Wednesday, June 05, 2013

Work and Laundry updates

My Afghanistan assessment project just ended and now I need  to find a new project at work.  At Deloitte, that happens through networking. So I have been talking to people in my network and they have been introducing me to people in their networks, and so on. It is always nice to meet interesting new people and talk about what they do and the things they enjoy about their projects.

In the meantime, I have been assigned to work on an internal project for expense compliance.  It is as uninteresting as it sounds.  However, I get to do this project remotely.  Hooray!  No commute (except for other Deloitte project and networking efforts).  And just with the drop of the commute and the idea that I have that extra time to myself - I have started new ideas to make my house run better.

My first idea was to tackle Mt Washmore. I have started doing a load of washing everyday - ala Flylady.  Since I am able to do that in the morning, I now get to hang that load to dry on a rack out on the deck (our HOA does not allow us to have a clothesline).  I love hanging clothes "on the line". It is strange, but certain household chores are just relaxing.  And for me hanging laundry is relaxing in a contemplative way.  I love the shake and snap of wet clothes before I hang them and I love how crisp they are when they are dry.  It makes me feel connected to women through the ages and around the world when I do this simple task - because keeping the family in clean clothes most often falls to the women of the world.  And the methods are pretty much the same, regardless of the type of clothes or the era of time or the geographic location.  It is kind of like a secret handshake among homemakers around the world.

I especially like the idea of hanging clothes in the summer.  Really is there anything more energy efficient than a solar and wind power clothes dryer.  It makes me a little crazy to pay money (between $0.50-1.00 per load (depending on the cost of gas, electricity, and the length of time the dryer runs)) to heat my clothes and by extension part of my house and then turn around and pay additional money to cool it back down with the air conditioner.  While Ryan agrees with the basic math behind my logic, let's just say that the dryer is not completely out of service.  He is not a fan of "crisp" towels.  I believe he used the word "sandpaper" to describe them and he wasn't buying my "free exfoliation" pitch. So I air dry them, then throw them in the dryer for a few minutes to tumble the crispness out. :)

1 comment:

Sylvan said...

That is hilarious!!