Stop and Think, Then Think Again

Several folks commented on yesterday's post about my dryer. The general feeling that came through was to think about those who do not use a dryer - because they do not have one available. And also to think about the folks who choose to dry their clothes outside on a line.

Although these are very good points to ponder, I must admit to feeling a little defensive at first. I choose to dry my clothes in a dryer for several reasons. We happen to live in an area that gets tremendous humidity in the warmer months, and chilling cold in the winter, making a line somewhat challenging, since the clothes would not dry. I also share my yard with another family, and a really big trampoline - not much space for a clothes line.

But after more thinking about it, I am left wondering - Are these just excuses? Why do we choose to be tunnel-visioned about certain decisions (as in the effort to live mindfully), yet completely oblivious about others? Is my choice to dry my clothes with the dryer some way to hold on to older habits - as if my whole self was not in on the decision to take better care of the world? Or is it simply that I can't stand the feel of stiff, rough, air-dried towels on my skin?

I happen to be a rather robust woman living in a busy community, and the thought of my clothes hanging out for everyone to marvel at feels pretty humiliating. However, would 'airing my laundry' out where others could see actually set me free from the worries of "What would the neighbors think"?

I think the only way I will know is by trying. Before the ground gets cold (hard to think of that happening in this heat), we could sink a post or two and tie up a line. It would be good to work through my stubbornness regarding line drying, and see where it gets me.

Are there decisions in your life that you keep putting off? What would they be?

The Dryer Saga, Part 3

Who'd have thought? You may have been around when I posted this about our dryer breaking down in January. Then, we were able to replace it with a free one, even though I was pining for a cherry-red, front-loading model. After a few months, it broke down, and I talked about that here. We were able to fix it, amazingly, as dryers don't seem too challenging to understand, once you figure out how to open them. So we were able to keep the free one after investing in a $14 part.

A few days ago, one of our sons just happened to mention that they had noticed the clothes in the dryer were still wet - the clothes they had put in a couple of days prior. They informed me - the dryer is broken, mom. Oh great.

How far do you push a free dryer? When do you throw in the towel and get a 'new' one? When do you throw in THAT towel and buy a really 'new' one from the store that gives guarantees and delivery and hauling away of the old one (or old ones in our case)? Those were the tough questions in our household this weekend.

I was ready to bite the bullet and get a brand new one. I'm tired of taking on other people's problem appliances. Why should I have to learn how a blower wheel works when other people get to watch their laundry spin round and round in their brand new front loaders? Grrr.

Earth to Jill... Remember why you started this blog in the first place??

Um... Yeah. So I started to do some research. The machine just wasn't starting up at all - no juice whatsoever. It could be many things, but we had to start at the door switch. Having learned recently how to open the dryer front, I took it off and quickly found the switch in question. Having unplugged the machine (of course), I removed the switch and set about looking for a replacement. Two appliance parts stores later, we found the part. Now to go home and find if this was the problem.

The part fit perfectly, with a little squeezing of some pliers, and low and behold... it started up. It's been drying all day now - and yes, we re-washed the stinky boy load and everything is just fine now. (Gotta give them kudos for trying to do their own laundry, right??)

What items have you fixed when you could have replaced?

How Do Other People Do It??

Tell me how it works.  I read blog after blog every day, learning about all sorts of moms who seem to do 'everything' yet seem so relaxed about it all.  Even the ones who work part of their week, still find time to make a decent meal, read to the kids and scrapbook their last vacation.  I, on the other hand, find myself running after the 8 ball on a repeated basis, looking for lost socks, finding cures for extremely smelly shoes, making sure all the animals get at least one square meal a day (and I don't mean my kids), and making sure that the car I get into at the grocery store lot is actually my own.  Whew!  

I took a few days off this past week to spend more time at home, and became fascinated with all that I could do if I was home on a regular basis.  I decided I would get to the bottom of the laundry pile first, just to remind myself what color the bottom of the hamper really was.  After 10 loads (I kid you not) I really didn't care what color it was, mostly because I was so winded after going up and down 2 flights of stairs to the laundry room for 2 days.  

I had this great idea to cook with my kids - to make chocolate chip banana bread, one of our new favorites.  I went to their rooms, offered to make it with them, and saw the folded clothes that I had just 'lovingly' washed, dried and folded, sitting on the floor.  Needless to say, that after my rant about said clothes on the floor, I was left alone to cook the banana bread, as "no one wants to cook with a 'mean-ie'".  Uh huh.  

I went out to the deck to tend our newly planted veggie garden, and noticed that the recent rain had overwatered the plants.  Being that some of the planters do not have super-efficient drainage, I emptied them of the extra water, picked off the yellowed foliage and dead-headed where necessary, all while talking that special baby-talk that plants so love (What?? You don't do that?).  Ok.  Then as I walked back in doors, I heard a monster of a thunder clap and would ya believe...a torrent of rain came down.  Just as I thought the sun really hadn't forgotten us.  So it was back out to the deck in another hour to dump the additional water from the slowly draining pots.

I stopped counting the "I have nothing to do"'s from my kids after 100 today.  Seriously.  Summer only began for us on Thursday.  It's Monday, folks.  

Now I sit in the living room with several piles of the last laundry load folded around me.  I ate way too many pieces of chocolate chip banana bread, and I can't remember if I showered today. Or was it yesterday?  Every single part of my home that I cleaned over the past 4 days now needs additional attention.  But my kids are fed and in bed at a decent hour, the dishes are done, we have enough clean underwear to last us through to the first day of school, and I go back to work tomorrow.  Makes me think I'm going on vacation at this point.

Name That Pile!

It's amazing how things change (for the better) when you put a name on it.  I'll explain.

You may remember from this post, how frustrated I was with my lack of housecleaning habits.  Well, that was pretty much rock bottom for me.  I set out to find new ways to develop good habits, helping me to enjoy the home we live in without having to holler at my family day and night.  We want a comfortable home, not a museum, and tracking in dirt, wet clothes, smelly soccer gear are all apart of life here.  Along with several other daily tasks that have become new habits for me, I decided to tackle the laundry issue.  If you are like us, there are loads and loads of laundry to do each week.  We are currently sharing our washer with our tenants (being that theirs broke down), so we are on a strict schedule as to when we can actually do our laundry (only on weekends).  This makes the clothes pile up pretty fast.  Hopefully, the washer situation will be rectified soon, but until then, I think I may have found a way to curtail the 'laundry all over the place' scenario.

It was really rather simple.  My husband and I purchased several tall laundry baskets - yes, new.  We put them in each of the boys' rooms to hold their dirty clothes.  It was then that I noticed a funny thing.  I went into one boy's room - clothes all over the place, and none in the new hamper/laundry basket (the sign on the thing actually calls it a 'Lamper').  I went in to the other boy's room - clothes piling up next to the 'Lamper' but none IN it.  Hmmm.

On Sunday, we cleaned house.  I grabbed these 'Lampers' and my trusty sharpie pen.  Here are my results:

Ok - I am not an artist, I'll stick to creating music.  However, do you notice that the 'Lampers' are full??  Somehow by naming them, their use became known and the clothes actually made it in.  What's really great is now there will be no confusion over 'which pile of clean clothes is mine?' - a question I will get for a week after I've folded all the clothes and left them to be retrieved.  Easy enough - 'Grab your 'Lamper' and put the clothes away'.  It's so simple, mindfully simple, I'd have to say.