... is for laundry.
Usually I just do laundry whenever I have a full load, or if the weather is good for hanging on the line. I have a lot of laundry to do today - several afghans and a quilt that my MiL made that I want to wash and take over to Ryan, in addition to all the regular clothing and towels, plus it's a beautiful drying day. While sorting my laundry, I started thinking about these sweet day of the week dishtowels that my grandmother had.
She pretty much scheduled her week according to the traditional rhyme:
Wash on Monday,
Iron on Tuesday,
Mend on Wednesday,
Shop on Thursday,
Clean on Friday,
Bake on Saturday,
Rest on Sunday.
Iron on Tuesday,
Mend on Wednesday,
Shop on Thursday,
Clean on Friday,
Bake on Saturday,
Rest on Sunday.
It seems quaint to plan your housework that way, and also rigid and impossible if you work or have young children that produce mountains of dirty clothes all week. But it might also be a little more efficient and maybe a little reassuring to know what chores are ahead of you when you wake up in the morning.
I wish I had my grandmother's tea towels but wash day isn't always on Monday for me. While my first load was sloshing around in the washing machine I looked for embroidery patterns and was intrigued by this Wednesday one.
Wednesday is for mending, but it looks like it might also be for knitting. Sounds good to me!
How are you starting your week?
I don't know when I started to do laundry on Sundays but that's the day and I love fresh sheets for Sunday night :) I remember those towels and the rhyme - so sweet!
ReplyDeleteI have to admit that I have started doing household chores on certain days most of the time. Now that I am retired and "sequestered", it helps keep me somewhat organized. My grandmother had a set of those kitchen towels as well. She embroidered quite a bit, and I still have a set of pillowcases that she did. I have been looking at embroidery quite a bit lately myself. I think it might be an option if it becomes obvious that I am going to have to give up knitting due to joint issues. BTW, I never owned a set of "day of the week" underwear, did you? LOL Have a great drying day, Bonny!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the Wednesday design! :-) I actually embroidered a set of "weekly-work" tea towels as a 4-H project when I was about 10 or 11. I HATED the sentiment of having to assign tasks to days. It seemed so "old-fashioned" to me at the time, although my mom did sort of adhere to such a schedule. Anyway . . . I think about those sweet little tea towels every now and then, trying to remember which days of the week I "ought be" doing which chores. I think I'll just stick with Wednesday for now. . .
ReplyDeleteOh to hang laundry on a line. How I loved the smell of freshly washed sheets and ironed pillow cases. My sister and I learned to embroidery on a set of tea towels much like this one, but I don't remember our bonnet girls being quite so industrious.
ReplyDeleteI'm reading a book about laundry right now (it's TRUE), and the author suggests doing all the laundry in one day... but I've ready others suggesting doing a load each day. Really, it all depends. I have one day off every week, and sometimes it becomes Laundry Day. Sometimes I do need to throw in a load each day. Sometimes the weekend is sunny & breezy and, like you, I love to make use of my clothesline!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I'm starting my week at work... and, later, I'll be doing some (Airbnb) laundry!!
What sweet towels! And it made me chuckle a bit... my nana would have needed a "wash the walls and the ceilings" one... it was the best fodder for family teasing. My uncle always wanted to know which of us kids was walking on the ceiling making nana have to clean. :)
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother had a sampler in her kitchen with that poem. Dale does our laundry and I don't even know which day!
ReplyDeleteAs it happens, I am doing a load of laundry this week, but only because I needed to! I used to save all the laundry for the weekend, because it seemed to me that it was the only time of the week I'd have time to do it all -- but of course, because I was saving it, it did take a long time to do and was eating up half my time off. At some point my husband made me realize the obvious: that I could throw a load of laundry in at any point and get it done without it disrupting my schedule too much. (Now, of course, it's a lot easier because I can literally throw a load in any time!)
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother had a set of embroidered tea towels that were very similar and I had a set of handkerchiefs that were printed with the chore for the day. I remember helping my mother hang the wash out to dry. The hardest part was helping her to put my father's work pants on metal frames before hanging them on the line, it saved her from having to iron them!
ReplyDeleteThere were reminders of what day to do chores everywhere! Whatever day I have the motivation to get household chores done is the day for me to do them.
DeleteI had never heard about putting pants on metal frames, but I can see it might save on the ironing. Your mother could take Tuesday off!
We have chores assigned to days around here. and Play. Thankfully, Saturday is for Play :-) I wonder when/if those long ago women found time for that!?
ReplyDeleteI’m very fortunate that Doug does the majority of the laundry. I’m considering learning to embroider and planning a chore a day but I don’t think I will combine them. :-) I’ve ironed every morning for 20 years…kicking that chore to the curb very soon. You must love having Ryan so close!
ReplyDelete