Ironing and Socks

The Ironing Pile

When you live with 7 men/boys, it seems there's always 2 chores that never seem to go away: ironing and matching socks.  Ironing has never been my favorite chore.  When I was about 13 years old, I remember visiting my church leader's home.  She had her ironing board out in one of her spare rooms and had been ironing her husband's shirts.  In those days, fabrics needed to be ironed a lot more than modern fabrics do, and I always dreaded ironing my skirts and blouses.  Usually, I put the chore off until I needed a certain item, then I would iron just that item and never really tackle the "pile".  I told my leader how much I hated ironing and how I hoped my husband would iron his own clothes.  She taught me something wonderful that day, which has always stuck with me.  She answered by telling me that she really didn't like ironing either, however, she LOVED her husband more than anything and she always wanted him to look nice and make a good impression on people, so she didn't mind ironing his shirts, knowing this would save him time and make him look his best.  Her words have repeated in my mind over the years as I married and began having children.  I don't like ironing, but I do LOVE them, so I try to keep up with the ironing so they all look their best.
 
Since my boys all wear a white shirt each week to church, and then usually put it in the laundry after one wearing, it seems that my pile just grows and grows.  My husband and older boys all know how to iron their own shirts, but they don't usually have time to do the chore.  So about once a month, I try to tackle the pile.  I put on some uplifting music and go to work. I like doing this chore on a Sunday morning, because it's usually needful for that days' church service, and also it can be a peaceful chore. My husband spends Sunday morning playing with the boys or reading, so I have quiet time in my room to tackle the ironing.

Odd Sock Drawer

The sock monster pile is another chore that I really don't enjoy.  I just don't understand how so many socks get through the laundry without a match!  I always keep the unmatched socks in a drawer next to my bed.  When a matching sock comes through the laundry, sometimes I can match it up right away, but usually it just sits there until I decide I want to close the drawer again and finally tackle the pile.  Occasionally, I can get one of the boys to help me, and I enjoy working and talking with whichever boy is with me.  In the end, we usually have a lot of socks that still don't have a mate, and I put them in a bag for a matching day at the end of the year.  If they don't have a match at that final round, they get thrown away.  It might not be the most efficient system, but it works for our family, and I suppose one day, when they are all grown with families of their own I might even miss these chores.