Sometimes I Let the Laundry Pile Up

I sort, pre-treat, wash, dry and move it into a basket. But that's when it breaks down. I don’t always fold the laundry and put it away in a timely manner. The other night I tried to move a laundry basket full of clean, but not-yet-folded clothes off my bed so that I could go to sleep only to discover there is not enough floor space in my tiny bedroom to accommodate a regulation-sized laundry basket.

My room is small, there’s no doubt about that. But I’m not the least bit sorry I gave the larger bedroom to Ben – it’s what moms do. We do what it takes to make sure our kids have what they need. However, I’m one who craves the repose of home and cares deeply about the space in which I live. A true Taurus, I’m a nester who loves creature comforts and needs to feel at peace in my own space. It’s not about the size of the room or expensive things, it’s about how the space feels. And on closer examination a couple of weeks ago, I realized this space – my little room – felt sad.

To remedy this, I took a break from unpacking and organizing the playroom (a task that promises to take months whether or not I give it my full attention) to spend some time (and even a little bit of money) making my room feel better. I knew there was no cure for the size of the room, but there was most certainly a cure for the depressing feel of the room. We don’t have a lot of money and I felt guilty diverting even a small amount from other uses, but I know myself (I have many problems, but self-awareness is not of them) and I knew that making the little bit of space in this house that is 100% mine a place in which I’m comfortable was important.

So I put aside my guilt, ignored the voice in my head telling me it was frivolous and went to work decorating and organizing my room. An inexpensive new quilt, sheers to conceal my closet, cubbies from Target (requiring assembly, of course), pillows I sewed myself and a $20 package of thumb-tack-afixed wall-art flowers got me started. And a couple of little things like embellishing my plain window shade with a row of beads and adding pretty fabric to the bins that slide out of my cubbies made it even better. My room was beginning to look stylish and beautiful, but more importantly, it was beginning to feel cozy, comfortable and soothing.

But the best purchase I made for my room was a new light fixture. The old light was a dome fixture in the ceiling, butted up against one wall as if my room had been part of the one next to it at one time. It was odd, inefficient and unattractive. When my dear friend, Traci, won a $50 Visa gift card in a Halloween party costume contest wearing a costume I helped design, she gave it to me, asking that I use it to buy something special for my room. And I did just that. I bought a beautiful, hanging light fixture that I could center in the room with a ceiling hook. That light fixture added the perfect finishing touch to my lovely, little sanctuary. And the fact that it was a gift from my sweet Traci made it even better.

Last week, Lucy sat on my bed one night, examining the crystals, books, cards, kid-art and trinkets I’ve arranged on the shelves. She said, “It’s all about peace and love in here.” I smiled and gave her a big hug. She looked up at me and said “There’s a lot of happiness in your room, mom.” She had no idea just how right she was.

My little room is filled with peace, love and happiness, but no laundry basket of clean, but not-yet-folded clothes. Who cares, though, if there’s not enough room on the floor for that laundry basket? Maybe that will be the impetus I need to work on my laundry-folding procrastination problem.

I’m nothing if not self-aware.