#thisdaysjoy: clean clothes

November 5, 2023

As I write this it’s Saturday, and we’ve been doing laundry at our house today. I suspect many of you have spent your weekend catching up on the laundry as well.

And while I folded the towels I thought to myself — “Seriously! Didn’t I just fold these towels? Seems like all I do is fold towels, put away socks and underwear, and hang the shirts in the closet.”

But today as I engage in the mundane task of laundry, I made an effort to change my thinking with an eye towards gratitude.

Clothes — what a blessing.

Clean clothes — a blessing magnified.

A washer and dryer — an exquisite joy indeed.

A toasty warm laundry room — utter luxury.

From my happy haze of grumbling about needing to do the laundry, I reminded myself to be grateful.

I did not need to haul water from or haul my laundry to a stream.

I did not need to start a fire in the cookstove or fireplace in order to heat water in a large copper pot.

I did not need to do the hard manual labor of scrubbing clothes on a washboard, rinsing out the soap, and then wringing out the water.

I did not need to trundle outside in the cold to hang the clothes on a clothes line. And then go back outside to bring them in when they were dry.

And now? Now I’m just grateful that the clothes are clean and doing the laundry IS a mundane task.

All best,