Laundry

May 25, 2010

I love Italian laundry. Sheets and socks fluttering in the wind trigger some sort of internal switch and I feel compelled to pull out my camera. There's something so nostalgic about it...the balconies, the sun dried clothing, the little old ladies who slip out of view when they see me or those who stop and wave. By the time we leave, I am sure I will have thousands of images of Sicilian underwear. I am not sure what I will do with all of those pictures, but I just can't seem to stop myself. That doesn't sound quite right does it? A compulsive need to photograph other people's underwear...but it really does look so charming and sweet flapping against stucco and stone.

And yet, when it comes to dealing with the laundry in my own house the nostalgia quickly fades. It is my most dreaded domestic chore. I can weed all day. In fact, I like weeding. Dishes: I enjoy doing those, especially now that I have easy access to NPR and This American Life on my I-touch. Sweeping: I kind of like the hypnotic swishing and the satisfaction of getting rid of little piles of dirt. Cooking: not always my favorite thing to do, but I go through phases of true enjoyment and I do like the thrill of finding a recipe that is a keeper.

But laundry feels like never ending torture, a domestic state of purgatory. I don't mind folding, but I have some strange aversion to putting away the clothes and that always has disastrous results. I know that some people pine for a personal chef or daily housekeeper. I yearn for someone to just come and put away my laundry each day. I'll happily wash it, dry it, and fold it, but I hate putting it away. I am not sure what's wrong with me but there is some block there.

I recently dove into Karen Maezen Miller's new book, Hand Wash Cold. I foolishly read it with a craving for a quick transformation. I wanted something to click in my brain, an instant mental re-frame that would suddenly make doing the laundry as appealing as photographing it seems to be for me. But that didn't happen. That's exactly the opposite of her message. Her message is similar to Thich Nhat Hanh's message about doing dishes. Slow down, be in the moment, appreciate the daily tasks and see them in the larger context of fully living your life, your current life. Not the life you imagine having or the life you left behind in another chapter. It was stupid of me to expect to find a quick fix. But I am feeling desperate lately. Wanting, needing to make a change.

I am letting Maezen-Miller's words seep and soak in my thoughts, but I am still itching for some concrete suggestions. So now I am here. Asking you for help. How do you do your laundry? How do you get it put away and keep doing it every day without smothering under the piles, the monotony, and the repetition of it all? I am hoping that when we leave Italy in a few years I will not only leave with loads of laundry photos, but perhaps I will also leave with a better idea of how to do laundry. Laundry--- free of my current dread and resentment.
boatbaby said...

How funny! Laundry is the one household chore I love doing. It always has a positive end result, there is a definite beginning and end. And nice smelling clothes and sheets and towels are a fabulous pay off. Cooking is what I dread. And cleaning too, but mostly cooking. This is why we need a village eh? I love your photos though and understand the need to take those shots.
And you are not alone... look!

http://gardenmama.typepad.com/my_weblog/2010/05/cindy-shared-this-gorgeous-and-colorful-photo-with-me-for-todays-wash-wednesday-postin-cindys-wordshere-is-one-from-hawa.html
and
http://gardenmama.typepad.com/my_weblog/2010/05/my-entry-2.html
and
http://www.soulemama.com/soulemama/2010/05/on-the-laundry-line.html

Cami said...

Yes! I can wash and fold (although, the folding adds up now that I don't have a TV handy to the laundry--I have to listen to books on the ipod, which is not always easy to pry from other hands). But putting away is ridiculous. People are always getting their clothes out of folded piles. And I'll tell you what--when folded clothes get UNfolded, I almost lose it. I HATE that. PUtting it away would solve that problem, but do I do it? NO.

Anonymous said...

Apparently Randy nor I like putting laundry away. It sits in piles and we seem to live out of the piles. (I was going to say while 'drawers sit empty waiting for us to fill them" but that didn't sound quite right)

I feel your pain.

Jan

M said...

Good Lord, I HATE doing laundry! I think it's just the whole Sisyphean nature of it...wash, dry, fold, wash, dry, fold, wash, dry, fold. And then, three days after you finish, there it is again, waiting for you to start all over again. I have no idea what to suggest, but if you come up with something good, PLEASE let me know!!
M :)

shelly said...

I have to admit that having Sugako in Okinawa definitely spoiled me! Ahh, to have such perfectly folded clothes magically ready to go...but I did follow her cleaning schedule once back in the states. I only do laundry once a week, so at least I don't have to be in constant motion of folding and putting away all the time, I get it over with. Just need to make sure Fred has lots of socks to last the week! :-)

Dana said...

I HATE every single moment of it. Unwisely, I leave it as a weekend chore, letting it pile up all week long. HOWEVER, I do find a ounce of satisfaction in hanging it out in the sun in the warmer month. Secret -- I hate the smell and feel of sun-dried laundry, though. It's all so complicated. I'm ready to have a service do it for me.

Michaela said...

I really hated doing the laundry when I had no children (what I despised most was ironing!), but my attitude changed with all the little baby clothes. I could have folded and unfolded them all day! Now that the children are growing older and bigger it is not so charming than it was before, but I still am addicted to childrens clothes, so washing and folding and putting it away is still my favorite domestic work.
And I love the italian way of drying laundry outside especially when it is done with some kind of pulley system!

Theresa said...

I love Italian laundry too

likeschocolate said...

We are a family of 5 and I do two loads a day. I do the first load as soon as we wake up-colors when the children take off their pjs. Then I leave the house usually for the gym. When I get home I put that load in the dryer and start the whites. Now that my children are 11,8, and 3 I have learned to allow them to put away their stuff. I manage to fold it all by the time the children get home from school and as they walk in the door I hand them their laundry to put away. I will come do your laundry and you can come sweep the floors. I dislike this chore very much.

Juniper said...

Oh I can relate! Although mopping is my real dreaded cleaning chore. I have recently found that with music on and putting away little bits as I go, that the task gets done faster and with less slow tidiness.... I fold clothes in our bedroom and the kids usually are running around my heels as I go in and out of the rooms and closets. My favourite is as you said listening to podcasts as I go (especially when I am alone).
You may like BBC Global News, PRI short stories, the Moth, oh and the last Thursday show on NPR fresh air was so good on so many levels.., if you get the time give it a listen. Perhaps you heard it already. Its about Home Boy industries in LA. getting gang members off the streets.

Amanda said...

Oh..I hate it too. For me the answer is to do it every weekday...weekends off...at the same time of day. This way I have only one load to put away each day. I do mine in the morning so I don't have to think about it all the live-long day. Like ripping off a band-aid...get it over with fast!

Gemelli in Sicilia said...

I truly am completely inept at the laundry thing too but...Lucia, I know someone over there that is oh so good at it. Her name is Santa and she babysits in the neighborhood. When she would come to my house and take care of the boys, I would operate the machines and hand her a basket of clothes. You have never seen such folding! Then she would separate and put the boys clothes in their room and Dave's in a pile and mine in a pile. I wanted to move her back simply for this reason alone. Also, I have been thinking of her often right now as I am rereading Bitter Almonds. Santa too grew up in a convent...

LindyLouMac said...

Love or hate, for me laundry is one one the better household chores.

Sue said...

Rainy season is almost upon us here in Japan, and I dread even thinking about the laundry hanging all over the house!

I'll tell you my secret for putting away laundry. I can't believe no one else mentioned it. I haven't put away any clothes other than my own, and maybe occasionally some towels, in a long time. Why? I trained my kids to do it! Washing and hanging is my job, folding and putting away is theirs. Start that training now!

Kellie said...

Love the thoughts about making routines mindful. It is still a goal of mine and occasionally I succeed. Enjoy the beautiful images of laundry though-you can send them to me anytime-so evocative and lovely! Here is a link to an excellent knitting podcast with a laundry theme. You might get a kick out some of the history, and it will be an hour of listening time while you work. :o)
http://www.cast-on.com/?p=2432
The link to the actual podcast is at the end of the blog post.

katy said...

Funny, I'm a horrible housekeeper but laundry is a chore that I truly enjoy. Even more so when I can hang laundry out. I know you love the outdoors. Is it possible for you to hang a clothes line? This is one of the pleasures of my life (that sounds pathetic, doesn't it. But, I know you know what I mean)

annie said...

Yeah, the clean laundry pretty much just sits in various baskets around the house and then we get dressed out of those all week long. Until we reach a point where I really, really need to use one of the baskets at which point I dump all the laundry out onto our bed and then yell at everyone to come and get their own stuff and put it somewhere else. Awesome system, huh? I suppose it could use a little refinement :)

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