The Joys of Marriage, XIV

Laundry: I'm not exactly what one would call a fanatic when it comes to laundry. My cabinets above the washer and dryer don't contain ten different kinds of powder, bleach, and fabric softener. However, I do have my own way of doing laundry. It's rather simple and standard but it gets the clothes clean.

When I married Robin I saw a new way to do laundry. He doesn't sort the clothes. He fills the machine with whites, darks and towels. This method really eliminates some needless steps, right? And there's nothing like wearing a black shirt with towel fuzz all over it.

I'm the one who does the laundry in our family, but there are occasions when Robin feels he needs to run a load. Since he has a home office and I don't, he can sneak in a load while I'm away. Imagine my surprise when I come home to a freshly washed blouse that still has makeup stains on the collar and was dried in the dryer, making it two sizes too small. He doesn't understand my reaction. I point out that I know which blouses need a stain remover and which ones fare better drying on a laundry rack. Ok, he promises not to mess with my clothes again. But he continues washing his clothes with a towel or two thrown in if the mood hits him to do laundry.

I have certain laundry days and I'm faithful about them. The clothes get done on those days, regardless of whatever else is happening in my life. I plan for the laundry, therefore I'm there with a listening ear for the buzz of the dryer. I know that certain items need to be hung immediately in order to cut down on my ironing time. When Robin decides he needs his favorite pair of jeans washed, along with enough other things to make a full load, he does it on his schedule instead of mine. The result is that while I'm cooking dinner the buzzer goes off and no one is running into the laundry room. So the dryer is turned on again later to fluff the clothes. Perhaps even for a third time. When it isn't my laundry day, I'm not in that mode and haven't planned my day around the dryer. The clothes usually come out wrinkled since Robin may know how to turn on the machines but hasn't learned all that the buzzer signifies.

Since he knows not to include my clothes in his random laundry days, it's really not a big problem in our home. I often wonder if men deliberately screw up the sorting of clothes so that we will ban them from the laundry room. Makes perfect sense to me. As it is, we still have to deal with pockets that weren't completely emptied, rolled up sleeves and socks, and looking for stains they never knew were there. Recently, I forgot to check one pocket in his windbreaker and found a tube of warm lip balm in the dryer. Had the top come off, we would have had grease on everything.

There are just some things women would prefer doing themselves. At least I know once laundry is done that I will still be able to fit into a favorite top. I've been known to ruin a few of Robin's shirts in the dryer. Fortunately, he gets mad at the manufacturer instead of me. He insists that all clothes should be able to stand the heat of the dryer and to throw in all his shirts. I'm glad he doesn't blame me for the mishaps. I know how I'd feel toward him if the situation was reversed, which is why I do the laundry.