Laundry Day Blues

I am trying to remember the last time I did laundry, and I'm not coming up with anything in the memory banks. It's a good thing the laundromat has giant washers that hold 5 loads at a time. I think I may need two of them today. If it's been so long that I can't remember what month I last did laundry, it's obviously been too long.

I have a love-hate relationship with laundry. In NY, I would do one load of wash per day, and thoroughly enjoy the zen of hanging out the wash on the clothesline for a meditative respite. This came to a screeching halt, of course, when winter arrived. From October to May, laundry was an indoor chore, carried out in the deep, dark dungeon of the basement, and I tended to put it off until we ran out of clothes, doing it all at once like a reluctant penance.

With just the two of us (and now the one), and with the spectre of running out of well water with the ongoing drought, it's become a once-a-month chore at the laundromat. I actually like the idea of just putting it all in a giant washer and getting it done all at once (NO sorting--just throw it in)! It takes about 2 hours with all the gathering, hauling out to the car, hauling in to the 'mat, hauling back to the car, then hauling into the house to be dried in the dryer here at home.

It's the anticipation of the whole process that makes my procrastination gene switch on. But there's just no putting it off any longer--today is the day! Houseguests are coming, blankets and sheets need to be fresh, and once again, I'm out of underwear and socks.

Now I remember the last time I did the wash--I had just started a ribbon shawl and took my knitting to occupy me while the machine did its job. I started the big industrial behemoth, and sat down to open my knitting bag, only to find that I was missing one needle. One quick look at the big, wet window confirmed my suspicion--there it was, tumbling around amongst the clothes inside the washer. I spent the rest of the cycle mesmerized by the clack of the bamboo needle against the glass, wondering how many holes it was going to poke in my clothes before I could open the washer again.

It all turned out okay. I retrieved my needle (unbroken!) and my clothes were fine. But that was like...six weeks ago?

I am a terrible, lazy person. And I obviously have too many underwear and socks, it just feeds the laundry procrastination.