The Pile

I have a secret. I don't fold and put away my laundry on a regular basis, or a weekly basis, or a monthly basis. Bi-monthly – maybe. We generate a ton of laundry and I just can't keep up with it. The actual washing of the laundry is not a problem for me and I actually do this in a fairly timely manner. I put a load in before I go to work, I move it to the dryer and when I get home I move it from the dryer to a clean area on the rug outside of the laundry room. I don't even put it in a laundry basket. The laundry baskets are reserved for dirty clothes in my house. Ideally, I could keep them in the laundry room but realistically the space isn't big enough and the floors are not clean enough. So they live on a clean area of the carpet, hidden away behind the stairs in a huge pile.

I used to feel guilt about my sad laundry pile, like it was saying something about my mental state. That I was overwhelmed, that it represented the pieces of my life I neglect. I have gone through the stages of grief with my laundry pile. I have been in denial about it. Hiding it out of sight, trying to forget it even exists. Telling myself that it is normal to have 20 pounds of laundry sitting randomly in the hallway. Then I felt guilt about it. If I was a better wife and mother I would make more on an effort to get the laundry folded and put it away. I would make my kids do it. Sometimes I would feel anger about it. Why do we have to wear clothes ANYWAY? We have been to space and no one has invented viable disposable clothing? Why doesn't my husband do it....oh wait – he works 60 hours a week. Then came the sadness – the realization that unless I hire someone to come fold and put away my laundry that the pile will continue to live in my hallway. * Sigh *

I have now accepted my laundry pile. I know it's here to stay for at least the next 5 years. If the kids need underwear, I tell them to check the pile. They dig right in. It's like a hide and seek game. Clean towels in the house? I don't know, check the pile. I would rather spend my time playing a game with the kids, or eating icecream or , you know, sleeping.