Laundry Damnit

I was raised by the Queen of the Kingdom of laundry - really.

My Mom could clean a stain out of anything , and every thing she laundered was the freshest, brightest, whitest thing that you ever saw. I personally am an up and coming princess of laundry - not quite the queen - but I get by.

I hang my laundry on the clothesline ( I know there are people out there this very minute that have no idea what I am talking about ) I love the smell , and what is not to love about saving a kabillion dollars on your electricity bill .... ? I have friends that HAVE clotheslines , but refuse to use them for a variety of reasons -

 

" Hornets / Wasps / Bees / Bugs get in my Laundry "  ( shake the laundry ? )
" It is WAY to buggy out there for me to stand there for THAT LONG "  ( Pull up the big girl panties )
" My towels are crunchy feeling and rough "  ( 5 minute on Fluff - WALLAH ! )

I also have friends that have never even though about using a clothesline - this thought has never crossed their mind - ever .  I just do not get that - but then maybe they were not raised with a Queen  ( like me )

I also get calls about stains - and I get it - but let me tell you a bottle of SHOUT really , really works if you use it the right way - take OFF the stained clothing - SPRAY it - soak for a few hours and wash !
DO NOT - leave the clothes on , take it off and huck it in to the hamper ( some people have NO idea what this is either ) to be dealt with later ......

DO NOT dry a stain in the dryer - heat will set the stain ! And it will be there forever ....... trust me in the 80's - I has red lipstick on ALL of my clothes . ( I forgot them in my pocket - but my Mom discovered citrus would get it out - who knew ? )

YES - Laundry is boring ! But it is one of those damn things that we have to do. I hate the putting away part - I would wash , fluff , hang and fold all day every day- but then I bring it upstairs and leave it in a basket because I HATE to put it away. 

I never iron either.

The Queen Mom was a woman who ironed - she ironed our jeans and our underpants ( steamed out all of the leftover germs that the washer missed ) She ironed sheets and pillow cases . ( I know right ? ) She was in the cellar ironing every Sunday after church ( before Sunday dinner ) and our clothes were wrinkle free and sunny fresh ,

What happened ? ? Really - where did that need to have a sunny fresh , wrinkle free family go ? My kid is clean , and sunny ! But his clothes are mashed in to his drawers and very, very rarely is he wrinkle free .... and we will not get in to my high fashion sweat pants and t-shirt attire.



My washing machine and dryer are in the basement . It is not finished - but it is thankfully not the nightmare that some people have. The hauling the stuff downstairs - and upstairs is not something that I get excited about. I have a friend who has her laundry room on the second floor of her house - this is GENIUS. I was SO impressed with this - that I have actually put it on my bucket list. It is the best damn place in the whole house for the washer. You have to carry UP - what ? Kitchen towels ? Glorious !  ( a choir of angels are singing in her laundry room )

I am grateful that I do not have to go to a laundromat anymore . While my daughter was growing up she referred to the laundromat as  " The Creepy People Place " . We were always running in to creepy people  - not to say that all people that use a laundromat are creepy - just the ones that happened to be doing laundry when we were . How do you explain a man that has several baskets of women's underwear ? Or a woman who's laundry is all about the fur - cat fur that is , to a little kid ? Or the person who is wearing a bathing suit in January  ( in New England ) and has 57 loads of laundry . 

I just keep telling myself - every time I carry a load down in to the damn basement it could be SO much worse ......