9 loads of laundry.

Yes, really.  Nine (9) loads of laundry.  I do at least nine loads of laundry every Monday.  Some people do laundry all week long....whites on Monday, colors on Tuesday, darks on Wednesday, delicate on Thursday, etc...not me!  I don't want the dirty clothes hanging around all week long. 

Instead, I just make sure everyone has enough underwear and socks to get through a week and then I do the laundry on Monday.  I make it sound like I don't like doing laundry but really I do like to see those big ol' piles of laundry get done through out the day....the piles getting smaller and smaller and the really clean, wonderful smelling clothes coming out of the dryer are such a measured accomplishment.  I also love the way laundry day makes the house and the air outside around the house smell so good. 

All week long the clothes collect in clothes hampers in each of the bedrooms and the upstairs bathrooms.  By the end of the week they are all pretty full.  I gather all of the hampers and dump them all in our hallway upstairs.  From there I make big piles of white, color, dark, and delicate clothes.  I fill one of my hampers with clothes from the white pile.  (The hamper is the perfect size for an extra large load in my washer)  I usually end up doing at least 2 loads of each pile of clothes.  Gracie loves to help find the clothes with stains and stand on her tiptoes to put the clothes in the washer.  She thinks it's funny when I pile wet clothes on top of her for her to put into the dryer.  We laugh a lot and it makes the laundry fun.  When the clothes come out of the dryer they get piled on our loveseat.

I AM NOT A FOLDER...meaning I don't fold clothes and I really don't iron them (sacrilege!).  It needs to be pretty important for me to pull out the ironing board and iron.  So...I have a basket for each room.  I divide the clothes into the basket for the people that belong in the room where the clothes are supposed to be put away.  Everyone is responsible for taking their baskets to their room.   I have some kids who like to fold their clothes and some who take them out of their baskets and stuff them in their drawers.  Everyone gets to choose how they want their clothes to go into their dresser.  the laundry is now done until next Monday.

So...maybe the laundry is something that you could let go a little.  Maybe you don't need to do a load every single day.  Maybe your don't need to be folding all of those clothes that are going to end up in a heap anyway...and maybe your kids can do a little more to help with the laundry.  There are ways to make the chores around your house more fun AND easier on you.  Notice what you love about the things you do around the house, the smell of clean clothes, the laughing 4 year old with wet clothes on her head when she's helping move clothes from the washer to the dryer, and the feeling of getting a big job done.

There's sweetness in everything....

LOVE. LIFE.