1066: "Laundry"

[Invertin]

for me it's more

body >> floor >> floor >> floor >> floor >> washer/dryer >> wardrobe >> body

now think of this same cycle, but overlapping several times so that eventually I always have several sets of clothing on the floor and at least one in my wardrobe

[queueingtheory]

I never understood people who have trouble with laundry.

Buy a hamper that is the same size as your washer/dryer, when it fills up, go wash. Let it run while you surf reddit, go dry. Surf reddit, grab everything. Dump socks and underwear into "clean" drawer; hint: buy only one kind of sock so you never have to waste time matching them up. Tshirts, jeans and shorts get a quick quarter fold and stacked. You can fold everything in less time than it takes to boil the water for your Top Ramen. Drop your suit and dress shirt off at the dry cleaners every three wearings on your way to get beer. Done.

Two hampers. (Unless you're a Goth)

[Pfhorrest]

I think the Folding Area isn't meant to be an actual fixed space dedicated to folding; it's more of an indicator as to whether the laundry gets Folded or Piled.

This is a false dichotomy though. I fold all my clothes (the ones that don't hang, at least), and never leave them piled longer than it takes to transport them from the dryer to my closet/dresser. At which point they are immediately folded (or hung) and put away. No piling, but no dedicated folding space either; each item comes directly out of the hamper and gets folded or hung and stashed where it belongs.

[cptjeff]

I never understood people who have trouble with laundry.

Buy a hamper that is the same size as your washer/dryer, when it fills up, go wash. Let it run while you surf reddit, go dry. Surf reddit, grab everything. Dump socks and underwear into "clean" drawer; hint: buy only one kind of sock so you never have to waste time matching them up. Tshirts, jeans and shorts get a quick quarter fold and stacked. You can fold everything in less time than it takes to boil the water for your Top Ramen. Drop your suit and dress shirt off at the dry cleaners every three wearings on your way to get beer. Done.

If you are buying clothes that you need to separate by color or require special washing care, you should rethink your priorities. If you aren't going to commit to care for the garments and just let them sit soiled and heaped on the floor, don't get them in the first place.

The only time I ever had clothes on my floor was when it was a mix of boy clothes and girl clothes because I'd hooked up.

Matching socks isn't that big a deal, and you'll look better. The idiots who wear white tube socks with suits make me want to cry every time I see them.

Some quick tips for wearing suits, from someone who does it most days, for the geeks who have absolutely no farking clue:

Wool isn't like cotton. It's anti-microbial naturally. You don't have to wash it every couple of wears. In fact, you shouldn't- the harsh chemicals strip out natural oils that give wool some of its most useful properties (water repellance, for example). Ideally, you're talking once every couple of months with regular wear. Obviously, if you spill something, you're gonna have to.
Dress shirts are not hard to wash. Warm wash, cold rinse. Regular dry. You use this thing called an iron to take out the wrinkles. Some shirts make that less of an issue.
You're supposed to cut the big, obvious threads holding the vents of the jacket shut. They're there to keep everything in place during shipping.
You're supposed to cut open the pockets. They're stitched shut to keep people from jamming their hands in there and damaging it while trying on the suit.
You're supposed to remove the tags from the sleeve. Yes, they're attached with thread, not a plastic thingy. That doesn't mean they're permanent.
Socks match the pants. White is wrong. Matching the shoes is wrong.
The shirt should be white or light blue. Unless you know what you're doing.

I'm sure I'm missing some obvious ones, but that'll do for now.


I'll just say this: How you dress matters. The first impression a huge number of people get of you is your appearance. When you're walking up to somebody at the airport, say, people will treat you as a typical whoever if you dress like a slob, and they'll treat you like a somebody if you dress like one. In an interview, if you look professional and put together, that will be the first impression. If you show up wearing something either completely awful (suit four sizes too large, purple shirt and a tie out of the 70s, for example) or wildly inappropriate (tee shirt and shorts), you will be judged. Your sparkling inner personality will not matter, because you lacked the self awareness to present yourself well.

[cptjeff]

Two hampers. (Unless you're a Goth)

You realize modern detergents eliminated the need to separate colors and whites a decade ago, right? If you bleach to get things extra white (which you should only do on rare occasion- bleach is a pretty harsh chemical and will break down your clothes), it's understandable, but otherwise fairly pointless.

[MonkeyBoy]

hint: buy only one kind of sock so you never have to waste time matching them up.

I've done this several times over the years, throwing out all my black socks and buying a dozen identical pairs that I liked. It's a beautiful solution until the next time someone else buys you socks for a birthday, Christmas, etc. I've never had the will and/or organization to simply donate/regift/throw out the new socks. Invariably I end up wearing them, and as soon as that happens, the whole system is shot to hell.

[pyronius]

I'm a bit lazy so mine get washed but they never make it to the closet, rather the path is Washer & Dryer> Hamper> Body> floor> Washer & Dryer> repeat ad infinitum.

they live in the hamper while clean and on the floor while dirty until the hamper is empty at which point they travel in it to be cleaned then go back in it until dirty again. poor closet. it must feel so unloved.

[Morie]

I've been out of university for 15 years now, and married for 5, but to my wife's great anger the cycle still very much involves "floor"

[kurkosdr]

My routine is: on body -> washer & drying -> closet (underwear and bed linings only) -> on body -> washer & drying -> closet (underwear and bed linings) -> on body -> washer and drying -> closet (underwear and bed linings) and ironing the pile of clothes that has accumulated on the sofa.

I never iron my underwear and bed linings (what's the point? none of my friends does it), and i try to avoid ironing as long as i have good clothes remaining in the closet

[J Thomas]

I never iron my underwear and bed linings (what's the point? none of my friends does it), and i try to avoid ironing as long as i have good clothes remaining in the closet

The point of ironing your clothes is it kills the lice. A hot iron is very effective at killing lice etc.

I'm reasonably sure that was the point of ironing before anybody decided it looked good. But if you happen not to have any lice and you don't care to impress people with your ironed clothes, then why care?

[faunablues]

I never understood people who have trouble with laundry.

Buy a hamper that is the same size as your washer/dryer, when it fills up, go wash. Let it run while you surf reddit, go dry. Surf reddit, grab everything.

Only surf reddit during all this if you want a load of laundry to take 5 hours.