As I mentioned recently, Chaco can't iron. None of them can actually. I think Magnum might have some skillz in this area, having been in the army. I've never actually witnessed it, however. I guess ironing doesn't fall under "general upkeep" around here. Because 98.654% of their wardrobes consist of clothes that don't need ironing, the kids got waivers on that workshop.
Laundry, however, is certainly general upkeep. Years ago when I was a new mom, another mom gave me the advice to do laundry every day "no matter what". Laundry has a way of snowballing into huge piles of dirtiness if left unattended for too long. I think it's safe to say that, except during camping trips, I have done laundry every day for the past several years.
Good mentor that I am, I taught the kids to do laundry. It's not like we have to go down to the creek and beat our clothing against rocks and scrub them with our homemade soap of fat and ashes. Technically, the washing machine is the family member that does the laundry. What's the big deal?
And back to Chaco, he despises doing laundry. I don't know why, but he'd rather clean a bathroom than have anything to do with laundry. He'd rather clean the dog's bathroom than have anything to do with laundry. Wolfgang and Meego put it right up there with cleaning a bathroom, human or dog. Magnum thinks they should do it more often, but I let them pass on having to do anything with laundry. I figure we've gotten to a point where they could pass a laundry test, they don't need to do it on a regular basis.
But the truth is... I'd rather just do it myself. It's not that I love doing laundry, it's just that...
I don't like any of my male offspring - of which all of them are - handling my unmentionables for any reason.
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| not my unmentionables |
I mean, I know we're family and all, but still.
And yes, we could have them just do their own laundry, but that would require each of us letting our personal laundry piles build up to a suitable load size. We didn't get that carbon footprint jar opener for nothin'. We'd have to say good-bye to having our laundry done every day. That would be difficult. It's not like I have unmentionables for every day of the week like some people do.
So I'm a proud washwoman.
What domestic chores to you "save" just for yourself? Why?
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6 comments:
That's understandandable--there's no way your going to keep a boy from touching, even sniffing women's underwear, no matter whose it is!
Usually, insect or vermin eradication falls under my job description. And I'm also the only one to mow the lawn (I have a certain system/pattern). Now that you mention it, my wife does most of our laundry and I will help with occasional loads (will iron too), but she prefers to handle her own "delicates".
So Scott, when do boys get over this fascination? Should I "not" leave the plumber alone in my bathroom with the hamper near by. :)
A couple years ago, I let the world know via my Laundry post, that I hate it. However, as with many blog posts, a bit of catharsis is helpful. I've improved, but have miles to go before I sleep. Two of my 3 princesses have realized that throwing in a load here and there will assure them the "fashion look" they want for school.
Cute unmentionables. I guess we're both beyond the M thru S pack, huh?
I used to be such a control freak over chores, but now that I'm away from the house over 50 hours a week, I don't care who does what, and sometimes I don't even care if it gets done. Sometimes.
The only chores I LOVE to do are vacuuming and mowing the lawn. Something about the physical work and the noisiness relieves any stress and just allows me to drown out the outside world for a while. :)
Laundry can be done by all in this house. Mark does a lot of it actually (because he can keep an eye on it/fold it while never missing a beat of the television shows he's watching.)
I don't let anyone else clean the bathrooms. They just aren't thorough enough. I'd rather do them myself than gripe about a half-way job.
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