reach the knobs on the machines.

 

[MushyMushy]

Sorry, I should have also noted the electricity.

I also question the waste of water even if your machine adjusts. The machine must fill up to a certain level and it may be able to hold more clothes even at the smallest load.

Say I want to wash ONE sock. The machine will fill up to the lowest level but I could certainly fit more than one sock in there. I know that nobody would wash just one sock but I can't really think of a better way to explain it.

I only wash if I have a full load.

When I was a teen, I used to just wash one pair of jeans or one top. My mom would have fits. I don't blame her now, but at the time it just made sense to me to only do the thing I needed at the time.

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

All 3 boys share a room so they share laundry duty for themselves. Between changing for gym, changing for school uniforms and after school sports which consist of practice clothes, uniforms and warm ups, they create a ton of laundry.
They start doing their own laundry at age 7. The only thing the little boys don't do is bleach, they make a mess so DS14 does that.

They started doing laundry because I was tired of hearing, "I need_____!" well, if it were in the hamper where it belonged you'd have it. And I was tired of walking on clothes to get to their beds and dressers.

DH has 90% of his laundry dry cleaned so I do his little bit, mine and DD's.

It's never a waste because with 6 of us we can fill a hamper in a day or 2.

 

[minkydog]

My older two have started helping with laundry at age 10. First, separating the clothes into whites, jeans, towels, sheets, and colored clothes. Then with supervision, they started putting the clothes in and measuring the detergent. By the time they were 12 they were doing their own laundry 100%. Interestingly, my kids have never turned their laundry pink, blue, or any other color. OTOH, my DH regularly tosses the clothes together and inevitably someone ends up with pink drawers.

 

[arminnie]

I am laughing over all the concerns about "small loads". How big are your washers? Do you put everyone's towels and sheets for the week in one load? Not at my house.

In the house (moved out last fall) I had a top of the line Whirlpool Duet Steam set. It wasn't that hard to have a full load. A weeks worth of sheets and towels for one person is a load. Clothes for a week easy make up another two loads. One light, one dark.

Now in my two condos I have the stackable units. They get full very fast. My front loader smaller unit can barely hold a set of queen size sheets.

I've used two laundry baskets for years per person. One for light, one for dark. When one is full wash it.

If you are not using a front loader you are probably wasting more money on water and energy than someone who migjt do an extra load a week.

 

[tvguy]

Kind of a mixed bag here. DW does most of the laundry. DS does most of his when he comes home from college. DD is back home now, does some of his.
I've probably done 20 loads in 28 years of marriage, DW doesn't like me to touch "her washer and dryer". Flip side of that is she has purchased gas for her car once in 28 years, and never changed the oil herself, that's my domain.

 

[LisaR]

I am laughing over all the concerns about "small loads". How big are your washers? Do you put everyone's towels and sheets for the week in one load? Not at my house.

In the house (moved out last fall) I had a top of the line Whirlpool Duet Steam set. It wasn't that hard to have a full load. A weeks worth of sheets and towels for one person is a load. Clothes for a week easy make up another two loads. One light, one dark.

Now in my two condos I have the stackable units. They get full very fast. My front loader smaller unit can barely hold a set of queen size sheets.

I've used two laundry baskets for years per person. One for light, one for dark. When one if full wash it.

If you are not using a front loader you are probably wasting more money on water and energy than someone who migjt do an extra load a week.

My kids sheets fit in one load easily so having them wash their own sheets would be a waste of, at minimum, electricity. We wash all our towels at once in only one load. We reuse towels but they get washed twice a week together.

We wash all regular clothes twice a week and each load is a full load. Whites are washed usually only once a week and that load is also full.

Between sheets (1x wk but two loads), towels (2x wk), whites (1x wk) and clothes (2x wk), we have seven loads a week (baring any catastrophes).
If each kid washed their things on their own, they would have 5 loads each (assuming regular clothes were only washed once a week). DH and I would have 5 loads, as well. That would be 15 loads of laundry vs. 7.

 

[shortbun]

My son does all the laundry when he has time. My husband does it too. We all pitch in.
I hate the way my son hangs the clothes to dry, lol! He doesn't know it because I want him to keep doing it. sigh

 

[mhsjax]

Nope, I don't make my kids do the laundry(they are 9 and almost 11).

I never did one load of laundry until I moved out at 21-it took me all of 3 minutes reading the washer to figure out how to do it. It's just not something that I think is imperitive to learn when you're young.

My kids do ask to help. They like to switch the clothes from the washer to the dryer, or start the loads-and just recently when I was really busy I asked my daughter to go throw in a load and she did it, but that's very rare-it's actually the first time ever.

I actually like to do the laundry, I don't find it a chore--if I'm going to make my kids work around the house, I make them do stuff I hate, like cleaning the bathroom.

A-men. Anyone that can't do laundry on their own, even though they haven't done it prior, isn't playing with a full deck, or is just milking it so someone else will do it. All you have to do is read, or call dear old mom and ask

As far as my kids doing it, they will do towels, they will hang and they will fold and put up, but there is no way that I will let them do their own laundry. I pay way too much money for their clothes and for some reason they seem to get spots. I won't trust them to spot treat. I am OCD on spots, I won't let them out of the house wearing spotted clothes.

When they are grown and paying for their own clothes, then they can do laundry, until then nope.

 

[dislaney]

Mine all know how to do it but don't do it on a regular basis. They are pretty busy with school and activities.

 

[disykat]

My kids know how to do laundry. I frequently call out to one or the other to wash the towels, whites or regular clothes. They know how to use the washer and dryer with their eyes closed. They are also responsible for putting away their own clothes. We all take turns sorting. I can't imagine them doing their own laundry though. Isn't that a huge waste of water? I get wanting them to know how to do laundry but I am way too cheap to have them do it separately.

I do it the same way you do. We do everyone's together with everyone who is home pitching in to help as needed and everyone putting away their own. I am in charge of seeing that it happens, but they've managed just fine when I've been out of commission.

If they need something midweek or miss "laundry day," then they do a load. If they throw in a load, they're expected to go to the hampers and gather enough of everyone's clothes of that color to make a full load.

I prefer doing it all at once so there's not always laundry sitting around in various stages.

 

[kimblebee]

My daughter is almost 10 and she does her own laundry. I don't worry about the wasted water or electricity because either I wash it or she does. The water and electricity get used either way. She is in a stage right now where she wants to do as much as she can (which I hope stays until she moves out) so she asked me if she could start doing it. I have offered to do it for her a few times and she said no because she doesn't want me to see her underwear. Works for me

Next on my list is teaching her to do dishes.