Blog is moving!

I have moved this blog over to my new website. You can reach it by clicking on the link to This Lovely Place in the sidebar. I've already posted Part 3 of Extreme Laundry if you want to take a look.

Since it was so short-lived I will delete it in a few weeks but I wanted to give you a heads up if you're a reader! I really appreciate your interest in our family and home life. I think the new format will work out much better in the long run. See you there!

Extreme Laundry, Part 2

Before I describe our long-standing laundry system, let me tell the tale of life before it.  When my 4th child was born we also had a 1yo, 2yo and 3yo, and someone came to help after the birth. This person worked all day, washing, drying, folding and putting away clothes, and they finished the job with relief and satisfaction.  I didn't have the heart to tell them there was a playpen full of dirty clothes in the closet.  The quantity just multiplied from there.  I remember huge piles of dirty clothes and a couch full of clean unfolded laundry which got wrinkled and dirty from children sitting on it.  True story, folks.

Then we moved from a spacious house to an extremely small one.  I knew I had to get control of the laundry situation.  So I bought lots of laundry baskets and put one (or two, depending on number of occupants) in each bedroom.  The laundry room closet also had one or two for household laundry such as kitchen towels and blankets.  Laundry baskets went into closets and dirty clothes went into baskets if I was lucky.  This cut way down on sorting little almost-the-same-size underwear and socks.  At the time I washed the whole basket together--whites, colored--with few ill effects.  Children who were old enough brought and put away their own basket.

This system has remained virtually unchanged for many years now, with the exception of refinements like specific laundry days for children and different-colored towels for each child.   

The reason this system works is that laundry does not STAY on the couch--it gets folded and put away as we go, or at least within a few hours.

Extreme Sports, I mean Laundry--Part 1

Any mother of a family, and especially a large economy-size family, knows that laundry is an area of home management that can make or break the deal.  It has a way of multiplying when we're not looking, sort of like the 9 baby bunnies we discovered in our rabbit's cage a few weeks ago.  Don't ask. 

First order of business is to make sure that drawers and closets contain only clothing that you actually wear.  That sounds silly, but have you ever opened your child's drawer and discovered that they did, in fact, have nothing to wear, but the drawer contains clothes?

The seasonal clothing switch is a good time to cull out outgrown, stained or un-favorite clothes.  Set a limit on how many clothes each person keeps.  Besides church clothes, a laundry basket full is our limit.

Also set up an ongoing thrift store bag/box for clothing in good condition.  Otherwise *gasp* throw the stuff away.  Clip and save buttons if it makes you feel better.  I only donate nice clothing to the thrift store, and I only buy nice clothing at the thrift store. 

Life is too short to dress ugly, even "at home," so sort and simplify but don't wear anything you don't like.  If you're going to have to wash clothes, make them clothes you love.

Balancing the Plates

I'm talking about the ones spinning in the air.  You know--the Laundry Plate, the Homeschooling Plate, the Wife Plate, the Mother Plate, the Meals Plate, and the list goes on.  Occasionally one slips and crashes to the floor, but some glue and a flick of the wrist soon gets it back in the atmosphere.  By glue I mean realization that something is out of balance and then thought and insight to bring it back in balance.  By flick of the wrist I mean actually doing something about it, like cutting back on commitments or seeing a 10yo with new eyes of compassion. 

In the coming posts I'll share some systems that work for us in balancing these areas of life.  There's nothing new under the sun, but hearing how others "just do it" can be helpful.  My maxims will be "Less is More," "A Place for Everything," and "Good is Good Enough."  That said, there are probably other blogs that expound on "Ironing Sheets," "Making Your Own Bread," and "Sewing All of Your Family's Clothes."  I have ironed (but never a sheet), I have made bread a few times, and I am actually a very good seamstress, but these activities are unfortunately not what you can anticipate from future posts.  I'm not opposed to frozen pizza and it's been years since our laundry baskets were completely empty, but we've managed to function with a fair amount of efficiency and order over the years, so I'll go with reality and truth over making me look good. :-)

Celebrating a Birthday

We have lots of birthdays at our house, but believe it or not, there are some months with none.  April is a light month with only one, and this year it happens to be a daughter who is turning 12.  *sigh*  I won't go in to the bittersweet thoughts of a mother who is watching a little girl grow up before her very eyes.

The day will begin with the birthday cereal chosen by the lucky birthday-ee.  Yes, I know that junk cereal is a poor choice for a healthy breakfast but it's a cheap thrill and a tradition.  Usually it is something sugar-laden like Marshmallow Mateys or Cap'n Crunch.  Then it's time to open a number of presents, the more the better.  Lest you think we are spoiling the child, let me hasten to add that most of these presents are things like a candy bar or a bottle of Fiji water.  One year a small sibling wrapped up a used pencil to give a teenager.  Pennies are popular with the preschoolers, too. 

Sometimes we go around and tell something we love about the birthday child.  Meanwhile, everyone waits for the right moment to attack with a good-natured free-for-all and "pinch to grow an inch."

This particular birthday will involve a little party in the afternoon with some sweet little girl friends, two brown-haired sisters who make a matched set with our two blonde sisters.  The theme is currently being kept secret from the Chosen One, but since she doesn't read this blog I'll let you in on it:  Picnic with Bugs.  They will play outside and make little houses in the grass for their Pet Shop animals, hold the new baby bunnies, do a craft project making bugs out of "Bendaroos" and eat pretzels (sticks), pudding (mud), crushed Oreos (dirt), and pond slime (some sort of juice). The decor will be a red checked tablecloth strewn with plastic bugs from Dollar Tree. 

The day will end with pizza and a family movie chosen by the birthday girl.  I think she'll like it.  I hope it makes her feel loved, because she is.

Here We Go Again

Mommy Blog Attempt #2.  I had a short-lived blog experiment called "Cheaper by the Dozen" for a little while, but the name bothered me.  Truth is, it's really not cheaper to have a dozen children (surprise!).  And my children do NOT like the modern version of the movies by the same name which portray large family life as wild chaos and constant disasters.  Yes, we've had our share of chaos and disasters but not on the same day and certainly not involving food fights.  Well, at least not involving anyone over the age of 8 months.

I'll be sharing my thoughts about homeschooling, home management and lessons learned along the way of 30 years of marriage and 28 years of motherhood, 23 of those years homeschooling (so far).  We will soon graduate our 6th student, marking the halfway point, so I'm feeling a little nostalgic (and relieved).