Way back in January I put up a post on Facebook about sorting laundry with Zoë. She was helping me decide whether items were light or dark and did just fine until we came across Andrew's black and white checked shirt, which just about broke her brain because it was light and dark.
It got 33 comments, people. 33! Who knew people were so passionate about laundry?
My cousin Sara said, "I think the whole sorting-lights-and-darks thing is a big conspiracy. I wash all my clothes together all the time, and no one seems the wiser."
My friend Aubrey said, "I also wash all my clothes together on a cold cycle. Done."
My friend Crystal said, "I sort....but sometimes when I'm feeling super lazy I just throw them all together."
My cousin Wendy said, "I wash everything on cold delicate, so... I never sort mine either. Not a problem."
My cousin Michelle said, "I only wash whites and jeans separately (well, and towels and bedding of course). Everything else together, unless it's a dark color that's brand new. But once I know it's done bleeding it goes in with everything else. Anything to make it easier! (We have way too many clothes!!)"
My cousin ArLene said, "I wash towels and whites separate from everything else with warm and hot water. Everything else just goes in together and I wash with cold water."
There were a few die-hard sorters—my mom, my cousin Jenna, my friend Tamsin—but by far the majority of commenters were set on convincing me that sorting my laundry was a huge waste of time. Hallelujah, we live in the age of colourfast fabrics, right?!
I have remained a dedicated sorter these past six months or so but today... Well, today I had the privilege of going to the temple to support my niece Rosie, who took out her endowment. It was my first time going to the temple since Alexander was born and it was a doozy of a day to attempt such a feat. He stayed up screaming his head off until the wee hours of the morning and then we had to leave the house before 8:00 in the morning (ugh). I was so tired (Andrew probably was, too) but Andrew and I survived the session and were so happy to be there for Rosie!
The kids survived without us (and I think Reid and Karen survived the children), but we were anxious to get home, where I knew I had a pile of wet, stinky laundry (and a fussy baby) waiting for me.
We took the kids swimming last night and Zoë must have drunk half the pool because when I woke her up to go potty around midnight she was soaking wet. I helped her change into new jammies and switched out her little incontinence pad (I put one on top of her sheets; that way I only have to put a new pad down instead of changing her sheets in the middle of the night). But then when she woke up in the morning she was soaked again (which is highly unusual for her (in fact, she hasn't wet the bed in about a month...until this week)). So there was quite a bit of laundry to do.
I figured I may as well throw in some of the clothes from the kids' basket while I was doing laundry. But I was tired and didn't want to sort. This Facebook post was called to mind and I thought I'd give it a go. What could it hurt? It's the middle of summer; my kids are wearing 100% faded, hole-riddled, stained hande-me-downs by this point in the year. There couldn't possibly be anything in there that I cared about. Plus, I was exhausted.
So I threw everything in the wash and everything was fine until I went to put things in the dryer.
Somehow a remnant pull-up (unused; we had one left that we were saving for...emergencies?) ended up in the laundry basket and thus ended up in the washing machine with everything else. Why? Because I didn't sort the laundry, that's why!
Do you know what's worse than accidentally throwing a kleenex into the washing machine with your clothes (but arguably better than drying your clothes with a crayon)? Throwing a diaper into the washing machine with your clothes, that's what!
That gel stuff and fluff from the diaper got all over everything!
My kids, I should know, are notorious for putting a hodgepodge of things in the laundry basket when they clean their rooms (from books to toy dinosaurs to last week's pile of clean, folded clothes), and I know this because I'm a habitual laundry sorter. So why did I think it would be okay to not sort the clothes today? Because just once won't hurt...
Peer pressure. It gets you every time.
"Sorting laundry is a waste of time..." My eye!
Never again, friends. Never again.
It got 33 comments, people. 33! Who knew people were so passionate about laundry?
My cousin Sara said, "I think the whole sorting-lights-and-darks thing is a big conspiracy. I wash all my clothes together all the time, and no one seems the wiser."
My friend Aubrey said, "I also wash all my clothes together on a cold cycle. Done."
My friend Crystal said, "I sort....but sometimes when I'm feeling super lazy I just throw them all together."
My cousin Wendy said, "I wash everything on cold delicate, so... I never sort mine either. Not a problem."
My cousin Michelle said, "I only wash whites and jeans separately (well, and towels and bedding of course). Everything else together, unless it's a dark color that's brand new. But once I know it's done bleeding it goes in with everything else. Anything to make it easier! (We have way too many clothes!!)"
My cousin ArLene said, "I wash towels and whites separate from everything else with warm and hot water. Everything else just goes in together and I wash with cold water."
There were a few die-hard sorters—my mom, my cousin Jenna, my friend Tamsin—but by far the majority of commenters were set on convincing me that sorting my laundry was a huge waste of time. Hallelujah, we live in the age of colourfast fabrics, right?!
I have remained a dedicated sorter these past six months or so but today... Well, today I had the privilege of going to the temple to support my niece Rosie, who took out her endowment. It was my first time going to the temple since Alexander was born and it was a doozy of a day to attempt such a feat. He stayed up screaming his head off until the wee hours of the morning and then we had to leave the house before 8:00 in the morning (ugh). I was so tired (Andrew probably was, too) but Andrew and I survived the session and were so happy to be there for Rosie!
The kids survived without us (and I think Reid and Karen survived the children), but we were anxious to get home, where I knew I had a pile of wet, stinky laundry (and a fussy baby) waiting for me.
We took the kids swimming last night and Zoë must have drunk half the pool because when I woke her up to go potty around midnight she was soaking wet. I helped her change into new jammies and switched out her little incontinence pad (I put one on top of her sheets; that way I only have to put a new pad down instead of changing her sheets in the middle of the night). But then when she woke up in the morning she was soaked again (which is highly unusual for her (in fact, she hasn't wet the bed in about a month...until this week)). So there was quite a bit of laundry to do.
I figured I may as well throw in some of the clothes from the kids' basket while I was doing laundry. But I was tired and didn't want to sort. This Facebook post was called to mind and I thought I'd give it a go. What could it hurt? It's the middle of summer; my kids are wearing 100% faded, hole-riddled, stained hande-me-downs by this point in the year. There couldn't possibly be anything in there that I cared about. Plus, I was exhausted.
So I threw everything in the wash and everything was fine until I went to put things in the dryer.
Somehow a remnant pull-up (unused; we had one left that we were saving for...emergencies?) ended up in the laundry basket and thus ended up in the washing machine with everything else. Why? Because I didn't sort the laundry, that's why!
Do you know what's worse than accidentally throwing a kleenex into the washing machine with your clothes (but arguably better than drying your clothes with a crayon)? Throwing a diaper into the washing machine with your clothes, that's what!
That gel stuff and fluff from the diaper got all over everything!
My kids, I should know, are notorious for putting a hodgepodge of things in the laundry basket when they clean their rooms (from books to toy dinosaurs to last week's pile of clean, folded clothes), and I know this because I'm a habitual laundry sorter. So why did I think it would be okay to not sort the clothes today? Because just once won't hurt...
Peer pressure. It gets you every time.
"Sorting laundry is a waste of time..." My eye!
Never again, friends. Never again.
It is a happy day for me when you blog. My favorite reading material! (Also, even though I sort, sometimes kleenex gets missed!! Aargh! Sorry about that diaper. Ugh.)
ReplyDeleteYes! I remember that fb post and I am also a sorter. And I almost always discover stray items mixed in with the clothes which would not be discovered if I didn't sort!
ReplyDelete