I am convinced that homes are not designed by women – at least women who actually work within the home!! Okay my current pet peeve is clothes- dirty ones, clean ones and ones in the ironing pile. Having in between 6 and 8 people live in our house throughout the years has given me lots of opportunity to ponder the stupidity of walk in robes or wardrobes in bedrooms. When newly married, we designed and built our own home and yes, we did build it with a walk in robe. But I would definitely not do the same again!
Next time, I will build a room next to the laundry. In that room I will have an area set up to fold the clean clothes (with an under-bench area for storage of ironing and other odds n ends) and an area for the ironing board- so it could stay set up. I would build my sliding door robes INTO THIS ROOM! As as usual, each person would be allotted one wardrobe each. Then, every evening or morning, every person could simply choose their clothes, take them to their room and get dressed.
Smart eh? I think so.
As it is now our kitchen table is covered in clean laundry EVERY DAY – clothes that are waiting to be ironed or put away! (We don’t have spare rooms or anything like- nor do we have a separate family room or dining room in which to make use of) In our last few homes we had two lounge/family areas or two dining areas so we utilised one of those rooms as our clothes area. But now we’re living in a small house I am so frustrated. No, the answer isn’t to own less clothes because we really don’t own that many. I believe that the whole concept of individual bedrooms and wardrobes is ridiculous!
How much extra walking is it for a woman? I take the clothes from the dryer or the line to the table. I fold them into piles. I take them to each room. I then arrange the clothes on the bed while I put them away into the wardrobe. I might do this 2 or even 3 times per bedroom, depending upon how many clothes there are! Ridiculous!
Maybe when I’m finished homeschooling I’ll learn how to design the floor plan of homes and start a new business!
Yes Susan I agree! I once read of a woman who was fortunate enough to have a clothes room next to her landry and ever since then I have thought it was a great idea ! We too have a small house and it does make it easier to feel cluttered quicker.
Luv Donna
While you’re at it, appliances designed by and for women would be wonderful as well – irons for example. Or any other appliance that has enough buttons to sink a battleship but none that actually says ‘on’. I hate that.
Remote controls, stereos, DVD players and other ‘boys toys’ would be high up on the list as well…
PS I have an ironing room. Hurrah! Still doesn’t make the ironing much fun though, and the clothes still don’t walk themselves to the wardrobes, but at least they sit on the bench in nicely ironed piles!!
How do I cope with it?
Well, all that walking around the house with numerouse loads of laundry, the hanging up, the folding, the walking it back to its cupboard home — well I count that as excercise! :turtle:
And then, I dream about one day having a nice big laundray room, exactly like you described Susan!
I’m with Amy about counting it as exercise:)
Though I think you would become an overnight millionaire with your new home plans/designs and with Jeanne’s recommendations too! Go for it!
Well Susan, the advice I have for you is to designate each child responsible for their own washing and folding. I know it sounds mean but it is the only way that ‘I’ can cope with the running of the laundry with nine childen. From the age of ten each child is taught to use the washing machine. They each have their allocated day and when the washing is dry they have to bring it in and fold, put away. We don’t iron in this house………NO WAY! I try to buy fabric that needs little attention in that area. If something does need ironing then the child is responsible for that (over ten).
Look, it doesn’t always work out. My son (14) often resembles a ‘tie die’ image with his white shirt that he washed with a red shirt and in terrible need of ironing……’sigh’ but a woman’s got to do what a woman’s got to do.
Have you ever seen the Duggars show on t.v? She has a laundry like you describe “To die for”.
Hi gals,
Thanks for stopping by…
Oh Donna, John and I are/were terrible hoarders. One just never knows when that stray piece of wood will come in handy. I bet that in 20 years time John will need it for something lol.
Jeanne, you lucky thing! In our last house we had a spare room, which housed the ironing board and all other bits and pieces. It was such a blessing.
Amy, well duh! Of course it’s exercise lol.
Rosemary– when we designed our first home, there were no other plans like it from that company. Some of the sales people looked down their noses at it. Our mistake was in not copyrighting the plans in some way because about 2-3 years later, they had distributed their new brochures and they had our floor plan- to a ‘t’!. They had changed two very minor things but it was our floor plan. So it must have been good lol.
Hi Jacqui– mother of many and one whom I shall listen to 🙂
Most of the children do their own washing! I do Caleb’s or sometimes John will do it when he does his own. It’s the day allocation and consistency of it that I am no good with.
Both girls work in the hospitality industry so their clothes need washing every day. Thing is, Miss A works in the morning and is home by 6pm whereas Miss R often starts in the late afternoon but doesn’t get home from work until1am! Miss A can’t wait until that time to wash her clothes…
Then there’s John, who does PT 3 times a week so needs exercise uniform PLUS his trade uniform which needs ironing. Then, he changes into clean clothes when he gets home from work.
Master J isn’t too bad- except for Mon & Tuesday as he needs his cadet uniform which needs ironing and starching!
Master C is just fine- he wears whatever he can get his hands on lol
Can I be Controversial and even convicting???
Wow……just living with a laundry and separate bedrooms is a luxury….here we have a 3 ft by 4ft room that doubles as a loo/laundry/cold shower……
In Contrast
Women here spend about 4 hours each day hand washing in cold water they have to haul themselves from a water area, scrub on their haunches in the heat and hang on lines shiney and clean in the muddy slum only to see them trashed ripped and dirtied the next day…..
Sweet ladies just thank God for electricity and water on tap………we really have no idea how others live and how HARD it is especially if they are pregnant or sick…this work still must be done…..
Laundries and walkin robes are for most (70%) of this world an out of body experience, especially when the size of our decent laundry is the size of most people’s WHOLE house……..
Just a little balance……….don’t get freaked it is just IN MY FACE here, I do understand, I just find it hard to digest, we have houses we have water we have elecricity…..all a BONUS here…..
It would be so so nice that things were equal and fair in this world, but it isn’t……………
Love Cath
PS Sorry to be such a downer, it is not a personal jab at anyone (talking to me just as much as you guys)……can you bear me???
PPS In saying all that, my dream would be a scullery type laundry next to the kitchen……like the olden days
Hi my dear friend and sister in Christ, Cathy
Oh I wouldn’t say you were being controversial- rather offering another perspective. 🙂
Please forgive my late response but life has been hectic lately…plus I was trying to put some things before God before I responded to you.
I look forward to your return home…and have been praying for you guys big time. Thank you for such regular updates- and photos! Photos are a great way for us to gain perspective, as much as we can whilst living here. One of the things I look forward to is eventually (after you return and process information, etc) is talking to me about making a difference in this world, although I am called to be here in this town, in this house. I know over the years I have struggled a little- with wanting to be *Out There* working/serving in a way that is different from what I am doing now- I want to actively be part of the Great Commission, yet here I am at home. Now I know this is a calling and all part of the Commission but sometimes my heart aches, y’know? So I look forward to our talks in real life and via the ‘net.
Ohhhh Susan I have so so many ideas and cannot wait to implement them in Aust….there are millions of ways we can help here in Australia we have to just do it…..so so cool.
I am in the process of organising a Pregnancy support Programme, around 60 Aussie dollars will see a lady through her whole pregnancy (tests, hospital birth, Newborn Screening etc etc) Very bite size and REAL……that makes a difference!! Ohhh by the way NO admin costs!!! Jn14:12 do NOT do admin costs unless they are astronomical…..in this case not. Cool hey every CENT goes to a Baseco women
Looking outward is not hard, just involves putting money where your mouth is so to speak…..money and sponsership WORKS here, give a person a fishing rod and show them HOW to fish.
You are such a generous hearted person, patient and enduring…..God will bless that!!
Your sister Cathy