Laundry Schmaundry - Sorting Out Secrets

Yesterday I revealed a dirty secret about myself.

I admitted to my faithful blog readers
I like doing laundry.

I came up with a cleverer (it's a fun word to say over and over)
 title for my blog when I posted it on Facebook,

but it was too late to change it.

Drats.  I am always clever too late.

Anyhoo, if I could, I would rename yesterday's blog

Laundry Drools, Hamper Rules.

Since you are now well-versed on putting laundry in the hamper,

 the second blog in my series
Laundry Schmaundry
reveals more dirty, dark secrets.

Er, make that

darks, reds, lights,

towels and whites

secrets.

Yep, ya' guessed right.

Momma Mindy's Sorting Secrets

I know yer' already thinkin',

"What's so hard about sorting laundry?"

I'm thinking as long as I still find pink things that used to be white

and nubby clothes at the thrift stores,

not everyone in the world knows how to sort laundry.

To keep your dirty laundry from getting dirtier by being stepped on
or being worn again by someone passing through the laundry room,
I recommend sorting bins.

It looks neater and is more efficient. 
You'll always know which load needs to be done.

 Mount Washmore won't be looming
as if the Cascade Mountains grew another peak overnight.

A friend uses a row of laundry hampers under a long counter.
I used to use kitchen garbage cans under a red chrome table.
A tension rod and curtain hid my dirty laundry.

When the hamper upstairs is full, I bring it downstairs and sort it.

Monday is normally my only laundry day,

but when I was doing laundry for all six kids,

one day a week wasn't enough.

I still started on Monday,

but then watched the sorting baskets.

When one basket got full, it got washed.

Sorting Rules:

1. Stains are sprayed before tossed into bin.  Gives

Spray-N-Wash a little extra time to work.

2.  Things in pockets are put

 in their laundry basket or a tin cup, unless it's money.

I keep all money.

It's never enough,

but the thought of having a few pennies and nickels to call mine

can offer a special incentive to doing laundry.

I nag ask the kids to check pockets,
but since their failure could mean ruined clothes,
I don't skip this step.

3. Damp items are hung on the edge of the baskets

to dry and prevent mildew.

4. Towels are  washed only with towels.

Jeans are the only exception, because they're the only fabric

that doesn't get nubby from tossing around the dryer with towels.

5. Whites are only with whites so they stay white.

One red sock can turn an ENTIRE basket of whites pink.

Personal experience will validate that.

6.  Reds are always washed alone.

I include their pink cousins, nothing else.

7.  Darks have their own basket because I normally

wash them in cold to maintain their color. 
Unless it's a load of a teenage boy's

dirty black socks, t-shirts and hoodies,

they get warm water and maybe a longer cycle.

8.  Lights usually show more dirt and don't leech color,
 so are washed in warm water.

9.  Sorting isn't just for color, but fabric weight. 

Once they're separated into their own baskets,

I might sort again as I'm filling the washer.

I don't wash heavy jeans and sweatshirts with lighter items,

because they take so long in the dryer and 

the lighter items will be overdried.

The Lord uses the sorting process, too.

He separates like a farmer separates

 wheat from the chaff or

the sheep from the goats.

He even sorts by color,

those dark with sin go in one pile and those

washed white in the blood of Jesus in another.

Psalm 51:2

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,

And cleanse me from my sin.

The good news?

You can always be moved from the dark pile to the light pile.

Psalm 51:7

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.



He can wash away sin and make me
whiter than any of those stinky socks I try to bleach.

That's one little secret,
I can't keep to myself.