We saw our mothers and grandmothers do it, all the household staff who worked for my family did it as well, so it was but natural that when I began running my own household I did laundry on Saturdays, and if need be on Sundays. This, I realised, was a huge mistake. Not only does it ruin the weekend completely, but it also transforms what is supposed to be a day of enjoyment, socialisation and rest, into imprisoning housework. The fact of having to get up on Saturdays to do laundry then run out for shopping and errands just compounds everything and stressed me out completely.
I have a small apartment, and am claustrophobic, so to have my limited space reduced even further by laundry when I need it the most, agitates me. The building rules stipulate no hanging the laundry out on the balcony, so that means setting up the clothes rack in the conservatory, living room or bedroom. These are three places where I find my peace and quiet, and certainly don’t need any intruders. The experiment began a few months ago when I opted to do my laundry first thing in the morning as soon as my feet hit the ground This way the load is ready before I leave for work and then I don’t mind where the rack stands the entire day. When I return in the evenings, I simply fold it away and have my precious space back. Yes, it is more stress during the week, but that is a small price to pay for peace and quiet during the weekend.
Sitting around the house with the laundry displayed is very distressing. There is no laundry room in the building basement to use, and if there would be one, I don’t fancy lugging my laundry down there either for everyone to see. It has happened to me before already, I hung my clothes in the laundry room (while living in another building) and completely forgot about them, remembering only a week later, and by then it was time to do them all over again.
When I first moved into my apartment, one of the first things I wanted to buy was a clothes dryer. Then I realised that I don’t need one for a single person household, plus the cost of electricity for that one appliance is just outrageous. How do I manage in winter? My bathroom is equipped with the newer vertical rack heaters, perfect for towels and drying off when you get out of the shower, so if I hang my laundry on the shower curtain rod, there is more than enough heat emanating from the heater to dry the laundry.
Saturday mornings are private time. I meditate over and with my plants, have quality time with my three ladies, and basically recover from the week that was. Laundry is banned on weekends!
FrogDiva Thoughts 