Laundry Freak!

While doing laundry today, I realized how my control issues extend to even the most mundane of chores. (I say mundane but I actually enjoy doing laundry...) Anyone who knows me really well will certainly not be surprised by this confession but even I realize how ridiculous it sounds when I say it out loud. Even more so when I give my boyfriend the side eye when he announces he might do laundry; it's enough to send me into a lecture about not wanting him to mess up my "system".

Really? Does anyone else have a "system" for washing clothes? And friends of mine who've borrowed clothes will verify that I am clear that they don't need to wash anything before it's returned to me. I would much prefer to do it myself. Hello, control freak!

It probably takes me much longer to wash clothes than it should because I sort them into more than just your average one or two light and dark piles. I have a dark pile of clothes/towels for the dryer, a light pile for the dryer, a pile of whites for bleaching and drying, a pile of black clothes that get washed on the delicate cycle and dried on the line, a pile of colors that get washed on delicate and dried on the line... I think you get the picture. There are times when I might have 10 loads of laundry simply because I am insane about not only what color pile they should be in but also what type of actual washing or drying they need.

The majority of our clothes don't even make it in the dryer since, in my my mind, hanging them up to dry or using the drying rack helps to keep their shape and color longer. And don't even get me started about how I feel when friends tell me they just throw their bras in the dryer. Such blasphemy of clothing care!

It should also come as no surprise that I have very specific thoughts about detergent and fabric softener. When it comes to laundry scents, I am mostly a fragrance free kind of a gal, especially for fabric softener. I don't know about you but I hate the weird, chemical smell that companies try and pass of as Mountain Fresh, Garden Dreams, or other such nonsense. I also hate when clothes, especially towels, are overly soft and almost rubbery because of the overuse of fabric softener. I usually stick to the liquid kind so I can control how much I use.

When it comes to other types of detergents, I never go without adding OxyClean to clothes that seem especially grungy. Even if it doesn't do anything, it makes feel like it does. And when it comes to washing clothes designated as "delicates", I have been known to use all three kinds of Woolite as needed: regular, for dark clothes, and for colors.

I could go on but won't since I've already confessed too much as it is... Does all of this slight madness actually make our clothes cleaner and help them stay nice longer? Maybe not, but in my mind it does, which makes my own little piece of the world seem better. Order out of chaos and all of that kind of philosophical pondering.

And now, it's time head back down to the basement to begin load #4... It's going to be a long day.