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!