The Economics of Laundry

Over the weekend, I became engaged in a debate with my *significant* other, about how to properly handle my laundry. She wants me to fold, iron, organize and put away my laundry. I would prefer to use the laundry basket method, in that I just leave the clothes in the basket and iron them when neccessary.

She did not see the logic in my ways because we have different utility functions when it comes to laundry. She values the time she saves when it comes to picking out clothes to start the day more than the hour or two on a Saturday that it takes to organize the laundry. I, needless to say, value the Saturday hour more than the time it will take to gather my clothes for the day from the unorganized laundry basket.

She makes the argument that her way is better, when in truth, her way is better for her while my way is better for me. Like buying a video game system, her method is the PS3 while mine is the Xbox 360. They are each good in their own ways, just different priorites for different people.

Freedom to choose is what defines capitalism and by impinging my right to choose, my other behaved was being quite the communist.