The Laundry Lass

(written long ago and is now posted as a tribute to Kinsella's The Undomestic Goddess)

The realization that I don’t have much time to think about will be evidenced by what I’m going to pontificate upon………………

Let me reiterate: When it comes to household chores, I’d rather: (1) do the laundry (my clothes only), (2) clean & decorate (whole house and my room) and lastly (3) wash the dishes.

Those who have read this might have stepped into the brakes upon reading it. But fyi, I started to help out in the laundry area when I was in 4th year high school. And for the record, I’ve been regularly doing my laundry ever since.

Oh you may think it was an easy job due to the wonders of technology but no, I refused to use the machine and our maid’s help until I started working. It’s not that I don’t trust its cleaning ability but its more on the doubt of handling my delicate precious possessions, my clothes!

So if you do the math, I’ve been doing the menial job of handwashing for a grand total of 5 years. Aaah, poor hands! But hey, I’m not complaining. All the hard work and exhaustion seems to vanish once you see them cleansed and hung to dry. It’s a great feeling to know that you can sashay through life once more wearing them. :)

The years of experience will make you say that I’m a master of the task. Over the years, I learned to perfect it and know some basic tips in washing. There’s that rule of thumb on separating the whites, blacks and the colored. So, what happens is that they get piled up and takes week before I wash (the blacks and whites). I even discovered a detergent that is specially meant for black clothes. Also, the pointer on hanging the blacks inside out so they don’t fade and the list goes on.

Every now and then some mishaps are still being encountered. Take for example last summer where all my swimsuits were damaged. But laundry has been like a therapy for me and I have no plans of giving it up. Yeah, I'll keep on doing it even if it means additional back pains for some stacked 3-week dirty clothes. ;)