At Home with Susan
Monthly Column by Susan Sikes

Have you ever been busy and let the laundry go for a few days? The next thing you know you have a huge overwhelming mound of dirty clothes! Not only do you have a large, time-consuming task in front of you, but you are limited on what you can wear until you get it caught up.

This is how it has been for me within the last few weeks. Between my daughter’s wedding and the last days of school, the laundry has suffered greatly! The first indication that something was wrong was when I heard my husband say, “Do I have socks anywhere?” When I headed off to the laundry room to dig some out of a basket, I knew that it was time to take control.

As I thought about how this related to our spiritual lives, I could see activities and things piling up, keeping us busy, and out of God’s Word. Each day activities will try to compete for our time and energy. If we allow them to take the place of our time with the Lord, we will end up with one large, overwhelming mess in front of us. We must not let anything keep us from the Lord.

“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’” (Mark 12:29-30)

This principle also applies to our earthly relationships. Just recently I discovered that as I had been keeping myself busy, some of my relationships were suffering and I didn’t even realize it. Letting things control your time can also put a huge mound of “dirty laundry” between you and a loved one. We must be alert at all times and guard these relationships, putting people before activities.

“The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:31)

Now that things are calming down for me, my plan is to spend much time in the laundry room to get everything completely caught up. After that is accomplished, I am determined to get back on my basic laundry plan -– one load a day. This is so easy, yet it keeps everything in control. Besides the laundry, I plan to stay focused on my relationship with Christ and people. No more mounds!

Laundry Tips from A Woman of Noble Character

• When doing laundry, always run the water and let it get sudsy before putting in the clothes.
• Check all care labels in clothing before washing. Make sure the items are not hand wash or dry clean only.
• When using bleach, pour it into the water before adding the laundry. Never pour bleach directly onto clothing.
• Wash like colors together: Dark clothes, Light colored clothes, and Towels & Linens.
• Be sure to check all pockets before putting articles in the washing machine. Gum, pens, and other things can ruin an entire load of laundry.
• Take clothes out of the dryer immediately. This will help keep them from wrinkling. If you do not catch it in time, put a wet towel in the dryer with the clothes and restart for a few minutes.
• Clean out the lint filter of the dryer after each use. This will save drying time.
• Do not over load the dryer or the clothes will be wrinkled regardless of when you remove them. Also, shake each article of clothing before putting them into the dryer. This will also reduce wrinkles.
• If at all possible, try to set up some type of clothesline to hang the clothes on when you get them out of the dryer. Keep hangers available. Hang each family member’s clothing together when you take them out. When you are ready to take them to individual rooms, you don’t have to sort them. This will save time.
• When hanging up tank tops or sleeveless items, use wire coat hangers. Bend the top part of the hanger to make a valley on each side so the clothing will not slip off the end of the hanger.

© 2008 by Susan Sikes