Are we complicating things or are we being gently nudged or even pushed to do more and to need more?

Let’s talk laundry.

We all must do it, yet we never seem to get to the bottom of the pile. Are you a once a week mammoth task tackler, or a regular wash every day type? Do you sort into colours, fabrics, hand washing, dry cleaning?

Many years ago, laundry day would have been once a week chore, mostly on Mondays. This task was physically exhausting, involving boiling the water, scrubbing clothes on a washboard. Followed by wringing them out, first by hand then through the mangle. Hanging them out to dry, hopefully on a washing line outside in the possibly industrial contaminated air, or more likely in front of the fire. Finally, these clothes would need to be ironed, ready to be worn and start the whole process again next week.

We can see the dilemma. Choosing to wear the clothes several times to save on washing, or choosing to wash before they became stained and so more difficult to wash.

Laundry was exhausting, and a full time job among the many domestic tasks that needed tending to.

Rich people, in their grand houses, had people to do this for them. Many women were employed as domestic laundry maids to do this task, often in a dedicated wash house and drying yard away from view of the main house.

What a relief it must have been when the washing machine was invented. A new household appliance that promised to transform the lives of women throughout the world.

My own mother had one of these new-fangled machines. A deluxe twin tub washing machine that was brought out each weekend. She no longer did her laundry on a Monday. By now she was working during the week and the washing machine was there to help.

The washing machine was dragged out from beneath the counter. The rubber hoses were attached to the tap so that it could fill up and the drain hose placed in the sink. I’m not sure how the machine worked or helped my mum because I remember her standing at the machine, helping it along the way. I’m sure that others had their washing machine plumbed in but ours wasn’t. As far as I could see, mum was still doing the laundry but the machine was doing the churning and spinning – all the work!

I remember huge boxes of laundry powder detergent stored in the cupboard and this being poured into the machine. I also remember that mum still washed many items by hand because it was easier than getting the machine out.

I look back now and wonder how this machine helped my mum. Did it really save her time? That’s what the adverts promised, and she was happy going to work during the week. Leisure time wasn’t important in those days apparently.

Fast forward to today. I have a quality washing machine and tumble dryer set up in my utility room. I simply have to choose the programme, put the clothes in the machine and ta da it’s all done for me! Or is it? I still make a point of sorting my laundry by colour and fabrics. I still have to fold them straight out of the tumble dryer or off the washing line, and I still have to iron those that need it.

I know how much easier my laundry days are compared to my grandmother, but I am starting to wonder is it really?

My grandmother would’ve washed her clothes by hand and with a mangle to wring them out. She would have washed my grandfather’s factory clothes to make sure that he was fit for work. I only remember seeing her in one or two dresses. She did have her trusted apron which would have washed through at least every other day. Shirts for the men of the house must’ve been a chore but she washed the undergarments by hand, I know because they were always hanging up around the house.

Our washing machines have most definitely made life easier but I am seeing that the world has complicated laundry all over again. Now we have work clothes, leisure clothes for around the home, clothes to change into to go out. Synthetic clothes that need quick cooler cycles, cottons that need a more robust wash. Reading the labels has now become more of a task. Those quality designer clothes all need washing by hand or dry cleaning. How can something so expensive be so difficult to wash, are they really only meant to be worn once?

All this before we consider the marketing around laundry. My mum had one huge box of laundry powder, now I have to choose between powder, liquid, gel or pods. I have to consider the environmental impact, the sensitivity impact and possibly any toxins that may be lurking in my choices.

As if laundry detergents aren’t complicated enough, there’s the choices of fabric conditioner. This makes the clothes feel so much better, softer and of course they smell nice. My mother simply wanted to have clean clothes. Then there’s the special powder that removes the stains and makes my whites whiter. I like the whiteness of my clothes but I don’t like being reminded that my dad had quite a severe reaction to using this powder once. Still that doesn’t happen to me so it must be alright? I save this for when it’s needed.

This is the limit to my laundry routine, but advertising is trying to persuade me that I need some scent booster beads in my wash, and that I must use another liquid to stop limescale building up and breaking my machine. My fabric conditioner infuses my clothes with the fresh scent of spring flowers so I can’t see why I would need an extra boost. Then I came across a washing machine cleaner. I use an empty boil wash every now and then, and a regular clean of the drawer and filters.

Marketing these products is telling us that we need to do more, that we need to buy more, that we are simply not good enough. Upwards of £3 for a bottle of scent that’s not needed, over £6 for something that may or may not protect my washing machine is too much for me. I’ve had my machine over 12 years and it’s still going strong (touch wood) and we live in a hard water area.

Walking through the laundry aisle at the supermarket, we are bombarded with choices and there seems to be something new and on offer each week, with their promises of easier, better, more! It’s taken me a long time, but I’ve been sticking with my regular choice for quite a while now.

I swear by washing whites separately, and sorting but I draw the line at buying more than I need. It’s time to stand up to the marketing and think about whether it will really make things easier, or better. Or whether you’re buying it because some influencer has a deal with the large brands and has to come up with new ways of getting you to spend your money.

Let’s take back control. We certainly have it better than our grandmothers and great grandmothers but let’s not become slaves to laundry in the modern age.