Well ... perhaps 'love' is in this case too strong a word. But I do like it. Either way, this subject has been debated to death, and is something that most people are not going to change their opinion about. In regards to laundry, there are (probably) four kinds of people:
1) Everyday task masters
2) Once-a-week warriors
3) The we-need-clean-underwear-now crowd (hey, no judgement here!)
4) Laundry? What's that? I'll just buy new clothes ... lol
Obviously, these categories have a completely plausible scientific basis. Maybe. Okay, not really. But in my defense, I have met people who fall into each of these categories.
In our previous residence I did have laundry 'day...s': Wednesday was sheets and towels and Thursday for washing my and my daughter's clothes. The main reason for not completing everything in one day was that our dryer was terrible. It usually took two hours for a load of clothes, three for towels - yikes!
After we moved (and had access to a much better dryer) I started doing laundry every day. Don't ask me why. For some reason seeing that empty laundry basket just felt good ... for the five minutes it was actually empty. Maybe it was the sense of control that I felt after a chaotic year, or it was just another way to put off another more unpleasant or physically challenging task. Or the most likely reason, that maybe I'm just a little bit crazy. But I didn't think so at the time, especially because letting dirty clothes pile up all week and then having to wash, dry, fold, and put away ALL of them sounded not only completely overwhelming, but just not possible.
Then I listened to the audio version of Dana K. White's incredible book, "How to manage your home without losing your mind." As a recovered/ing former slob, Dana has devoted years to her self-named 'deslobification' process. Among her tough love but also witty and thoughtful explanations is Dana's argument for a single designated laundry day each week. As I listened, I winced a little. Ugh, "Laundry all day", I thought, "That's exactly what I don't want in my life".
But then she said something that made me quickly check my attitude. "Once I finish putting away the last load of laundry, I do not even have to think about laundry for six whole days."
As an admittedly stubborn person, I can be pretty hard to convince. But BAM, that one sentence did it. And my weird feeling of satisfaction aside, the way I was doing things wasn't working. Because let's be real, an empty clothes hamper does not equal finished laundry. The clothes may have been washed, but they are also likely sitting either in folded stacks on the dresser, or in a big, tangled, unfolded pile on the bed. Or, the absolute worst, a wet, smelly, forgotten mass of clothing sitting in the washer two days later that must be washed again. So yes, the idea of doing laundry and actually having it done for almost a week sounded really good to me.
In order for laundry day to work, Dana emphasizes that laundry coming out of the dryer should be folded and put away immediately. Moving wet laundry to the dryer and starting a new load in the washer should also be done just as immediately. Dana also mentions that this takes practice, and I agree. Like many people, I have a tendency to leave the folded clothes in the basket until they are both completely full. This makes putting everything away much more of a chore than it needs to be.
As with many tasks that people tend to procrastinate, Dana suggests using a timer so that you know how long something actually takes. So I timed myself putting away my daughter's clothes. It took just four minutes. Now that I know that, it is more difficult to rationalize leaving the clothes on the dresser or in the basket.
But, although Dana is very confident in advocating the methods that work for her, she is not critical about what others do. Indeed, she has seen it all in terms of clutter and trying to keep it under control, and has an amazingly helpful yet simple plan for people who feel they are drowning in laundry.
Exhibiting great self-awareness, she encourages everyone who wants to at least try having a designated laundry day to determine how that will look for them. For example, she mentions that if you know you will not be home most of the day on laundry day, start the night before. That is exactly what I did today, and it worked out just fine.
So, although being intentional with immediately folding and putting clothes away will take some practice, the reward of being 'free' from laundry for almost a week is worth the extra effort.
Have you succeeded in establishing a weekly laundry day? Please share your challenges and successes in the comments!
 |
| My laundry room artwork, a greeting card I found at the "Square Pear" art gallery in Kennett Square, PA :) |
Comments
Post a Comment