Obstacle #3: Socks….lots and lots of SOCKS
This post is a long time coming……because I have not overcome this paticular obstacle yet! I am desperately hoping that my readers will be able to help me with this one. Let me spell out the obstacle a little more clearly: L-A-U-N-D-R-Y. Yes, laundry. How does a mom who is motivated to exercise get through the loads and loads of laundry (not to mention housework) generated on a daily basis by her family?
I mean, it is kind of depressing for me to consider that in the amount of time it takes me to SORT, FOLD and PUT AWAY clean socks for six people (and what do I do with the singles that emerge from the dryer without their partners? I STILL don’t know) I could have completed at least one 20 minute, sweaty, calorie-burning, body-sculpting workout, getting me one step closer to reaching my weight-loss goals! Drives me crazy. So here are my unsuccessful solutions so far…..
My ATTEMPTS at a solution to the obstacle of socks include the following
1. I have trained my six and five year olds (and sometimes my 2 1/2 year old) to put their own clean laundry in their drawers. And trust me, as soon as I think my six year old can handle the washer/dryer part, he’ll be doing his own laundry completely!
2. I tried to reduce the sheer AMOUNT of laundry 2 ways and only 1 way is working. #1 I implemented the “sticky or stinky” rule with my boys. Basically I told them that unless their clothing was “sticky” or “stinky”, the should plan to wear that clothing again the next day. (by the way, #1 is the solution that doesn’t really work) AND #2 I have implemented the “sticky or stinky” rule with myself. Actually, it doesn’t really matter if it is sticky or stinky, chances are good that an outfit will be worn not once, not twice, but multiple times in a week, well, except the undies, those are changed daily and don’t take up much space in the washer/dryer overall laundry scheme of things…..perhaps I share too much info, for those of you who are offended, I’m sorry.
3. I throw everybody’s clean socks into a pile on the floor in a rather central location and when someone needs a pair to wear, they simply sift through the pile themselves and find socks that may or may not match – but hey, THEY ARE JUST GOING TO GET TOSSED INTO THE LAUNDRY AGAIN ONLY TO PERPETUATE THE ENDLESS CYCLE OF SOCKS, SOCKS, SOCKS!
You see? Socks truly can rob us of our workout times – they do rob me of mine. I KNOW someone out there has a better solution….something practical that can really work for the rest of us?
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I have that same problem; however, your solutions seem to be better than mine: I proposed that our family simply become nudists.
Thanks for the post!