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
Click HERE to read all the responses.
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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.
I've been married to this man for 15 years & he's still the coolest hubby in my book. My love for him grows stronger each year. He has to put up a lot with me. Trust me on this or just ask him. ;-) I've grown in to a better person because he's been beside me growing as well over the years. I'm truly blessed to be walking this life's road with such a godly man. (You can all say, "awww" now if you want. ::wink::)
It still seems like yesterday that this child was a little bundle of red bawling baby in my arms. I remember the days of first parenting wondering if I was doing it right, worried I was doing it oh so wrong, and being amazed at the wonder of him on a daily basis. Now I look this child in the eye because he's so very tall these days! I suppose with a dad who is six feet even & his mom who barely tops 5'2" it's a good thing he got his dad's height. He's only 12 & he only has about two inches left to grow before he can claim to be taller than me. That's why he's smiling in this photo you realize right? I do try to remind him on a daily basis that I can still take him down if need be. I know all the right tickle spots of course. ;-)
J is so the baby of the family. He will be silly to get attention. He will want to curl up in my lap (which isn't so easy anymore as he's getting so tall!). He has one of the best laughs I've ever heard in a child & believe me when I say we hear it often. In fact, we have been known to tickle him just to hear his laugh. We tell him if he didn't have such a great laugh, we wouldn't tickle him so much! He brings a lot of laughter & joy in to our family.
This is a great game to teach addition, subtraction, odd & even numbers, and counting. My boys love it. You can even play it with those just starting out if you allow them to use their fingers or some sort of counter. It's also a quick play so you won't be spending hours at the table.
