Archive for the ‘Laundry’ Category

24
Oct

Feelin’ Kinda Redneck

   Posted by: MotherHen   in Homemaking, Laundry

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Do y’all read Down to Earth?  She is such an interesting lady. She had a wonderful post about laundry.  And since laundry is my life, (well, it feels that way on most days) I was immediately drawn to it and had to check out the links she included.  I was so inspired to get back into the groove of hanging my laundry out on the line.

I have really let that slide.  Been strugglin’ along with my pokey electric dryer for weeks now.  Using the recent rains and my current sinus infection as reasons excuses for my laundry laziness.

But today was a good day to start hangin’ out again, since I am about 3 days behind on the laundry routine. (Let’s blame my sinus infection, oh, and the pokey electric dryer.)  So this morning I washed a big load of Cowboy clothes and took ‘em out back only to find that we must have had a bit of rain during the night and I had some muddy ground to contend with.

We’ve had a drought for about 793 years and have recently had a bunch of rain.  Translated into Lawn Language and that means that I have had bare dirt for a back yard but now have big patches of weeds, but only here and there.  So, I could have just turned around and put all that wet laundry into the pokey dryer OR stop being a baby and find a solution.

I turned around and right there on my patio were two empty charcoal briquette bags.  Big ones!  And they were already flattened out!  I just picked ‘em up and carried them over to my clothes line area, being very careful to walk only on the weeds, and plunked those big paper bags down on the mud right where I needed to stand to hang all that Cowboy laundry out.

Let me tell you!  It’s workin’ like a charm  AND there’s the added benefit of being reminded of all those Jeff Foxworthy jokes while I hang my laundry, ‘cuz really?  It looks like a redneck lives here!

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More interesting reading about hanging out your laundry.  What?  It is too interesting!

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14
Oct

The Plan – part 3 – Laundry

   Posted by: MotherHen   in Homemaking, Laundry

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Laundry
My washer is wonderful, my dryer is almost dead.  I wash about 4-5 loads a day.  More if the weather co-operates and I can hang it out on the line.  The boys are getting bigger and go to work so many days in the week, where they must wear certain clothes and those certain clothes get very dirty.  Makes a lot more laundry than a bunch of homies wearin’ shorts and not much else.  I try to follow this schedule.
  • Monday – towels, towels and a lot more towels
  • Tuesday – Sally Mae, Hubs, me and a load or two of towels
  • Wednesday – three younger boys and a load or two of towels
  • Thursday – two older boys and a load or two of towels
  • Friday – (ideally) everyone’s bed sheets and a load or two of towels
  • Saturday – the shower curtain and a load or two of towels
  • Sunday – no way!

We use a lot of towels.  The dishes are done by hand, we don’t buy paper towels, some of the kids take daily baths.  It just adds up.

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I use my oven timer to keep things running.  If I restart the dryer after 20 minutes (cleaning the lint trap every time) it gets one medium load dry in 3 cycles.  Lately it’s been raining (and we’re not supposed to complain about it because we’ve just been through a 2 year drought) so there’s a ton of mosquitos and I can’t hang out my laundry because of the rain/mud. I do have an indoor rack, just a small one, and I do hang some stuff on hangers and hang them around the house in doorways and on shower curtain rods.  But that only helps somewhat.  So I limp along with my pokey dryer.
Depending on whose stuff it is, I have different helpers for the folding and putting away.
I also have the kids “sort” their own stuff on their own laundry day.  The only laundry I sort is on Tuesdays.  And I (for the most part) fold, hang and put it away on Tuesday.  The rest of the week my main involvement is with the machines and only because we have this pokey dryer.  The boys would start a full load in the washer every time, which is not so much of a problem for the washer, but it’s a giant hurdle to dry a big load in the pokey dryer.  So I operate the machines.
A while back I found I was having a bit of problem with clean kid clothes ending up in the laundry baskets.  I got grand advice from Leila, she’s really got it goin’ on in the organization department.
I’ve gotten much more relaxed concerning how the clothes are put away.  We are not the kind of family who ever looks neat as a pin, pressed, tucked in, or buttoned down, so why pretend?  I don’t mean to say we are slobs, we’re just naturally casual.  And I like it that way, so why should I fret if the Cowboys hang up their Sunday shirts inside out.  Who cares?  If they don’t, I don’t.  I do a quick inspection on each of them every time before they head out of the house and usually catch any glaring sloppiness.  Not a biggie!
Oh, and one last thing.  Hubs has declared it to NOT be my job to carry laundry baskets.  He did that because I expressed an unwillingness to interrupt the Cowboys “just to carry something” for me.  Hubs laid down some law on the spot!  Makes my life lots easier!
Tomorrow’s post:  Housecleaning and Philosophy

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23
Jul

Fighting the Fatigue

   Posted by: MotherHen   in Fun Pirate Stuff, Laundry, Rabbits, Yarn!

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I think we’re past the danger zone incubation period for the viral illness that nearly killed me laid us low last week.

Only three of us were severely afflicted and two more were mildly inconvenienced while some kids are still wondering why I got behind on the laundry and was a little grumpy and had the tv on for 12 hours a day last week. (Don’t be alarmed!  It wasn’t really tv, it was carefully selected DVDs, like The Bee Movie, My Blue Heaven and What About Bob?)

Anyroad, we all seem to be well now, unless you count Slim trying to use the “My tummy feels funny” dodge on his math today, and I don’t ‘cuz he was totally puttin’ me on.

We’re all well, and I’ve caught up on the laundry, but I am still so tired.  Every day at about 2 or 3 in the afternoon I hit a wall.  I just wanna sit down and do nothin’.  Not even crochet, and we all know how not strenuous crocheting is.  (Grammar skills are the first to go when the fatigue hits.)

So this afternoon I was out back taking down the laundry from the line and Hank and Rowdy were helping me.  I mentioned that the only good thing about the heat is that it makes the solar dryer work really fast and so it’s free and reasonably fast to dry our laundry.

I don’t remember how that convo wrapped around to Hank offerring to make me an iced mocha frappuccino, but I found myself saying, “yes, YES, YES!!!”

He’s a good kid, that Hank.  This is delicious!  I think I’ll have another!

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Last Summer I gave you the recipe for making a whole pitcher of these.  This year we are making them by the glass.  Want the recipe?  It’s so easy.

Iced Mocha Frapuccino

  • 10 oz milk (or so)
  • 2 tablespoons chocolate syrup
  • 1 tablesppon  instant coffee granules
  • 1 tablespoon sugar, honey or agave nectar

You could do this in the blender if ya wanna get all fancy but we just pour it all into a tall glass, stir it up, add ice and a straw!  Use a bendy straw if you have one, after all, it is Summer!

Some other random stuff that’s going on here at the ranch.

  • An ipod nano can make even the frowniest Cowboy smile pretty hard!

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(Our rule for the mp3 players is that when they are in the presence of adults they are only allowed one ear-phone.  The other ear is for listening to adults. And the ear-phone comes out immediately if they are spoken to.)

  • Clementine got out of her cage today. She didn’t get far and was an easy catch.  Apparently she knocked the feed hopper out of it’s slot and squoze her giant body through that little gap.

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  • If you use a baby blanket pattern that calls for sport weight or baby weight yarn and substitute worsted weight yarn and use a larger hook you’ll end up with a blanket just the right size for a smiling 6 year old!  (The pattern is called “Snowflake.”  It’s a Texas blanket.  See all the holes?)

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6 Comments
23
Jun

Happy Little Helpers

   Posted by: MotherHen   in Chores, Homemaking, Homeschooling, Laundry, Sweet Sally Mae

On the way to church I was thinking to myself, “Self, you are overburdening the teens and the littles have been living the sweet life!  Do something, give this some thought!

In a conversation during Fellowship lunch my friend, KimC (Life in a Shoe) reminded me of some wisdom I had shared with her some time back.

Ready?

Here ya go!

Before you assign a task, ask yourself who is the youngest child who is capable of doing this task?

This can make a huge difference in everyone’s attitude!

The teens see that you are spreading the jobs around better.

The littles are so proud of their ability to assist the family!

The mama is happy to not hear the sighing of the olders and the whining of the youngers.

And you never know just how much help the little pokes can be until you let ‘em try.

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I didn’t even ask her to help, she begged!

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She can only reach the lowest row, and not easily.  She worked it out!

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Talk about taking pride in your work!

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I am so glad I made room at my clothesline for Sally Mae  today!  She turned a dull task into a joy!

Here’s your shortcut back to Works for me Wednesday.

4 Comments
13
Apr

Cooking is my Super-Power

   Posted by: MotherHen   in Belly Timber (food), Homemaking, Laundry

And maybe laundry, too.

That’s all I have done today.  Cookin’ and laundry.  And, boy am I a fluffy-baby!  I am wiped out which ain’t good bein’ as it’s only 11:30 A.M.

I ain’t got nuthin’ on Ma Ingalls.  Pioneer stock I ain’t.

And the truly embarrassing part is that I had help from children and modern appliances.  But I am exhausted none the less.

Maybe drinkin’ coffee and napping are my true super-powers.

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And check this out.  The pic of Tex taking a pic?  He is taking a photo of a shoe print.  Yup, 8 ft up on my den wall.  Who?  How?  Why?  When?  What in the world?

I’ll let ya know later or tomorrow how the solar cookers perform today.  The sky is clear as a bell and it’s very sunny today and supposed to be the same tomorrow.  I’m thinking Lentil Stew de Sol tomorrow.

7 Comments