Laundry

I just arrived home from a marathon PTA meeting at the elementary school. During the meeting I was approached by a current school board member as to whether I might be interested in running for the school board for next year.

Now I consider myself to be very involved in my community and my children’s schools. So being asked wasn’t a complete surprise, nor did it feel like such a bad thing. I’m flattered and intrigued by the idea. But it’s very ironic that this suggestion should come today. Because before I left this morning (while rushing through my shower and dressing routine) I was thinking about writing a post about laundry. And how it never seems to end.

How even when you’ve “caught up” with the pile, it is immediately replenished by the end of the day.

And it occurred to me that this is a metaphor for my life.

Being a stay at home mother of three school-aged children and wife to a man who owns his own contracting business is an exercise in laundry effectiveness. I have friends who have neither a spouse nor children who literally “do their laundry” once a week. When I’ve shared with them that I wash clothes every day, that laundry is as much a daily chore as doing dishes, they are incredulous. “Wait – you mean to tell me there are enough clothes to do a load of laundry each day?” Yes, I tell them, on average at least one load.

But you know how it is – doing a load of laundry isn’t a quick job. I mean you have to sort and then load the washing machine. Then you have to remember to come back 50 minutes later to take the clothes out and put them in the dryer (except the jeans that your quickly developing young daughter says are “too tight” after being washed, and the leotards and certain undergarments). THEN you have to fold and put away the whole lot (my personal favorite).

Now the effectiveness part has several elements. There is planning – making sure you’re using your time between cycles wisely, and also not forgetting a wet bunch of clothes in the washing machine for two days. And there’s the sorting – some people do it by who owns the clothes. For me it’s all about colors. Then there is delegating – trying to get all the people living in the house to help you out – even in the simplest ways. Like wearing pajamas more than one night before dumping them in the hamper (a whole other post). Or turning your pants and socks right side out and emptying pockets. Lately I’ve also been on a “helping out with the actual laundry" kick. Like the little one loads the washing machine and the oldest one helps fold. But finding the time to get helping hands involved is not always easy.

So how is laundry a metaphor for the rest of my life?

Well, being a stay at home mother of three school aged children, and the wife of a man who owns his own contracting business is also an exercise in time management effectiveness.

There is so much to do, so much to organize, that you have to be efficient. But you also have to be energetic. And diplomatic. And involved. And compassionate. And open-minded. And understanding.

I try to sort things into piles, and tackle them one load at a time. And I’m always recruiting family members for more help. I try to productively fill the time between loads, but can’t get too distracted from what needs to be done.

But the thing with life that is most like the laundry is this – the pile is always being restocked. Just when you think you’ve caught up, something else gets thrown on the pile and it looks as if you have as much to do as you did yesterday. Maybe even more, if you weren’t efficient enough.

As you know from prior posts, I am a list person. I keep “TO DO” lists constantly. I try to tackle the list (the pile of laundry) but I’m always adding things to it. I also have mental lists: things I don’t actually write down, but that are equally important to accomplish.

For example, recently I’ve been trying to be more fiscally responsible. Perhaps it’s related to the presidential campaign. Or maybe it’s an acknowledgement that, like our current president, I haven’t always made the most prudent choices in the past. And that things have cost me more than I originally thought they would. Whatever it was that spurred it, I have begun to keep a very close watch on what I spend and how to save. I have a limited amount to spend on groceries, for instance, and I have learned to shop within my budget. I’ve done it. I’ve become more responsible.

I can cross it off my list.

But about a week ago, I was introduced to a new way of eating based on the book Ultrametabolism. The premise of the book is that we need to change the way we eat and the way we look at food. And basically, according to the author, we should be eating only organic whole foods and avoiding anything packaged or processed. Now I agree and I would love to comply - aside from the fact that it will most likely conflict with my new economically fit lifestyle. And this is yet another thing I need to try to accomplish. Another thing added to my mental list.

On and on it goes. The perpetual laundry pile. The never-ending list. Hey, maybe that’s why they call it a “laundry list”! This has just occurred to me. Maybe a list of items to do is very much like a pile of laundry and I’m not the first person to see it!

So now I have to decide – do I want to add “Run for School Board” to my list. I imagine it will have to be added to the top. It might even take the place of three or four other things I need to do. It’s a good, noble and interesting thing to put on my list and I can’t say that I’m not tempted.

How often do I wash all the comforters? They are certainly not on my pile now. Honestly, I hardly ever do them. They just take up too much space in the washer and too much time to dry. Usually I take them to the laundromat and have someone else do them.

Just curious, what do you think?