Operation: Do Your Own Laundry officially began on Brayden’s 10th birthday, when I gave her the gift of independence by teaching her to do her own laundry. Not off to an auspicious beginning, when, despite much nagging, load #1 spoiled in the washer, as she left it there overnight, citing “too busy” to move load to dryer. Very suspicious excuse, considering that evening's activities included much laying around watching "Drake and Josh". Once load was re-washed, transferred to dryer, and hung, clothes continued to hang in utility room for two days, as apparently Brayden “still too busy” to transfer hanging clothes to bedroom closet. That said, can’t be too cranky with her, considering she was only following the slacker-ly maternal example she’s been given re. laundry.
Load #2 accomplished today with much more success. Clothes not only transferred to dryer in timely manner, but both detergent and fabric softener dispensed with casual expertise. Clothes also hung on appropriate hangers and transferred to closet expediently. Second laundry occurrence not a total success, however, as half-basket of clean underwear and socks still sitting in child’s room, not put away. Again, see: example, Maternal.
Overall grade for Brayden in the Great Laundry Experiment: B+.
Have very, very high hopes for the continued success of the program. Plot to take over the world might fall short to better plot of getting daughter to start doing mother’s laundry as well.
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18 comments:
HA! She is doing better than me and I'm 32! Sometimes (most of the time) I just live right out of the laundry baskets until I have no other choice other than go ahead and just put them up, usually because I can't find something and I am tearing the room apart.
I'm sorry to admit that I've had folded laundry sitting on the kitchen table for a week. I've just been raiding it in the morning.
Me too. Bad motherly habits! But it must drive you crazy as OCD as you talk about yourself. With your lists upon lists upon lists and your organized Christmas shopping, I would not peg you to be one to leave the laundry in the LR as I do all the time! Somtimes I leave it unfolded to see if my husband will fold it. Nope, he picks out his stuff and leaves all mine and the kids right there!
Claire
Hey, she's doing better than me. Half the time the clothes end up just sitting in the dryer and we just dig through it to find what we want. They only eventually get folded when I need to use the dryer again. LOL.
I not only wish my children would do their own laundry (okay, my oldest son is a little weird about his laundry...he doesn't want it touching anyone elses!), but fold and put mine away as well! Ahhh, if only!
Shannon
For God's sake. I can't even get my kids to pee without dribbling down the front of the toilet. Teaching them to do laundry is so far off in the future I can't even contemplate it. To that end, I am making everyone wear their clothes two days in a row to reduce the laundry surplus. Well, except for Declan--wouldn't want the kids at school to make fun of him. But everyone else? Unless you spill toxic waste on yourself, you're wearin' it again, Baby!
Okay, this one will probably get me permanently 86'd from your blog but I'm admitting it anyway--I LOVE DOING LAUNDRY. I have been known to stand there and just watch it wash for a while. Seriously, I should be one of those ladies from way back who "took in laundry" to earn money! The reason for this, I am sure, is because my laundry-OCD Mom would NOT LET ME do the laundry as a kid/teen, because SHE was the only one who could do it right. Of course, this made me want to do it all the more! So, here I am today, still loving that laundry and being thrilled that I may be needing a new washer/dryer soon--FRONT-LOADERS, HERE I COME, YAY! So much better for the vertically challenged!!!!
BUT...before you banish me from your blog for once and for all, just know this. The rest of my house is sort of a sty! HAHA!
I think, by the 4th load, Brayden is going to be a laundry pro. So, Kristie, that means you should move forward with your plot to take over the world!
I hate laundry. I use the "wash as needed" method. The pile sometimes gets so high in my bathroom I consider it movable art. Once I'm able to finally get a few loads finished they sit either in the dryer or on top of the dryer or the kitchen table and are used from said position. I am picky about towels. I don't use towels twice - no matter that the rest of me is clean when I originally use a towel, my ass will never be clean enough to then use same towel on my face - not happening. I also don't wash my kitchen and utility towels with my bath towels - don't need any pube hair while drying dishes - ewwwww.
oh, I have news for you.....won't be long before she will rewear her underwear just to avoid washing it! The novelty of independence wears off quickly and soon "Drake and Josh" will be way more important than clean clothes!!!! I give it two weeks before you are doing it again!!! Then again, you are a much better mom than me so you probably will be more successful!! judi mitchell
My husband does the laundry...BUT he feels the need to do a load or two every single day. Don't get me wrong, it's great that he does it and does it well, and I know it's somewhat selfish to be bothered by how often he's running a load, but does he have to be an overachiever about it?? We don't need the pair of socks we're wearing today to be freshly washed and in our drawer for the pickin' tomorrow morning! :)
Mary
Kristie,
I was out of town last weekend at the Daytona 500. It's taken me all week to get caught up with your blogs. I loved the dance pictures, they totally rock. I was wondering if you do bithday parties or vacation pictures too? I'm sure your family & friends believe that if something happened, Kristie has a picture of it!
My oldest child is 10 and he's lucky to be able to wipe his own butt, I can't imagine him washing his own clothes. Maybe when he's 11? I am a bad example on the laundry issue. We have our washer, dryer, hot water heater, closets, toliet, sink, & stall shower all in our 'master bath' and it's a bit cramped! I don't have a laundry room to leave things in for days. So I usually leave them in the dryer!!
I can't believe all the crap you guys went through to get kids!! I didn't try for the first two but our third was rough. We actually planned our third and then suffered a miscarriage. That was just awful. It took us almost 2 years after that to have Savannah. She was very much worth the wait!
I have a sick child I need to tend to. Have a good Sunday.
Have you checked out MySpace yet? I need feedback; I'm very needy!!
Holy Moly!! I was so proud of myself for teaching my son how to do laundry. That is...until I asked him to throw in a load of my clothes. When they came out of the dryer, there were white streaks all over everything. Turns out he grabbed the bleach and used it like detergent. He figured one bottle was just as good as another!!! I am happy to report that 6 years later, he now reads the bottle before pouring liquid in the washer.
Can I hire her when she gets "really really good"???
Kristie, I am going to use you as an example! "See, my darling daughter, the law states that at 10 years of age, you are old enough to do your own laundry!" I will point to your blog as proof! Dear Daughter is less than 1 month away from her tenth birthday; what a great present for me!
Several years ago, I made the mistake of sarcastically saying how much I love doing laundry in front of my children. Their response? "Oh, so that's why you're always doing it!"
Still loving your blog,
Sue (ALL-Kids)
Yep..I can just see my 15yr old son doing laundry. The one time I ask him to turn on the dryer for me, he ask, which one is the dryer? I have another 3 to 4 yrs before he leaves home for college, I promise you this, By the time he leaves, he will know the diffrence between a washer and dryer. lol
I am so jealous! I can't get my 34 year old husband to do laundry.He likes to joke and say he has a laundry fairy...it goes down the laundry shute and comes upstairs clean and folded..ha ha ha (major sarcasm there). I do all the laundry for all 6 of us (2 adults, 4 kids) and I HATE SOCKS! Do you know how many socks six people use (duh 12) but no kidding..you know the washer/dryer eats them so they NEVER come out even. Thank God for Hanes socks. I use to drive myself nuts until I discovered their colored socks per gender and age. Now, hubby has "red" stitching, my is pink, daughters is purple, toddler is green and boys are blue! They rock...plus when you are digging through the basket that has not been folded from two days ago, they are so much easier to match up!! thanks for the laughs..
Kristina,
Ohio
how did you do it
I cant get Paxton to do anything!!
if she does she complaines and whines about it.
love you blogs
Lisa
Ok apparently you don't know the vinegar trick. Being the all time worst laundry maid, I have a gallon of vinegar over my washer at all times. Rinse cycle + vinegar = sour laundry rehab. Unfortunately, I probably go through a gallon of vinegar a week! I just can't seem to get the laundry from the washer to the dryer in the same 24 hour period. Thank God I found out this vinegar thing since I was washing each load of my laundry twice!!!!
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