Thursday, January 31, 2008

Snow Day

OK, what a great day! I was doubtful, but the snow finally started and it's lovely! The kids went out for exactly 10 minutes before they were back in, wanting to sit by the fire. Thankfully, we had 2 ricks of wood delivered yesterday. We've already been through 6 ricks this winter. Our fireplace is connected to our home's ductwork, so we've only run the heater a few times this winter. In our old, victorian house on Wright St., our monthly gas bill was anywhere from $350-450 a month! Now, our gas bill runs around $50. I can handle that! But, we ran out of wood last week. I think these 2 will get us through the rest of the winter. It's funny how we've trained ourselves to "keep the fire going". We hate to start a new fire from scratch, so we do everything we can to keep the flame going.

Now, let's talk about laundry. In my last post I mentioned that I had done 3 loads in one day. I was talking to a friend of mine and she was surprised that 3 is a lot for me. With 7 in our family, our laundry is never done, but we always have clean clothes and towels. I have a few "rules" that help me keep my sanity. First of all, I tell the kids that they should be able to wear their clothes at least twice. Now, I know that toddlers/babies may need several outfits a day! But, I'm past that stage. And, since baby clothes are much smaller than kid/adult clothes, I think it would be easy to keep up with thiers as well. I tell the kids that they can wear their clothes for 2 days, and they should wear their pajamas at least 3 times. And, they can use their big, bath towels at least twice. I have hooks in their bathroom that they can use to hang their towels. And, there are hooks in their room to hang their clothes/pajamas. I do, however, tell them that I should see their underwear in the dirty hamper every day! So, we have a laundry shute and the kids are able to get their clothes down the shute and I do one load every day. I start, or I have Katie start one load first thing in the morning. Now, of course, if the family is sick...well...all bets are off and the goal is survival! And, of course there are times that the kids get really dirty and can't wear their clothes twice. That's life. But, getting one load completely done each day is easier for me than trying to do 7-8 loads in one day. I used to separate everyone's socks, but with 4 boys, there's just no way. So, I have a basket on top of the dryer and all the socks go in the basket. Now, they can get their own socks! It's a beautiful thing! I know that there are those that put their laundry in a basket and take it somewhere in the house to fold, but for me, it's just easier to fold right out of the dryer. It's too easy to take the basket somewhere and then not get the laundry folded. I have 5 dish tubs in my utility room, one with each child's name. Their laundry goes into their tub. They can take their tub and put their clothes away each evening when they get their pajamas on.

OK, you know that you're boring when the most exciting thing you can post about is laundry! We just found out that school is canceled again tomorrow, but of course, there's no reason to cancel homeschool! But it's sure tempting! Right now we're getting ready for a hot game of Sorry! Now that's exciting!

4 comments:

Lynn said...

Trish---I love your idea of a bin for each kid! That's good organization. I never folded socks either---the kids did that. Here's a tip if you ever get a "picky" teen-ager. My youngest son was VERY picky about always wearing clean clothes. He would wear his jeans for 5 hours at school, and then put them in the dirty clothes every day. Quite regularly I would take them out, fold them and put them back in his drawer. He never did find out. Besides jeans (esp. clean) take up a lot of room in the washer/dryer!! haha. See you soon.

Bekah said...

I loved reading your post, I could picture you big fire place with a fire in it, the kids rooms and bathrooms with their individual hooks. I need to visit Siloam! When there is no snow of course! Brrrr! We are supposed to be 67 today and 68 tomorrow. I LOVE GEORGIA! :-)

Melissa Flaming said...

Hey Trish! Thanks for the post! I love to read them.
Great ideas on laundry! I had these grand plans when we moved into this two-story house on "How Laundry Will Work in the Flaming Household"...I don't think it ever even happened! I too, have a child of the female persuasion, who thinks her clothes are dirty after a couple of hours. Soooo, I will be incorporating some of your ideas (minus the laundry shute, which I am desperate to install), and I will post on my success as a homemaker soon! :)

Shan said...

Laundry talk isn't boring to me either. I always ask people weird questions like "So...what is a typical weekday lunch for you?" and people look at me like I'm crazy. It's fun to read how other people do the everyday, especially when there are several kids involved. Glad your fam is feeling better and getting back to "normal" ;).