Me Mondays...Sponsored by Laundry Merchandising

I spent money on a new hamper at Beall's last week. I didn't super-duper need one, but it was a moment of, "it's on sale".  Also, the "common basket" in the laundry room, the hamper that I use as a catch-all for kitchen linens and stray kids' clothes that get strewn throughout the house, is old and has many of its woven parts sticking out at odd angles. I get clothes caught on the stray ends, and the cloth lining is so ripped that I often loose clothes in the bottom of it. I was just hanging onto it because I never made a priority of replacing it. When I saw the on sale hamper at Beall's I couldn't leave it there.

Back at home, my teeny-tiny laundry room  is separated from view by a lime green shower curtain. On the floor in front of the washer is a lime green bathmat.  Both are accessories from our old house that we didn't have places for after our move. They really brighten up an otherwise miniscule and boring space. Add to them the festiveness of the new hamper, and doing laundry is almost an enjoyable hobby.

 I have been a long-time subscriber to the idea of owning my laundry experience, and pretty much all housework, but laundry is my favorite, so that's what I want to share ideas about. Some people fight it. Some people run from it. The fact is (and I have said this before) "Every article of clothing you buy, you have to wash. Unless you are one of the fortunate people who has help with doing the laundry, you get to do laundry for your entire adult life. So why not make the day-to-day responsibility of laundry a super-awesome experience?"


By Super-Awesome Experience, I mean this:

*Keep your clothing stash under control. DON'T make a habit of impulse buying. Keep a wardrobe that works for you. Wear only stuff that flatters you. Don't be a clothes hog, you'll have too much to manage.

*Organize your closet/dresser in a way that you like it. Your dressing space should be your favorite boutique to go shopping in. Arrange clothes so that they appeal to you somehow; by size, or color, or style, etc. Have adequate lighting in that space. And most importantly: Love your clothes enough to put the away.

*Make your wear-to-wash experience desirable. Buy hangers your want to hang your clothes on (I have a collection of puffy, satin hangers that I acquired from garage sales and other places. Corey has exclusively wooden hangers; one style for shirts, one style for pants. The kids each have hangers that are small for kids' clothes and they are in their favorite colors. Get hampers for your room that are to your liking so that you want to use them. Keep enough laundry baskets that you can gather (and store if necessary after drying) everyone's clothes. Make your laundry space a space that you don't mind spending time in. Color counts. Adding a simple rug (or bathmat in my case) can draw your eye to the color, and make you actually want to be in the laundry space.

*Don't be afraid to ask for help or to delegate parts of the laundry experience. Let's face it, no matter how much you might enjoy matching up your kids' tops and bottoms, there comes a point when you hit a wall. Even getting a break once in a while by having someone else fold/sort/put away clothes can give you enough of a breather to get back into the laundry game with gusto.

*Setting the mood is also a really helpful housework element. Whether  you're folding and sorting, tidying up, doing dishes or sweeping floors, music (and a glass of wine if you're into that) can go a long way for turning mundane tasks into something you enjoy doing. (I like to pull up the Songza app on my laptop.)

These are the gloves I bought in Flagstaff a few weeks ago with
Fun Dollars, next to a glass of Nobilo I bought this pay cycle.

So, after a productive Monday morning doing laundry with my new laundry basket, I had time to take off and enjoy what I call "Me Monday". Monday is the only day in my week when both kids are in school and I do not work. I usually do some bit of housework, and then do something for myself. This Monday, I headed to Cottonwood to hang out with my hairdresser, Candy. We always talk about hanging out whenever I go to the salon, but we never get around to actually meeting up. So Monday was our first time to get together outside the salon.

We scouted out tattoo parlors for her to get her next creation, then we went out to lunch. She had another of her friends along for the ride, who was also in the market for a tattoo. (After our hang out time, they both went back to the place they deemed worthy to ink them up.)

We all had lunch at the Red Rooster Café in Old Town Cottonwood. Red Rooster has become my go-to eatery when I am in Cottonwood. This time, I had their soup of the day, Creamy Garlic. It was basically cream, butter and roasted garlic blended up. It was so delicious, I could have consumed a gallon of it! I also split a BLT Croissant with Candy.

I was able to enjoy my time out with the girls because I knew I would come home to a manageable house, and that even though it's my "day off" I wasn't completely consumed by my housework. My house might not look perfectly tidy, but I have taken the steps I necessary to make things manageable.

With color, organization, and motivation, I don't feel like the housework has power over me, rather I keep it in check and under control using those tools. I hope this helps some of you who might other wise scowl at housework. Remember to set time aside for yourself too, and carve out your own version of Me Mondays. Knowing I have real time off is really the thing that keeps me going when the dishes are piled high, or the laundry baskets overflow. I know there will be time for me to forget it all, and do whatever I want to do.

Hamper at Beall's- $16.00
Noblio Sauvignon Blanc at Basha's- $10.00
Lunch at Red Rooster with Candy (Hairdresser at Salon Virtu)- $10.00
PTA pizza slices after school with Carrick- $4.00
Emergency charger cord at Circle K and a bag of chips- $7.00
Balance this pay cycle- $10.00 (I am saving this for a future purchase.)
Happy Spending!