THEME
This question was posted at a Large Family Homeschooling fourm, and I thought it would be fun as one of the memoirs.
Question: Watching the Duggars, and other mega families [our family of 11 is small in comparison!] I was astounded at how many loads of washing. Do all large families do 7 loads a day and more, as I was thinking it sounds a little OTT?
So share all about your laundry. It’s on very rare occasion that it’s suitable to air dirty laundry. lol
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I know we don't qualify as a "large" family in most homeschooling circles. There are only five of us total. But did I mention four of them are of the male variety? Of course, I do remember generating a lot of laundry growing up so maybe it's just now that I am responsible for doing the laundry it just feels like they all generate more than I do! ;-)
Around here I do the majority of the laundry - as in 98% of it. Occasionally my oldest son will do his own but that lost it's fun-factor not to long ago. I could easily do one load a day, but did I mention I really (and I mean really!!!) dislike the folding & putting away of laundry? Especially the "putting away" part. Yes, I know, I need to train my children - we're getting there.
So - laundry days around here are on Monday, Wednesday & Fridays - for the most part. I do the most on Monday - usually 3-4 loads. It all depends on what went on over the weekend & if any major room cleaning was made to happen to the boys. ;-) On Wednesday & Friday I usually do two loads.
Overall not a ton compared to many larger families.
I remember growing up in what many would consider a large family. There are five children. I have no idea how many loads of laundry my mom did every day but I do know she did it every day. My job was to hang it up, take it in, & pile it on the stairs for everyone to put away.
However, in the winter...we didn't have a dryer. My mom had a large drying rack - a really BIG one. She would do a load or two a day. She was great at rotating it around to dry. Plus shirts & such were hung on hangers & hung up in the bathroom to dry. I grew up in an old farmhouse that had large heat grates in the floor. The rack went over one & the clothes were hung over another.
In fact, let me link you to my brother's blog. He just posted a neat list of our home & where we great up. Although, I should say he is eight years older than I am & joined the military when I was in fourth grade. A lot of his memories are not mine simply because the dynamics of our family changed by the time they got to me - the fourth child out of five. It's still neat though & I do remember some of it.
I do remember my mom doing laundry in the older wringer washer. I remember canning & the gardens - lots of big gardens! I remember having animals. I remember not having running hot water in the summer months until I was almost to high school. We had a large water tank hooked to the back of the kitchen wood stove. If the stove was going, we had running hot water. If it wasn't, we didn't. I remember the joy of getting an oil furnace so we could have hot water all year round! LOL I also remember my big brother teaching me to ice-skate on the beaver bog. I remember the joy of growing up on a big farm in a big family.
Your brother's blog post was interesting - wow, you guys lived like Amish! My grandfather had a 100+ year old family farm up in Wassergas, Pa which is near the famous Allentown(Billy Joel song). I miss it a lot, but it was "finished" inside and out by the time I was born. There was a pond where we could go ice skating and water came from the spring. I even used the out house a few times, although they had indoor plumbing. It was sold out of the family when my granddad got a little senile, so I'm sure it has changed now.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I do the same thing with the laundry - I dry it inside on three racks in front of the fireplace. Tonight it was kind of hot for the fireplace, so I set it under a ceiling fan. I do a load a day.
My son puts his own stuff away. I separate it in my room, and then just toss it into his room. He folds it(sorta) and puts it away. We don't really fold much here. :0
I do the same with my husband - he has his own way of organizing his stuff, and it has no rhyme or reason, so he likes to put his own stuff away. I just heap it in front of his closet. His closet is quite scary; I keep it closed! If I organize it, it just goes right back(giggle).
So why do we hate the folding part?? I enjoyed reading about your laundry experience growing up!
ReplyDeleteLately, I have gotten over the h"ating" on folding. Maybe because I am down to less laundry and I only put mine and dh's away. (kids do their own) I try to make sure now that all laundry gets put away immediately after folding. It wasn't always like that, though!LOL
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