Today I have a guest post up at Squashed Bologna.
Varda, aka Squashed Mom, hosts a wonderful series called Special Needs Sibling Saturdays where she gives kids, like my daughter, a place to be heard; a place where being the sibling of a special needs child isn’t different, it’s typical.
Come see me over there!
I think I’ve done one laundry post in over four years and now I’ve done two in the last week.
Make that three.
Look what I did to my poor 12 year old daughter’s leggings (remote thrown into the picture for perspective).
Anyone have a one year old? Or, a doll? Preferably with one leg shorter than the other.
On the bright side, they smell good! Don’t forget to enter my giveaway from BlogHer and Bounce! You could win a Bounce Dryer Bar and a $50 Visa gift card!
My 12 year old daughter attended an environmental camp over a month ago. She had to pack everything from t-shirts to a winter coat. Ohio weather is unpredictable. It’s not unusual to run your heat and your air conditioning in the same day.
My kid left, and came home, with So. Much. Stuff.
When she returned, her old backpack, which was used for daytime jaunts around the camp, was emptied and tossed to the bottom of the basement stairs. It wasn’t something that needed to be cleaned right away, because she rarely uses it. So, there it sat, on the floor, until I had room in the wash to throw it in. That was yesterday.
The quilt from her bed was the only companion to the backpack in the washer. I played it safe and cleaned them in hot water, given that her quilt is covered with the hair of our younger dog, who loves to snuggle…and shed…and the basement floor is covered with, who knows what.
When the timer went off, I went downstairs, lifted the washer lid and out wafted the most horrid smell my poor nose has ever come across. I pulled out the backpack and noticed that it was unzipped. Then I removed the quilt to find this sitting underneath.
People, that used to be a sandwich.
Apparently, the backpack wasn’t emptied OVER A MONTH AGO and this thing has been decomposing the entire time. All hail the generic zipper bag that kept the contents from oozing out and stinking up my house…until the washing machine got hold of it. Not until then, was the full power of stench released.
You know, all over what was supposed to be clean laundry.
Speaking of laundry…don’t forget to enter my giveaway from BlogHer and Bounce! You could win a Bounce Dryer Bar and a $50 Visa gift card!
There are two things that I really dislike; one is winter and the other is laundry. Put the two of them together and you have one grumpy mom.
Winter means more trips up and down the basement stairs. I can’t wash as many items at once because all of the clothes are heavy sweatshirts and jeans. Not to mention that I often have to run down to look for a glove, or a volleyball kneepad, or one half of a basketball uniform that has mysteriously gone missing. I once read a hint from Heloise that said to pin gloves together before you wash them. Yeah, like I have time for that!
But, by far, the thing I dislike the most about the combination of winter and laundry is the static that invades our clothing. Ohio winters are cold and dry and you can’t pull a towel out of the dryer without finding two socks stuck to it. Blankets try to fold themselves, shirts cling to your body like leeches and you can shock yourself when peeling apart two flannel pillowcases.
You know how I mentioned how things mysteriously go missing? Not long ago, I was out running errands when a baseball sock that had been missing for months started sliding out of my pant leg. There I was, in the middle of the store when I looked down to see a bright, yellow sock wrapped around my ankle. I yanked it out and stuffed it into my purse…half embarrassed, half thrilled that the thing had finally turned up.
You need a powerful fabric softener to combat static cling and when you forget to put the liquid in the washing machine or you realize the dryer sheet box is empty, it’s a real crisis. This happens to me a lot. Your only option is to slather yourself, and your children, with lotion as a buffer between your dry skin and the crackling clothes. This is not optimal. Trust me. Getting out of the door in the morning is challenging enough when everyone is wearing flip-flops, let alone socks, tied shoes, coats, hats and gloves.
Needless to say, day to day life is busy. I can’t pin gloves together, I don’t remember to add fabric softener and I can’t moisturize my children every day before they leave for school.
And, that is why I love the Bounce Dryer Bar.
The Bounce Dryer Bar is the only thing for which I have uttered “laundry” and “convenient” in the same sentence. You stick it in your dryer and it lasts for months. No liquid, no sheets, just one stick and you don’t have to think about how much static cling is in your clothing until winter turns into spring! It’s brilliant and it has made laundry days around here quite a bit easier. Clothing smells fresh, and doesn’t cling together, and I don’t have to run up and down the steps as often because I forgot the fabric softener.
Laundry isn’t something that will magically do itself and, while I will never say that I love it, I will say that the Bounce Dryer Bar makes me dislike it a whole lot less. I even liked their Facebook page!
You can win your own Bounce Dryer Bar and a $50 Visa gift card right here. Just leave me a comment or answer this question: What is your least favorite thing about laundry?
Rules: Sweepstakes ends 12/6/11. No duplicate comments. You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:
a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry. This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected. The Official Rules are available here.
Good Luck Everybody!
For more opportunities to win, visit the Bounce round-up page on BlogHer.com to read other bloggers’ reviews!
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