The Laundry is Done!

This week has been a big "catch up the house" week for me. Although I am not completely caught up, I don't seem buried by the mess anymore. I finally have all of the laundry washed. Some of it still needs to be put away, and lots of it need to be ironed - but at least it is washed!

In the winter, it is a lot harder for me to keep up with the laundry. I try to hang as much as I can, putting as little as I can through the dryer. Every time I take clothes out of the dryer I pull out a huge wad of lint, and I start to wonder how much faster things that are machine dried wear out than things that are hung up to dry.

Not only do I avoid machine drying clothes for wear and tear, but also for the cost of running the dryer. That may seem a little silly since we live in a parsonage and the utilities are paid by the church, but I feel that it is a good habit for me to get into for when we have a house of our own. Plus, if I don't want to spend my money on it, why should I make the church?

All of this is to say that it takes me longer to do laundry in the winter because I don't have enough drying space to keep up with the washer.

With spring approaching, I start to get excited about being able to dry my clothes outside again. One of the biggest reasons is that I can get through laundry faster but also because I ABSOLUTELY love the smell of clothes when they have been dried outside. There is an extra clean smell about them that makes me want to just bury my face in them and breathe in deeply.

This week while I was doing laundry and getting the house back in order, I also did some much need vacuuming. I seem to get a sore throat from the dust and allergens being stirred up when I vacuum, so this time I opened the windows while the vacuum was running. When I was done, I noticed something strange in the air that I just couldn't put my finger on. Finally, I figured it out. I was smelling laundry that had been dried outside! Actually, I was just smelling fresh air. It was wonderful! Right then and there I decided that I needed to air out some of this stale winter house air more often. Now if only I can remember to open those windows.


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