The great laundry debate.....er, umm, insanity.

Okay, so I admit it. I’m a bit picky about my laundry. And by picky, I am just being nice (or at least using nicer words than what first came to mind). Anyone that knows me, I mean REALLY knows me will tell you that laundry is my thing. I spend an incredible amount of time doing laundry. I take great pains in keeping our clothes nice, not looking over worn, and trying to keep them stain free. Since the beginning of the year, I have been keeping track of how many loads of laundry I do. I am very curious to know, and I also will divide that out to figure out how much detergent and Clorox 2 I go through in a year. I know, it’s a little crazy, but when you spend so much time doing something, you have a tendency to want to know all about it (and how much money is actually being washed down the drain). For me, it’s not just a chore, it’s a mission.

I guess it would help if I explained how I got this way (about laundry, not about anything else…at least at this point). My mother was never really good about laundry, or clothes in general (at least for us kids) for that matter. I didn’t have a lot of nice clothes growing up. I know most of us didn’t, I mean it’s not like we are going to a fashion show when we are 5, but I mean, my mom didn’t take good care with my clothes. She didn’t do laundry very often. It was just a mess. By the time I was 9 my brother (who is 10 years older than I am) would pay me to do his laundry (I was also doing my own by this time). Cut and dry, my mom is an alcoholic; this prevented her from doing many things for us. I will at some point talk about her, but now isn’t the time.

Since I started doing laundry a LONG time ago, I have learned how to keep my whites whiter and my brights brighter. You wouldn’t EVEN believe the joy I get from saying that sentence! My husband will also tell you that is why he kept dating and subsequently married me….because of the way I do laundry.

I am EXTREMELY particular about my laundry products. I have formulated my own system over the years to get the best cleaning, spot removal, and freshness from my laundry. I guess it’s not really a secret formula, so I guess I can share it. I mean, I’ve shared it with my best friend (mostly because she kept bugging me about how I got my clothes to smell so good). Powdered Tide (Original Scent), Clorox 2 (liquid concentrate), and green Downy (ultra concentrate). I only use Shout for spot removal. It is the ONLY thing that I have found that will NOT fade any of my clothes (this means you can spray it, let it sit for a week, and know that your clothes will come out looking good). I then use a bounce dryer sheet in the dryer. If you don’t use a dryer sheet also, you’ll get static.

Now that you have the background on my laundry insanity, I will let you in on what the actual debate is. My wonderful husband was sorting the laundry for me earlier today. He was just trying to help me out, and get the dirty clothes out of our downstairs hallway. Our laundry room is first floor and is the size of a closet. I thought that when we bought our house, that first floor laundry would be great. I can’t wait for the day that we can move it down into the basement. Sorry, off track, back to the sorting. As Jon was sorting the laundry, he was putting clothes in with the darks that shouldn’t have been there, and was confused again (for the millionth time) about why which color clothes had to be where.

To save some time, I just sort into lights and darks. I don’t do towels separate unless I have enough to do an entire load. Lights include all whites, pinks, yellows, light oranges, beige, and light blues. I also include anything that might get dingy if washed with anything dark. Darks are everything else. Khaki pants can be washed with either, but truth be told, I prefer to wash them with the darks. Jon was sorting into whites and colors. He defended himself by saying that’s how it was done when he was growing up, and why did it matter anyway. Now, just to give you some perspective…we have been living together for a good 12 years. He should have SOME idea of how I sort laundry. So I kindly explained how I sort, and why. He wasn’t impressed, but allowed me to explain why things get sorted the way they do. He’s like, “but I was just trying to help!” I said, “Yes, I know. Can you please help me by running the vacuum instead?” He didn’t run the vacuum, but he did take it all in stride because of who he is. =)

I did say this was the great laundry debate, which it is. This is not the first time that we have had this conversation with each other, and it won’t be the last. It’s happened countless times. Every time, it’s the same conversation. It is always ended by my request for him not to help with laundry other than to transport it up and down the stairs. I know it doesn’t sound nice, but that’s how it has always worked. I’m not sure why we have to do this every so often. Maybe it’s just the check and balance system. Or maybe he’s just trying to let me know he’s willing to help. Either way, I do appreciate the sentiment of it. It’s actually quite sweet. Maybe next time I’ll just say thank you.