Am I Wrong for Not Folding My Sons Boyfriends Laundry?

Some families have big fights, but this one blew up over something far more domestic: folding laundry. OP, 48, is a single mom to two adult sons, and her eldest’s boyfriend moves right into her routine by living in the house too.

Here’s the messy part. Her sons often do laundry together, and OP usually puts her own clothes back in her basket and folds later in her room. But if her laundry is still in the dryer when they need it, her eldest’s boyfriend jumps in, folds her clothes, hangs up her t-shirts, and stacks her skirts and dresses like he’s guessing the whole system.

So when he complains that OP won’t “return the favor,” she’s left wondering if she’s rude for putting his clothes in his hamper and keeping her own folding habits on her own schedule.

Original Post

I (48f) and a single mom of two adult men (ages 20 and 24). My eldest's boyfriend (21m) lives with us.

My son and his boyfriend often do their laundry together. My son's boyfriend prefers that their laundry be folded right out of the dryer, where I usually put mine back in my laundry basket and fold it in my room.

I work from home, so I do my laundry when I'm on a break and fold it when I'm on another break. I don't really have the time to fold it right out of the dryer.

If my laundry is still in the dryer when the boys need to put theirs in, my son's boyfriend will fold my clothes and h**g up my t-shirts, though my skirts and dresses are put in a pile on the dryer (I'm guessing he doesn't know what to do with them). I hate when he does this because 1.

I don't like my t-shirts hung up (leading me to have to take the extra time to unhang them). 2.

I am picky about how I fold my clothes, so I have to refold everything anyway. I get that these are me problems, but still.

If I need the dryer and their clothes are in it, I just put it in their laundry basket because I'm short on time. Often, my son's boyfriend will complain that I don't fold their clothes for them when I need the dryer.

He says, "I fold your laundry, you could at least return the favor." I've explained that I'm usually short on time and I don't even fold my own laundry right out of the dryer, but he still thinks it's rude that I won't do it. He acts like I'm a jerk for putting his clothes in his hamper.

They'll sometimes leave their clothes in the dryer for a few days, so I don't think it's because he wants to avoid wrinkles. He just prefers to fold them right out of the dryer.

AITA?

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Also, this “do it your way” laundry dispute feels like the Domino’s customer who tipped twice and got pushback.

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OP is working from home and folding on breaks, but her eldest’s boyfriend treats the dryer like it’s his personal folding station.

That’s when he starts folding OP’s shirts and hanging them up, even though she hates the extra step of taking everything down and refolding it her way.

Then the real tension hits, because if OP needs the dryer, she moves their laundry into their basket, and he acts like that’s some kind of insult.

By the time they leave clothes in the dryer for days and still demand immediate folding, OP has to decide if she’s the jerk for not playing laundry butler.</p>

We're curious to hear your perspective. Share your thoughts in the comments.

He might not be wrong about laundry, but he is definitely wrong about expecting OP to fold on his schedule.

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