I have found out a secret! And I am going to disclose it to all the mother's in my life ~
If you want your children to do their own laundry -- get them their own washer and dryer!
Really, I'm not kidding! It has worked like a charm~ When Uncle Ryan moved out of the basement last month, he left his washer and dryer for us. Josh and Ethan have promptly taken it over, and with GREAT results. I went to the store and purchased just the right smelling laundry soap and dryer sheets (good times having your boys sniff every product down the aisle!). And now they are on their own. I have not had to remind them about doing their laundry, to take it out of the dryer, put it away, etc. It's a dream!
Except that in a way, it's not a dream. It's just one more reminder that my boys want independence and self-sufficiency. I'm slowly being phased out. Just tonight they asked if they could use Uncle Ryan's dishwasher too and do their own dishes. The basement has become a bachelor pad for 12 and unders.
(FYI blog title is derived from a cute kids book called "The Marvelous Mud Washing Machine". You can obtain this book by checking it out of the library, losing it, pretending for months that you know just where it is, and then one day having a reality check and paying the library 5 times the book's value so you can go home and find the "lost" book. You can then keep the book because the library has cashed your check and there's no way you're going back there with this whole story!)
3 comments:
What 12 and under boy doesn't dream of their own bachelor pad?
I know it won't last but right now my three year old pulls over a stool to the washer every time I go in there to do laundry and insists that he has to help. In fact, yesterday he asked me if I was going to wash clothes. I am not sure if it is because he wants to help or because he is walking around in his diaper because I have not cleaned his clothes in about a week...
Lost library books. Yeah! I have to pay to replace a chicken little book. I am sure I will find it as soon as I pay for it. Next time I hope we lose a more enjoyable book.
Ohhhhh! Thanks for the great tip about washing machines! It's hard for me to imagine a day when my kids will actually wash their own clothes and put them away!!
p.s. I am laughing about the library book part!! Isn't that just ALWAYS the case?!
Is that what I have been doing wrong?
I just needed another washer and dryer.
Who knew?
I love your FYI comment. I tried to get Claire's report card yesterday...to no avail.
I have to pay for the 2 missing books she cannot find and has never told me about. To the tune of $25.oo. I think they can just KEEP the report card. I already know her grades.
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