Samwise Gamgee -Lord of the Rings
That's why laundry piles up in the corner and realization strikes only when one is short of the smalls. This I know is a universal fact and those that enjoy doing the laundry are an aberration in this sane world.
My world is that sane world in which laundry is done not according to days or sunshine, but when I have the time or the inclination or when people cant find socks.
For people ,read hubby dear.
I'd rather go sock less than waste my time doing laundry.
Until sweet child grew up to be taller than me.
The thing about most teens is that they constantly hungry.
So we arrived at sort of a trade off.
Sorting out the laundry is one big job that he positively refused to do. No way was he willing to sort through smelly sweaty stuff (- face it Jalandhar was pretty humid... and now Mumbai is going to be the same story), to dump into the washing machine .
The only way out was like an assembly line production, only backwards.
Three laundry baskets were bought with different color coding. A pretty beige for the whites and school shirts and handkerchiefs was to be done every other day.
A chocolate brown basket for denims, towels and linen that was to be done alternately to the whites was the most fun. The least amount of clothes per wash load meaning the least amount of effort needed to load the machine.
A red basket for the colored clothes and those that needed special attention-this was to be left for me to be tackled over the weekend.
Better things to do than load a washing machine
It started out with a lot of sensitization and emotional black mail. And with a lot of moaning and groaning the entire exercise was commenced.Explaining to sweet child how it would make him more independent if he learned how to do the laundry was fraught with road blocks.
The first argument was "I'm a boy. Men don't wash clothes. They make machines. "
And then ,"I have to study .... I have homework ..etc."
I have been trying to cull the MCP bit in the bud , but it was obvious that I had failed.
Reluctant helper measures out detergent
I had to resort to letting him fend for himself in maths and avoid picking him up and driving him for his tuition's... because women should not be driving too right???As the son of a working mother ,he was made to realize the constraints of my energy levels and how a little assistance to my tired fingers could bring many smiles to my sagging spirits.
A couple of cakelessdays of Maggi and tasteless cold coffee as snacks had him toeing the line.
The best was a little speech from hubby dear on how he needs to be a man and stand up for the fairer sex.
Now ,I know that sweet child will not balk if he is asked to make tea or serve guests...
I also know that as a conscientious human being he will freely #ShareTheLoad .
My son aces the #WashTheBucket challenge every time he loads the washing machine. I can rest easy that the clothes will come out clean because a washing powder like Ariel WashMatic will bring out clean clothes smelling fresh from each wash load.
A little help drying the clothes and a happy household results.
I am aware that this #WashTheBucket challenge will ensure that he doesn't have to depend on anyone to do his laundry. And whem the time comes ,a happy girl will be thanking me for the trouble I took to do this.
Finally Driving the message home -Loud and Clear
We took the #WashTheBucket challenge at home. I'm glad, to be bringing up a balanced teenager who sees no ego clashes in loading and unloading the washing machine. All he needs is a scoop of Ariel WashMatic, and perfectly washed clothes prove his prowess with Machines.
Every time.