Airing Our Family's Dirty Laudry....

In a quite literal sense...
A few nights ago, I started up the wash and then went about my usual business. This is nothing different than I do every other day-over and over and over. I don't generally rush back to the laundry room at the end of the cycle....our dryer is on it's last leg and takes forever and often a few re-starts to fully dry a load. So, while this load was washing I went to the store to buy something to make for dinner. I picked Drew up from his group project meeting...then came home, made dinner, fed kids and put the little ones to bed. Sydney came back down to use the bathroom and when she did, she slid across the kitchen on a puddle of water. I thought someone had spilled something. But as I investigated the "spill" I discovered a trail of water leading past the kitchen, down the hallway, all thought the downstairs bathroom and totally flooding the laundry room floor. And soaking the bigillions of loads that were on said floor waiting to be washed...and in the interest of full disclosure, I use the term "waiting" very loosely...some of those clothes have been "waiting" since Kambree was born. Yes, Kambree. Not Mia...just to be clear...don't judge, you all know I'm seeking help for my disorganization problems....
Apparently, the washer had never made it off of the "filling up" stage and had simply continued to fill and fill and overfill...for about two hours.
Anyways, I now had TONS of sopping wet laundry...I called my darling husband home from work (his second job) and he was able to fix the washer. So, I re-ran the load and switched it over to the dryer, resolute to get this laundry cycled through as fast as possible...and not really sure what to do about the vast amounts I couldn't possibly wash in the next day or so....so I popped the clothes into the dryer, twisted the dial, pushed the button and.......nothing, nada. The dryer was dead. Seriously, I felt at that moment, like I might need to be admitted to the psyc ward of our local hospital. And really, I'm only half kidding. Maybe not even half...
Drew and Manny bagged up all the wet laundry while I cleaned the kitchen up from dinner. It was getting late and it didn't appear that there was going to be much else we could do that night. We did have a spare dryer in the garage, but it was going to need some cleaning and a few minor fixes to get it in working condition.
The next day, Albert (missing work again due to this issue) hauled in the dryer and he and Drew got it fixed, and I cleaned it out. Hooked it up and presto! It worked! Only...it didn't spin. It didn't tumble...rotate the clothes...you know what I'm trying to stay. That day (and night) I hung clothing from any space I could in our house, over chairs and tables, in bathrooms, from doorways...you name it, I used it as a drying surface. We don't have a line outside our house and I'm pretty sure we aren't allowed to per the neighborhood association. I'm sure they are loving our yard right about now.
The next morning, I had a conversation with the new dryer...a conversation in which I begged, pleaded, coaxed and whined to the dryer that I REALLY needed her to work. It's a "her", I just know it. And you know what...when I tried out different settings, I discovered if I skipped "More Dry" and went straight to "Optimal Dry" she would work. As long as I gave the drum a spin with my hand and only put in a small-ish load at a time. Every now and again, she give me a little trouble and I have to stop and re-start several times, but by and large, she's coming along....

But back to the bags of laundry. By now, a couple days had passed. Wet laundry all bagged up will mold. Albert made the suggestion that I lay it all out, outside so that it won't mold before we can wash all of it. Let me tell you that with every fiber in my being, I resisted that suggestion. It looks trashy, its smelly and just...gross. But I also didn't want to have allll those clothes ruined. Heck, some, or most of them, we really don't need....and indeed, I went through most of the bags and discarded about 2/3's of the wet laundry...things that were old, torn up, not in good condition...you get it...but the rest....the rest is, my friends...spread across the lawn where it did indeed dry and is no longer at risk of molding. It is however, at risk of being a source of embarrassment to all of us which is motivation to wash,dry,wash,dry,wash,dry and so forth...which we are...well, I am.

The kids were outside playing, the day before yesterday (I think) and Jackson, Brice and a few of their friends were jumping on the trampoline outside. Yes, the one who's safety net has fallen off and been cast aside. For a while now. Anyhow, Jackson came stomping through the door, exclaiming that Brice was....throwing underwear at people in the yard. I quickly jumped up and went out to investigate. And yes friends, there was Brice, launching some one's skivvies high into the air, with other children running in fear.

The laundry continues...wash, dry, wash, dry, wash, blog, dry......
In a weird way, I think this will turn out to be a good thing. In a few days, I'll have sorted through and washed or discarded two years worth of dirty clothes....