Wednesday, February 1, 2012

catching up

So it's been a long while since I posted last.  I took a break from most things blog-related during the Christmas season because I had to reduce my list a little to protect my joy during the crazy.  I'm just now recovering from it all.  Christmas itself is busy for everyone, but we also sandwiched three birthdays before and after the holidays so it's especially tiring.  I love birthdays and I dread birthdays.  I love to give gifts and make a big to-do over the loves in my life...but I hate to watch them get older.  Elijah turned 9 in January...NINE!  Next year I will be in mourning--I'm not sure I will survive entering into the double digits.  Judah turned 5--so he and Canaan are 'the same' again.  Birthdays...I rather they grow and flourish in my brain, but my heart just wants everything to stay the same.  Maybe that's why I love photography? Hmmmm...

So today I was going to post about my most recent chaos: laundry.  I've googled and read and researched and pinterested until I can't anymore.  My laundry schedule, or rather 'lack thereof' has driven me crazy!  There HAD to be a better way.  So many women have more children than I and they are calm and collected in this department...how do they do it??  I cannot settle on a plan that works for me.  When we were displaced and had to start from ground zero we had the 'opportunity' to purchase some new appliances.  We invested in a massive washer and dryer knowing that we would need the large capacity.  I hate front loaders so we got one of those top loading washers without the agitator in the center...I really love it and can fit all of the kids jeans from a week of wear into one load--with room for one or two pairs of Jared's.  Fabulous.  What's the problem?  I don't know.  I can't figure it out.  I have overhauled my plan several times with little improvement...this is my latest attempt...

The break down:
I basically do laundry in three loads-- colors, jeans, and whites (then the bonus sheets and towels every other week...don't judge, we shower before bed)  My friends have advised assigning a day to a different person...but each person doesn't fill up a load on their own and I refuse to buy more clothes just for this to work.  Here's what I'm trying now:  all of the girls' colors on Monday, all of the boys' colors on Tuesday, all of the kids' jeans on Wednesday, all of the whites on Thursday, all of the parents' colors on Friday, all of the parent's jeans with an extra load of towels or sheets depending on what week it is on Saturday and rest on Sunday.  Hang all shirts and khakis, fold jeans/shorts...We used to hang everything-- but the kids couldn't work the clothespins for pants and jeans are super easy to fold...we have one dresser for each gender and everyone gets two drawers plus a tupperware drawer for socks and underwear.  I sort the clothes into straightened piles and the kids hang them on hangers in the closet.  Yesterday, I made closet dividers so that the clothes stay separated as we are all in different sizes--this has been a MAJOR issue.  The clothes get mixed up and Canaan goes to school wearing Judah's shirt and Elijah's jeans...a mess!  THEN, and I hope this is the key for success, I put 3 under the bed boxes under the bunk bed in each bedroom--one for each child.  Inside, I put the size they will be growing INTO...so when Elijah grows OUT of something it goes into Canaan's under the bed box (and, thanks to some great and slightly bigger friends, Elijah has a few things to grow into of his own...)--seasonal things, like shorts and short-sleeves go into sized buckets in the storage room, waiting to be sorted through come warmer weather--but I don't like to think about that.

What is your laundry plan?

I hope this overhaul works for me.  I'm afraid this might be one of those areas that will always need tweaking... maybe Elijah can learn to do laundry soon...hmmm, birthdays might not be so bad after all...

P.S. I hate doing white clothes because socks are ridiculous... so if you call me on Thursday, I might be grumpy.