The sign says it all, right? Well... everything is right except for the Self-Service part. It's more like Mom-Service. Or maybe for you, it's Dad-Service. Or maybe you both pitch in, in which I would say, "Come over and have coffee. I need to pick your brain for a while." However you do laundry, I think we all can agree on one thing..."IT SUCKS." And for the last five and a half years, I have really struggled with this chore. Most likely because it never ends and you only see a finished product for like two seconds. But now that my last baby is two, I feel like I'm finally able to break free for a few moments and fold a load here or there. So public disclaimer coming...
If you have little babies running around just go ahead and save this post for later because I don't want you getting discouraged thinking you aren't good at your job. You are! It's just that with little ones, its REALLY hard to catch a moment to fold a load.
Just to help you all realize how big of a struggle this has been for me, let me rewind time to 2011. I had just delivered my first baby and the postpartum blues were real. But looking back, I didn't know they were postpartum blues. They really just felt like I was a complete failure at this mom thing all the time. Baby Girl struggled with lactose sensitivity and reflux and being a new parent, I thought there would never be an end to this madness. So while trying to console her during the day, nothing got done. My dear husband really helped out a lot. But one day he got the idea to wash and dry ALL fifteen loads of laundry. He dumped it all on the guest bed and went to do more--I'm not complaining, really I'm not!!! A little while later, I decided to go searching for him. I was groggy from no sleep and in my super sexy hoodie and pajama pants. I went to the guest room and saw him dump another load on top of the bed. Guys, the mountain of clothes was HUGGGGEEEEE!!! I took one look at the mountain and totally freaked out!
"Why did you wash and dry all these clothes?!" I was crying inconsolably. "I don't have time to fold these, much less put them away."
"I was trying to help. I thought if I washed and dried them all, it would be one less thing for you to do."
My poor husband, he was living with a crazy woman and didn't even know it. To me, it looked like another problem I had to face head on. And frankly, I couldn't handle anymore problems. Needless to say, I regret how I acted that day. To be totally real, I probably cried for another hour and then realized the problem was not my dear husband, the problem was life itself had thrown a mountain of crap on my life. Postpartum blues, fussy baby, momma guilt, wife guilt. and the list goes on. Later on, I went to apologize to him and being the great man he is, he ended up helping me fold all the clothes. What a good man he is!
So now back to present time. It gets easier, I promise. And I had to ask a lot of people how they accomplish all that laundry without going bonkers. The truth is everyone has their own system. You just have to find what works for you. I decided that every day I would do two loads-wash, dry and fold. You'll notice further on down my blog that I don't put away until later. Keep reading to see how I have solved all my laundry problems...
Since moving into our new home, the one thing that totally freaked me out was a hall laundry room. And this one had no door! Gosh, I couldn't shut the door on my problems anymore ;) Y'all can see in the pic, two loads on the top ready to fold and two loads in being washed and dried.
I searched pinterest for laundry room makeovers and the one thing that caught my eye was separating everyone's laundry. But I didn't have a fancy cabinet to do that in. So I converted a linen closet into a laundry closet. I went to Walmart and bought one hamper per person so that when I folded their clean clothes, it immediately went into their hamper. My mother always uses the rule, "Touch it once," which means don't fold it and leave it, fold it and put it in its' place.
But folding and putting away all in the same day was a no-go for me. I literally HATE putting clothes away and I bet you do too! So I made the rule that I would wash, dry and fold during the week and everyone (except The Hubs) would put away their own clothes. You might not agree with my practices but we pay the kids a quarter to put their clothes away. It teaches them to work for their money. No entitlement here. Momma ain't no servant (now didn't that sound a teeny bit redneck).
And so by Sunday, everything is put away, I have an empty laundry closet, a clean counter and a stress free life. But guess what...it all starts again on Monday. Sorry y'all, there's not a laundry fairy yet. Just good old fashion hard work.
Thanks for reading and if you find this post helpful or if you have advice for me, please comment below or on Facebook.
Much Love,
Kim
