Reentry and Regrouping From Vacation

This is where I still want to be!!!

But alas, I am home....doing mounds of laundry and recovering from vacation.  It's amazing that we could generate so much laundry on vacation.  We did have a washer and dryer there, but I just was on vacation, you know?  I did do 2 loads, but that's not near the 10 very large loads I do a week.  Anyway, I do have a few tips for making the transition back home and back into reality a little easier, since I have been traveling with children for over 20 years now.  It can be hard for kids to come back from vacation and they are usually tired. So we need to give them extra grace, that's the probably the most important thing to do, but here are some others:

1.  Don't leave the house a mess when you leave.  This means more than not leaving food or dirty dishes in the kitchen or wet laundry in the machine.  This means really making the beds, picking things up, etc.  This makes coming home so much nicer, like you actually are glad to be walking in the door.  I have found the best way to do this is to hold the kids accountable to clean up their rooms and wake-up a little earlier the day you leave fto straighten the house.  But what is extra nice is to have cleaners come in and do a good cleaning while you are gone.  Save up for this if you can or if you have a teenager pet sitting, then see if they will do some cleaning for you as well for a little extra money. 

2.  Leave some staples in the fridge and pantry so you don't have to run out to the grocery store immediately.

3.  Don't plan ANYTHING on the day after you return.  I know this is easier said then done, but your kids need some down time and you need time to unpack and regroup.  Believe me, you will feel much better after all the suitcases are put away and the laundry is at least half done.

Well, this is about all I can think of right now and I need to get back to the laundry : )

Managing Laundry

Does anyone else ever feel like laundry is taking over your house?  You know, not only the daily clothes, but dirty towels, sheets, friend's clothes that get left over here and even doll/teddy bear clothes!  You know I'm glad I have all this laundry to do, I'm not complaining, really :o)  I do like to do laundry compared to other chores around the house though.  I think it's just because I like clothes.  Also, a friend shared this with me a back when I only had 3 kids......she said that as she folds clothes she prays for the person whose clothes she is folding.  I don't always do this, I must admit, but I try to.  Anyway, so as to not get overwhelmed with laundry, I do one large load everyday.  I have a large capacity upright washer and drier and I fill it very full.  I alternate between a light or white load and then a dark load the next day.  I have a basket labeled with each child's name and as soon as it comes out of the drier and is folded, I put it in their basket.  When their basket gets full, then I put it at the bottom of the stairs and they have to bring it up and put their clothes away.  Usually I fold clothes after dinner is cleaned up.  I take the load out of the drier and put it on the kitchen table and my husband and a few kids help me fold.  A child throws down all the dirty clothes from upstairs and I put on another load.  I do sheets on Saturday.  I used to be pretty obsessed with changing all the sheets weekly because this is how I was raised but now I just try to wash everyone's sheets bimonthly.  I know some large families have their older kids do their own laundry, but with only one washer/drier set, I feel like this would complicate things.  My older kids do know how do laundry and now my one son in college is doing his own, thankfully :o) Oh, their is a book by one of my favorite authors called "Lord Meet Me in the Laundry Room."  It is a great mommy book and encourages moms to take laundry time as a quiet time to spend with Him, if you can.  Well, off to fold clothes!