Interrupting cleaning my room to tell you this:

[mrsbrown]

I have developed rules about how to handle washing so you aren't overrun with the tasks involved in keeping 4-5 people in clean clothes

Rule1 - Don't put clothes into the washing machine if there are clean clothes that need to be put away

Effect: The washing energy you have is prioritised to keeping the pickup - wash- hang- take in- put away- wear cycle going.

Rule 2 - Don't take dirty washing into the laundry unless it can be put into the ONE laundry basket assigned for the task

Effect: the laundry is a pleasant place to walk through and you have a trigger for doing washing

Rule 3 - Use ONLY washing baskets allocated to clean washing to store clean clothes when you take them from the line

Effect: You have a trigger for putting away washing and the entire house can't be over run with clean washing.

BTW these rules don't apply if I need clean underwear.

I've never had to think about these before, I've just developed them over the years. Occasionaly the rules mean that I have left washing on the line for 6 weeks or so, while I gather the gumption to empty my clean washing baskets, but at least that meant I only had 2 baskets of washing to put away when I finally did get the cycle started again.

When G was about 2, the local neighborhood house had some mother comedians perform at their AGM. They kept us in stitches with the observations they made about domestic life and I always remember the song about the clean washing on the bed, that got put on the floor, that got put on the bed, that got worn, washed, hung out, taken in and put on the bed, that got put on the floor, that got put on the bed etc. I still smirk about that when I put my clean washing on the bed with the mental promise that I'll put it away before I go to bed. I smirk harder when I move it to the floor. The second day I go to put it back on the bed, I cram it on top of the clean washing basket I almost always have in my room, waiting for me to wear rather than put away.

There, you know more about my washing than you ever wanted to know.

Also, how do I make money from my executive level mother skills?

Edit:

Rule 4 - don't hang up only one load of washing. Put the next load in, get a cup of tea, then start hanging out the first load. Success is when you don't have to wait for the second load to finish washing when you are ready to hang it out.

Effect: you always get 2 loads of washing hung out, for one lot of gumption

Comments

[splodgenoodles.livejournal.com]

You?

Do life coaching. I'm serious. You're better at it than I'd ever be, and I'm the one with the qualifications....