Local Voices
Read Connie’s earlier installments: Chapter 1: Lessons from a former hoarder, Chapter 2: Time to start, Chapter 3: Plateau? Fight It!, Chapter 4: Kitchen Klues
Connie Simon
Nothing inspires me more to join a nudist colony more than laundry. It’s like summer fruit flies that come out of nowhere and never seem to go away. At least when you do the dishes you have a small period of time to enjoy the clean sink … but laundry? Noooo, it’s filling up hampers and getting thrown on bathroom floors while you are in the actual act of washing and drying. Like death and taxes, laundry is just the bonus prize. There’s no getting around it, so I decided to deal with it, put a smile on my face and be grateful for the folks I’m doing laundry for, after all, they won’t be there forever.
This reminds me of an old TV episode of a mom who was constantly yelling at her teenage boys to keep their shoes out of the walkway in the house. Frustrated at their lack of enthusiasm or interest, she kept on them. Then one day, a sudden storm came up and the boys were messing around outside. They ran under a tree to get out of the rain, when BOOM! a lightning bolt struck the tree and literally blew them right out of those very shoes! Thankfully, after a long recovery, the boys were back home … and guess what? The mom never talked about those shoes again. She said she was just grateful TO HAVE BOYS IN those shoes 🙂
So whether it’s laundry, or shoes, you know they aren’t going anywhere, so just stop and count it all JOY!
Being thankful is always a good way to get through life! Now, choosing the Julie Andrews route to “Climb Every Mountain,” (of laundry) I encourage you to try another way. That mountain is a task I’m not willing to take on, because honestly, it never EVER goes away. No feeling of accomplishment, just the dredge of another weekend of washing, drying, folding, and putting away. Nope. Nope. Nope. Do a load or three a day. REST is waaay too important to neglect because you’re stuck in the laundry room! So what’s a girl to do?
I changed it up and took control! Now, when I come home from work, I walk right downstairs and throw a load in the dryer (bc I threw one in the washer this morning) then proceed to put in the next load AND SET THE LOUD KITCHEN TIMER for 35 minutes. Yes, it’ll be in the middle of making dinner, but guess what? I’m not the only one in the house! Yes, your roommate, spouse, and kids are perfectly capable of taking dry clothes OUT of the dryer, putting wet clothes IN the dryer and PUSHING A BUTTON. It’s not rocket science. Make a list and put it on the wall. If you’re scared to have them put the detergent in, get some plastic dixie cups and pre-measure the detergent so there’s no questions and be sure to empty the dryer lint trap every time as well.
I admit the OCD can pop out because “they don’t do it the way I do” … but remember, we need to TEACH them. After all, they need to know how to do housework at their own home, so how do they learn if we don’t … wait for it … (you know it’s coming) LET IT GO! LET IT GO!!
All musical “isms” aside, you need to SHOW them how to hang things up, lay clothes FLAT in a pile so they don’t wrinkle and throw the clean socks & underwear in a clean basket. I know, “they don’t do it right” … well listen honey, Wonder Woman isn’t going to appear in your laundry room any time soon, so LET PEOPLE HELP YOU. Be ok with the fact that things won’t be “like YOU do it.” When that timer goes off, and you’re up to your elbows in life, tell somebody else to “switch washer to dryer please.” Have a time limit and make it fun.
Growing up at any age is a challenge, so don’t let the eye rolls and list of excuses get you down. You aren’t sending them to Hotel California or even that Nudist Colony. They, and you, will survive a ten minute job they have to learn anyway (and you know you’re gonna fix it “your way” later, so receive the help and be thankful). Step back, settle down and be open to change. After all, we are all changing every day.
Hmmm, what does “rest” look like?….
Connie Simon
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