My partner has a new name for me – Laundry Queen.
What did I do to deserve it? Well, it was one of those times when he’d knocked the wind out of me with a loving bear hug. In a squeaky voice, I remarked, “Your t-shirt smells brilliant!” Not, you smell great. Not, you give the best hugs. But only a comment on how his t-shirt was giving all the right olfactory signals. Thankfully, he laughed, and didn’t take offence at the shallowness of the comment.
But I think I should come clean (pun intended) – I do love doing laundry. The smell of freshly washed clothes gets me going. The light warmth of a shirt just ironed…ah! I’ve been doing my own laundry for the past five years, and it is probably one of the best survival skills I’ve picked up. The other contender for the top spot is, of course, cooking.
Why do I call these survival skills?
Traditionally, survival skills have been defined as techniques that a person may use in order to sustain life in any type of natural environment or built environment. You’ll find the likes of fire-making, navigating with the help of stars, and finding shelter as examples of survival skills. And while important, most of us, modern-day humans, pass our entire lives without needing these skills. Not everyone wants to be an explorer, right?
As humans have moved from green jungles to concrete ones, the skills they need to stay alive have also changed. The struggle has shifted from lighting a fire, to knowing how to cook. We don’t look at the stars for navigation today. Instead we need to be literate, and be able to process logical instructions, for signboards and Google Maps to help us in that department. We don’t just find shelters now. We manage our finances well, and build one. Today, we don’t need to fashion clothes from animal skins. The focus is more on washing, ironing, and caring for them.
What’s really surprising is how many of us don’t really know how to do our laundry! Some of us are getting by, thanks to the charity of our beloved parents, or spouses. The others are buying their way out of it.
But dig a little deeper, and this seemingly boring survival skill has a whole host of long-lasting advantages. These are especially relevant for kids:
It teaches responsibility – Laundry is predictable. Shirk your laundry responsibilities for a week, and you WILL NOT have any clean clothes to wear. When children face the consequences – funny outfits, dirty clothes being worn three days in a row, or downright nakedness – they learn their first lesson in taking responsibility. At least for their clothes!
Kids learn how to take care of their belongings – How many times has your young one tossed out her entire almirah, in search of her favourite T-shirt? Involving kids in laundry helps them see the effort that goes into getting that t-shirt from the laundry basket to their almirah. They realise that laundry time is much simpler and quicker if they’re not continuously washing, ironing or folding the clean clothes that they tossed out!
They develop a sense of pride and independence – Younger kids love doing ‘adult’ jobs - be it chopping up the vegetables, or cleaning the car. It gives them a sense of pride. Knowing how to run a washing machine is a very adult thing. Heck…many adults don’t know how to do it! Imagine the story it’ll make during a kid’s lunch break at school! Once they discover that they need not be held back by these adult jobs, a whole new arena of learning and independence opens up for them
Mom has some free time – Mom can use this free time for self-care, or for working on that important client pitch, or for planning the day’s meals, or for devising a new way to entertain the kids – the possibilities are endless. Maybe she just gets off the productivity wagon, and chills for a bit with a big jar of Nutella!
It prepares them for independent living – The first use case to come up is “My kid is heading off to college.” If the kid already knows his laundry skills…that’s one big item off the survival skills checklist. They can worry less about how much detergent Mom told them to add, and focus a little more on their lessons. The transition to independent living becomes simpler with each survival skill that kids pick up early on
You know, I cannot believe I just wrote 762 words on laundry. It’s almost as if I’m dreaming! But, jokes aside, doing my own laundry helps me feel accomplished. Just like making my bed every morning does. These small victories tell my brain that I can solve problems. This helps me tackle bigger ones with confidence.
And this process is the same for kids. Small wins build confidence to handle the bigger stuff. It’s like learning the alphabet before learning to read. Or learning to drive before participating in a race.
I’ll leave you now, with words from an unknown wise person: “If I can do laundry, I can do anything!”
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