And I have my laundry-separating mother to thank for my need to separate my whites from coloured clothing. It's very much what you're used to, isn't it? I should also point out that my kids wear white shirts/blouses as part of their school uniforms, so we wash a lot of whites. I hardly own any white clothing myself, though, as I'm guaranteed to spill something on myself whenever I'm not wearing dark clothing. Some days I seriously need a bib. Oh, and ditto on lots of purple clothing.
Laundry cage fight! I do separate lights from darks out of habit. I do wear white oxfords everyday for work, or a blouse of linen or cotton, always white (creature of habit, remember?) so I do like them to be crisp looking.