Wednesday, October 5, 2011

things my mother did not teach me

i went to pick abbey up from my parents place on monday and stayed the night. while there i began to realize just how many things i do differently than my mother around the house. maybe it's a personality thing, maybe it's generational or maybe i'm just lazy :)


  • i do not separate laundry. this came up when my mom was folding laundry and made sure to reassure me that she did in fact wash the underwear and the towels she was folding in 2 separate loads. you know, so i wouldn't freak out over the thought of the two mixing in the wash. um, i don't separate underwear and bath towels. in fact, the only sorting of laundry i do at all is to ensure that clothing and underwear are not mixed with any kitchen towels. occasionally if i am washing a bright colored item for the first time i will be careful with what i throw in along with it.
  • i stack towels on the floor while i fold them. evidently this is quite controversial. i don't have a laundry room or any other place to stack clothes while folding. plus, i like to use it as down time to watch t.v....so the floor works. 
  • i use sponges and not dishrags to clean dishes. i know, sponges trap germs but dishrags get gross so fast. i can't be washing 4 loads of dish towels a week-especially when each load cost $2.50. i microwave the sponges and switch them out often. nonetheless, i know this fact makes my mother cringe.
  • 99% of the time i vacuum my hard surface floors instead of sweeping them.  it's just easier.
  • there is no such thing as non-dishwasher safe kitchenware. now, if we are to ever obtain kitchenware of any real value i am sure i will change this. right now, everything we have is super cheap and i can't say i'm too worried about the damage my dishwasher may be doing to it.
  • i put almost all my "dry clean/hand wash" only clothes in the washing machine. does this really need an explanation? 
  • i make my bed about 3x a week not everyday.  this has definitely been one of things that has come as a result of having a child. i used to make my bed every morning. it only takes a couple of minutes after all. now, i typically don't wake up until i absolutely have to and have just enough time to visit the bathroom and brush my teeth before going to rescue abbey from her room.  
so there it is. my confession of laziness. feel free to bring your disinfectant and clean towels when you come to visit if it makes you feel better :)

anyone else feel like sharing their non-mom approved habits?

4 comments:

gm said...

i think all of your methods and changes are definitely well thought out and reduce un-needed tedium and obsessiveness over things that are proven to not matter. dishrags are MUCH dirtier than a microwaved sponge(this method is used extensively in microbiology), underwear and towels are exactly the same material, they're just labeled differently in some peoples heads...yet if you think about it they both touch the same parts. dishwashers aren't really dangerous to dishes anyways they just spray warm water around. it's just rough on expensive crystal that shouldn't be owned anyways.

:)

Carey said...

haha..i love this post. very creative. i kind of roll my sheets together and stuff them in the closet. i have a friend who IRONS them and folds them perfectly to fit into a pillow case. i have better things to do with my time.

Anonymous said...

During the 12 week period this summer that I lived with mom&dad again to complete my internship, I realized that there are so many things that I did not pick up from mom. In fact I do things way more like dad does them, lol. I am with ya on everything but the bed making. Although I didn't start making my bed everyday until this August. Kinda interesting how much we are like mom but then how much we are not like her at all. lol. It is even funnier how much Robert Kyle is like mom more than either of us are.

Leah said...

I love this! I am definitely more like you in the home ec. dept.