Idiot Housekeeping Part 2

Get ready for the next installment of my housekeeping questions that require you to comment with your answers.

I want the truth.

If anyone is like me they want to answer with what an ideal situation would be instead of what is real. In order to be scientifically accurate, I need your reality.

While I was growing up (my sisters can attest to this-- especially Beth, Meri never had chores) one of the worst offenses you could commit would be to take clean clothes out of the dryer and leave them heaped in a basket in the laundry room. This would make our mother furious. She would launch into a tirade about everything being "permanently wrinkled".

Secretly I would always question her logic. Isn't that what an iron is for? How can something be permanently wrinkled if you can iron it, or wash it all over again, thus removing the wrinkles? No article of clothing was ever lost to "permanent wrinkles".

So my questions are:

• How do you deal with clean laundry? Do you fold your clothes as you get them out of the dryer, or do you throw them into a basket to be folded at a different location?


• And if you have children do you make them fold and put away their own clothes?


• When do you do your laundry? Once a week on a specific day, or several times a week?


• How do you sort it?


• Do you do sheets and towels on the same day as clothes, or do they have their own designated day?

I have found that folding right out of the dryer works best for me, but I do spend more time in my creepy laundry room than I would like this way.

p.s. Don't you just love the picture? I found it here.

Mystery Solved!

John informed me tonight at dinner that the reason the Indians (aka Native Americans) who lived in the desert died was because:

"it was too hot for their bald heads."

Three years of graduate school and $30,000 later, I never even considered this possibility.

He went on to explain:

"the one's who survived rode camels to Wyoming. The one's who died traveled by foot and when the year passed they were dead."*

Where was he when I was struggling to write my thesis???

*These are his exact words-- I had to quickly jot a note to myself-- my favorite is "when the year passed..." If you know John, you know he talks like this.

Dichotomy?

I was struck this evening by the seemingly opposite tastes Jared and I have in our television preferences. I was watching "Super Nanny" (which is not my favorite, but what else makes you feel somewhat normal on a Friday night?) when I decided to go downstairs to update my blog. I expected to turn on the TV to watch the conclusion of Jo Jo's miraculous transformation of this week's strange British family. Instead, Jared was recording "Man vs. Wild" and I couldn't change the channel.

At first I laughed thinking of the dichotomy of me watching "Super Nanny" and Jared watching "Man vs. Wild". But then I realized they were only too similar. Learning to deal with your crazy, whining, violent children is not unlike trying to survive in the Alaskan wilderness armed with only chewing gum and a shoestring.

The similarities don't stop there. Jo always seems to whip up a fancy, crafty solution to any problems that arise; Bear Grylls always seems to know which plants, animals and shoestrings he needs to survive. He can fashion a snake trap in two minutes and have a snake to eat (uncooked) in less than three.

***Tangent*** Have you ever noticed that Bear Grylls always manages to eat something raw, sometimes still alive, on every episode? Not only that, but he tends to make the guts squish out all over his chin. I'm sure behind the scenes he's like, "hey guys, I'm going to squish these roach guts all over my face so be sure it's a close up and looks extra gross, oh and be sure to get the crunching chewing sound while I do it."

After an episode with Jo Jo my hope is renewed that my kids aren't that bad and the "naughty chair" might just work after a grueling five hours of repetition.

After watching Bear scramble up and down the rocky slopes, swim through an ice cold river, and finally find civilization Jared thinks he can survive in the wild without a problem. Except Jared would have a gun, two flashlights, a pack of gum, and three knives.

But he would survive.

You wanna piece of my heart?

The best part about a nearly 70 degree day?

Eating lunch on the patio at Costa Vida.

Coming home to hear Loverboy blaring from Bogda's house.

Kitty insisting that since it was so nice out we needed to water the flowers.

Watching as she tried to smell the long gone sunflower.

The worst part?

Knowing it is only January 20.

Spying

Conversation with John on the way to church:

(About a woman walking her dog) "I've seen that lady before."

"You have?"

"Yeah, I think just one time before. Not like the girl at school I see all the time."

"A girl? Do you know her?"

"No but I always see her and spy on her."

"Is she in Kindergarten?"

"No, I think 1^st Grade. I don't know who she is-- I just like to watch her."

"What does she look like?"

"Oh, I don't know, she's just interesting to me."

"Do you want to be her friend?"

"No. I just like watching her."

"Have you ever said 'hi' to, or smiled at her?"

"No. I just watch her and then if she looks at me I look away like I wasn't looking at her.

Like a spy."

Phew!

Ok, so I am still expecting a few more comments on the sock thing, but thank goodness the comments section started working again! I was beginning to think I was really as socially inept as I have always feared.

I have totally learned something from you and your socks. The basket in the closet for single socks—smart! The lingerie—crazy! One drawer for everything—daring! No jammies—liar!

Thanks for being my friends, I love learning from you!

Dissed

Ok, I get it. Everyone is too embarrassed to admit that they have more than four drawers of socks and no where to put their pajamas. So much for my dreams of a best-seller!