Laundry

Laundry is probably my favorite household chore. That's not to say it doesn't completely overwhelm me sometimes, especially when we just get home from a trip, but if I can find a little time to put into the job, I actually kind of enjoy it. I pride myself on getting stains out, washing like colors together, making everything smell fresh and clean, but my favorite part is hanging the items up to dry. I love the way the sun bleaches everything just a little bit, and the way they feel sort of crinkly as I take them down. I like to carefully pin each item with clothespins, and I like to think about my family as I go. My imagination gets the better of me; I prepare for sudden imaginary disasters, what if this is all I can take as we evacuate for a fire: this nightgown, these dresses for the girls, these tattered underpants. Or I hang up the items to be cozy together: this little pajama top of Lucy's is sure to want the company of Polly's little corduroy overalls right next to them. These washcloths can be buddies. My nursing bra can say hello to Darin's boxers. I like the baby things to be close to adult things, for protection. An embarrassing confession: I found myself hanging the cutest things in front. No, it doesn't even matter if I'm not photographing my clothesline, which is 99% of the time I do laundry. So I made myself stop that in the interest of time, and simply hang as each item presents itself in the pile. But for some reason the task is most pleasing if the baby dresses are in the front row!

These photos were taken when the yard was still a little bit green, and when hanging laundry was still exciting because it was finally warm enough, so maybe April?

Now that I have two babies eating solid foods, I have A LOT more washcloths and bibs and cloth napkins on that line. I'm talking, the other day I literally counted 15 bibs in the load of laundry. My girls are very messy eaters. And for the record, I've never purchased a baby bib. They have all been passed along to me, and I remember when Lucy was very small (she never spit up or drooled much) I thought, why would anyone need all these bibs? Well around six, seven months...I found out.

Oh, also. Diapers are a whole 'nother matter altogether. I am very grateful I only have one baby in cloth diapers again!

What is your favorite household chore? My least favorite is probably cleaning the toilets. Or maybe emptying the dishwasher, I stall on that one, bigtime. I also never wash windows, but I've been thinking about starting.

Has there ever been a more mundane blog post? Ah, such is life.