On Laundry

In the olden days, the frequency at which I did laundry was pretty much governed by the number of pairs of comfortably fitting underwear I owned. This typically would get me through one week, although I could stretch it to two if I busted out the less-than-favorite pairs of undies. All of my other clothing quantities were dependent on this relationship. I have about ten work outfits max, enough to wear Monday through Friday and rotate every other week, hopefully long enough for coworkers to forget I just wore that shirt last week and the week before that and so on.

Also in the olden days, I did my laundry and Husband did his…although I usually washed the kitchen and bathroom towels as well. Such is the lot of womanhood.

During the pregnancy days, things worked pretty much the same with a mid-week load thrown in the works, only because I had far fewer maternity outfits.

Now here we are in the Parenthood Days and the laundry routine is completely different. For starters, we have merged laundry baskets, with mom, dad, and baby all tossed together. On good days, I separate lights and darks…but only on good days, mind you. This is largely because Husband’s recent back surgery left him unable to bend into the washer and twist over to the dryer. At least until mid-March, by which time he likely will have forgotten to do laundry all together.

The other big change is that we do a load almost daily. This is partly because we have enough for a full load after a day or two, between the three of us….and also because Reed usually produces a gastric event that results in the immediate need for stain remover and a quick load of laundry…often because he has managed to soil something we only have one of but need.

The result of this new routine is that our clothes are almost always clean and we can basically wear the same outfits over and over again, every other day. This leaves me wondering: what do we do with all of our other clothes? Do we really still need them? Will I ever enjoy the pleasure of ‘having to buy’ new clothes again with all of these extra (old) wardrobe items collecting dust in my closet?

Now perhaps if I was leaving the house or working, I would be more inspired to change it up a bit…for the sake of putting myself together. Yet given I only leave the house for a quick errand now again (I got my hair cut last night!), I basically rotate between maternity sweats A and maternity sweats B. This is compounded by the fact that we are living out of suitcases at present (long story regarding forced evacuation caused by bathroom remodel…), and it is much easier to get by with less, as there is no where to hang and organize one’s belongings.

(For the record, I did try to fit in my old pre-pregnancy fat jeans, but I could only get them up to my mid-thigh. Oh well. At least I am getting lots of use out of my maternity clothes…)

I digressed… But basically was wondering if we really need all of our clothes given I do laundry every day…

Must go…dryer just buzzed.

Tagged as: How many pairs of pants does one family need