How many of you believe in not washing laundry on New Year's Day? ?

I have never heard that one.

Also - chances are fairly good that someone in a family would die during the next year anyway - families can be fairly large and there is usually at least one relative that anyone could think of that is old enough that you have to wonder if they will make it another year.

So - this was an old superstition that probably gained a lot of believers because they would be convinced that great-grandpa wouldn't have died if I hadn't done laundry on New Year's Day.

Never ever heard that. And I am getting old and know many old people. Haven’t heard that or think it is an old wise tale.

Old Wives tale from a bunch of drunken lazy women.

That is just a silly superstition, like a lot of things uneducated people believe.  Go ahead and do your laundry.

It's just superstition

That's a pretty severe version!  I've heard it as you'll wash your luck away from the coming year, but I only heard of this superstition as an adult.  I grew up with no such superstition as New Year's day falls during Christmas, my family considering Christmas to be fully twelve days long.  We cleaned the house for Christmas and then took it easy only doing essential chores until after the Epiphany.  My exMiL  made a big deal out of cleaning ahead of the New Year, but I don't think she thought doing housework on New Year's Day was unlucky so much as the woman who didn't scour everything from top to bottom before the strike of midnight was a dirty slattern!

I’ve never heard that. Some say you should eat cabbage or greens in New Year’s Day for good luck in the coming year.