When my five children were growing up, laundry was a never-ending chore. I did at least two loads of wash every day. And whenever a child grew tall enough to reach the bottom of the washing machine, I initiated him/her into the workings of the laundry room and assigned a day of the week for said child to launder his/her own clothes.

Shortly after I returned to teaching, Greg retired. Our children were mostly out on their own, and I was only doing laundry for the two of us. But it really annoyed me if, after a long day of teaching, he’d ask me to find a particular item of his clothing. Usually, it was in the washing machine waiting to be put in the dryer—which was full of dry clothes waiting to be put away.

Suddenly, it occurred to me—he was home all day with nothing in particular to do.

I bought him his own clothes hamper and told him his clothes were now his responsibility.

Not long after I retired, Greg’s strength and balance and mobility waned, and his clothing was once again my responsibility, but without the stress and obligations of a full-time teaching job, laundry became less of a burden and a little bit of a—dare I say it?—a joy.

I have a lot of nice clothes. Most of them date back to when I was teaching (I retired eleven years ago, so they’re not very new or trendy), but they’re still in good condition. In the interest of keeping my closet from being overstuffed, I used to give away 10% of my clothes to Goodwill every year, but then I discovered what happens to clothing given to thrift stores.

I thought I was being virtuous, giving away clothing I really liked. I think the answer is to give clothing directly to people you know need them and want to wear them; that or simply not buy so many clothes for myself. I now only buy a few items a year, as things wear out.

As I sort or fold or hang laundry, I am reminded of the circumstances for which I bought the clothes: a flag t-shirt from Old Navy to wear for a patriotic program at school; a dress for a wedding; something red to wear at church on Reformation Sunday. Good times.

Or I just enjoy the colors. At one time, almost everything I owned was black, because if something was available in twelve colors and I tried every one on, the black one always looked the best on me. One day someone commented that I always wear black, and I realized I needed to put a little color into my wardrobe. I love blue, every shade from navy to royal to turquoise. Back in the 1980s, I had my “season” done. It turns out I’m a “winter.” I should wear black, red (though I look best in burgundy), and jewel tones. I don’t look good in yellow or orange or pastels, so I avoid those, though I looked fine in them when I was young (and weighed about 50 pounds less).

Now it’s your turn. How do you feel about doing the laundry? Do you have a Mount Washmore threatening to take over your home? Do you have to drive everything to the laundromat and spend your day off there? Do you use solar power (maybe an outdoor clothesline) to dry your clothes? (Been there, done that. In Arizona, by the time you hang out all the sheets, the first ones you hung are already dry, so you take them all down again. And they smell so good!) Do you use the dissolvable detergent sheets instead of jug detergent? (Are they good?) Do you iron? (Not if I can get away without it!) Share your thoughts in the comments below.