Yes, LAUNDRY!  I have daydreamed about Sim Laundry ever since the days of Sims 1.  And finally it has arrived!  And apparently my Sims love doing laundry as much as I love watching them do it, because they get the Wish to "Do Laundry" all the time.  (This wish is only fulfilled after sending one load of clothes all the way through the process to dry.)

There are two sets of laundry machines: crappy and cool.  The crappy machines (shown above) are:

Swashbuckler Washing Machine, $450
This has a 45 minute wash on Normal cycle, 60 minutes on Delicate.  About a third of the loads are unbalanced, causing the machine to bang around from side to side.  It buzzes when the load is finished, and a green indicator lights up on the front.

Le Dryer Du Clunk, $550
This takes 60 minutes to dry the clothes.  It too buzzes when the load is finished, and has a green indicator light.

The Cleanesque Alpha Washing Machine $1550
30 minute wash on Normal, and 45 minutes on Delicate.  This makes a pleasant chime when the laundry is finished.

The Clothing Dehydrator Dryer $1375
45 minutes to dry.  Its chime matches the washing machine.  This dryer has a window in front so that you can watch the clothes tumble.

Honestly, aside from the spiffy factor, I don't see much reason to buy the nice machines.  They're nice, but they're not three times nicer.  Don't forget you can re-skin the crappy machines with Create-A-Style.  There are a lot of really nice options on the Metals drop-down menu (I like brushed aluminum for major appliances).

Other laundry-related items:

The Clothing Hamper by Full Load, Inc $40
If you put one of these in every room, and in the bathrooms, and anywhere else your Sims change clothing, there's a chance they will drop their clothes into it rather than leaving them in a pile on the floor.  You can also click and drag clothes into the hamper yourself, the same way you can drag newspapers into the trash, dishes into the dishwasher, etc.

Flappin' In The Wind Clothesline $155
This is a cheaper option than the dryer - although if your Sims are that broke, they should just go to the Laundromat.  Sims with the "Eco Friendly" trait will enjoy hanging their clothes on the clothesline, because it saves electricity.

NOTE: Be sure to place your clothesline at least 3-4 squares away from your house.  The clothes drip water, which puddles and can run into your home.  Annoying!

To have your Sims do laundry, you can click on the washing machine, a pile of clothes, or a full hamper and choose "Do Laundry."  This will ONLY tell your Sim to put their clothes in the washing machine.  When the washing machine is finished, you will need to click on it and choose "Move clothes to dryer/clothesline."  Then when the clothes are finished, you will have to click on the dryer or clothesline and choose "Get clean clothes."

This can all be rather tedious, especially in a household with many Sims.  If you hire a maid, they will do the laundry for you.  Fortunately you can ignore the laundry (aside from tidying up the piles).  There is no penalty for un-washed laundry.  Wearing clean clothes gives them a +10 moodlet.