Laundry Day
Tuesday, the day I have declared Laundry Day. One of two days, anyway, Friday is an official Laundry Day too. I’ve tried laundry every way conceivable. Everything from ignoring it to having a washing going constantly, you name it, I’ve tried it and failed miserably at it. Though I was pretty good at the ignoring it part.
In the midst of the move and work the house requires, I’ve completely lost sight of my schedule – not that the one I had before was so great. I’ve just never been able to stay on top of things. If I’m running behind, I must be on track because behind is the norm for me. So I’ve been working hard at developing a system. I want to be sure I continue to get time to sit on the porch in the evenings or curl up in the cozy leather chair with a book.
I started by designating a laundry day – two of them.
Today was the first occurrence of the normally dreaded Laundry Day. I was surprised to find that when I gathered clothes I only had three loads. It’s been 4 days since I last did laundry and I had expected at least 4 because I’ve always managed to was at least one load, if not two, every day.
I washed the first load of clothes and walked out into the blistering heat of the sun to hang them on the newly reworked clothesline. I have to admit to wondering if I was insane when the blast of heat hit me in the face upon opening the back door. I high-stepped through the tall grass (the boob of a guy STILL hasn’t finished repairing the tractor). Beads of sweat trickled down my back as I sat the basket of clothes on the ground.
“I must be crazy,” I thought for a minute. I hadn’t picked the first wet piece from the basket and I was sweating. Profusely. I tried to look on the bright side – at least the clothes will dry fast.
I reached into the basket and picked up the first piece to be hung on the line, snapping it in the air to knock out the wrinkles. Instantly, there was a breeze…like the snapping of a wet piece of clothing was the ON switch for outside dryers. I looked ahead of the line and out into the field that soon (I hope) will be pastured, watching for signs of rabbits or squirrels or whatever little furry creatures might be out hiding amongst the tall weeds. Before I knew it, the clothes were all hung, flapping lightly in the breeze that hadn’t stopped. I had looked forward to hanging clothes out to dry, I remembered, and now I remembered why. I remember our clothes drying on the line when I was little, but I've never hung my own laundry out to dry. It used to be such a common thing to see clothes stretched out in rows, waving slightly like flags beside people's houses. I stood for a minute looking at the line filled with our clothes and was flooded with memories that this single act brought back to me. I remember clearly the slightly rough feel of sun-dried towels and jeans and sliding my legs under the crisp white sheets that smelled like outdoors after a summer rain storm.
When the second load was finished, I switched it out and went to hang it out also. I was amazed to find most of the laundry that had been hanging for less than half an hour was already dry.
I just finished bringing in the last of the clothes from the line. I was right; they smell like sunshine.
I won’t be doing the bedclothes today though. I’ll wait until tomorrow to do them. Wednesday is Bedroom Cleaning Day.
In the midst of the move and work the house requires, I’ve completely lost sight of my schedule – not that the one I had before was so great. I’ve just never been able to stay on top of things. If I’m running behind, I must be on track because behind is the norm for me. So I’ve been working hard at developing a system. I want to be sure I continue to get time to sit on the porch in the evenings or curl up in the cozy leather chair with a book.
I started by designating a laundry day – two of them.
Today was the first occurrence of the normally dreaded Laundry Day. I was surprised to find that when I gathered clothes I only had three loads. It’s been 4 days since I last did laundry and I had expected at least 4 because I’ve always managed to was at least one load, if not two, every day.
I washed the first load of clothes and walked out into the blistering heat of the sun to hang them on the newly reworked clothesline. I have to admit to wondering if I was insane when the blast of heat hit me in the face upon opening the back door. I high-stepped through the tall grass (the boob of a guy STILL hasn’t finished repairing the tractor). Beads of sweat trickled down my back as I sat the basket of clothes on the ground.
“I must be crazy,” I thought for a minute. I hadn’t picked the first wet piece from the basket and I was sweating. Profusely. I tried to look on the bright side – at least the clothes will dry fast.
I reached into the basket and picked up the first piece to be hung on the line, snapping it in the air to knock out the wrinkles. Instantly, there was a breeze…like the snapping of a wet piece of clothing was the ON switch for outside dryers. I looked ahead of the line and out into the field that soon (I hope) will be pastured, watching for signs of rabbits or squirrels or whatever little furry creatures might be out hiding amongst the tall weeds. Before I knew it, the clothes were all hung, flapping lightly in the breeze that hadn’t stopped. I had looked forward to hanging clothes out to dry, I remembered, and now I remembered why. I remember our clothes drying on the line when I was little, but I've never hung my own laundry out to dry. It used to be such a common thing to see clothes stretched out in rows, waving slightly like flags beside people's houses. I stood for a minute looking at the line filled with our clothes and was flooded with memories that this single act brought back to me. I remember clearly the slightly rough feel of sun-dried towels and jeans and sliding my legs under the crisp white sheets that smelled like outdoors after a summer rain storm.
When the second load was finished, I switched it out and went to hang it out also. I was amazed to find most of the laundry that had been hanging for less than half an hour was already dry.
I just finished bringing in the last of the clothes from the line. I was right; they smell like sunshine.
I won’t be doing the bedclothes today though. I’ll wait until tomorrow to do them. Wednesday is Bedroom Cleaning Day.
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