this post was submitted on 30 Sep 2023
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[–] Blake@feddit.uk 111 points 1 year ago (7 children)

Hijacking your thread to advocate for my lazy ideology. Disclaimer I have pretty severe ADHD so this might be extreme for most people but for me this makes life liveable.

Forget trying to make things look super tidy and neat like in an IKEA commercial. Make your living space functional, comfortable and easy to maintain. Reduce the amount of physical, mental and emotional effort required to maintain your environment. For example, for laundry:

  1. Don’t iron anything unless you really need/want to. (Job interview, going on a date, appearing in court, etc.)
  2. Anywhere you’re liable to undress, have a basket for dirty clothes. It should be open-topped (no lid!) and mobile, like a laundry basket, so when you need to do a load of laundry, you can pick up and use the whole basket - functioning both as the hamper and the basket. Bedroom and bathroom are the usual places for this! You want the act of tossing dirty clothes in the laundry to be just as easy as tossing it on the floor.
  3. There’s no such thing as odd socks. They’re called mix ‘n’ match socks now. Like Mashems!
  4. No neatly folded clothes or hangers or anything like that, except for very special things such as in point 1 - everything just gets dumped into big drawers based on category. I have little fabric boxes that fit into a kallax to keep this relatively neat looking but super easy.
  5. If something can’t survive going in the washing machine mixed load cycle and the tumble dryer daily load, it is not welcome in my life. (There’s a similar rule about the dishwasher!)

You get the idea. Embrace your laziness, don't bother yourself with half a second what people might think of how you live. This is surprisingly neat and orderly and takes almost no effort to maintain. If you keep finding your basket is misplaced, buy another basket and keep it in two places. Stop fighting the current and go with your flow. Accept who you are, even if you’re a lazy bitch like me!

[–] xeddyx@lemmy.nz 50 points 1 year ago (4 children)

There’s no such thing as odd socks. They’re called mix ‘n’ match socks now. Like Mashems!

Or just get black socks and don't worry about mixing and matching.

[–] Blake@feddit.uk 10 points 1 year ago

You can do that too, but it’s less fun! I’m just very easily amused, of course, but there’s something joyful about wearing odd socks. Especially if they’re contradictory. Like, I wonder what people think of someone wearing one bright pink sock and one yellow sock. Or one sock that says “Star Wars” on it and another sock that has dinosaurs. I have some Star Wars Han Solo socks where Han Solo looks like John Travolta. That’s not relevant to this, but every time I see those socks, they make me laugh because he looks very funny.

[–] Anonymousllama@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago

Best thing I did was throw all my old socks away and just bought a dozen of the exact same socks. Never have to worry about sorting them or getting annoyed when one inevitably goes AWOL

[–] bradorsomething@ttrpg.network 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

When Marino wool socks go on sale at Costco, buy 10 of the same pairs.

[–] hardcoreufo@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

Preach. This is the biggest thing I try and get everyone to get on board with. More comfy than cotton, stink less and last way longer. I've been using the same 12 pairs for almost 10 years with no holes, though some are starting to look threadbare. Meanwhile my coworker goes through a 10 pack of cotton socks a year.

[–] Sir_Kevin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Every ten years or so I get rid of all my socks and boxers, then buy new ones. All the same brand and at most two types. I never have to worry about finding a pair that match each other or anything like that.

[–] SelfHigh5@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I’m sorry Sir Kevin did you say ten years? How many do you have that they don’t wear out well before then? This is alarming and/or amazing. We do this too but it’s more like every year or maaaaaybe two if we are stretching it. I’m stuck on ten years, it’s wild, I’m sorry.

[–] Sir_Kevin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 1 year ago

Like 30+ pairs. I don't like doing laundry often so I buy in bulk. That has the side effect that no one pair is worn too much. Maybe it's less than ten years, I'm not exactly counting or anything. When things start wearing out or looking funky I buy new.

[–] xeddyx@lemmy.nz 18 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Also

6. Don't bother making your bed. I don't know why my parents ever ingrained this habit in me, but one day I was like... why am I even doing this? and so I stopped. Of course, I still change my sheets and pillow cases regularly, but I don't see a reason for making my bed every day.

[–] lotanis@discuss.tchncs.de 30 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I do it, because it makes a massive difference to me how tidy my bedroom feels and how welcoming the bed looks at the end of the day. I just have a duvet though, so it's 10 seconds of pulling on each corner until it's reasonably even - not going for perfection!

[–] Blake@feddit.uk 5 points 1 year ago

I have a duvet too, I usually don’t make my bed but when I do it’s all about the trick shot - grab a corner of the duvet in each hand and whip it forward fast - like reins or something - and let it fall more or less perfectly on the bed with almost zero effort. Might take a bit of practise to get used to but this is what I’ve been doing for a long time!

[–] xeddyx@lemmy.nz 4 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Sorry, but I find that really hard to relate. How would that make any difference, practically? At the end of a day, a bed is always welcoming to me - I mean, I don't need an excuse to hit the bed lol, in fact, I need an excuse to get out of bed. On some lazy weekends I may not even bother getting out of bed lol.

[–] klemptor@lemmy.ml 4 points 1 year ago

For me, I hate getting into a bed where the sheets are all bunched up and the pillows are still smushed from the night before. Making my bed means I have straightened sheets and fluffed pillows waiting for me when I'm ready to turn in, which feels welcoming.

[–] lotanis@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 1 year ago

It's just psychologically nicer. It's a bit like it being nicer to get on with work when my desk is tidy (not that I tidy it that often)

[–] Yamayo@lemm.ee -2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It seems that you are lazy on more than just weekends. Not everyone is like that and needs a "practical difference" to do things.

[–] xeddyx@lemmy.nz 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

You're not wrong that I'm lazy, but I also do things that actually need to be done. Like, I'm lazy about say, getting my haircut and will put it off, but I'm not lazy about say vacuuming the house, or waking up and getting ready for work - because those things need doing. I just don't see the value in making the bed.

[–] munderzi@feddit.ch 16 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I enjoy having a tidy bed, it makes me feel more relaxed. Also got drilled to it from my parents and in the military, it promotes discipline and you start your day by accomplishing a task (gives a positive mindset).

[–] lunchboxhero@lemmy.sdf.org 10 points 1 year ago (1 children)

So, let me get this right, you don’t fold your clothes? Rather you just crumple them up and put them in the drawer?

I never thought of this as a viable solution but I am going to try it out! Folding laundry is my #1 chore left undone. I end up “living out of the basket” and nothing is ever done.

[–] Blake@feddit.uk 16 points 1 year ago (2 children)

You’re absolutely right. I don’t fold shit. If I need to wear a proper shirt then I’ll iron it when I need it, but usually just wear T-Shirts & polo shirts, so it doesn’t matter.

Yep, just give yourself permission to live out of the basket and put the basket on a shelf. It’s tidier and you don’t feel as bad about it.

[–] LinkOpensChest_wav@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I like you. My husband has ADHD and he does the same thing. I fold my own clothes because it's relaxing for me, but no one should feel like they have to.

[–] Blake@feddit.uk 6 points 1 year ago

Thank you, and yes, absolutely, sometimes I go beyond this as well (for example, I’ll decide to pair up some socks) but it’s always an added extra bonus, not an expectation that I’m failing to meet. Psychology matters as much as anything!

[–] klemptor@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 year ago (2 children)

But don't your clothes get all wrinkly that way? I'm a neat freak and I can't imagine living like that lol

[–] CrabLord@beehaw.org 3 points 1 year ago

In my experience, I don't care about wrinkles. Usually nothing is too wrinkly unless it's been buried for a while. Once I started putting the clothes in the drawers they were significantly less wrinkly.

[–] Blake@feddit.uk 1 points 1 year ago

No, I mostly just wear t shirts and polo shirts and it doesn’t get wrinkly at all. It appears very neat until you open the drawer, and I’m the only one who does that anyways.

[–] u202307011927@feddit.de 8 points 1 year ago

When this asklemmy question pops up the next time again, asking What are your saved posts and comments here on lemmy, this one is the one I'm sharing then

[–] funkajunk@lemm.ee 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] Blake@feddit.uk 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Thank you, but beware, as your new brother for life has some crazy hot takes and likes to argue a lot on the internet even though he probably shouldn’t. Lots of sibling responsibility! Although I don’t know which of us is the big brother / little brother.

[–] funkajunk@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

If you are also an adult, I don't think big/little brother matters any more. I'm also 6'1" & 220 lbs., so I haven't been called "little" in a very long time.

Hit me with your craziest, hottest take - I can handle it!

[–] Blake@feddit.uk 1 points 1 year ago

I always wanted a big brother, though! I quickly checked your profile and saw you mentioned mid 30s, which makes you a little older than me, so I guess wish granted... although I am 6'4" and closer to 250lbs, so I guess we're both big brothers-es. :P

Hit me with your craziest, hottest take - I can handle it!

It's probably against the rules of this community and potentially against the law, so I'll just say that I disagree with a value which Gandhi and Martin Luther King share, and that I agree with some, but not all, of Malcolm X's beliefs.

[–] RBWells@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago

Late to this, but except for folding (or hanging up) clothes, this is my laundry strategy. Don't own an iron. Travel steamer for emergencies, more often used to refresh my hair.

I used to tell my kids to stand in the laundry basket to undress, because they couldn't get the clothes into the basket.

[–] grabyourmotherskeys@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Laundry: I use "laundry bags", they cost about the same as hampers. I keep them in my bathroom and office (work from home) because I have to start work much earlier than my family so get dressed there in the morning. They are portable, don't look that messy (just a black bag) and easy to tote around when full.

Edit - forgot to mention (of course) that a big bonus for having one of these in my office which is near our kitchen and living area is I throw all the socks people take off and hoodies, dish cloths, etc into it which keeps the dog from stealing them and keeps the main area tidier.