Motherhood means…
laundry
pamela spurling
I’m
not sure which topic of conversation or
question generates more questions than
laundry or meals for families. I’m
thinking that both are either areas of
great frustration or testing or are
grounds for great victory or great
defeat. As for meal times, women
generally ask me questions that are more
logistical or are more along the lines
of creativity and time-saving methods
(I’ll share about some of these
tomorrow). Women are generally more able
to get that area of homemaking
“mastered” or taken care of than they
are regarding the dilemma of… the
laundry.
Laundry. There’s always more laundry.
You know… I’m pretty sure the LORD
has this necessary part of living for
more reasons than just the clothing that
meets the eye -for laundry sort of
represents other things in our lives…
attitudes, actions, words, and decisions
we might make all sort of pile up and
either need to be sorted out, cleaned
up, washed in the pure water of the
Word… and on and on.
I think child training is sometimes
sort of like laundry. When children are
trained daily, dirty habits don’t pile
up, smelly attitudes don’t overflow the
hamper of the mind, but (!) when the
training or washing isn’t tended
regularly, then the mountain of stained
consciences or musty manners seems to
steadily grow. Laundry’s taught me lots
of lessons through the years, that’s for
sure. Lessons of success and lessons of
failure - lessons that have firmly
cemented in my thoughts right ways of
handling situations and the disastrous
consequences of not handling them either
quickly or properly.
It’s at the dryer that I’ve had some of
the most meaningful talks with the LORD.
When I fold clothes, I think of and pray
for the owner of the pieces of clothing
I am folding. When I turn socks or pant
legs or sleeves, I pray for them to turn
from ways not pleasing the LORD. When
I’m shaking out and then folding some
other type of garment, I pray for old
habits to be shaken off, to be covered
by the grace and mercy of the LORD. I
pray for my husband, for the hard work
he does that produces some stains on
work clothes, the hard work he does that
allows for the purchase of all the
different sorts of clothing, sheets,
blankets and towels. And I have much for
which to be thankful - it’s sobering to
me to consider it all. These are just a
few of the types of things I talk to the
LORD about when I’m standing at the
dryer.
Now, I don’t stay there long, for it
is also my goal to be very speedy about
that job so that it’s never a mountain
of worries to me. One thing I learned a
long time ago was that laundry is to be
done then and there and to never take
piles of laundry anywhere else in our
house if at all possible —and— to
*never* sit somewhere and fold laundry
(especially the no, not ever(!): bed or
sofa!). Laundry’s not a hobby or a
pastime - nope, it’s a job and it’s a
job to get done quickly! I timed loads
for a while so that I would know how
much time a load actually takes to wash
or to dry or to fold and I timed the
folding of laundry while sitting on the
sofa or bed and the time spent was at
least doubled, certainly! I think
another key is having everyone take a
part… one person daily responsible to
bring the laundry to the laundry
area/room. Another person or several
persons to put it away after each load
or a couple of loads. But surely, not
piles left unattended. Accountability…
it’s about as key here as in any other
task of life. I simply ask the child(ren)
if the load was put away in the right
places… and then I do check… usually
very briefly.
So, motherhood definitely means
laundry - and lot’s of it! But the
laundry doesn’t have to be drudgery or a
noose about the neck. I think Kim over
at
Large Family Logistics says 4 by
four - maybe that’s on laundry day. And
I think that’s some pretty good advice.
For me, laundry schedules have sort of
changed an evolved over the years and
certainly when we’ve had a baby in the
house.
Anyway, I think if a mama gets a load
going before breakfast and another after
the dishes and then another before lunch
and (if need be) another before or after
naptime, she’ll be doing really well.
For a large family, three or four loads
a day is very normal and after a while,
laundry is really “second nature” and
can be overcome with little thought and
no real arduous effort. I think the key
is keeping it all always done and
enlisting the children’s help to put
stacks away after each load. Besides,
keeping attitudes and manners clean,
laundry (and all other chores) is a
great trainer of character. If a child
doesn’t learn to work and to work well,
he/she will not be a disciplined or
obedient child in other areas, either.
So, laundry is motherhood’s friend.
It says and does so much about and for
her.
pamela
spurling
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