Rebekah's Insights

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Given all the interesting little differences I am encountering in keeping our home here in this land that is new to me, I am considering beginning a separate category for posts entitled "Adventures in Home-Keeping." We'll see...maybe after the holidays. Anyway, my chosen topic THIS time is...

LAUNDRY!

In retrospect I SHOULD have been tipped off in my second week here when, while in temporary housing I needed to go to the laundromat to wash our clothing. You meet all kinds of interesting people at a laundromat and your life becomes interestingly entwined with them as you negotiate the use of multiple washers and dryers and wait and fold and visit with them. On this particular occasion I met a woman who has lived here for four or so years and she told me she brings all her laundry in to use the multiple washers (some with a larger capacity) and dryers every month or so in order to get caught up with laundry. I thought that odd at the time, but remember, I had only lived here for less than two weeks.

I have mentioned in a previous post about the capacity of our washer (a very typical British washer) being roughly the size of an extra-small to small load in a typical American washer. I have also mentioned that the dryer takes a very long time to dry. The first several months we lived here I JUST managed to keep up with the laundry by doing multiple loads every day. The problem is that that really means EVERY day and since it is hard to get those couple loads done on shopping day when I am gone most of the day or on a weekend when we go off to visit a sight or have friends over for a party--the laundry starts to get just a little bit behind. (You can typically attribute my ability to update you on the blog to the fact that I am waiting on going to bed most evenings in order to attend to that last load of laundry that must be done.)

Well, this brings us to two weeks ago when I was sick for six days and...that's right! No laundry got done! Let me just say that it made for an overwhelming back-up in the laundry department. I have been steadily working since then to catch-up on the laundry--while we steadily generate new laundry that then is backed-up! I have felt for the last week and a half like I am drowning in laundry! Now that the weather is sooo cold and our clothes are necessarily bulkier, I can only dry certain types of laundry in the dryer. This is because one of those tiny loads of clothing will now take six or more hours to dry in the dryer! No! I am NOT exaggerating at ALL! Needless to say, I am NOT going to dry ANYTHING FOR THAT LONG--imagine the electricity bills if I did! So I have gone the old-fashioned route and am hanging clothes everywhere and anywhere I can! I dry on two drying racks, guest room wardrobe, outsides of bedroom wardrobes, and radiators. This is very typical for around here from what everyone tells me.

In talking with other wives regarding this subject of laundry I have learned some interesting tips. I have also learned that it is the least favorite chore of most everyone I meet. We all lament how much extra ironing is required for these drip-dried clothes, but it is simply the way it is. I have even been told by a woman that has lived here for four years now that when they go on a vacation or trip home, they must budget for having the clothes washed at the laundromat when they arrive home because the time it would take to catch up on the laundry from a full week of being away, would never be made up since so much new laundry is generated while you get all that laundry done. My heart actually sank at this because it gave new rise to the fear that has been nagging at me for the past week or so...What if I have passed that point of no return where I CANNOT catch up on the laundry unless we go do it at a laundromat all day? Suddenly I remembered the woman at the laundromat my second week here! She was a working mother, so she could not keep up with laundry only being able to do it in the evenings and weekend.

So, my darling husband has suggested that we take the laundry to the laundromat next weekend to try to get ahead and if I cannot get to the bottom of it during this next week, that is exactly what I will do. Oh well, it all adds to the charm of living this new experience. :) I have been working REALLY hard at it and if I have done my math correctly, I THINK I can catch-up finally by early next week. But the price I have to pay is in lost sleep--that is why I am writing this post for you at midnight here! And hopefully no one else is the house gets sick and generates more laundry in the week than my calculations account for. :)

So now if I post next week, either that we are going to a laundromat or that I am doing the "happy Dance" because I got my laundry done--you will understand! I hope everyone else is having fun doing laundry this week! When we return to the States there is a great deal I will miss about living here, but I will be thankful everyday for a larger washer and I will NEVER again take for granted being able to catch up on laundry in one day! :)

Have a wonderful evening everyone!