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My Laundry Blind Spot

September 10, 2012 By Dana White | 19 Comments

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My Laundry Blindspot at ASlobComesClean.com

My master bedroom is . . . . clean.

Like, normal person clean.

No, it’s not a fluke.  I’ve spent the last two full weeks doing a major overhaul in there.  And as long as the door to the bathroom is closed, I’d almost let any random person see it.

Almost.

There’s this one major eyesore.

The Laundry Mountain.

Even though we now generally have clean undies and socks and all the clothes we need because of my much beloved Laundry Day method, I still tend to have a Laundry Blind Spot. 

Back when every load of laundry was an emergency load, it was the hard-to-wash clothes in the bottom of the laundry baskets.   Thankfully, the days of finding outgrown-by-two-sizes unwashed clothes are mostly gone.

So why is this pile so huMONgous?

Blankets.

Yes.  Blankets.

Here’s the thing.  I’ve made enough progress in this deslobification process that we somewhat regularly let our older two kids have friends over to spend the night.

Which is great.  They’re sweet kids.

Clean kids.

Really.

But I have this little problem.  It’s a personal problem of mine, I’ll admit.

No matter how clean the sleeper, I feel the need to wash any blanket used by a non-family member.

(Yes.  I have motel issues too.)

Anyway, this obsession to wash them unfortunately doesn’t include the drive to wash them immediately.

So I put the blanket(s) in the laundry pile in my own bedroom.  Then I move them around to be sure I get all of the “real” laundry that needs to be washed each Laundry Day.

After all . . . it was summer and we didn’t really need all our blankets yet.

And after all . . . that room was such a disaster anyway that what’s one more huMONgous pile-of-something on the floor.

So, my goal this week (AFTER finishing regular Laundry Day today) is to make it through that entire pile.

We’ll see how this goes. 

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Filed Under: laundry | 19 Comments

Comments

  1. Lola Jane says

    September 10, 2012 at 10:14 pm

    I think that it’s “normal” to wash a blanket used by someone else after each use. Completely understand! And I too have trouble with blankets. They are so stinking big to fold and tough to put away. I dealt with my beasts today after a weekend of stomach bug. Lovely. Happy washing!

    Reply
    • Kacey says

      September 10, 2012 at 11:27 pm

      I have the same blind spot laundry pile. Mine changes out a bit but there is always something there that gets saved for the end of “regular” laundry and then sits there for weeks. Glad I am not the only one!
      Btw, I think you will appreciate this since you love summer like I do-I came to this post through FB, looked at the date and was completely confused on why it kept taking me to an old September post! It took me a while to accept that this really was today’s date. I think it is time to work on the denial now!

      Reply
  2. Camie says

    September 10, 2012 at 11:32 pm

    I just cleaned my bedroom after months of disorganization and piles galore, but here is my dirty little secret: there is an under-the-bed-box (a big one) and 2 baskets under my bed full of random stuff I just didn’t feel like dealing with yet. As for blankets, I can understand putting them last as they take up a whole load on their own.

    Reply
  3. debby says

    September 11, 2012 at 6:32 am

    Why don’t you put them in blanket covers? Much easier to clean and not as blucky. Great site

    Reply
    • Nony says

      September 11, 2012 at 9:26 am

      Good idea!

      Reply
  4. Tonya says

    September 11, 2012 at 9:23 am

    I would suggest a trip to the laundry mat. You can wash them all at one time there and get it under control faster and give you a sense of accomplishment! I used to avoid laundry mats like the plague….but after discovering that my youngest was a puker….I became fast friends with the laundry mat!

    Reply
    • Nony says

      September 11, 2012 at 9:27 am

      I’ve toyed with that idea! I may just have to do it. Wonder if the laundromat has wifi?

      Reply
      • Sarah says

        September 11, 2012 at 12:44 pm

        Most do. Some have tanning booths.
        I take comforters and big things, use the big machines and am done in an hour. I don’t dry things bone dry, just damp. I bring them home and hang them to finish. Easier on the fabric, and cheaper.

        I wash blankets at home, but because they’re better off hung to dry, I wash them first, so after a go in the dryer, they have all day to finish drying. Blankets dry better during the day, and I can’t put them away the least bit damp or they might get mold on them. Ewww.

        Try washing them first, before the rest of the clothes, and be sure they’re dry before being put away.

        Reply
  5. karen says

    September 11, 2012 at 9:31 am

    no matter how organized I am with my cleaning, my laundry piles are horrible too. I will ignore clean clothes on my dresser, I really hate putting away clothes in my closet when I can be doing other things.

    Reply
  6. Holly N. says

    September 11, 2012 at 1:38 pm

    I can so emphasize. I have two laundry blind spots. Yes I said two. One is a CLEAN pile of sheets that just need to be folded and put away. This pile has taken over it’s own laundry basket so I had to buy another. The second pile is on top of my dryer which in my current house is hidden behind folding doors. It consists of stained clothes that I can’t seem to figure out how to get things out or just don’t want to take the time to treat and send back through. They both make me crazy but apparently I haven’t been motivated enough to deal with them. Well we are moving next week into our new house and I am going to have to deal with them before then or move them as is. Course the new house the washer & dryer will be stacked so I will have to find a new place to “hide in plain sight” my stained pile. Hopefully I will do better with the sheets. Thanks for sharing and for reminding me that I need to deal with the piles cause they aren’t going away and I don’t see anyone else who wants to deal with them. 🙂

    Reply
  7. [email protected] says

    September 11, 2012 at 3:38 pm

    I have to wash blankets after they’re used by non-family members, too. I used to do a lot of that when my son’s friends stayed over all the time. Not so much anymore.

    But my mom spent the night here last week and I need to wash the sheets on the bed she slept in. I haven’t done it yet – but I will. In the meantime, they’re still on the bed so there’s no pile anywhere.

    I used to pile blankets, too, but I have a laundry room downstairs so nobody saw.

    Reply
  8. Addary says

    September 11, 2012 at 4:28 pm

    I hate, hear me when I say I hate putting laundry away! I have more than one of those blind spots when it comes to laundry. I have yet to master the laundry monster in this house. My house looks like it has puked clothes all over itself. From the dreaded needs washed pile in the bathroom to the take it off before bed throw it on the floor pile in bedrooms to the hey we have clean clothes pile in the living room. The living room pile is mt favorite because they are clean! That means I actually did laundry and my family isnt wearing dirty clothes. However, the problem is even though they are clean we my family still looks unkept since they are wrinkled from being in a pile! Lord help me! I mean that I have really been praying that God will help me because there are days it seems like it is a better idea just to burn the place down and start over. Shew glad I got that off my chest.

    Reply
    • Juli says

      July 15, 2013 at 4:14 pm

      Beyond perfect description of my house too. You are my new hero.

      Reply
  9. Carolina_D says

    September 11, 2012 at 4:48 pm

    @Patty; Does your own mother not count as a ‘family member’? If my mother visits I usually leave the sheets on the bed til the next time she visits. IF we need the bed for someone else, then I will change the sheets cos it’s only polite to give guests clean sheets. There have been a few times when my husband was ill and snoring heavily when I slept in the guest room…right on my mother’s used sheets. I know she’s clean, so it doesn’t bother me. (Of course, if I sleep on them I will change them before her next visit…again, it’s down to manners.) As far as blankets, I don’t wash them each time they’re used. There’s always the set of sheets between the bed and the blankets, so they just can’t get very dirty. This being said, I always bring our own bedding to hotels. Before I bother changing them I check for bedbugs. If I see nothing suspicious, I make the beds with my own bedding…just in case. I bring totes to carry the bedding back home, and it all goes directly into the washer and dryer. That’s always my first ‘home from vacation’ chore.

    Reply
  10. Jordan says

    September 11, 2012 at 6:25 pm

    I have a similar problem,except mine is towels,which obviously get gross.We live in an apartment and have coin laundry so clothes are always top priority,and everything else basically gets washed once we have no towels or sheets left.It’s terrible!

    Reply
  11. Cheryl says

    September 11, 2012 at 7:58 pm

    I also wash any blankets or sheets used by others; even my dad when he comes down (plus he now has his own pillow) He is a smoker & the whole bed reeks after he leaves.
    & I also let the sheets & blankets pile up some (I’m getting better) I think I do a better job with them than I do vacuuming.

    Reply
  12. wilma says

    October 11, 2013 at 12:05 pm

    hmmmm…we’re not at the sleepover stage yet, but now i totally understood that while my mother would let us have friends over for sleepovers (quite a bit, acutally, especially considering that there were five of us), our friends were asked to bring sleeping bags and pillows. i don’t think anyone ever cared, and it really does make sense! i wouldn’t want to do this if it was seen as impolite or uncourteous, but dam*, it seems like a great idea now!

    Reply
  13. Mary A says

    June 9, 2014 at 8:54 am

    I dont think that that is all that weird–I wash all bedding before and after we have overnight guests. Most of them I dont think really care as long as there is bedding on the bed, but it is a tick in my head that drives me to wash it before they sleep on it and then again after they leave. Just to be sure

    Reply
  14. Danielle says

    June 15, 2015 at 9:49 pm

    I think asking kids to bring their own blankets or sleeping bags is a great idea 🙂

    Reply

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A Slob Comes Clean is the completely honest (and never-ending) story of my deslobification process. As I find ways to keep my home under control, I share the truth about cleaning and organization methods that actually work for a real-life slob. And I'm funny.

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