Waiting for the Laundry to do Itself

A truck will be coming around sometime today to collect used items.  We have TONS of clothes.  On Tuesday I forced Roland to clean out the closet with me – as a large percentage of the clothes was/are his. 

He doesn’t like the way his 20–30 white shirts have yellowed, so we put them in a separate pile to be boiled.  When I went through the hamper to find some more whites, I noticed that the hamper was reaching the overflow stage and figured I should do something about it.

          Normally I wait until Roland leaves before I sort the clothes – not to crowd him out while I am sorting.  It is actually best if everyone has left already and I have the entire house to myself.  Only I have been leaving the house, too.  I have been tending to my mom and sister and have forgotten all about the laundry. 

          Laundry is not even that big of a deal, really.  You sort the clothes. You put them in the machine.  You add soap and turn the machine on.  The machine does most of the work. 

          Then there’s the hanging or dryer.  Hanging does require more work.  But if the sun is out, it makes whites whiter.  It will usually dry a lot quicker than the dryer.  And it is less costly.

          Many people don’t like to fold.  I don’t mind it.  In fact, I think of any household chore, I enjoy folding the most.  You can sit while you are folding.  Make stacks of clothes for each bedroom and the towels separated into three piles of full size, wash cloth and kitchen.

          Then comes the part that I most dread.  Putting the folded clothes away.

          The boys have always done their own laundry, but sometimes fail to remove from the dryer.  And as I didn’t ever know who they belonged to could not put them away any further than the laundry room – although it didn’t take me long to figure it out.  Still I would just put the laundry by their bedroom doors and let each decide for himself where the clothes went.

 I try the same thing with Jenna. All of her drawers are labeled.  She is great at wanting to assist in the kitchen and bathroom. But when it comes to putting clothes, she has got to be one of the laziest people ever.  She will put clean clothes in the hamper just to avoid putting them away – even if it is something she’s had on her body long enough just to try it on.  Come on! 

She doesn’t have any problem when I hand her a stack of folded kitchen towels and ask her to put them away.  How can I motivate my child to want to pick up after herself?  Any suggestions?