Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Tackle It Tuesday

Laundry is ALWAYS a tackle. I do not believe the sign though. There is experience needed! How many of you have a pet peeve concerning laundry? I do. I dislike the task immensely, but really have a problem when "people" put their clothes in the hamper, inside out (or half inside out) and leave their socks wadded in a ball. I have always trained my children to NOT do this. Some get it easily and others require more fastidious training. Sweetheart still leaves his socks wadded in a ball, but I say nothing. It is the least I can do. The kids however, need to contribute to the laundry detail by putting away their clean clothes and making sure the dirty ones are not inside out. Charlotte has struggled with this. New rule for Charlotte.... FOLD your dirty clothes before putting them in your hamper. This worked....so she was told she did not have to fold them, but to just make sure they are turned right side out. Backslide!!!!! Once again, immediately, all her clothes (and I mean ALL) are inside out. I did not do her laundry. She began to ask when I would get around to hers and I told her when they were not inside out I would do them. It took a while, but she worked on it last night and today is an "all Charlotte" laundry day! Even her bedding did not get washed for 2 weeks!! Today, Tuesday, is "change your sheets" day and Miss Charlotte has no clean bed sheets. Did she learn? We will see. When you dislike a household chore, it becomes something of an albatross. In my disdain for laundry, I end up having clothes in different stages of the laundry order. The proper order is to sort, wash, dry, fold, put away...all in that order, all in short time. I tend to leave a basket of clean folded laundry and think this is out of a "I'll show you" attitude. Who am I showing?? I don't know, it makes no sense. I do know I need to change my attitude regarding laundry! "...whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31
I bought a new scent of laundry soap and I actually think it helped. Geranium promotes a sense of well-being and sound mind. Zach's laundry is washed, dried, folded and ready to be put away. Doesn't he look thrilled at the prospect???That was yesterday. Zach and I had a day of mommy/son bonding. Charlotte spent the afternoon and evening at Grandma's and Kyle and Dad were at work. We played "Go Fish", "Uno" and then Zach said
"How bout we do a Tackle It Tuesday!?"
"What???!!!"
"Let's clean this house up and time it to see how long it takes us."
"Ok, Zach."
"But you need to take before and after pictures!"
Here is Zachary's Tackle It Tuesday....


BEFORE: SHOCKING, huh??? 15 minutes later here are the AFTER pics: Pretty great Tackle Zach! I gotta say, tackling with your kid is much more fun! Ohhh. I am suppose to share Zach's binder with you all. In his binder he has his television schedule...1 hour a day...1 hour at night...and the 2000 is the amount of money he wants to "earn" to buy a new computer! The kid has some goals! He will need to do alot of Tackles to earn that kind of money!
After a day like that, I spent the evening with my feet up and a cup of tea at hand. Thanks for coming to see our Tackle It Tuesday. For more tackles or to join in, visit 5 Minutes For Mom.

11 comments:

Fabricmom said...

Ok so I think I need to try that with my oldest son. He loves to leave his clothes inside out. It drives me mad. So usually I leave his clothes for last and wash them inside out and make him fold them.

Mountain Mama said...

What a sweetie! Love that Zach!! And a what a fun day for mom/son. Bren, you are doing a great job raising these little blessings that God has entrusted to you.
ashley

Patty said...

Its laundry day here too, out of necessity as I have been off to Ft worth with Melanie and the baby a few times since she has been out of the hospital.
Today I am 100% sure we have way too many pieces of clothing and am about to make a pledge to going back to plain dressing just so I have fewer pieces of clothing. So simple to have 7 dresses only. 5 for every day and 2 for church. Not even a full load of wash if I did every bit of clothing I had at one time.

Knit-Wit said...

I've instituted "Tuesday is Clean the House Day" in our home. We just agreed to host a Bible study every Tuesday night. What a great incentive to clean! So I had all the kids pick which section they wanted to clean and set the timer for 30 minutes (I took the kitchen - it's the hardest room). We all worked furiously. After 30 minutes there is still a bit left to do but we are taking a break and then will finish up our work. I love having teens around!

Lib said...

Hi Bren,
Can I borrow Zach:o) Great Job Zach!:o)
I don't mind doing laundry.I do laundry pretty much everyday, so guessing I just adjusted to doing it, use to it wasn't a favorite thing to do.
Keep up the Great work with the kids, sounds like you're doing it correct!:o) I'm proud of you:o)
Blessins',Lib

Kelley said...

Oh Bren I agree that laundry does require experience, it really does!
And having a wonderfully scented detergent does indeed help! { I just love Mrs. Meyers products~ Geranium and Lemon Verbena are my faves! Ü

Hoping that you are having a wonderful day!

Zachary is sure growing~ such a cutie!

Brenda@CoffeeTeaBooks said...

I need to finish the laundry here, too.

Oh, I know about boys and their goals. My eighteen year old son tells me he wants to own his own business someday. That is his big goal.

Instead of telling him how hard that will be, his Dad and I are encouraging him. I know God puts goals in our heart so he could very well be planting that seed right now.

Christopher built his own computer when he was sixteen! Your little guy is on the way. :)

Manuela@A Cultivated Nest said...

I love the Mrs. Meyers products they all smell so good. I don't like doing laundry very much. Actually it's the folding an putting away I don't like doing!

Manuela

Angela said...

Sounds like a memory making day. The best kind.

Sharon said...

Puzzled by your comments, I wash everything inside out as I find the fabrics don't wear so fast that way. Particularly if you line dry your clothes and bedding, less fading, I find.
I also iron on the wrong side to avoid making shiny marks on the fabrics!

Unknown said...

How great that Zach wanted to do tackle it jobs. I am sure you had a great time both of you.