The Joy of Laundry

It is Saturday morning and I am happy to write that I am doing laundry.  Most people dread doing laundry.  Usually I do too, but not today.  Today is good because my husband has the two older kids out and about on errands.  The baby is asleep and I am doing the laundry.  Usually when I am trying to do the laundry, I am dealing with the agenda of three children.  Their agendas have nothing to do with clean clothes.  These are the various attempts my children make to sabotage the conquering of "Mount Washmore."

Sabotage #1 The Un-Sort:  I have just spent 10 minutes sorting a week's worth of laundry into neat color specific piles.  I walk out of the room for 30 seconds to answer the phone, wipe someone's nose or longer to change a diaper.  I return to my neat piles only to find clothes strewn everywhere in a chaos greater than that which I started.  Did I mention I'm doing a week's worth of laundry for 5 including a baby who thinks spitting up is an Olympic sport?

Sabotage #2  The Whine:  30 minutes into the sort, I am finally ready to begin my first load of laundry.  Then, the whining begins.  "Mommy can you un-button my pants so I can go to the bathroom?"  30 seconds gone;  "Mommy can I have a snack, I'm hungry!!!"  5 minutes gone;  "Mommy can I have more juice?"  1 minute gone;  "Mommy will you play with meeeeee?"  2 minutes gone;  Only 2 minutes because I quickly try to explain why I can't play because I am trying to start a load of laundry.

Sabotage #3  The Un-Fold:  OK, somehow I have managed to wash and dry a load of laundry about two and a half hours after I began.  Now, it is time to fold.  Usually what happens now is the kids are playing nicely together and I sneak away to my room to fold the laundry.  Since this is a week's worth of clothes even one load takes at least 15 minutes to fold because it is huge. We're talking the washing machine was so stuffed, the water barely breached the top of this massive pile of clothes.  5 minutes into folding, I hear the shuffle of tiny footsteps down the hallway.  My blood pressure begins to rise.  "What are you doing mommy?"  "I'm folding the laundry."  "Can I help?"  "Ok, as long as you don't mess up the clothes I have already folded." The two older ones hop up on the bed and begin to help me "fold".  But, there is hardly any room on the bed because there is so much laundry piled up.  They begin pushing clothes around and the now the un-fold begins.  Within 2 minutes everything I have just folded is in another pile in the middle of the bed and the rest of the clothes are on the floor.

Sabotage #4:  The Put-Away:  Another 30 minutes later the clothes are finally folded and now I have to put them away.  After two minutes of begging, I finally allow my two year old to help put things away.  I give him the easiest thing I can think of to put away, a pile of washcloths.  He happily trots off to the bathroom to put them in the basket under the sink.  4 minutes later he returns with two of the washcloths waded up in his hand.  "I thought you were going to put those away."  "I did."  "Then why do you still have two in your hand?"  "I'm playing with them."  I walk in to the bathroom and the washcloths are strew about the bathroom.  Some in the tub, some out, most on the floor.  Now I can't tell which ones are clean and which ones are dirty.  I have to pick them all up and re-wash them.  After at least 4 hours, I have not even completed one load of laundry.

Now, it makes even more sense to me why I am so happy to be doing laundry today, Saturday morning without kids. Except, the baby just woke up from his nap.  I guess I'll have to finish the laundry later.