momma mommy bwuh

No one warned me about the laundry. When you have kids, you get a lot of advice—some welcome, some not, some useful, and some not relevant at all. It’s a lot to process and often leaves you wondering, “Why didn’t anyone mention this?”

What I don’t recall anyone ever mentioning, however, is that I would be doing laundry for the rest of my life.

I was naïve enough to think that adding two small humans to our household wouldn’t nearly double my weekly laundry load. Of course, they need clothes, pajamas, towels, and sheets. But lately, it feels like our home is inhabited by twenty people instead of just four.

By the time I finish the week’s laundry, the next week has already begun, and every hamper is overflowing again. (Hold on a sec—I just realized I need to switch another load.) I used to pride myself (well, not really, but bear with me) on having empty hampers at least once a week. Now, I’m lucky if I manage to have an empty hamper for even an hour.

Lately, I’ve been feeling particularly stressed, and I think it’s tied to this never-ending cycle of laundry. It may sound trivial, but when you’re accustomed to the satisfaction of a task completed, and this one feels perpetually incomplete, it can really wear on you. I made a conscious effort yesterday to focus on finishing the laundry. After some deep breathing, I’ve come to terms with the fact that it may never be entirely done, but it can at least be mostly under control. So, I’ve taken advantage of a couple of work-from-home days (today being the second) to tackle the laundry.

Moving forward, I’m going to try to do one load per day. I hate the idea of doing laundry every single day, but it seems better than dedicating an entire day to it and still feeling overwhelmed. It’s like being stuck in quicksand (not that I’ve actually been in quicksand, but you get the idea—new fear unlocked).

How do you manage your household laundry?

On a side note, Hubs and I will tackle washing, drying, and folding together, while the boys are responsible for putting their folded clothes into their drawers and closet.

Featured image from DepositPhotos artist: belchonok.