Chinese Laundry

Last week, while Brad was out of town, the kids and I painted the laundry room. All by ourselves.  Big accomplishment, people. 

The color is "Haystack" by Martha Stewart and isn't it cheerful?  I love it.  Originally I wanted blue, but I decided doing laundry makes me blue enough.  I need sunshine while I sort.

Anyway, while I painted I listened to this...

Such a fascinating memoir.  Chua is a Chinese-American mom who has chosen to raise her daughters in the Chinese tradition.  As a result they are straight-A students who play concertos at Carnegie Hall.  The author is honest and some of her confessions are shocking. 

Listening, I felt like a really great mom.  Except for the chapters that made me feel like a really lazy American mom.  I think this will be my bookclub pick, a real conversation-starter.

Which reminds me, this month our bookclub read Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford.  Coincidentally, also a novel about a Chinese-American family.  This one is set in Seattle during WWII.  A sweet love story with a happy ending!  I liked it.

And now, back to the laundry room...

(If you look close you'll see Jake's snow clothes.  He and Brad went sledding in the mountains today with the church youth.  Also notice Em's swimsuit.  She and the twins stayed here and swam in the hot tub, then ran around in flip flops.  How fabulous is January in the Valley of the Sun?  Please remind me in July.)

November Cleanse and List Day

November 1 was official Cleanse and List Day around here. I feel so much better. Some serious pumpkin-pitching, one manic trip to the carwash, a fast-acting Fiber One bar for breakfast and I am a whole new woman.

I also got my new yellow legal pad (mini-size) ready for the annual Christmas list.

Now I know there is certainly some higher-tech way I should be organizing my Christmas plans. I know there probably is some foolproof holiday app right at my fingertips. But, quite frankly, I enjoy keeping the holiday a pen-and-paper kind of operation, okay?

Besides, my kids will definitely find the list if it's hidden on the iPhone. But if it is out in plain sight, on the kitchen counter, on the same kind of paper that I use for the Saturday chore lists, they will avoid it like a green vegetable.

I have saved my Christmas legal pads for years all wrapped up in rubber bands. I think it's fun to go back and read what I gave everybody in 2008 (Phillies' World Series sweatshirts) and what the kids wanted when they were really little. (2010 will be the first Christmas in years with no Thomas trains under the tree. Sniff.)

At the back of my little trusty legal pads, I also write a post-holiday review and helpful hints to remember next year. Order more cards! Send packages before Thanksgiving! Neighbor cookie party= big hit! Reading notes from my former festive self actually energizes me and gets me right back in the holiday spirit.

Last year I wrote: Keep It Simple! No Homemade Anything!

Now, I am NOT trying to rush the Christmas season. I honestly became nauseous last week in Hobby Lobby's pine and tinsel aisle. (Seriously, how can anyone stomach Silver Bells and cinnamon pine cones when it is 89 degrees?)

However turning 40 has led me down a path of increased self-awareness and I DO know myself pretty well after all these years. I know that I am an early bird....I get my best day's work done before noon, I get my best holiday cheer on before Thanksgiving. The longer I leave tasks undone, even fun yuletide tasks, the less likely I am to ever get them finished.

So today, I struck while the iron (and desert sun) were hot. I ordered a few gifts online. I planned a few holiday surprises. I threw out the Jack-o-lanterns. I walked off a couple Hershey miniatures. It felt good.

Holiday madness? Bring it on. My legal pad and I are ready.

For now anyway.

My Take

On exercise at age 40:

I am DONE with exercise I do not enjoy. Life is too short to spend any more time with you, Mr. Stairmaster. Same to you Dr. Elliptical. We are through.

Because what's the point of exercising for longevity if you keep looking at the Minutes Remaining and wishing you could die?

Hello, Zumba. Hello, Body Pump. Hello, Spin. Hello, Early Morning Walks in the Gorgeous Desert Sunshine. You make me happy.

On having all four kids in school all day:

I will not lie. I have mixed feelings. Some days I love it and feel like I'm getting away with something almost criminal. The mall? By myself? And I don't have to bribe anyone with a free balloon or an extra spin on the escalator? Other days I miss having little buddies around. I miss being needed in that non-stop little kid way.

People, of course, have asked, But what do you do all day? Well. Same things I used to do all day: Clean the kitchen. Go to the gym. Grocery shop. Pile after pile of dirty laundry. Errands and phone calls. Help at school. The difference now is I get to listen to whatever I want in the car and I have no excuse to stop for an ice cream cone.

Together time.(Nimmy...this living room shot is for YOU. Don't worry, I got new lamps.)

The downside of having everyone gone at once, is that everyone is home at once. There is no one-on-one (or two-on-one, in our case) time together and I DO miss that. Everyone is home and at their hungriest and neediest. And, of course, I am usually hungry and needy too.

My kids still need me. Just in a different way. It's just gonna take some getting used to.

On living in Arizona at this historic moment in time:

I feel like I should have a stronger opinion. But, the truth is, I can really see a lot of different sides to the issue. My goal is to get more educated.

In the short time we've lived here, though, I have found the population to be very friendly and welcoming. There are all shades and varieties of people coexisting nicely and acting like grown-ups. That seems like a good sign.

On settling into a new house:

We have cleared away most of the moving-in mess. Which is good. Because now we have all of the regular everyday living-in mess. And I can only handle so much mess.

Moving into a new place means re-evaluating every "system" in your life and re-ordering each one. The laundry system. Where will the dirty clothes go? What's the best place for the dryer sheets? The homework system. How many private study places do we need? Where are they? Why do the kids need to sharpen brand new pencils down to nothing? I find it enjoyable and exhausting.

Here is one of our study areas. In its former life, it was a family room wet-bar. But I learned in our old house that I don't like "wet" and "family" in the same room, if you know what I mean. So the sink is out. New countertops, drawers and pencils are in. A+ for Effort, right?!

The thing about this house is that it is going to take some living-in to get really comfortable. New sheets, new jeans, new houses may look great right out of the package, but to feel great, they need a little wear. (Remind me of this fact after someone lets a pen leak on the new slipcovers or the carpet meets a root beer float, ok?)

On Axe deodorant and shampoo:

I am glad products exist that make my eleven-year-old excited about personal hygiene. I like the instructions on the bottle that say Wash. Attract. Repeat. Along with a cartoon picture of a guy meeting a girl.

However, all four men in the household have been using Axe for a week now and, to date, no women have been attracted. As far as I can tell.

I'm Making Plans and I Need Your Help

Although we're still in the throes of home improvement (Oh, the joys of sharing a bathroom with four children!) and weeks away from listing our house, Brad is visiting our soon-to-be-hometown this weekend and is going to start making the rounds with a realtor.

We've been surfing the net and looking at homes for sale. It's heady stuff. Pebbled swimming pools, custom media rooms, five-car garages, backyard putting greens. Everything looks so shiny and new. Of course, our eyes are bigger than our checkbook, but, still, it's fun to dream.

Over the years we've lived in nine different places. Basement apartments, third floor apartments, rentals, new construction, orange carpet, blue showers, crazy neighbors and amazing friends.

Each home has taught me something and I find that, this go-round, I have refined my priorities in home selection.

For example, front entrance versus back entrance. The first thing I fell for in our current house was the beautiful two-story entry with sweeping circular staircase and hardwood floors. Gorgeous. Somehow I pictured myself wearing evening gowns and making a lot of dramatic entrances.

Well. Reality is this: spectacular staircase+forty pound basket of dirty laundry=dramatic language not dramatic entrances. And, as beautiful as the front hall is, I NEVER WALK IN THE FRONT DOOR.

I wish I had paid a little more attention to the back door and the potential tight squeeze of carrying groceries/kids/drycleaning through a mightytight garage and mudroom space.

These days I am much more interested in the size of the laundry room sink than the size of the master bathroom Jacuzzi. We all know where moms really spend their soaking time, am I right?


So, this is where I need your help. What suggestions do you have? I am interested to hear what you all love about your houses, hate about your houses or wish you had known sooner. Do you love the central vac system? Wish you had more storage? Have a favorite home convenience that has dramatically improved your quality of life? Do tell.

I'll forward the list to Brad and he can pick a dream house for all of us.

Laundry List

Today is laundry day. After an amazing three-day weekend (to be detailed soon...mark your calendars), it is time to reign in the freedom. Time to go back on the diet, back to the budget (I'm trying, Hun!) and, most of all, back to the washingboard.

After years of laundry loathing, I have finally made peace with the spin cycle. I've learned to love the April freshness of Downy mixed with the pungent tang of Clorox. I love the warmth and softness of a crisp, clean batch of cotton sheets. Give me a basket of folded towels instead of a Picasso anyday. A load of well-done laundry is a true work of art.

First off, let me clarify that I do NOT have a dream laundry room. Far from it. If my laundry room were a state it would be Rhode Island. Clearly, the only Ultra Tide the man (because obviously it was a man) who designed this house knew about was the kind that rippled onto the shore of his Cape May beachfront property. Still, I have learned that you don't need a fully-loaded laundromat establishment to enjoy cleaning your linens. All you need is a good system.

Here are a few tricks that really knock my socks off. (And leave them gleaming white and static-free...)

• Laundry hampers. In every room where clothes are stored, removed or changed. I have them in every bedroom and bathroom. Some larger rooms have more than one.
• Regularly scheduled wash day. I only wash twice a week. Period. Usually Tuesdays and Fridays. It works best if you are at-home most of the day. (Or have a helpful home-officed husband who doesn't mind shifting the loads, in a pinch.) Promise yourself that you will get all the laundry in and out within a 12-hour period. It takes discipline...but there is nothing more depressing than seeing yesterday's whites still molding away in the washer as you are digging through piles of clean, but rumpled, permanent press searching for the soccer uniform.
• Individualized laundry baskets. Each kid has their own labeled clean-clothes basket. (Note: these are not the same as the laundry hampers...those are stationary, because there is always more laundry.) Depending on their age, at the end of laundry day, the kids will have either a pile of clean clothes to fold or pre-folded clothes to put away in drawers and closets. (Word to the wise: I don't advise looking in drawers too often. It can cause stomach upset.)
• Fold as you go. This doesn't work for everybody, but I've found that if I drag all the clean laundry into the family room and fold while watching Oprah or other educational programming, it takes a whole lot longer to finish. Plus, I am annoyed if my kids trip over my work. Time yourself. Folding even the biggest load only takes about twelve minutes. Just pull it out of the dryer and deal with it while it's warm and sweet. Less wrinkles, too.
• Bright whites. Sort and wash whites first while there is still plenty of hot water. For best results, rinse the load first with cold water. Tip learned from appliance guy: If you have an high-efficiency washer, it may fill with water before the water gets really hot. Before starting the hot cycle, run the faucet in your washtub or closest powder room to get the heat in the pipes.
• Sock basket. My laundry room is also the mudroom. The kids keep their shoes in there. So it makes sense to keep a big basket of clean white socks handy. I don't even match them. It has streamlined our daily out-the-door routine...and every second counts.
• Baking soda. Gets the stink out towels and socks. Can be used instead of bleach to brighten whites. Used as a paste will clean out a dirty washing machine. Cheap trick.
• Finally...buy cute clothes. When apparel shopping, don't just look at cost and fit. When buying any top or bottom, ask yourself, Will I still love this after I've pre-treated, sorted and folded it 50 times? If the answer is no, put it back on the rack.

What's on your laundry list?