In full disclosure, I dictated this issue from my laundry room.
Tired of tripping over the growing pile of dirty clothes taking up residence on my closet floor, I sorted the darks from the whites and gathered all the towels from the bathrooms and kitchen. Creating three separate piles, I scooped up the smallest one and trudged to the laundry room.
Dumping the load on top of the dryer, it sat there for three days — waiting for more of my attention.
Every time I passed the undone task, my brain reviewed my overloaded to-do list. Somehow, taking the time to start that first batch of laundry kept slipping down in priority.
Why? Because the task would require more than stuffing the clothes into the washer, adding detergent, and setting the right water temperature. It also meant scheduling the follow-up activities of drying, hanging, folding, and putting everything away. Three times.
It was clear: The laundry wouldn’t do itself.
My growing frustration at having started something and leaving it undone for so long was more than bothersome. Because in the big picture, doing the laundry seemed like such a simple thing to do.
Finally, I couldn’t stand it any longer. I jammed a load of clothes into the washer, started the machine, and quickly moved on to the next chore on my list.
Thirty minutes later, the cycle was finished and the clothing was ready to hang and dry. Frankly, I was tempted to let the clean laundry sit in the tub for a while. I simply had too many other things to do.
But then I remembered how long it took me to actually put the clothes in the washer in the first place.
Guilt began to seep in. Reluctantly, I found a stopping point with my writing and went in finish the job.
Grabbing a handful of hangers from the rod, I pulled the wet clothing out a piece at a time and hung them up. Surprisingly, giving my brain that short pause allowed my mind to wander. No longer consumed with the mechanics of editing, punctuation, and grammar, a few new ideas starting filtering through. I quickly grabbed my phone and began talking into the note app.
And a story was born.
Pretty soon, it became obvious how this single load of laundry reflected so many issues in my life.
Projects started and left incomplete or those I kept putting off until I had more time. Which, by the way, never happens unless I make the mental effort to carve out breaks in my schedule to tackle those nagging undone tasks.
Excuses aside, the revelation was clear.
Whether I’m cleaning, cooking, planning, or writing, there was a lot to take care of in order to stay on track and on schedule. And unless I made the effort to focus and follow-through, my mind would remain cluttered with unfinished business.
Even more important, I realized I was in control of my time — and it was up to me to figure out the best way to use it. Especially if I didn’t want to lie awake at night thinking about everything that still needed to be done.
And besides, unless I took responsibility and made a few changes, I’d have nothing clean to wear.
In health & happiness,
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Jill Reid is the author of Real Life, Discover Your Personal Truth, Life in Small Doses, and Please God, Make Me A Writer. Her books, videos, and newsletter explore life, relationships, self-improvement, health, and personal success strategies for working through the challenges of everyday life.
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