Housewife Know Thyself

Mission: Towels has brought a new level of understanding into my life. Five towels on five hooks, rotated once a week. Sublimely simplistic. A second set of towels waits in the wings to be rotated...stop right there. Here's were reality sets in again. Waiting to be rotated turns into waiting to be washed which turns into using up valuable storage space which leads to the Post Office creating a new zip code for my laundry room. Why have 10 towels when 5 will do? With just 5, I am forced to wash them. Into the wash they go, then right back on the hooks. Same with sheets. If I remove my one set of sheets in the morning, I have to have them back on the bed before night. (An extra set of replacement sheets and towels can go into long-term storage.) I know myself well enough that I will not sleep on a bed without sheets. Just won't do it--even if that means waiting up half the night for the sheets to dry if I forget! So, for linens, this system should work for me. This is part of knowing my weaknesses and building workable solutions. I hate doing laundry, but I love having clean clothes, sheets, and towels. This lead me to rethink all of our clothing as well. Beanie has outgrown all of her summer clothes. This is great for Lemony, but not great for the budget. What if I got her 7 basic shirts, 5 shorts, and 2 skirts for the warmer months? I can keep track of that much--it is just the mountain of shirts that only go with one pair of pants, etc, etc, that culminate in the new zip code. Not to mention that even with all the clothes my kids have, they never have anything to wear--its all on the floor in the laundry room. The Boy has just a few favorites that he wears anyway--why waste the storage on clothing he doesn't wear? This is going to take some more thought... In my mind, I envision 3 neatly dressed children each with matching polo shirts and crisp, clean jean shorts. Red for Monday, blue for Tuesday, green for Wednesday... In reality, they would revolt. But, it is a pleasant, freshly scented dream.