HOW I DISCOVERED MY LAUNDRY ROOM HAD A FLOOR

Yes I really do have six kids -- I do.  How can you afford them?  Isn't it hard?  I could never do it!  Yes you could.  It really is easy except for one thing  -- THE LAUNDRY!!!  It is the hardest thing about having a large family.  For the first thirteen years of motherhood I struggled with getting the laundry under control -- never once getting it done completely. 

I had a day assigned to do all the laundry.  I collected it all, separated it into whites, lights and darks mixing everyone,s clothes together.  I could get it all washed but had a struggle separating and folding it and getting it into the drawers before the little critters had pulled out everything and mixed the clean clothes with the dirty clothes.  The result was mountains of dirty and clean clothes in the bedrooms and in my laundry room.  I took consolation by cruising by the house of one of my good friends who had more children than me and shall remain nameless.  I was buoyed up with the knowledge that behind her garage door was a laundry mountain higher and wider than mine.

My life changed the day my good friend, Evelyn Jones, taught me her system of doing laundry.  She has six kids the same ages as mine.  The following are the main elements of the Evelyn Jones method:

• Every person has their own dirty clothes basket in their room.
• Each day two people have a day of the week designated as their laundry day.  No one else may use the laundry room on a day other than their own.
• The older siblings are paired up with the younger ones and help them.  (When he was three, Jeff started doing his own laundry with the help of his big brother Jim.)
• Each person does one light load and one dark load, from sorting to getting it into the drawer, including their own sheets.  This is actually all the loads needed for one person so once a week everyone's laundry is totally done.
• Mom and Dad have four days left to do their own laundry, towels, bedding, etc. 
• The laundry days must be strictly enforced.  If someone misses, oh well!  They might have to make do for a week until their day comes up the next week.

I know all you other  perfectionists and control freaks will have to do what I did  --  LET GO!!!  Remember, if the laundry mountain is growing, if you have to move the mountain off your couch if someone comes over, if the mountains are in the way of your achieving peace and happiness, IT IS NOT WORTH STRIVING FOR PERFECTLY LAUNDERED CLOTHES.  It will only take a few minutes of wear and tear before people won't be able to tell that your kids do their own laundry.  (Who is checking anyways?)  The small amount of extra water, energy and detergent is minuscule compared to head shrinker bills.

The day I implemented Evelyn's method I found my laundry room floor.  There was carpet in the bedrooms as well.  I was no longer hampered with anyone's hamper but my own.  There was no longer an ironing pile.  I did not have to try to figure out whose underwear and socks were whose.  When I walked by an unclaimed sock, I felt empowered to toss it into the trash.  I was FREE!

P.S.  I'll write about the sock hill later.     

Ideas I don't want to forget to write about

I find that when I have a good idea come into my head I MUST WRITE IT DOWN.  Even or as important I MUST PUT IT IN A PLACE I WILL FIND IT LATER.  Sometimes I hide these important things so well they are lost forever!  So I have decided to post a list of the topics I want to post.  That way I won't forget.

oven pancakes
chores
penguins
papers
boat

Peace & Quiet In The Morning Time And The Night Time

There are certain times in the course of the day that mothers are prone to go crazy.  Those are the times when moms are trying to meet time deadlines, a lot of different things are going on at the same times, the needs of more than herself (and usually way more than herself like 7 other people or more) must be met in a small time constraint and she has not had enough time to get the rest she needs.  How many times did I use the words time or times in that sentence?  The noise level at those times is directly related to the number of bodies in one house and the stress level at those times is always magnified by the noise level. 

If you are a mom you know these times occur mostly at two specific times:  the morning and the evening, when it is just getting light and when it is just getting dark.  Is it a coincidence that most child abuse happens at these times?  I read this somewhere around the time I had a great idea come to me.

PEACE AND QUIET IN THE MORNING AND THE NIGHT!

It became our new rule and our mantra.  I would ask "What time is it?" to remind the kids and they would answer (in soft voices) "Peace and quiet in the morning and the night time!"  Morning time was when they got up in the morning until they left for school, play, etc.  Night time was when it started getting dark or when they came in from playing outdoors or when I starting getting dinner and did not end the whole night.  During those times there were no loud voices, no crying or whining, no running and wrestling, no loud television, no fighting.  This was the time to get ready, do chores, say prayers and read scriptures, work on homework, play quietly, get along with each other, pick up, etc.

This rule changed my life.  I was no longer the crazy woman; I accomplished all things better; I was nicer; I listened more; I found peace in my home.  It did not always work perfectly and many times we would need reminding with "What time is it?"  Battles in the morning almost disappeared and we were more happy with each other when we parted.  Having that rule helped us to calm down so we could have nice dinners and relaxing evenings together.  The spirit in our home and in my own soul changed.

Things I Know Now That I Wished I Knew Then

My name is Janet.  I am a wife, a mother and a grandmother (among many other things).  I started writing a book that I was going to give to my daughters and daughters-in-law to help them ahead of time when they were getting their own families started.  But the computer crashed .... 

Then I decided that this summer I would rewrite it as a blog.  I hope I can begin a new good habit this summer by keeping up with it.  The subjects I will write about are mostly solutions to my own personal irritations and failings as a wife, mother, homemaker, family historian, etc.  I am pleased to note that my daughters and daughters-in-law are right now already head and shoulders above me when I was their age.  Any bits of wisdom I will throw out to you all might or might not be of help to you.  Please feel free to make use of my hard earned experience or reject it -- my feelings won't be hurt.  But if I were to have a second chance to do it over I would ....