“Done daily?” boomed Ella.
“Done daily?” quavered Dimity.
“The man must be mental,” said Ella forthrightly, “if he thinks he’s going to get his washing done daily, in Thrush Green too. What’s wrong with once a week, like any other Christian?”
~ Miss Read in Winter in Thrush Green
I’m listening to Miss Read’s book. This exchange was so delicious I listened to it six or seven times. The whole book has so many clever turns of phrases that I will either 1) listen to it once more with a journal close by or 2) get it from a library and copy sections into my journal or 3) order it from PaperBackSwap and highlight all the tasty morsels.
Do you do laundry daily? (Which is a silly question if you have young children.)
We do at our house, “we” being my husband, the Laundry Czar. He and I hold different doctrines on the desired frequency of this task. (He also starts the dishwasher when it is 3/4 full.) What can I say about a man who loves doing laundry loves having the laudry done? When he gets up in the middle of the night, he’ll put the load from the washer into the dryer. And start a new one, if one is available. We all fold clothes together in the morning and put them away.
I read this quote to him, and clearly taking Ella’s position. “This is too rich,” I crowed. “I must put it on my blog.”
“Just be sure to mention that I am ALL for the man,” was his cheerful reply.
A Living Pencil 
Daily laundry – yes!! With five still at home, someone is always running the washer or dryer. I try and schedule mine (and DH’s) for once per week. If he worked out of doors, that would be different.At any rate, I consider it a *MUST* to teach both sons and daughters laundry and housekeeping skills. And while I dont appreciate the delay in folding and putting away, I do maintain that it’s their individual responsibities.Our standard of cleanliness (and laundering frequency) is a far cry from what it was at the turn of the twentieth century….
How ironic! I was just commenting to Joe how we don’t have as much laundry now with the house being so empty. Even with that, I still have a minimum of two loads a day. In fact, the girls always did their own, so it really doesn’t affect my work load!
Yes, I clearly remember those days of baskets and baskets of laundry, at least one or two always waiting to be folded, in my home. Today, there are 2 baskets and they get done once a week, sometimes a bit longer. It’s quite nice, I must admit. Your husband? I can only say he is truly a miracle of our times!
“And the snow? Is it still there?” she asked anxiously.
“Only on the distant mountaintops,” she replied, reassuringly.Dana, my boys all know how to do laundry, but I must admit that they prefer the spray with water and toss in the dryer method of ironing shirts. No crease.With one son at home, it doesn’t make sense to have him do his own laundry. It’s easier to put it all together. He does his own bedding.I agree with you though – laundry can be learned by a six year old. It’s just not that difficult. Everyone should know how to do it.
“Why have a dryer and not use it?” He contemplates.
“That is what a clothesline is for,” she sighs.
My kids do laundry. And we do laundry nearly everyday 🙂 I may need to read that book. Is the author Miss Read?
The Miss Read books are charming, charming, charming. I hadn’t thought of them in a while! Maybe I’ll pull one out for some summer reading.About laundry…..my husband started doing the laundry when I was pregnant with our first child. Now, 16 years later, it is an ingrained part of his life. Bless him! I fold and put them away and iron, if necessary. All the kids do their own when they turn 12.My Mom always did ALL of the laundry on Monday. That was it for the week. Our family was small, though, and logistics are different when you have a lot of active kids.
Poiema, our husbands sound like they have a lot of shared traits. Mama, yes, the author is Miss Read, the pen name of Mrs. Dora Saint. She writes in an English style of village life similar to our American Jan Karon. As with another English author, Barbara Pym, her prose is packed with wit and irony. You sense that she is silently laughing at/with the characters.
“What’s wrong with once a week, like any other Christian?”Dear son was commenting the other day how many ways one can wear a pair of boxers: upside down, turned around… that’s not because of the “once a week” but $ matters……..dear hubby doing laundry? i have a proverbs 31 hubby…