Saturday, February 4, 2012

Buried Alive!

Baskets taunting me and waiting for my attention!
My lovely laundry room!




I currently have five baskets of clean laundry that need to be folded and put away; one load in the dryer that needs to be removed, folded and put away; one load in the washer that needs to be placed in the dryer; a pile of clean linens from Christmas on top of the dryer that need to be put away and an assortment of items on the laundry room floor that need to be sorted & laundered. Not to mention the kids Holiday Clothes that are hanging and need to be put away.  This number can change at any given time.  Usually it goes up and up and up.  I just cannot keep up with the laundry!  I'm seriously considering leaving the Christmas linens out and using them for Easter.  We can have red and gold plaid at Easter time, right?

One day, my husband is going to come home from work and ask the kids where I am.  They won't be able to find me, because I will be buried under all the clothes.  (Maybe I can nap while I am trapped?!)

To try to keep up with this, I have stopped ironing and I have stopped folding my husband's clothes (he is lucky if they get sorted and washed).  I have tried having "laundry day".  You know, one day a week where I am chained in the laundry room getting all of this done.  That didn't quite work out for me.  Instead, I am buried by laundry on a constant daily basis.  It never stops and is out of control!  On an average week, I will have 8-10 loads of laundry to do. That is a regular week - a week that does not include bedding covered in vomit or pee.  Week's that I have those lovely extras can easily add on 4 extra loads!

My machines run constantly and I always have a back log of baskets that need to be dealt with!  I love when my mother-in-law comes to visit.  I will just happen to have a basket or two of the kids clothes and ask if she will mind folding them.  She doesn't mind (or at least never says she does!) and will stay up late into the night folding all the kid's clothes.  (Last time she was here she even put them away and cleaned out one kid's drawers and closet.  It was a very good thing!)  I'm sure Nana knows by now, that I will not fold the kids clothes for the entire week before she comes to visit and instead save it for Nana!  My mother is here now and is an excellent sheet folder.   That basket in front of the dryer is all for Grandma to help out with! I will admit, I will role the sheets up in a ball and ask her for help.  She gets so disgusted she re-folds everything!  She can fold sheets better than Martha Stewart (yes, I have watched her tutorial many times!).

Do you have any tips for keeping this in control?  My husband has advised me to stop folding all the clothes.  Just put the basket of clean clothes in each kids' room and let them forage through it for an outfit. That really doesn't work.  The other day while I was standing in line at the store, the woman in front of me asked for extra hangers.  She said that in her house she takes the clothes out of the dryer, puts them right on hangers and takes them immediately to the closet.  She also only has one kid.  I would have to invest in a lot more hangers, but maybe I will try this!

I'm off to try and make a dent in this and find somethign to wear.....  I'm still in my pj's because I have no clean clothes!  Have a great weekend!

7 comments:

  1. This is so much like our house! And I agree that hangers wouldn't help;)

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  2. So glad my house is not the only one. Right now I have 2 baskets to fold, one in the dryer, and at least two that need to go in the washer today. It is not even 8am.

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  3. I think this is the reality of having multiples...the picture perfect laundry put away with empty baskets is merely a fantasy. It is a never-ending cycle!

    : 0 ) Theresa

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  4. Totally wish I had an idea for you, but I don't! I tend to do all of my laundry in steps. I wash 4-5 loads, then I sit down and fold all of those loads, and then I wait a couple more days and put them all away....and by that time the kids have worn half of the clean stuff, so I don't have as much to put up. They are toddlers, so I don't think that will work long term, but that's the best I've come up with. :)

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  5. Laundry is the bane of my existence. In fact that phrase is an actual label on a couple of my posts. When we make our millions, hiring a laundress will be the first thing on my list. I tell you this so you know you're not alone in your drowning. Instead of tips, I'll just say with you, booooooo on laundry! Booooo! I feel better, don't you? :)

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  6. Thanks for your comments everyone! Boooo on laundry!!! My machines are running 24/7!!

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