Yes Let’s Talk Dirty Laundry

I don’t want to talk about laundry.

Laundry never goes away as a chore. I can ignore it for only so long before something is needed that is in the laundry, something smells and needs to be washed, or it piles up and is an eyesore to walk past. No, I don’t want to talk about this never ending chore.

The clothes we wear every day are our protection from our environment providing us with modesty, keeping us warm or cool and shielding us from the weather. Clothes can make us feel good, comfort us and give us confidence. Well worn or pristine, some clothes trigger memories of special days, fun times of adventures that are recalled in photos or within our closet where they hang. We have favorite clothing and not so favorite pieces. We have things that are too big, too small or just right and we have things we grab regularly for comfort, style or purpose. All of it eventually lands in the laundry.

What makes laundry interesting is seeing the little socks, sometimes matching, sometimes not. The little shirts and pants and pjs. It’s amazing how many of those little clothes can quickly fill a washer! You see recurring items that are favorites that you know they will not fit in for long. You see basics like bibs, onesies and training underwear. You see stains from fun at the playground or an afternoon painting on a rainy day. What I see when I wash my son’s clothes is the progression of growth as his little onesies have turned into favorite t-shirts that have characters and sports on them. I see the changes in little socks becoming bigger in size and more often than not missing a mate.

What we do with our clothes in the laundry impacts how they feel against our skin, what they and then us smell like and together that influences our health, spirit and mind as we wear them. If our clothes smell look, feel and smell good we are likely to also feel good. As much as I don’t enjoy doing the laundry I realize the attention to this process impacts everyone in my home, including me. That’s why while I don’t want to talk about dirty clothes it’s important to do so and check how that is going.