I am not the kind of person that does laundry on the same day every week. I just do it when the piles are high and the sock drawers are running low. So, today is laundry day…
As I loaded the washer with whites I thought about how different laundry day is for a mom compared to a single woman or even a married, childless woman.
I thought the running t.v./funny paper gag of frogs in a boy’s pocket was just a gag. Now that I have several boys I can tell you that it is based in truth. Little boys put anything and everything in their pockets. I have not found any living creatures yet, but I do find everything from rocks and legos to bird feathers and crayons.
Yes, Crayons.
Now, most items are harmless and will “come out in the wash”. But crayons are different. I’m guessing it is the shape that keeps them snugly in a size 4T pocket throughout the wash cycle. They lay in wait through all the churning and spinning. It is not until the dryer that they make their appearance…
Once melted, the crayons escape from the pockets. Now they are free to touch every item in the dryer, including the dryer. (Should you find you’ve melted a crayon in the dryer I do suggest you wipe out the inside of your dryer before running it again. I have had it stain the second load as well.)
This summer we had two crayon washings at our house. The first time I went through every item of clothing, treated it with stain fighter and reran the load. For the most part it was successful, but it was a lot of work! The marks were completely random and everywhere!! The second time it happened the crayons were in the pocket of light colored shorts so I’d mixed them mostly with socks and undies. I simply threw out the shorts and folded the rest. Three months later, we are all wearing blue & yellow decorated undergarments. And, I check pockets more carefully…
