clothing & textiles

One of the words I'd use to sum up my week is

LAUNDRY.

Lots and lots of laundry.

In addition to the hum-drum, run-of-the-mill

washing and drying

(and there was oh-so-much of THAT),

I did lots of extra laundry

because of a semi-annual special project known as

The Great Fall Clothing Switch.

Actually, the process doesn't have a name,

but I went through boxes and boxes

(and boxes and boxes)

of clothes in the garage,

pulling some out and putting some in,

finding treasures

like a coat and shoes for Lexi

and putting away too-small things for three kids

and finding an entire fall/winter wardrobe for Gavin

and folding up maternity clothes

and searching for something for myself to wear

and trying to guess if Miss Kate

has seasonally appropriate clothing in the right size

etc.

etc.

etc.

So everything that had been in storage had to be washed.

And dried.

And folded.

And put away.

And some of it had to be ironed.

Then everything that had been piling up

on dressers and shelves and

in random corners of the house

found a home in a white cardboard box.

(Or a bag for Goodwill.)

Also under the laundry umbrella this week

was a remarkable achievement:

sewing badges to Zachary's scout shirt

that have been sitting on my desk since May.

(Note: the sewing machine is now

waiting in the dining room,

patiently but persistently reminding me

about the big pile of clothes that need mending.)

In the process of all of this

I happened to notice the shoes in my closet,

most of which I haven't worn in a year

(I basically went from winter slippers to summer flip-flops),

and loved what I saw so much that I took a picture.

I love that my favorite red shoes

(happily worn at Women's Conference)

are peeking out in a sea

of drab and boring and practical shoes.

Anyway.

On Saturday there was more laundry.

Camping laundry, specifically.

And I snuck Betsy in with the light load

because Lexi wasn't home

and somehow we forgot to send Betsy camping

so this was my chance!

Ah...she smells (and looks) a little better.

The crowning achievement

in the clothing and textiles category of my life

is always this:

(Catching up the ironing!)

This rack doesn't include the boys' church clothes,

which are neatly hanging in their closets.

I'm breathing a huge sigh of relief tonight.

But I'm really, really tired.

The next laundry items I'd like to touch

are pajamas and my down comforter.

But since the current time is 5:37 p.m.,

that wish probably won't come true.