You know that cheesy old saying that a “woman’s work in never done?”
Yeah, totally true.
I mean, I can do laundry until I’m blue in the face and the bottom of the basket will have something in it again within seconds.
I can do the dishes, and ten minutes later there’s more.
And don’t even get me started on the floors.
My kids (4 & 2) aren’t perfect, nor are they tidy…but there are a couple of things they are really, really, really consistently good at:
One thing they are really good at is putting their dirty clothes in hampers.
Now, if you can recall, I’m a stickler for white towels.
And while I’m a proponent of hanging towels for re-use (I mean really, they don’t need washed every time!), I get weird if a wet towel has been tossed into a hamper or even left in a ball on the floor for more than a few minutes.
I don’t care if it’s only been in there ten minutes…it’s done. Dirty. Needs washed. No recovery.
It just grosses me out. I can almost hear the mold growing.
I know that’s neurotic and ridiculous but I’m weird.
As you can see, my kids being really good (or really bad) at getting their dirty clothes put away makes for A LOT A LOT of laundry.
Lately, I was realizing that I was doing a whole lot of extra laundry…and a TON of it was towels.
Nothing I seemed to do was helping.
I’d get sidetracked and somehow towels were either tossed into hampers or left in damp balls in a corner.
So…I did the unthinkable.
The shocking.
The absolutely insane.
I bought colored towels.
Horrors.
I get hives just looking at them.
But they’re not for me.
Just the kids.
One for each kid. Each with their own assigned color.
Lu gets pink.
Jill gets purple.
Henry is the green (but he wasn’t home for mom’s photo shoot).
I followed this tutorial and made them hoodie towels (Don’t be impressed. It’s ridiculously easy. If you can sew two straight lines, you can do this. Took like 10 minutes per towel. If that.)
Now, even if they get left on the floor, I don’t care if they get re-hung since it’s not me that’ll be using them.
Mom of the Year.
(And yes, in case you were wondering, I’m already convinced they are dingy…we’ve had them three weeks. Logical.)
Another thing they are really good at is clearing their space after meals and putting any dishes they use in the sink.
Even little Lu, at just 26 months old, automatically carries her little plastic plate and cup to the sink after meals without a reminder dropping half the uneaten food on the floor like a modern day Gretel.
So, I can’t complain too much about my problem…after all, they’re just doing as they were told, right?
But here’s the issue: my kids are so good at putting used dishes in the sink that they would take one bitty sip of water from a cup and then just toss it in the sink.
ALL. DAY. LONG.
By mid afternoon, the top rack of my dishwasher looked more like I was running a preschool than a mom to three.
It was ridiculous.
No matter how many times I tried to say “This is your cup for the day…just leave it out and reuse it!”…they would take one sip and into the sink it would go.
Sigh.
I mean, I can only get so mad right?
But it was still driving me batty.
Finally, I decided to end the plastic cup madness and bought each of the kids their own water bottle. (I got these at Target for $3.99 each).
Every morning I fill them with fresh water and they live in the bottom fridge door shelf where they can be reached easily by grubby little hands.
Hen and Lu can help themselves (and get Jill’s for her) as they please throughout the day and for some reason because it’s a water bottle, they put them back in the fridge rather than tossing them into the sink.
I cannot tell you how this ridiculously simple water bottle idea has cut the sheer amount of dishes I have!
(And a side benefit is that I can keep an eye on how much water the kids are or aren’t drinking.)
It’s impossibly simple.
I won’t win any awards for ingenuity…but I share this with you because I was shocked at how a few goofy little changes makes such a difference in workload for me!
My point is: if you can think of a way to streamline, DO IT! You’ll be amazed!
Oh, and while you’re here…
Did you notice those cool little rubber dealies with the kids’ names imprinted on them?
Cool, right?
I had gotten some for Henry when he was a baby for daycare and nursery at church.
They were so handy (you can leave them on in the dishwasher!) I bought the girls each a set too.
I like them so much I asked InchBug if they would like to share a set of their Orbit Labels with one lucky Life Rearranged reader!
They come in a ton of fun colors…
And you can customize them to include allergy information:
Wanna win a set for your kid?
Here’s whatcha can do:
1) Leave a comment on this post telling me what neverending task you can’t seem to wrangle around the house. (1 entry)
2) Like LifeRearranged on Facebook and leave me a comment telling me you did. (1 entry)
3) Like InchBug on Facebook and leave a comment telling me you did. (1 entry)
I’ll pull a winner Wednesday, September 21st.
{This is not a sponsored post. I emailed InchBug and was all ‘hey, i like your stuff, you should give one to my friends.’ and they were all ‘cool, no problem’. and i was all ‘awesome’.}
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Love those name bands! I can’t seem to control the junk that comes out of hubby’s pockets. Think business cards, receipts, spare change, golf tees… ugh. Drives me bonkers because I don’t know what’s good to keep and what’s trash.
My neverending task is laundry. Mostly socks. My daughter (age 3) always takes off one sock (always in a random not-thought-of location) and wears the other, Michael Jackson-glove style. Then after an hour or two her naked foot gets cold and she needs a sock on again. Problem is I cannot for the life of me get her to 1) put that one sock she removes in her hamper or 2) remember where she took it off. I suppose I could solve the problem by having her only wear white socks, all of the same type. But what fun is that?
I have the never-ending laundry and dishes too. My daughter is three and changes clothes on me all the time, especially panties. I don’t know why because she’s not having accidents. She just decides she’d rather have polka dots than princesses mid-day. My kids also do the cup in the sink thing so I may have to try the water bottles.
My never ending task is laundry and the boy’s cars or legos strewn ALL over my house!!
I’m going to post it all here
I was already on of your FB fans which is how saw this post today and stopped by (1)
I became a new Inchbug FB fan today (2)
I stopped by there and told em you sent me (3)
and Number (4)
I am a mother of 3 no longer small boys 20, 17, 14 and I long ago went to distinct towels and water bottles for the same reasons. The next step was teaching them all to do their own laundry at 12 (YAY!!!!YAY!!!!YAY!!!! *HIGHLY Recommended for sanity reasons). I gave up volunteering after 9 years of active elementary school PTA, so Now my never ending issue is the forever litany of — Do you have homework? followed by, What do you need and when is it do?
If you can believe it I still have to prod the college student with same questions to make the blood flow work in his brain sometimes LOL
I like your blog cuz it simply makes me smile and remember. Thanks for the op I could put em to good use.
LOVE the idea of different colored towels for everyone! Brilliance! You could maybe even take it to sheets too! although I am now falling into your “all white linens” thing, just bought all white sheets for our bed, and generally only use the white sheets for the kiddos…
I can never keep on top of…. ANY house work! I seemed to be getting better since I had Evelyn, found a groove, and then, well, I had another baby 14 months later… you know… so my groove has been thrown and I am uber lazy… it’s getting better though I like to think.:)
I LOVE you on FB ;)
Also, I have lusted over those since Penny brought them in on Abby’s cups, Kyle can’t seem to justify the cost, so if I win, that would be AWESOME!
I liked Inchbug
Junk! Everywhere I turn there is *stuff* lying around. I do about 50 million pupa (pick up, put away) rounds a day and there’s still heaps of *stuff* lying around! Drives me barmy! I am currently in the process of getting everyone to put their own junk away, and put things where they belong!
And those orbit labels are super cool, LOVE them!
Laundry is my never ending chore. Having a 2 year old and a 4 year old, a husband who thinks that if you wear something for 10 minutes and change it’s dirty, and me who constantly running doesn’t help the situation!
Dishes! I despise doing dishes, ans of course it is a daily activity. Boo!
I like you on Facebook!
I can not keep up with the laundry for our family of four (including one who’s potty-training). It seems never-ending!!
I cannot keep things off my kitchen counter. I’ve tried. And I’ve tried some more. It makes me crazy.
The laundry never, ever ends!!!!
I like Life. Rearranged. on Facebook.
I like inchbug on Facebook.
Toys end up EVERYWHERE. I, too, wonder at times if my kids’ plastic cups are breeding because they take up the entire top rack of the dishwasher. I would love a set of rubber name labels for my kiddos’ stuff! Keep up the great work. I love reading your blog.
I like Inch Bug!
Dishes and laundry
I like you on FB
Now I like InchBug on FB, too :)
I love those labels! My kids names are never on the pre-made varieties in the stores. How fun, thanks for sharing.
My never-ending chore is our floors! With 2 dogs and a toddler, they are dirty within 5 minutes of cleaning them! I love the look of our dark-ish wood floors, but they show everything! If I could do it over, I wouldve picked a lighter color to hide some of it.
I was already a Life Rearranged FB fan…does that still qualify for an entry?!
I have a problem with the cups too. My husband is even bad about just throwing them in the sink. But my boys would get their water bottle out and down it in one setting. And if I got them more, they would do it all over again. My oldest is the worse, he is constantly after something to drink, even if he’s just had something. It may be worth a try though.
I’m now a fan of InchBug on Facebook (Allison Bush)
I like you (or your blog, whichever) on FB. ;o)
And now I’m liking InchBug. :o)
I cannot keep my counter top clear of clutter, most days I just shove it all aside to get to my computer for the important stuff like reading blogs. Housework just isn’t nearly as fun.
I like Life.Rearranged on facebook!
This is one of the funniest posts I’ve read in awhile. The dishes NEVER EVER end around here. I can do them five different times a day and there will still be something in that sink or on that counter. Grrr… Thanks for the giveaway!
I have the same neverending task of cleaning up sippy cups! My son is is 18 months and he has 3 cups of milk a day. We have taught him to toss his cup into the sink when he is done. But now he is tossing his water cup (that I want him to keep all day) in the sink constantly! I love your water bottle idea, but I think he’s too young right now…maybe soon :)
LOVE these!!! Awesome. I cannot (seriously..it’s impossible) keep up on laundry. Not ever gonna happen. But I did find a super cool solution on Pinterest…laundry basket dressers!!!
Already “like” Life Rearranged on FB…duh ;)
Just “liked” Inch Bug on FB!!
Keeping my floors clean while having a dog, 5yo, and 2yo is neverending.
Keeping up with dirty dishes and laundry!
neverending task… laundry. bleh!
i love you guys on fb!
liked ‘inchbug’ on fb too!
those bands are s.m.a.r.t!
like you, i hate towels…h.a.t.e. them! they are so gross! mine get washed every other day, hence my life doing laundry, but so worth it so that i don’t have to smell THAT smell – wet…urg!
liked inchbug on fb
liked life rearranged on fb
I jist liked you and inchbug on FB. great post. I could sweep the all tile floor a dozen times a day and still step on breadcrumbs or leaves or you name it. Oh and paper airplanes. Everywhere.
I know this is really a little issue – but my life has some really BIG issues and so I enjoy the little issues!
The dogs water bowls are always empty. Before work I fill them, after work I fill them, after dinner I fill them, before bed I fill them and when I get up in the morning I fill them. I guess there is a secret rule that says only the mom can fill the dogs water bowls! I was thinking of getting really big bowls, but then I remembered how sometimes they get knocked over and spilled, I really don’t want to mop up a gallon of water. So I just refill… =)
I hate putting laundry away! So instead it sits clean in a basket and gets all wrinkled and I won’t wear the wrinkled clothes so I rewash and the cycle continues!!!
I like(ed) Life – Rearranged on facebook
I like(ed) inch bug on facebook.
Totally the laundry!