Laundry

Follow these 7 easy steps and laundry will never trouble you again.

1. Gather all the laundry into one giant pot.

2. Put the pot into the oven.

3. Forget about preheating that won’t make a difference. Fire up the oven to 450 degrees Celsius.

4. For good measure add some paprika to the stove top. Enough to make people think that its more than just for show.

5. Put on your Tailor made straight jacket. (You can find cheaper ones on the internet, but I suggest go scuba diving in the Arctic Ocean to find yours!)

6. Await for someone to take you away.

7. Never have to worry about laundry again.

ask The King to pitch in.

Don’t be like Bert.

(Does he just wear it and wear it and wear it for weeks?)

It doesn’t have to go away. Just don’t let the mountain become taller than you…

Do a load every day or two – depending on family size and laundry volume. Don’t put the next load in to wash before the first is folded and put away. Or at the latest don’t take the next load out of the dryer before the first load is cleared out – so only one clean load in the basket at a time. Small loads are much more manageable and won’t stress you out as much. If you somehow do end up with a mountain of laundry to fold, talk on the phone or better yet listen to a light shiur or story while you tackle it.

And then come the 9 days, long Yomim Tovim, pre-Pesach laundry — these are the true laundry nightmares. But then again, easy does it.

Good luck!

I don’t do laundry, but I have a very close relationship with someone who does. That person told me that it helps a lot to have a larger washer/dryer.

If possible, designate other members of the household a specific day to dospecific wash. I myself enjoy doing laundry, maybe someone at home likes it better than you do?

In our castle, when the princes and princesses reach a certain age, they are given directions to the laundry room, a course in how to use the washer and dryer are given their very own laundry basket and if they want clean clothes they put their newfound knowledge to use.

Joseph………..

Shabbos is over. The adult children have gone out for the evening and the grandchildren spending the President’s Day weekend have been put to bed.

I have just put the Shabbos table linen in the wash. They will be dried folded and put away before I go to bed tonight.

My mother Z”L spent her adult life as a teacher and principal, When each of us reached 8 years old she taught us how to do laundry (and cook) and from then on we did our own. I do my wash, Mrs. CTLawyer does hers, and our children do their own when they happen to be here (only two single ones left and both are away at school).

I do the towels and table linens. The one extravagance is that we take bed linens to a local laundry that charges by the pound to launder and iron them. That costs us about $15 per week. Well worth it in my opinion.

BTW>>>we do not have a maid. We have a cleaning woman who comes in one morning per week for 4 hours, then she eats a lunch prepared for her and goes next door for two hours to clean my Mother in law’s home.

Neither my wife or I are above running a vacuum, sweeping a floor, changing a bed, taking out trash, etc.

Most of the time only my wife and I are in residence, so it’s not hard to keep up with the house and laundry.

Thequeen. Obviously they don’t help enough or you wouldn’t be overwhelmed with mounds of laundry.

One observation. When the princes and princesses have to do their own laundry the piles are not as large. Suddenly the shirt or top worn for 90 minutes is not laundrybans gets put away instead.

Queen……….

There is nothing to stop you calling your cleaning lady a maid. I remember when maids lived in, wore uniforms provided by the employer and provided services for the person, not just housework. I’m old enough to have experienced both and differentiate the titles.

At 8 I was responsible for my own laundry on an ongoing basis. What a treat summer camp was..they did the wash. Cooking was taught as a life skill. I cooked occasionally as a child, but mom usually had cooked food in the fridge if she had an evening meeting at school or the Board of Education.

Cooking skills were important while in college and law school. My college had kosher food available Mon-Friday only, and law school not at all, as a single living on own I was so thankful for my early training in the kitchen. In early adulthood, I ended up buying a kosher food establishment that was a good investment. During peak wedding season, I put my Saturday nights and Sundays in behind the stoves or doing prep work.

To this day, I do about 60% of the cooking in the house. My law office is attached to the home (separate outside entrance) and it is easy to slip away from my desk into the kitchen or laundry to put something in the oven or move a load of wash.

As for your comment about kids not washing clothing as often if they have to do their own:

Youngest daughter (19 today’s her birthday) is a laundry nut. Constantly doing wash. When my wife designed the new bathroom and dressing room between her’s and her other single sister’s bedroom, youngest insisted (and paid for it herself) that a stackable washer/dryer be installed for her use. No dragging laundry through the house to the laundry room, or chancing someone else using the machines when she wanted to do laundry.

OTOH, other single daughter tends to just raid youngest’s clothing supply and wear those. They are the same size and have similar clothing taste….and it’s done with permission.

As far as matching socks, I’ve heard (but never tried) to use a safety pin before it goes into the laundry, saving the search time on the other side.

I see the mountain before me

Grower higher by the minute;

I see the mountain dip and sway,

I think that someone’s in it!

Where’s my little munchkin?

He stands at three feet tall.

But for some odd reason,

I can’t even find him at all!

Where are you little boy?

Are you in that laundry pile?

I should have known that it was a risk

to let grow to a vertical mile…

With a burst of energy

I rush to knock it over

and find with the mountain’s depth

My daughter’s little brother…

Whew! Now he’s safe and sound

But that mountain has dispersed!

And now with colored clothing everywhere

I can’t find the earth!

Sighing in resignation

I pick up the hanging phone

and call for backup help-

I can’t battle this alone!

Cleaning lady dear,

Why don’t you move right in?

I never knew that I’d love you so!

I think you’re my best friend!

Maybe, one day

I will finish that huge pile.

But until we’ve conquered that stinky hill-

I’ll have to learn to smile!

Actually yes. I did! OK, it was only for two weeks, but at least I got the feel of it. And I was most certainly greatful to one above who gave me the need to do laundry.