Showing posts with label Laundry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Laundry. Show all posts

Friday, May 30, 2014

Between the Sheets

Each Friday all the bedding is pulled off the bed, sheets are changed, the bed later remade. It's a ritual replayed in probably every home everywhere on whatever day they choose. There's something wonderful about climbing into a bed with clean sheets. The smell, the feeling of them -- it's like being held. Inviting. Recently, on a Friday evening we climbed into bed and mouse sighed, that contented happy sigh and felt embraced in lavender. It's a rinse we use only for bedding. Sir didn't notice anything -- not even that the sheets were different. How could he miss the smell? He took the default man or maybe husband position that he thought it was mouse.

We have another ritual at bedtime. Sir will toss all the pillows off the bed and onto the floor thst mouse painstakingly arranges each morning, with some satisfaction. Sometimes he'll muse about the connection between women and pillows.

The compliment isn't a serious one, since he doesn't really care what the bed looks like, so long as its made and not covered in flowers. He despises bedding with weeds covering it. To be honest though, between clean sheets and pillows mouse wouid take the feeling of clean sheets. So much so she's often considered washing them more often than once a week. But really it isn't practical. The only time however mouse will put off the ritual changing of sheets is when he's traveling. Often then mouse will put it off as long as she can stand the thought. It's like when she'll wear a shirt he's worn recently to bed, it smells like him. If he's gone for a few days, she will wait to put on clean sheets when she knows he's around thirty minutes from home!

Well we never suggested mouse wasn't quirky.

 

Friday, September 27, 2013

Being Particular

As most who have read our main blog The Power Exchange are aware, Omega enjoys a tidy home -- not really immaculate, but clutter free. Most Fridays mouse cleans for Shabbat. Certain things must be done before sundown. When the days become shorter, the cleaning chores are spread out over two days. Omega now prepares the daily list of what's to be accomplished each day, so when he handed Friday's list over to mouse, there was an error.

It's ok you can gasp.

Omega likes his things neatly arranged, just so. Socks for example are arranged by style, then by color, light to dark. Gym and weekend socks are stored in a completely different drawer. Clothing is arranged the same way. Style and color. It's an easy system, once mouse became used to it.

For Shabbat, clothes must laundered, errands run, towels washed, table cloth changed and washed, bedding, sheets, pillow cases must be changed and laundered. That's just bedrooms. Bathrooms, kitchen must be cleaned, the home dusted....

Yes, mouse becomes exhausted thinking about it.

But...

It's also nice to have a clean home for the weekend.

Omega understands all too well, how difficult it can be to get everything accomplished with limited sunlight on Fridays. Candlelighting is in about an hour (don't worry mouse is finished). This all brings mouse to today's list and specifically what was missing from it.

Omega left no time for ironing!

See, while he's particular, so is mouse and hates wrinkled sheet cuffs.

Actually wrote a little about ironing here before.

It's the sheets that take a while for mouse to get just right, then they're folded and put away for the next week. Why didn't he know? How could he not know?

Well, it seems mouse didn't tell him.

We have two comforters for the bed. One is a Spring/Summer ensemble, with coordinating sheets and towels and the other is more for Fall/Winter. Here comes the quirkiness. When mouse pulled out the comforter in the Spring and packed away the Winter one, she noticed how shabby it had become. It was stained in one area (fruit juice thanks to the kids) and torn a little. The sheets too were looking faded and tired. It should be noted each bedding ensemble has two sets of sheets.

The intent wss to replace it. Just mouse never got around io it, as Springtime faded into Summer, the priory shifted. We went to the lake and mouse really forgot all about it. Since mouse usually makes the switch when the weather becomes cooler, in early October, Omega just said to forget it for now and we'll worry about next spring. The sheets were ironed in the beginning, but then mouse just didn't see the point. Omega didn't bother the housekeeper he hired to clean once a week while mouse was away to do it.

Next week, mouse will be switching the bedding, so this week became more about prep. The sheets that were on the bed weren't laundered, just switched with the clean spring set, and tossed out. But the other sheets that have been put away for half a year, must be cleaned, folded and ironed.

So what did leave off the list?

The ironing of the other sheets.

He had to fiddle and juggle mouse's schedule a little, because it takes time. But it's done and they look and smell great! Yes, today mouse is very tired but next week will be better! Having that part done also helps mouse to find the joy in next week!

 

Sunday, March 31, 2013

Ironing

It's not something people like to do, and truthfully it's not something mouse ever enjoyed. Yet now, it's a metaphors for life, the act of smoothing the wrinkles. Making something look crisp or pretty. Now, before anyone emails Daddy suggesting mouse needs a serious intervention...Irs really not a Stepford Wife thing or why mouse finds enjoyable. It's more about clean corners and crisp lines that appeal so to mouse. And just so you know, not everything is ironed. Most things are hung up as soon as the dryer is finished or folded and put away. But there are some things that routinely no matter how quickly she pulls from the dryer they're already wrinkled. Sheets come to mind -- for some reason they always wrinkle at the cuffed part at the top. The sides and corners do as well, but mouse doesn't care much about that.

So mouse irons them. Not the whole sheet, just the cuff parts and pillowcases. Yes, it's cheating. But it requires mouse to remain mindful of her task. Maybe that's what's so appealing? The act of focus is practiced and observed in the task.

Regardless of why it's something mouse actually enjoys.

Laundry, overall, just isn't. Need to figure out a way to feel joyful while doing that...baby steps, mouse...baby steps.