Laundry and dishes are two areas of my life where I've never felt in control.
Growing up, my mama had 8 kids and homeschooled all of them in a tiny ranch house while my dad did whatever he could to bring money in. The overflowing plate meant that chores were prioritized. Laundry was mostly summed up as The Laundry Pile Downstairs. There was the clean clothes pile next to the dryer, and the dirty clothes in front of the washer. Both piles heaped high. If you wanted something, you had to dig for it-- usually in both piles.
Nowadays my parents are in a way, way better situation, and have long since got a handle on their household and teenagers who happily help out when asked. However, Eric and I bought my childhood home, and I've found it a struggle not to fall into the same patterns I grew up with. It's easy to just leave the clothes by the washer for later, or in the hallway to put down the chute later, or do the dishes tomorrow... I've got a real problem with procrastination. Particularly when it comes to dishes and laundry.
Eric is very much a Let's Do It Now Why Put It Off? kinda guy, but he works 40+ hours a week. So when I have the option of washing lunch's dishes or redditing for hours, it's up to me to put my big girl pants on and do the responsible adult thing. With the birth of Izzy last year, several job/life changes, and rounding out the year with several major illnesses (I got to spend the week of Christmas vomiting profusely and ended up in Urgent Care for dehydration. yay.), it's been tough. But you know what?
I've kept a clean sink every night for over one month.
Scrape the food off, pre-rinse it with a soapy sponge, stick it in the dishwasher and turn that on and get kids ready for bed. This is finally part of my daily routine! I even remember to wipe off the stove and countertops and table afterwards! \o/
Now it's time to face the other challenge.
It's helped a lot that my younger sister B has moved in with us, and she is incredibly industrious and put together. I've been good at keeping up with the dirty laundry (thank god we cloth diaper and my husband has a work uniform-- those are always cleaned and I might as well do the other clothes while I'm down there), but we have 12-13 loads next to the dryer and that is not an exaggeration. That also doesn't include all the blankets and comforters and curtains and pillows and sheets mixed in there. And stuffed animals. Sooooo many stuffed animals.
I moved some furniture around and now have a 3x3 cubby-shelf for the boys clothes in our room. Not in their room-- already tried that and refolded things 1000000 times. :| I've also cleaned out two full dressers for grown up clothing. So far I've found 3 basketfuls of kids' clothing, and folded and put it away. It was pulled down once, then I locked our bedroom door. Next I need to do some adult clothes, because I have to really dig for kids' clothing, and find somewhere to put the extra bedding.
Eric is at work for the next six hours. My sink is clean. I have a bra and Real Clothes on (not just a t shirt and pajama pants). Let's do this.