Showing posts with label Laundry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Laundry. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

How Much Laundry Do You Have?

Image Courtesy of [tongdang] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

How much laundry do you have?  Do you wash laundry for two or three people;  or, do you have to wash for more?   What is the key to keeping up with laundry?

I imagine we all have our own ideas about this matter;  and, some of it is made easier by the simple fact that most things can be washed in cold water.  Since many things can be washed in cold water, I am not adverse to throwing a pair of jeans that have been washed once in with lighter laundry, unless it has something that can be snagged by a zipper.  This makes it easier to have a full load of laundry, which is my preference.

When you only have to wash for two people, it is not practical to wash laundry everyday, unless you have a small washing machine.  However, for a larger family, washing a load of laundry every day can simplify your life.  There is less to fold at one time, and it is much less overwhelming.  Also, I am a firm believer of bringing children into doing laundry.  By the time my children were teenagers, they were doing their own loads of laundry, unless they needed something in particular for an emergency.  If you have children that share rooms or a laundry basket, they should take turns.  And, they should be responsible for folding and putting laundry away.  The jobs do need to be age appropriate, and you will have to do that;  but even young children can start to help with this job.  It will be an asset for them to learn this responsibility.

What do you do if you have goofed off, been sick, or been on vacation;  and, you have a large pile of laundry accumulating?  Do you do it all in one day?  I do not recommend it.  You are much less likely to feel overwhelmed if you do no more than one or two loads a day.  If your family is large, and you could not get to the laundry;  you are probably going to become more frustrated by trying to catch it all up in one day.  However, you will have to make sure you get a load in every day, which is fairly easy.

Very Important

A load of laundry a day helps keep the sad face away (or every other day for small families).  Remember this, make it a habit, and you will be on the way to simplifying your life further.

One last thing:  some items of clothing can be worn more than once if they are aired out and hung up.  Bath towels that are hung up on a towel rack or a hook can be used again, because they dry out and you were clean when you used them.  I grew up in Florida without an air conditioner for the early years of my life.  Yes, people really did open windows (smile).  If we had thrown our towels on the floor, they would have been sour.  Each member of the family had their own towel rack, and our towels and wash cloths were used again.  Come to think of it, my parents were very green conscious, as in conserving water, etc., before it was popular.  It saved on some work too.  That's a good thing.

Sunday, April 28, 2013

A Panic Attack Over Cleaning

Yep!  The title is true:  I had a panic attack over cleaning today.
Image Courtesy of [lamnee]/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

All I did was go to a popular cleaning site, and it started.  I knew I couldn't do all the things on there, and I
was pretty sure most of my readers would say, "You are expecting unrealistic things out of me if you think I can handle this.  Then I jumped over to a couple of blogs on cleaning and decluttering, but those seemed geared to healthy people.  After that I went to a book seller's site and looked at some of the cleaning books on there.  The panic attack went from small little vibes to heart pounding in the chest.

Stop!  Off the computer!

With my heart pounding, I walked into one of my messy rooms, set my timer for 10 minutes and started working.  Feeling pretty good about that, I set it for 10 more minutes:  then, I took my shower and had to hunt for clean summer pajamas.  So now, I have a no-brainer job for tomorrow:  do some laundry.

Image Courtesy of [Tongdang]/FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Why do we put off laundry?  Well, maybe you don't, and sometimes I do keep it up.  However, I let this get away from me.  We have two people here making laundry, and I have two hampers full.  That does not count the accumulating towels.

The plan for this week is to start catching up laundry.  I suggest doing no more than you will fold and put away, unless someone is going to be out of clothes to wear to work.  Laundry can be caught up doing one load a day.  The important thing is to get started.

That is only the beginning.  For more come to my facebook page, Chronic Fatigue and Creative Decluttering.

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Ten Days to Go

Days 19 & 20   

September 28, 2012, I started a 31 day journey to travel through FlyLady's Beginner Babysteps.  According  to my records, today, I should be on Day 29;  however, I knew it might take longer.  The point of this for me was to read through every single day of Cilley's steps, and use this for a guide to improve my habits in taking care of me and the house.  When I am in sync in these two areas, one supports the other.  If I take care of myself, I usually have more energy;  on the other hand, if I take care of the house, it is energizing.

Even though I have had to skip some days of doing housework or was not able to do every step, I can see the progress and feel encouraged that I can do this.  I won't do it perfectly, but I have become more aware of picking up behind myself as I go along.  I have found myself putting things away immediately, so I won't have to do it later.  It is easier to dust, because the tops of my furniture are clear and I don't have to use a spray cleaner every time.  I use my microfiber cloth, microfiber mitt, or an ostrich feather duster.

I admit to not shining my sink every night, but it stays shiny longer when this is a goal.  Getting dressed in the morning, or whenever I wake up, actually motivates me more than shining the sink;  however, it is lovely to have a shiny sink.  I am going to go shine it after I finish this post.  There is nothing groundbreaking going on here:  just days of trying to keep up with the new job I have given myself by being a blogger, and the sense that my life is on an even keel.  That is a good place to be.

Do you feel like your life is on an even keel?  Can you think of one thing you could do that would help you get there?  Or, does your mind feel like a jumbled mass of confusion, wondering when the fog will lift?
Many times we blame this on our illness, which does play around with the hormones and chemical reactions that go on inside our bodies.  If you are in peri-menopause or have just hit menopause, I think these conditions hit Fibromites with a double whammy.  However, I think there is a psychological factor involved too.  When one is ill, day in and day out, when one is exhausted most of the time, it seems to breed more exhaustion out of the frustration that has built.  It's going to take a process and time to see improvement.  I have been working on getting my good habits back for four years with several setbacks, such as flares, a broken ankle, hip replacement, a sprained knee, and a move.  Each time I have recovered, I had to slowly start adding small steps to my routine.  This time it has been a little easier.

Just for a couple of minutes, other than taking your medications and supplements, what small step can you take that will help you move from stasis to flow?  I encourage you to take a very tiny step.  It doesn't have to be cleaning house.  It could be as simple as going outside and walking around the house once or going fishing.  Could you go to the library or to a park?  Or maybe, it would be as simple as taking the dishes out of the sink and cleaning it.  Make it really shiny--but not perfect.  Then, dry it with a towel.

What I have found is one move leads to another move.  It is almost like setting dominoes into action, except you will be stepping up, not falling down.

P. S.  Day 20 mentioned taking care of laundry in the morning and at night.   This is a fresh load into the dryer from the washer: I took this picture tonight.  I love washing things in cold water.  How many of you remember having to wash whites, lights, and darks?  Now, I combine my whites and lights.  I know this is how my daughter with 7 children keeps up with her laundry.  My other daughter washes clothes at night too.  Just one word:  please don't go to sleep with the dryer going.  We had a friend whose house burned down from a dryer fire, while she ran an errand in her car.  That's why FlyLady encourages people to get the lint you don't see out of the dryer.