There is ALWAYS something to wash at my house. We do have two laundry rooms, one downstairs for the big kids and the one I use on the main floor. Last year my sweetie bought me two huge front loaders and they are so nice! We actually have enough space that he offered to buy me two of each, kind of like a laundromat. I assured him that was a great offer, but it wouldn't fix the problem.
The problem was me! I can only fold so much laundry at a time. Having it wash faster would just make it that much harder. So I continued to do laundry every day, sometimes as many as half a dozen batches a day but then my problem was a pile of clean laundry instead of a pile of dirty laundry. Either way it was an issue.
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| Even Curly folds his own laundry! |
Then one day I had a brilliant beyond brilliant idea...
I didn't have to fold this laundry all by myself! (I know, pretty obvious, huh? It only took me almost 30 years to get it.) So one Sunday afternoon after we had returned from church and the kids were digesting one of my sweetie's delicious lunches, I asked the Dog Walker to haul all the clean laundry into the family room. Then we popped in a Disney movie and I invited all the kids to my Laundry Folding Party.
They were so excited to actually watch a movie they all grabbed their baskets and joined me. The laundry folded up in no time and it was fun to do it together. Now we have a Laundry Folding Party almost every week and the kids look forward to it no matter what we are watching.
Tonight I put in Global Warning from the History Channel because the Dog Walker needed to watch it for his Meteorology class. I had one grumbler at first, but even she was soon fascinated by the lava and the dinosaurs. Sport kept saying, "Be quiet, I can't hear!" He was totally engrossed, but when I checked, his clothes were in his basket and mostly folded.
When we are finished, we turn off the TV and the Dog Walker hauls heavy baskets for the kids and then they quickly put them away. What would have taken me hours is completed during a single movie with smiles all around.
And my smile is the biggest.
8 comments:
I recently taught my six year-old to load/unload the washer and dryer. So far he only has to hang shirts and I still do all the folding, but it's a good start, right?
Oh, boy, I wash almost daily and hang them to dry in the garage mostly..I hate to fold and iron stuff but I did when our only was living with her mamma and daddy, I taught her how to wash and dry quickly and to hang up clothes, she is a whiz now.. I have ironed for most of my life and made a good deal of change for my little doll when she was growing up, most people don't even know how to iron, I made a $100 a week when I cleaned a professional ladies home once a month, she treated me like a Queen when she moved I cleaned the whole house for $200.00 it was her deposit and she took me to lunch for seafood on a big river the Columbia for my 40th birthday and gave me a nice purse..She is married and lives in California, oh, how I enjoyed doing the ironing and cleaning for her she was immaculate and never at her rental which was the same floor plan as our home minus children and even her cat was clean!!!!!!!!!! I don't mind doing the laundry I get it done quickly and don't iron much anymore but I do know how streamline it and do my brother in laws huge amounts he stacks up when we visit but I don't fold the stuff I put it on his huge bed in nice piles he is thrilled and I cook for him a huge meal, we share only him, and put the other meals in nice containers I got years ago glass ones, he is over the moon not married, widowed so to speak he feels it is so nice of me, he tried to pay me but really he talks with his oldest brother, I do the laundry, cook and sometimes make a pie or two and make some freezer jams, he is just about speechless this only happens twice a year he lives over 100 miles from us and we go very early and stay very late his home is immaculate and clothes done and food to be enjoyed, why not show your family the love you have for them! love your blog, you are such a sweetloving God loving human being with a sweetloving God loving hubby~! pray there would be more human beings in this world, juvenile delinquency would be totally eradicated!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I meant to say I ironed for my friend all the time, she paid me a $20.00 here a $30.00 there..she dropped her clothes off clean, I jumped to it, my little girl would watch and sometimes unload our dishwasher, I showed her how to iron and make sure the clothes looked almost new, she got a big kick out of it, she can sew, hem, redisgn clothing, she can tear a dress apart and make something else out of it from shops in NYC and they are new to her, fine fabrics and all..She can make jams, jellies, cakes, roasts, turkeys, pies, anything, she watcher her mom and dad cook& bake all the time and she was smart as a whip..I put the money towards our bills at first then a little account for her, she snagged a huge scholarship to the university and worked on campus to boot, graduated with several degrees and had her accounts she opened while in the university..she was good at watching where the money she worked for on campus went usually in savings only savings!!!!!!!! My friend calls me from California and now has a baby girl and she does all that I used to for her never complaining but missing our friendship in the distance..Our journey here on earth is not to not do what is necessary but I like to think with a happy heart! Teaching children to be self-sufficient in my opinion is really what being a parent is all about, it helps them to actually be in the real world, but close to their familia, yes I am of Spanish origin and the familia is central, I can remember my grandmother cooking and cooking and holding me up to smell the sweet whiffs of great food treasures and speaking to me lovingly, she was so sweet I miss her each and everyday & my Mother was a wonder, she had many children, did everything, got all the food stuff in the oven very early, did laundry, folding, ironing and cleaning, when we were to have our meals it was at a huge table with familia there too..she shared greatly, loved openely and adored her big family, unfortunately God took her when I was young and it was a big shock, I felt grateful I knew a lot by the time she left this world, she wrote down many things for me to use in my lifetime, but her life was tooooo short for my tiny mind to grasp...I read your blogs and think how wonderful you are to your hubs and children and you are fortunate to have the gift of time and presence..have a good week.!
I typed too fast, we are here to do what is necessary and to have a happy heart and share it & love with others~~~~!!!!!!!!!!!!
I like this idea. Got a letter from TX today. Sounds like she's doing great . . .
~R
love it that your family can have fun together, even when "working". what memory treasures you are giving them, along with important life skills! :)
My 8 and 5 year old are now in the habit of taking a pile of their clothes and folding and putting it away. I used to fold it, put it in piles and have them just put it away. Then one day there was just too much. Back then I used to wait to fold until it was enough to make it worth the effort. Now I try to wash it as soon as there is one load so it is not so much for the kids. It makes you appreciate them so much when you've taught them to help out. It's funny how often people who make comments about big families are the people whose kids are the worst behaving. No wonder they think lots of kids is a bad idea. Too bad for their kids that they aren't learning self sufficiency and polite behavior.
Way to go with this great idea; I wish I would have thought of it a few years ago. I did have the kids help fold but it would have been more successful with a party movie.
I will make this suggestion for my adult children to try.
Blessings and hugs!
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