Wash Day Confessions

When you were a child, did your mom have “wash day”? Does anyone have “wash day” anymore, or am I the only one who is a slave to laundry? For me, laundry has always been a vicious cycle, no matter how I strive for excellence in areas of organization and execution.

My mom loves to iron. You may find this hard to believe, especially when you learn that she has done more than her share of ironing, raising six well-turned out children in the days before polyester. But she truly loves to iron! To this day, when we visit each other, she will snatch clothes from me if I am headed towards an ironing board. And she is good at it! Each shirt, each skirt, each pair of shorts is beautifully pressed and hung or folded. She is an Ironing Artiste. Thinking about her high ironing standards inspired me this week to take my laundry duties to a new level. No more will I leave stacks of folded clothes moldering out of drawers! No more will I step over torn dryer sheets peering dustily at me from the floor beneath the dryer. I am reforming!

I know what is expected of me. I am a Christian homemaker, and every act of service in my home is to be an act of worship. Yet with laundry, I was an Isrealite, a first class grumbler. This week I took the time to really think about the joy of washing the clothes of my family. Do you remember that old television commercial, “no more ring around the collar! You’ve tried scrubbing them out…” remember? When I am “shouting out” AB’s collar stains from his airline uniform, it the BEST time to thank the Lord that I am no longer washing his Army uniform (or worse yet, not washing his clothes at all because he is deployed). When I scrub out the grass and dirt and worse stains on Farm Boy’s britches, I can choose to wallow in the delight of being the mom of a boy who is free to climb and dig and wallow on our land.

Do you hang out your clothes to dry? I used to see it as a time bandit, but it is not! It is a gift. It is an invitation to step outdoors from the inside demands, to enjoy the fresh air, the sky, and the horses. It is a chance for me to climb up on the playset and visit a moment with my son, or read a chapter aloud to the children on the porch.

What gift to be home to do this! My grumbling days (at least in the laundry room) are over!

**Lately, I’ve read about the nasty stuff that is in most laundry detergents and because I can’t afford the $12.00 a (miniscule) bottle of “healthy” stuff, I found a recipe for homemade laundry soap. It is very easy, and economical. You may have to search at one or two stores, but you can find these ingredients where you live if I can! Here is the recipe:

Good for You Laundry Soap

1 Cup Grated Soap Bars (Fels Naptha or Ivory)
½ Cup Washing Soda
½ Cup Borax

Mix all together, store covered. Use 2 T. per load

I usually triple or quadruple this recipe. I like Fels Naptha soap, and have found it here at Kroger. Kroger also has Arm & Hammer Washing Soda. This is not to be confused with Arm & Hammer Baking Soda, although I am not sure why the two are not interchangeable. Borax seems to be everywhere including Walmart. Always grate the soap fine, and always add the soap in first, then let the washer fill, then add clothing. I have one complaint, and that is that sometimes the soap does not dissolve completely and leaves a small oily mark on the clothes. I have never noticed this on anything except solid, colored tee-shirts. A fool-proof way to avoid the spots, takes planning, but works. The night before you plan to wash delicate solid colored clothing, place soap in washer, set the load size to extra small, and the water temp to warm/cold. Let the washer fill, agitate a moment, and then turn it off. Go to bed. In the morning, the water will have cooled, and the soap is dissolved. Turn the water temp to cold/cold, adjust load size to large. Add clothes, and voila, no spots! Your clothes will look and smell clean, with no heavy perfume odor.

Have a blessed week at the washing machine. I’ll be hanging out clothes if you come by!

"Those who sow in tears
Shall reap in joy.
He who continually goes forth weeping,
Bearing seed for sowing,
Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing,
Bringing his sheaves with him."
Psalm 126:5&6


A new year is upon us, and with it comes all the good intentions that often fade by summer. You may observe from my last post, that the good intention I harbored about keeping my news to you up to date faded even before the first day of that good season. I make no promises, but it is my genuine intention to be more timely in sharing the goings-on of our home.

A year of contradictions has now come to a close. We have struggled in so many areas of our lives, yet have seen God faithfully sustain us. We have trembled at the near future and been comforted by a waiting eternity. We have clung to each other and to our faith in dark times, and have emerged in 2008 humbled yet steadfast. With loving friends and family around us, some close, some far, who have prayed for us, wept with us, and rejoiced with us, we endured.

Much has changed, and yet so much has stayed the same. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan continue. The presidential race (how much longer do we have to do this?) remains confusing, irritating, and fairly uninteresting. The fight to keep the world out of our home, and keep Christ in it remains a constant battle, hard fought but so worth it. My battle to live joyfully before my children on one income in a dual income consumer culture continues. The adoption grows ever less tangible. The timeline stretches negatively each time we check with our agency.


Despite those dismal observations, we are happy! Can we tell you what beauty is revealed to us each day on this little patch of land? The gorgeous Texas skies overhead, the beauty of creation from snakes to birds to rabbits to goats takes our breath away. The children grow strong and healthy out in the fresh air, and we work at becoming more self-sustaining, letting go of our dependence on processed foods, chemicals, medicine, and entertainment. Farm Girl will be purchasing 28 chickens in March, and plans to sell organic eggs to our neighbors and friends. She has chosen many different kinds of chickens so that there will be a variety of egg colors in each dozen she delivers. Farm Boy becomes more of a little man every day. He hangs on his daddy’s every movement, and emulates them all to the best of his ability.

We have a neighbor who is replacing all his fencing that was put up just over a year ago (example of the dual-income consumerism mentioned above!). This fencing is in fine condition, and AB has spent several days with another neighbor (one of the above mentioned “world’s best”), dismantling it and bringing it home. He nearly lost an eye to a wild piece of barbed wire, but we will now be able to fence in the front ½ of the acreage and raise a cow for meat. God is good! Meanwhile we have planted beets, turnips, lettuce, garlic chives, and radishes for a late winter garden, and we are watching God orchestrate the weather and seeing the miracle of growth. Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?! Yes, Pastor Matt, He can!

As for me, my heart is growing quiet. The concerns and pain of the last year are fading, slowly but surely. I want to be quiet. I want to be at peace, and not worry, and to sleep well again, and wake rested. I want my friends and family around me in this dear home, I want to see my husband walk in the door with joy instead of sorrow on his face. I want to love my neighbors, and teach the younger women how to be good wives and mothers, pleasing to their families and their Lord.

So, here’s to a new year. I need to start running again. I am afraid, because I know it will be like starting over, but tomorrow is the day. Ross King and Chris Tomlin better be ready to keep a good steady pace, because I am up tomorrow at 5:00am to begin again. I need to finish reading Les Miserables. I need to become more organized. I need to be consistent in my child training. I need to bake more bread, and eat more spinach, and stay up a little later than is my custom. I need to remember to say I love you, and to send a card and to pray harder for the small things. I need to wish each of you a blessed 2008. Come by for a visit as soon as you possible can. We'll be watching the birds and looking for you coming down the drive...