Neverending Laundryyyy--a look at my dirty laundry

So, even though I promised it would never, ever, happen again . . . it did. I got behind on laundry. This is a feeling I really dislike. The quote "Cleaning while raising kids is like shoveling while it is still snowing" comes to mind these days. And there are only two of them! Well, and the two of us. I am almost at that tipping point where there is as much clean and unfolded as there is waiting to be washed, which is either a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how fast I actually start folding. I'm either closer to being caught up (should I begin to fold soon) or on my way to that awful place where it is all clean and on every available surface in my house, in piles, in baskets, just waiting for the kids to dump, jump and roll.


In my house, after it's clean, it either goes into the dryer to dry or on hangers to dry. I hang some short stuff above the dryer:




And the rest goes in the bathrooms on the shower rod. I've accidentally ripped plenty of them down over the years by overloading them before my husband learned to install heavy duty ones in creative ways that would withstand my laundry habits.




It's mostly kids' clothing that hangs up. It wears better and fits longer because I do this, which means I can save it for the next kid or resell it. Multiple friends think I'm nuts for the effort, but hey. There are worse things to be nuts about, right? Plus, I have neither the space nor the stamina to do all our laundry this way and I figure we're using a little less energy this way--it's good for the planet, maybe.


After it's dry, it goes on my bed. I've tried folding it on the living room, but all it takes is a phone call or a five minute break and it's EVERYWHERE and unfolded. I remember the tantalizing smell and feel of a warm laundry pile as a child, but I'm not happy when my laundry gets mussed. Sometimes I don't know how my mother lived through the Disrespectful of Laundry Boundaries years!



Finally we get to this stage. And hopefully it ends up in drawers instead of just piles in baskets waiting for drawers . . . but it doesn't always. I don't actually mind laundry for the most part--I actually kind of enjoy doing it, but as usual with housework, there are things I enjoy more :)

In a few days I'll get caught up again I hope, and promise myself never to get behind again, I'm sure. Then there will be a story to read to a child or a walk to go on, or cookies to make and it will all pile up but I've made peace with that I think. I can live with it because if I have to choose between reading to my babies or catching up on the laundry, I want to choose them not it. As long as the clean underwear and socks hold out, anyway :)