Wishing you all a Merry Christmas.
Love,
Merilee
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Laundry
Monday is my laundry day. It always has been. When I was growing up, one of my favorite book series was the "Little House" books. Actually, they are still among my favorites. In the first book, Little House on the Prairie, one chapter talks about the daily lives of Ma, Mary and Laura. They had a specific job for a specific day. The saying went like this,
Wash on Monday
Iron on Tuesday
Mend on Wednesday
Churn on Thursday
Clean on Friday
Bake on Saturday
Rest on Sunday.
Those pioneer women were smart! Yes, I realize they probably did things that way because some jobs took a long time (laundry) due to not having the convenience appliances that we have today plus they also had other things to do (cook, wash dishes, chores, tend the garden). But the principle is good. Do one major job a day and then you'll have time to do the other things you want and need to do.
So anyway, I channeled my Pioneer Woman and set Monday as my laundry day. I will do laundry on other days if necessary but the Big Laundry Day is Monday. And yes, there's times when I put it off for several days. This week was one of those times. Doing laundry is not my favorite job to do but there is something really satisfying about seeing those baskets of dirty clothes disappear, to be replaced by the clean clothes, and to see previously empty drawers and hangers get filled with clean clothes, and to replace the empty hampers in their respective homes. This state of laundry bliss only lasts a few hours--until the first person changes clothes, but I know that those clothes can (and will!) stay in the hamper until the next laundry day.
Even though there's 5 of us now, laundry's not quite the chore it might be. I've set up a system that works pretty well and gets my two older children doing their fair share of work in the laundry area.
So this is how it goes: I tell my children to gather their dirty clothes and bring their laundry baskets to my room. (Even though they have laundry baskets in their rooms, they still throw things on the floor, in the closet and under the bed). They separate out their own clothing. I'll separate the clothes in the basket in my room and from the hamper in the bathroom and gather up kitchen linens from the kitchen). During the day, I'll wash and dry the loads. Then I'll bring the baskets of clean laundry to my room. At this point what happens next depends. If I've procrastinated and started laundry late, I'll dump everything on my bed and call everyone in for a Laundry Dig. Everyone (me, DH and the two older children) will dig through the pile and gather their own things. DH will hang up/put away his own things. OK (older kids) will dump their stuff in their baskets and cart them back to their own rooms and hang/put away. I'll deal with my own stuff, the baby's stuff and "public" stuff like bath towels and kitchen linens. If I'm a good girl and keep on top of laundry, I will put away my stuff, DH's stuff, baby's stuff and public stuff. As I find the OK's stuff, I will toss it into their baskets. When they get home from school (or when I'm done), they'll cart their baskets to their room and put away their clothes. It works pretty well!
So, I finally got everything done yesterday. I know I only have a few days to enjoy the laundry-less time but I'll enjoy it while I can!
Wash on Monday
Iron on Tuesday
Mend on Wednesday
Churn on Thursday
Clean on Friday
Bake on Saturday
Rest on Sunday.
Those pioneer women were smart! Yes, I realize they probably did things that way because some jobs took a long time (laundry) due to not having the convenience appliances that we have today plus they also had other things to do (cook, wash dishes, chores, tend the garden). But the principle is good. Do one major job a day and then you'll have time to do the other things you want and need to do.
So anyway, I channeled my Pioneer Woman and set Monday as my laundry day. I will do laundry on other days if necessary but the Big Laundry Day is Monday. And yes, there's times when I put it off for several days. This week was one of those times. Doing laundry is not my favorite job to do but there is something really satisfying about seeing those baskets of dirty clothes disappear, to be replaced by the clean clothes, and to see previously empty drawers and hangers get filled with clean clothes, and to replace the empty hampers in their respective homes. This state of laundry bliss only lasts a few hours--until the first person changes clothes, but I know that those clothes can (and will!) stay in the hamper until the next laundry day.
Even though there's 5 of us now, laundry's not quite the chore it might be. I've set up a system that works pretty well and gets my two older children doing their fair share of work in the laundry area.
So this is how it goes: I tell my children to gather their dirty clothes and bring their laundry baskets to my room. (Even though they have laundry baskets in their rooms, they still throw things on the floor, in the closet and under the bed). They separate out their own clothing. I'll separate the clothes in the basket in my room and from the hamper in the bathroom and gather up kitchen linens from the kitchen). During the day, I'll wash and dry the loads. Then I'll bring the baskets of clean laundry to my room. At this point what happens next depends. If I've procrastinated and started laundry late, I'll dump everything on my bed and call everyone in for a Laundry Dig. Everyone (me, DH and the two older children) will dig through the pile and gather their own things. DH will hang up/put away his own things. OK (older kids) will dump their stuff in their baskets and cart them back to their own rooms and hang/put away. I'll deal with my own stuff, the baby's stuff and "public" stuff like bath towels and kitchen linens. If I'm a good girl and keep on top of laundry, I will put away my stuff, DH's stuff, baby's stuff and public stuff. As I find the OK's stuff, I will toss it into their baskets. When they get home from school (or when I'm done), they'll cart their baskets to their room and put away their clothes. It works pretty well!
So, I finally got everything done yesterday. I know I only have a few days to enjoy the laundry-less time but I'll enjoy it while I can!
long time no blog
Well, it has been forever (it seems) since I last blogged in August. I've had plenty to say and I've written many posts in my head but when it came time to actually type said posts, I thought about it and said, 'forget it'.
What has happened since the last post in August? The biggest thing was that we had a baby boy! Baby Boy was born in early October. He is 2 months old now and is such a joy! Also Older Sister and Big Brother started school. We have also done some house projects. We celebrated Halloween and Thanksgiving. And now it's time to think Christmas!
I hope to blog more regularly about what's happening in my life as well as my thoughts on random subjects such as homemaking, scrapbooking, sewing, gardening--in short, all the things I like to do.
What has happened since the last post in August? The biggest thing was that we had a baby boy! Baby Boy was born in early October. He is 2 months old now and is such a joy! Also Older Sister and Big Brother started school. We have also done some house projects. We celebrated Halloween and Thanksgiving. And now it's time to think Christmas!
I hope to blog more regularly about what's happening in my life as well as my thoughts on random subjects such as homemaking, scrapbooking, sewing, gardening--in short, all the things I like to do.
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