December 06, 2004
Piles and Piles of Laundry
Piles and Piles of Laundry
When I next get invited to a baby shower, I'm getting the new mama and daddy an extra large jug of laundry detergent. It doesn't matter how many cute clothes or toys the new baby gets, what they really need is more soap to wash it all.
I remember being overwhelmed by the laundry when my son was born -- but we were using cloth diapers most of the time then. After my first daughter arrived, I gave up on using the cloth diapers again in large part because of the extra laundry they required. Now my laundry piles are beyond amazing.
I have a newborn who gorges herself and regurgitates all over herself, me and whatever surface we're on before I can burp her. She also has the occasional poop-splosion, requiring a change of everything in the vicinity.
The two year old has consistently refused to wear a bib since she started solid foods. She usually spills or drips or wipes her hands on her clothes. And if she doesn't, she'll get chalk or something else on her clothes. When she notices even the slightest stain or mark on her clothes, she rips them all off and cannot be convinced for any consideration to put them back on -- they are dirty.
My five year old eats somewhat more neatly and doesn't rip his clothes off at the smallest hint of dirt -- he is a boy, afterall. However, it is not unusual for him to come home from preschool in his spare clothes carrying a bag of soup, oatmeal or mud covered clothing. That much wouldn't be so bad, but on top of that -- the boy who so proudly was staying dry for months and didn't need to wear Pull-ups anymore has reverted. He has wet the bed almost every night for the past two weeks. We limit his fluid intake. We make him pee twice and he still wakes up soaked.
I washed two loads of laundry yesterday. Today I have at least three to do, because I have one spit-up covered down comforter and one pee-soaked one. Have I mentioned that I hate laundry and never have enjoyed washing things?
It's usually not the washing so much as it is the post-laundry routine: empty the drier, fold the clothes, put them away in all of the various dressers and closets. It helps to have a big area with table/counter space for the folding. We, at the TaterBed, end up using the living room (sofa, coffee table) for piling up folded clothes.
Sounds like you're ready for a spray-down room. Just clothe all the youngsters in plastic, then when they get messy strap them up against the wall and hose them down. Or is that just for floor mats?
Posted by: MarcV at December 6, 2004 11:07 AMsomehow i ended up in charge of laundry in my marriage. The one thing i hate. I mean, it's just two of us, but somehow there are just piles and piles of dirty clothes. I protest often by just pulling the stuff out of the dryer and throwing it on the bed. "You put it away, I washed it" is my rationale. But his seems to be "You washed it, I'll throw it back on the floor". *sigh*
Posted by: pril at December 6, 2004 02:05 PMWashing and drying are eay; I agree with MarcV, getting it away is the problem! We are too often in the search the baskets mode---maybe it is for the best though. If I actually had all my laundry away, I would need extra closet space.
Posted by: Rachel Ann at December 6, 2004 02:22 PMWe only have one laundry basket, because we have such a small laundry closet and limited storage space that for those brief moments when all the laundry is washed and put away, we have absolutely no room to store more than one. That hasn't stopped my husband from wanting another one though.
Pril, my husband hates laundry more than I do, so it falls more on my shoulders, but at least he does help when he's home and will put stuff away. He's a very helpful and useful fellow, thank goodness. The house would never be clean without him.
Posted by: Jordana at December 6, 2004 02:46 PM"Poop-splosion"!!! lolol! Too funny! I had gorge-and-blowers, too. Now they're my finickiest eaters.
My 4 yod is very picky about her clothes being clean. She changes at the slightest excuse. Not that she doesn't get very messy! I wanted to crown her the other day when she had "red something like paint" all over her hands and on her dress. I didn't worry too much about it coming out because I don't let her play with any paints that weren't washable. But I didn't know my 11 yo son's small stash of PERMANENT fabric paint was within her grasp. I especially didn't know it until AFTER the dress she'd gotten it on was washed and dried. *sigh* You have my sympathy, Jordana.
Posted by: Kim at December 6, 2004 03:16 PMI get the folding duties, but that's in trouble this year. The deal used to be I would fold in front of the TV watching hockey. Problem is, no hockey this year. I have actually folded even so - no worries that we've been living in piles of laundry.
Oh - and one of my children actually pooped vertically. Very scary.
Posted by: skinnydan at December 7, 2004 08:23 AM
Jordana Adams, Chief Pontificator