Wash-day Blues

You know, I have it pretty “together” in most areas of my life. Most of the time. OK, some of the time. (Tomorrow could be a different story.)

But there’s one area in particular that has been driving me crazy. It’s the clothes washing. More specifically, the washing basket in our bedroom. It’s the repository for all “light” (ie, non-“colored”) washing; Darren’s business shirts; and all those fiddly hand-washing jobs. The lights get washed once there’s enough for a full load, as do Darren’s shirts (which he washes – and irons – himself. I’m such a women’s libber.). But those jolly hand-wash items just sit there, taunting me each time I sort out the basket.

The thought of having to get out the hand-washing buckets/bowls, the soap, and the rubber gloves, and of having to actually stand at the laundry basin for five or 10 minutes, is more than I can stand. I have a life to live! The mundanity of it all drives me crazy. Am I the only one who feels this way?

Right now the basket holds a pretty light-blue woolen cardigan that’s edged with pink flowers (a present to the girls from a friend in England – in there so long now it’s probably too small for them); the girls’ ballet outfits (they’ll be needing those this weekend, so they have to be done soon); one of my knit tops; a groovy going-out top that I don’t want to risk in a load with other items; and a collection of bibs from when we baby-sit my little cousin (the bibs have Velcro and I’ve “been there, done that” when it comes to mixing Velcro-d bibs in a load with other clothes!).

A few weeks ago, I even did up a schedule, adding one hand-wash item a day to the usual household jobs. Just to break it all down a bit. So that I didn’t feel overwhelmed. This worked for a few days – I got through a few items. But the above bits and pieces remain, taunting me. I know it’s not terribly hygienic to have them sitting at the bottom of the basket for weeks (OK, months) on end, and it’s certainly not good feng shui. I’m aching for the feeling of smug satisfaction that comes with completing a long-avoided project. Oh yeah…

It would also be nice to be so completely on top of the hand-washing that it doesn’t build up and threaten to spill like Vesuvius from under the basket lid. So, I’m determined to beat it. Why do you think I’m writing about it this week? I want to be held accountable!

I’ll report back next week. Watch this space.