Things I love...

I've been thinking about a couple of different posts for this blog, and I decided to combine them into one post. These two things, are things that I love. A mamas' job is hard! I find that these things make my job a little bit easier. Who doesn't love that?!

First, I'm going to talk about the dirty laundry. It's the job that never ends. After Wyatt, my third child, was born, I needed to find a new system for my laundry. I was buried in laundry. It never seemed to be done. I always had a pile that needed washing or putting away. It was like unfinished homework from my school days, just hanging over me.

My OLD system... I had 3 laundry baskets in my closet. One for WHITES one for DARKS and one for COLORS. When a basket got full, I washed it. But, the problem was that they all seemed to get full about the same time. So, I would have a laundry "day". I say "day", because there wasn't enough time to wash all of my laundry in one day. So then, the "full" loads would become extra full! And by the time that I got it all put away, it would be time for more. It was frustrating and it made me feel bad about myself. The clothes hardly ever were put away and my family was always having to dig through baskets of clean laundry to find that shirt or dress or sock that they wanted. UGH. This was not how I wanted to live.

Enter NEW system... My sister-in-law recommended this product.... The SHOUT Color Catcher...

Let me just tell you that this is an awesome product. It has helped me achieve my clean clothes put away - laundry done goal! No more waiting for enough clean clothes to make a load. This is how it works... I don't sort the laundry anymore. I only have 1 laundry basket for the dirty clothes. Every morning, after the kids are dressed I gather up all of the dirty clothes and put them in the washer TOGETHER. It doesn't matter what color they are. I can wash whites with reds with jeans, etc. IT DOESN'T MATTER! As long as I put one of these little sheets in the washer with my clothes, they all come out perfect. After I get home from the morning activity, I move my load to the dryer and then I put it away by the afternoon. Everyone can get 1 load of laundry done in a day. And putting away 1 basket of clothes isn't a big deal. I still have a "laundry day" when I wash sheets and towels, etc. But the clothes are clean and they are put away. I consider it a small victory every day and it makes me feel good.

My next thing that I love is my NO SOLICITING sign I have in my entry way. When I started staying home after my first child was born, I was so surprised at the number of visitors I had during the day. A few times a week there would be an unexpected knock at my door. Sometimes selling magazines or car service plans or tree service or landscape or maid service. You name it. I have to just go ahead and tell you... I'm a sucker. It doesn't take a very skilled sales person to sell me something. If they are polite and respectful, then I'm pretty much going to buy it. It's really kinda embarrassing.

While, it is a problem for me to be buying things we don't need... that's not the bigger issue. First, I really don't like to be interrupted at home. Maybe I was nursing my baby. Or, maybe one of my kids are napping. Or I could be on the phone, or napping myself. Whatever the case, I don't like to be interrupted, I don't like strangers at my door, I don't like my dog barking. These unexpected visitors are not welcome.

Then, there's the other problem. Some of these "sales people" are not the kind of people that I want to know that I am home with small children. It makes me feel vulnerable. I think you probably know the kind. They usually have bad manners. Maybe they stand too close to the door and make me uncomfortable. Maybe they make a comment that isn't expected or welcome. Once, I opened the door to a magazine sales person that was standing extremely close to my door, and he said "Wow, you have pretty eyes". UGH. I shut the door immediately and ordered my NO SOLICITING sign that day.

It works! I no longer have these interruptions. I feel less vulnerable and I am not wasting our money on things we don't need. Just last week, there was an email on my neighborhood listserve warning against some undesirables that were going door to door that day. It ended with somebody calling the police and an arrest being made. I was so happy I had my NO SOLICITING sign up. Nobody knocked on my door that day.