Thursday, June 19, 2008

Airing My Dirty Laundry

(And I'm talking literally, not figuratively!)

Does anyone else ever feel like ALL they do is laundry? Lately I've been realizing that I'm a laundry fiend. I can't even think of the last day that I did less than 2 loads. The problem is me, though, because if I have even the slightest amount of dirty clothes or towels I do not feel at rest until they are clean. It's like this obsession of mine that drives me crazy... And it's also not very energy, water, or detergent efficient either.

I blame my mom for this one... Lol! Growing up, I would put dirty clothes in the laundry basket and then when I came home from school (or wherever) my clothes would be cleaned, folded, and put away. It's like we NEVER had dirty laundry... EVER. So yes, my dear mommy has made me neurotic about dirty clothes. There are worse things though:-)

Another issue I have with laundry is that if I let it sit too long it gets all nasty smelling. We have to use non-scented detergent because of my eczema so it's not like there's any perfumes or anything to disguise or mask the smells. All I had to do was see the consequences of letting a basket of dirty clothes sit for more than a couple of hours and I was hooked onto this laundry obsession.

Ya know what else is sick? I kind of ENJOY it sometimes. Shameful, I know. Not only do I feel so happy and satisfied when it's all completed, but I actually like the whole process of washing it and then putting it away nicely. I have issues.

I can also be such a freak about my house being clean that I go crazy. I'm really, really working on not being so overbearing about messes that John and Brooke can't enjoy their house (and I've come a LONG way) but I have so much farther to go. I have the feeling that when baby #2 decides to come that my idea of having a spotless house and no dirty laundry just might fall through the cracks. I just want a day where vacuuming, dusting, sweeping, mopping, laundry, scrubbing, washing, and tidying up doesn't control my day and stress me out but it's ME that brings this on myself. Like I said, having Brooke around has lightened me up a whole lot, but I still compulsively clean ALL DAY LONG. What ever happened to relaxing?

I know this is a boring post but hey, what can I say? Being a stay-at-home-mom and all makes this sort of really prevalent in my life. I get a lot of pride out of my home and how well I (try) to take care of it. I guess it's good that I'm on this end of extreme and not the other. Right?

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