Laundry

Laundry is a new system of objects and moodlets introduced in The Sims 3: Ambitions.

The system's existence was first confirmed in a French language interview in April 2010, and confirmed on TheSims3.com forums by staff members later in May:

"'Hey guys - there will be a laundry system in ambitions! It will be optional, if you don't want to bother with it, you don't have to, but if you want to add some extra good moodlets and entertainment, you can choose to purchase a washer and dryer for your Sims. AND the high end dryer might have a special surprise if you watch it closely of course if you really hate laundry, work on your inventing skill and then detonate your washer. '"

To enable laundry on your lot you either need to purchase a washing machine OR a laundry basket. Sims will then often leave clothes on the floor when they change if there's no laundry basket in the room. Rooms where they change often include bedrooms and bathrooms. Places where they workout or squish fruit for nectar would also benefit from a laundry basket. You can select a washing machine and Do Laundry which will do all the laundry on the lot and then either dry it in a dryer or hang it outside. After that your sim can enjoy fresh clean clothes, getting a positive moodlet and fresh clean sheets.

Sim can randomly find Laundry Gnome when doing laundry.

Leaked images
In May 2010, leaked images of the laundry system surfaced, allegedly through a Russian journalist breaching disclosure policies. These images were distributed more widely by the Brazilian fan website, O Sim BR.net.