The other morning, I got up early to write. I wanted to write about what I've learned as I've focused myself on keeping house since the beginning of the year. I typed the title, then opened a tab to my friend Elizabeth's blog because she has been my partner and encourager in much of this process. I immediately began to chuckle. She had already posted that morning and the title of that post was "On Being Intentional." The title I had typed into my post: "On Being Intentional". It seems to me this really is the heart of the matter. For so long I've wanted to get it together in the area of housekeeping but for some reason I expected it would just happen because I earnestly desired it, and when it didn't, I was disgusted, guilty, and disappointed. When so many of us began this year thinking about decluttering and creating solid routines in our home, I began to realize that the desire to have a clean home needs to translate into action. And that the action needs to be well-thought and INTENTIONAL.
I promised Elizabeth I would still share my thoughts on this, then decided maybe I would write about specific areas of housekeeping and how I've learned to be more intentional in those areas. Laundry has long been my worst stumbling block as a housekeeper. I'm telling you it has stymied me since my earliest days as a wife. I was forever drowning in laundry, even when my family was much smaller than it is now. And the laundry I did get done was a desperate attempt not to fail completely at it.
When we lived in missions and hand-washing and line-drying were the order of the day (don't be too impressed, I had help most of the time), I was amazed at how methodical the women around me were about laundry. They knew well that they had to have washed in the early morning hours before the sun rose completely so that by sunrise those clothes would be on the line to dry and could be taken in before the afternoon's rains began. And they did it--everyday. The same two work shirts for their husbands, two school uniforms, a skirt and shirt for themselves, and two towels, faithfully scrubbed and hung in a repetitive, thoughtful cycle of duty and service.
And still I didn't get it. I would stand amazed that their laundry was dry while mine was still wet, that theirs smelled wonderful blowing in the breeze while mine did not. I simply could not wrap my brain around laundry--even when I had a washer and dryer to make it easier. But a determination came over me earlier this year. I knew for certain this was an area in my life where sheer ineptitude had given way to laziness and sloth. I was despairing about laundry! Something had to change. I had to change.
The first step in the process was actually two-fold: being intentional about what we had and why we had it and "just doing it" (Thank you for the swift kick in the pants, Danielle.) I made some decisions about what clothing and linens we would keep and began a major paring down. And I gathered all the dirty laundry in the house and started to do it. One load at a time, no turning back, no getting overwhelmed and giving up.
As each load came out of the dryer, I evaluated the items in it. If they fit into the list of items we were keeping, I folded them and put them away. If not, I added them to the donation bag. While clothes were cycling through the washer and dryer, I decluttered closets, drawers, and clothing in storage. Suddenly, the laundry beast was domesticated! He still needs daily tending to, but he no longer lurks in the dark corners of my home growling at me and threatening to devour me. The smaller the beast, the easier he is to tame, right?
I have discovered something about being intentional as I have worked through this process. Order and intention are close friends; they go everywhere together. If I do something to get a bit of order in my home, I'm then able to be more intentional about that task. When I am more intentional, there is more order. That was definitely the case with laundry. As I got intentional about what we had, I was able to better evaluate the process in my home and come up with solutions to things that were constantly stalling me and leaving the laundry beast wild and untamed.
One major laundry problem lay in the fact that in my home there is no separate laundry room, the washer and dryer are in a closet in the kitchen. It actually is quite nice as it keeps me ever mindful of the loads in process. But it is difficult not to have anywhere to put baskets that need folding and putting away, and I often end up folding in the evenings and putting away first thing in the morning. I needed a solution to laundry baskets on kitchen tables and counter tops being moved to the floor and then turned over and unfolded before they got put away. Luckily, my toy decluttering efforts left me with a great solution. This doll house was a $15 Goodwill buy that we bought for additional toy storage in the playroom. However, it wasn't needed after we limited toy quantity.
I brought it downstairs to the little ones' room and created a basket for each room of the house. The bottom shelf (which you can't see in the photo) provides shoe storage and a space for the "sports basket"--all items for the current sports season are circulated in and out of this basket. I fold on the bed and immediately place items in the appropriate basket. Upstairs baskets get put away at bedtime and returned to their spot. Downstairs baskets get put away in the mornings after the first load enters the washer.
With these systems and solutions in place, I soon found I was able to do more than wrap my brain around laundry, I was able to actually give it some thought and when I did, I found that the laundry beast soon became a pet. It requires daily care and maintenance, but it's a rather pleasant and satisfying relationship. The woman who used to gather up armloads of random laundry from the floor and throw it in the washer and forget it now irons, intentionally, twice a week! And I feel so much better. It's as though I've finally found the courage to shine a light on the monster in my closet that left me with a knot in my stomach each night and found that it's just a sweet little kitten after all!
And the lesson of being intentional is bubbling over and taming so many other housekeeping beasts for me. The work is still work, but the satisfaction of a job done (and sometimes even a job well done) is so worth it. And now I get to focus on all the little details that make me happy, like airing the comforters in the sun and spraying them with lavender scented spray while the sheets washing every week and turning all the towels and sheets the same way so they look pretty in the linen closet. I asked for a clothesline for my birthdy next week! And I think I finally understand those lovely women I watched with awe in missions--the satisfaction of a job completed intentionally in a humble spirit of service and laced with a hint of feminine beauty is simply lovely!