Occasionally I remember it’s helpful to evaluate the effectiveness of my current routines and habits. Instead of functioning on autopilot, why not ask myself: What’s going well…and what’s not? Too often I keep doing a task inefficiently (leaving me frustrated) because I don’t stop long enough to consider valid alternatives!
In no particular order, here are some things currently “working”.
- Kids using the morning bus. For years – 9, to be exact – we have been walking our kid(s) to school. For some of those years, bussing wasn’t even an option for our portion of the catchment area. More recently, they’ve introduced bussing where we live, but even then we only ever had the kids bus home at the end of the day. We truly loved our morning routine of walking them to school, and I’ve talked about it many times on this blog. But everything has a season, and our season of morning walks has come to an end, at least for now. And I have to admit I haven’t been missing the old routine. At all. Morning walks made our early hours more hectic. Morning walks required John to block off an hour in his work calendar (and we were often hurrying home for him to take calls). Morning walks required all sorts of inclement-weather gear that isn’t necessary if they’re just walking to the bus. Belle was increasingly embarrassed about walking to school with her parents and little brother. The walk home after dropping them off is 100% uphill and I was always sweaty by the end of our climb. Yuck. Morning bussing has been a great solution. I suspect we’ll go back to walking at least some of the time come spring when the weather is nicer and we don’t have to dress in so many layers and in the fall Belle will be on a completely different bus (and bussing schedule) since she’ll be starting high school. I’m sure we’ll reassess various routines at that point.
- Inclined walk. I’m back to doing inclined walks for my cardio at the gym, followed by a strength workout (often Caroline Girvan). I sometimes introduce other forms of cardio – a stationary bike or rowing machine – but the inclined walk is my favourite. It gets/keeps my heart rate up, it’s easy on my joints, and I find it easier to listen to music or audiobooks when I’m walking vs. running. Right now my go-to is 15% incline for 30 minutes – I tend to do 10 minutes at 2.5 mph, 10 minutes at 2.7 mph, 8 minutes at 3.0 mph, and 2 minutes at 3.2.
- John’s laundry. For the first time in my adult life every single member of our family has separate laundry. A little over a year ago we removed Belle’s from the mix (she now does her own), then Indy (he has a basket in his bedroom, though I still wash it), and in the last month John has started keeping his laundry separate from mine. He travels a lot for work and has specific clothes that he needs at specific times or washed/cared for in specific ways. Now I don’t have to pay attention to washing instructions for anyone but myself (plus Indy) and it is liberating!
- Coffee with my Bible reading. It’s important to me to read my Bible regularly and I miss the habit when I don’t stick to it consistently. I’ve discovered the easiest way for me to prioritize reading my Bible each morning is to combine it with drinking my first cup of coffee! For now at least, that habit pairing is working like a charm.
- Daily quick vacuum. I will stop rhapsodizing about our new vacuum eventually, but one of the things I have most appreciated is how easy it is to do a short, daily vacuum. In under 10 minutes I can blitz the main floor of our house. It’s fun, satisfying, and my Oura ring gives me credit for the time spent as housework (because I move quickly my heart rate is high enough to be classified as exercise). The latter is shockingly motivating!
Your turn.
- What routines are currently working for you?
- If you live in a house with others, whose laundry are you responsible for?
- What’s your favourite cardio exercise?
- Do you have any habits linked with the consumption of a warm beverage?
Header photo by Nick Quan on Unsplash
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Jan Coates
Fave cardio these days: Pickleball!
Warm drink activity: Reading my dad’s diaries (I’m almost at the end – it’ll be like saying goodbye again, 22 years later:()
Laundry: We’ve always each done our own laundry – surprisingly, that’s unusual among people our age!
Elisabeth
I still have never tried pickleball. Maybe a goal for 2026?
Wow! I didn’t know your father maintained diaries. What a tremendous resource, and I’m sure there are times it feels like hearing his voice which is surely bittersweet.
Katy @ Practical Walk
I think ré-evaluating is such a good idea!
– My teens both do their own laundry and I love it. They’re getting comfortable doing laundry on a regular basis.
– I enjoy going for a walk or walk/run. Getting outside, and having alone time to let my mind wander combined with exercise really boosts my mood.
– I enjoy slowly savoring my coffee in the morning. Also when I read my Bible.
Elisabeth
When Indy turns 13, he will officially be on laundry duty. Though I recently learned his best friend (and his best friend’s sister who is only 7!) do their own laundry…*wheels spinning in my brain*
Julia
Busses can be such a huge help! I am really thankful to have that option for my kids too.
I eat breakfast, drink coffee, and read the Bible after my older kids are on the bus, while my youngest is *usually* still sleeping. It’s my favorite time of day!
Laundry… I do it for all six of us. It’s a lot, but I actually don’t mind. And for the first time, my husband’s job issued uniform pants and has a laundry service specifically for those, so that does help a little. Last summer I had the kids rotate through chores and laundry was one. As they get a bit older I do plan to have them take over certain parts.
Elisabeth
A laundry service! Hooray. We had a friend who worked a very messy job and so every Saturday he would go to the laundromat and do his work clothing there. I’m not sure if it was his wife that insisted, but they opted to not introduce all the dirt into their own laundry. It always struck me as odd to go to a laundromat when you have laundry facilities at home, but in this context…I can see the logic!
That is a lot of laundry. Growing up (in a household of 6), my parents did all our laundry! I didn’t learn to do laundry until I was about to get married, actually. I rented a room from a woman while I was in university and she wanted to do my laundry. Who was I to say no?!
Nicole MacPherson
Oooh nice, inclined walks are such butt-burners! Great job. My fave cardio is the Peloton, I like choosing rides based on the music.
It’s everyone for themselves around here with regards to laundry but sometimes I grab Jake’s to fill up my own load.
I usually spend the first 30 minutes of the day drinking coffee and catching up on blogs, which is why sometimes my comments are off the wall!
Elisabeth
I think that’s such a fun way to start your day! I know you have a great morning routine between exercise and smoothies and coffee and blogs and getting outside. You’re an inspiration to us all!
Laura
Adults do their own laundry in my house. That way everyone knows for sure which things need to be dried or not and people can do it on whatever schedule works for them. Also I think it is more efficient for each person’s laundry to be done separately – a lot of the time associated with laundry is spent sorting. Not an issue when people have their own loads.
Elisabeth
Amen. The easy part of laundry is putting it into the washing machine and dryer. The tedious part is sorting it and putting it away. Having everyone with separate baskets means I’m never debating which person’s white sock I’m seeing. If it’s in Indy’s laundry basket, it’s his; if it’s in my laundry basket, it’s mine! Problem solved.
And the scheduling thing is the biggest reason I’m enjoying having separate adult loads.
Jenny
School busses are a wonderful thing! Sometimes it takes a while to realize a routine you previously loved (like walking the kids to school) is no longer working.
To answer your questions- I currently do everyone’s laundry. But my daughter and husband are in charge of putting away their clothes (which is why we have clean laundry all over the living room right now, ahem.)
Favorite cardio- RUNNING OBVIOUSLY. But, if you tell me I have to use a machine at the gym, I also like inclined walking! The one that really gets my heart rate up and gives me the most endorphins afterwards is the stair climber, but I hate it while I’m doing it.
I love sipping my morning tea while reading blogs!
Elisabeth
I hate putting away laundry. Ugh. When I say I hate laundry, really it’s only that part I hate. Carrying a basket downstairs? Easy! It’s even a form of exercise. Turning on the washing machine? Piece of cake. Even moving things to the dryer is fine. But when I see a basket of clean laundry needing to be put away, my heart sinks.
Why am I not surprised that running is your preferred cardio? 🙂
mbmom11
I should do a daily quick vacuum – it’s amazing how fast “stuff” collects on the rugs. And I know I always like the satisfaction of looking at the freshly vacuumed floor. I will try to make that a habit.
I like my early morning routine of getting up and feeding the cats, playing my word games, prepping lunches, readying my daughter’s breakfast – all while everyone else is still sleeping. If I start by 5 am, I also have time to read some blogs or a book before the chaos begins. Doing it this way sets us up for a smooth morning/departure for school. (My daughter is the first one to go out, and she needs time to process things, so if I have her breakfast ready on the table when she comes down, it goes much better. My sons have some more time, and they don’t get frustrated if they need to feed themselves or have me throw some toast at them on the way out the door.)
Another routine is going to the YMCA with my son after I get home from work and he has lunch. This is his PE class for homeschooling. He works out on equipment, and I take laps around the track – 19 make a mile. I’m trying to go faster too, though I don’t think it’ll count as cardio!
Elisabeth
I think it being quick is the key for me. Not having to plug a machine in (or cart it from room to room – it’s all held in one hand) makes all the difference.
Having a morning routine to follow makes it almost meditative. Sounds like a relaxing time for you, and a big boost to everyone’s mood for the day.
How wonderful that you’re able to combine school work for your son with movement + I’m sure you get to spend quality time together in the car going to/from. Love it!
Ernie
Is your main floor all hard wood or non-carpet? Is your vacuum that you enjoy so much only for hard surfaces – not carpet? Curious. Our kids’ junior high is walking distance, and I never walked them to school as it is only like 5 blocks. I drove the older 6 kids to Catholic grade school back in the day, because there was no bus. Corralling all of them in the car was a chore. I hated it. We were so consistently late that I once made all the kids write letters to their teachers explaining their role in the tardiness. The teachers had to sign it and return it to me. Since we’ve been at public school, we have embraced the bus option. Of course now our older kids drive to high school and that’s amazing.
I do not drink hot beverages almost never. I do like Irish tea, but I only really drink it while in Ireland. 😉
I like to run, but I don’t run in cold weather when there might be ice. I don’t like to run on a treadmill.
Getting up and working out is my routine that I do daily. I listen to my rosary podcast whenever I can – more consistently when I’m running outside.
I do everyone’s laundry. College kids do their own laundry when they are home, but I do a lot of laundry. When people have free time, they help sort it. I don’t really mind doing the laundry. I can sort a huge basket of laundry in record time. There are other housework tasks that I despise though.
Elisabeth
Our main floor is laminate (all but one room; the room with carpet I still generally do with Eufy; it’s Belle’s room and there is too much on the floor to regularly vacuum in there – SIGH), tile in both bathrooms, and rugs in every room but one. It goes seamlessly between the different types of floors, though if I’m doing the rugs, I will often turn the suction setting higher. I’m not sure how it would work if it was exclusively carpet?
I am laughing over here about the late letters. That’s hilarious (but also was probably helpful for their teachers).
I cannot imagine how many 100s (1000s) of loads of laundry you’ve done over the years. And I’m sure you have daycare laundry that falls to you as well! It’s a good thing you dread other tasks more since it ends up on your plate so frequently.
Sarah
These are all great! Dorothy and Cooper also ride the bus to school (I drove Cooper every single day last year), and it is SO SO SO nice. I still pick them up because school gets out so late, and they have stuff to do, so I don’t miss our morning commute a bit, to be honest.
Elisabeth
Yup. Same. I don’t miss it at all. I kinda thought I would but, nope. A change can be as good as a rest. Plus, I am OFTEN sending them to school while I’m still in my PJs. And I get an extra ~35 minutes added to my morning.
NGS
Before I broke my leg, my husband and I did laundry separately. We had separate baskets and everything. Then I broke my leg and we put all of everything into one basket and he had to do all of it. And now we do laundry together. We do laundry on Sundays and it’s fun. I like doing it together. Is that weird? Every once in a while, if someone’s out of town, we have to do laundry on a non-Sunday or one of us has to do laundry by ourselves and that’s sad.
Right now I have a routine where I do some yoga poses right after I take a shower at night (right before I head up to bed): child’s pose, cat-cow, forward fold, downward dog, pigeon on each leg, and a twist on each side. I do each pose for five breaths. And I like it. I hope to keep doing it!
Elisabeth
This isn’t weird, it’s deeply touching <3
Can I just say I LOVE that you do things for a certain number of breaths! That is brilliant and I love how doable this night-time stretch/yoga routine is...
Ally Bean
My habit associated with a warm beverage is to drink coffee in the morning while doing online word games, like Wordiply and Connections and Blossom. It wakes my brain up, and focuses me on my to-do list, another wordy thing.
[Hoping this comment goes through. Been having trouble commenting lately. After I wrote about it on my blog, come to find out I’m not alone.]
Elisabeth
Yes! The comment went through. As you now know I’ve been having issues, too. Hope WordPress gets this solved ASAP.
To-do lists are always better approached post caffeine.
J
We’re a socialist collective around here, so we all do everyone’s laundry. That means whomever decides it’s time to wash something, they wash everything in the family laundry basket. My daughter is an adult, so she is current on sorting by weight and color and all of that. Since I work from home, I tend to do more laundry than my husband and daughter, but not a lot. Our washer and dryer are just outside of my bedroom/home office, so it’s pretty easy. Whomever does the laundry folds it, but everyone puts their own away.
I used to really enjoy walking my daughter to school. We’re in Northern California, so the weather was rarely an issue. I used to work relatively close to her elementary school, and we would drive part way, then park and walk the rest of the way. Once I started working from home, we would add our dog Genevieve into the mix, meaning she would come with us and I could combine her morning walk with taking my daughter to school. I remember when she was in Middle School and was embarrassed to have us there, so we had to stop a bit before her school. I think you have a good mind set about it…when the weather is nicer, and it is enjoyable again, go for it. I’m glad the bus is an option for now though.
My morning routine is really working for me right now. Get up, make tea, play my word games (Wordle, Octordle, Connections, Strands, and Waffle – sometimes I have time to do all of those first thing, sometimes they end up waiting until later), CG workout, Yoga, walk, at my desk at 8:00. I do the CG workout 5 days a week. It’s my least favorite part of the morning, I find lifting weights so boring, but I am always really glad that I’ve done it after. I came home from my walk this morning to see that someone had run a load of laundry, and sorted the rest into piles for the next couple of loads. I thought, I guess I know what I’m doing today! 🙂
Elisabeth
I love your socialism 🙂
YES! This is exactly what Belle makes us do. When we were walking into the late fall, she would have us stop ACROSS THE STREET (like 300 m away) from the school and say our goodbyes there and a hug and kiss was FORBIDDEN. And if I drive the kids to school I have to drop her off so far from the entry. Am I really that embarrassing???!!!
Wow. You fit in so much before most people have rolled out of bed.
Suzanne
I have been turning to the treadmill a lot lately, as it’s been too icy/cold to walk outside. But I always combine writing and walking (on the treadmill, not outside) and I cannot manage to type AND do an incline, and the fastest I can walk and still type is 3 mph. Also, since my hands are on my computer keyboard, my watch does not accurately track my walks, which I find deeply irritating. I DID SO walk three miles!!!!
Your laundry situation sounds lovely.
Elisabeth
It has been freezing here! A good time to do walking inside. Eventually spring will come and then I will lace up my outdoor shoes again.
There is zero way I could type at 3 mph. I tried so hard to use my treadmill attachment but literally needed to walk at like 1 mph to be able to do both activities at the same time. Ohhh. And I had the EXACT same frustration with my watch. It wouldn’t count my walking since my hands were swinging at my side. It made me very grumpy.
Diane
For the longest time my Husband did all the laundry in the house. But then I started doing my own laundry because I’m really picky about what goes in the dryer – I actually hang all my stuff to dry now. The 13 year old does her own laundry too – when all three kids did their own laundry, she would complain that she didn’t want to do her siblings’ laundry, so the Husband just did it. But now that she has her own room, she has to do her own laundry. The 8 year old just started doing his own laundry. he hasn’t gotten to the fold-and-put-away step, which is really the onerous part that I hate doing myself.
I’ve been pretty rubbish about exercise this winter, but I’ve been able to do 10-20 minutes of yoga every day this year, save two days when I was travelling. I don’t know if I have any special hacks or anything. I just get up and think, “Well, you should go do a yoga video.” I think it helps that I let myself do just 10 minutes when I’m feeling pressed for time.
Elisabeth
I hate putting laundry away. Putting clothes into a washing machine and then moving those into the dryer is fine. I actually enjoy that bit!
That’s a lot of yoga, Diane! That’s amazing consistency! I think sometimes ripping the proverbial BandAid is the only way to do it!
Mamie
Routines:
—Prepping packed lunch (mine) the night before.
—Making two meal-preps on the weekend to utilize for most weekday lunches (mine, at work; husband at home).
—Prioritizing going to the dog park DAILY… dogs need exercise and so do we!
Laundry:
—Mine and husband’s. He contributes (or just does it!) whenever asked/needed. No kids at home!
Aerobic exercise:
—Walking loops around the perimeter of the dog park. It’s only .2/miles per loop, but there’s an uphill portion that definitely ups the ante. We try to do 20 minutes worth of loops most days.
Warm beverage:
—Weekdays always involve a large travel mug of coffee to sip while at the dog park and subsequently while driving to work.
—Weekends start with a mug of coffee while puttering at home. An additional travel mug full may also accompany us to the dog park.
—After-dinner coffee is never declined!
Elisabeth
I think it is wonderful how dog owners end up having such great exercise habits. A friend of mine recently “inherited” someone’s dog and she said she now gets to see the sunrise and feels emboldened to go out walking alone now since she has a big dog as her companion!
Sounds like you make the most of the dog park!! Exercise and the glory of a warm beverage (and time with a beloved canine friend!)
Melissa
We always have shared laundry for whoever is home, but if anyone has clothes that need special handling, they need to do that because the limit of what I will do is throw it in the machine. G and I share most of the laundry tasks now that he works from home; basically, whoever is around will do what needs doing.
My fave cardio is running (Surprise!), but I also like cardio tennis and would like to do it again at some stage.
Since I am back home and my phone is not in my bedroom I have quickly got back into my morning bible reading as soon as I wake up
Elisabeth
I don’t separate ANYTHING. I now have a delicates bag, but until recently I didn’t even separate those out. I don’t buy clothes that need special attention. I am far too lazy for that.
Coco
What a brilliant idea to have separate laundry. Fortunately I don’t usually do ours as we have help.
Routine that is saving me is morning routine no matter how het lag I am. And my running.
I like to read blogs when driving coffee.
Elisabeth
I am so impressed with how you’re managing this massive jet lag + all the prep for your move AND still staying consistent with your running and other important routines. I think I’d be a zombie.
Michelle G.
Guess what, Elisabeth – I got the vacuum! And you’re right, it is very awesome and I’ve been vacuuming like crazy! Thanks for such a good recommendation!
Elisabeth
YOU GOT THE VACUUM??!! I hope you enjoy yours as much as I do mine; speaking of which, my floors need attention ASAP.
Birchie
Hubs and I have always done separate laundry. The reason is that I wash on a very strict schedule so that I always have clean clothes, and Hubs is more loosey goosey. About a year ago he started having the boys do their own laundry as well. The only downside is that one of the boys is forgetful about moving his stuff into the dryer.
I’m going to steal your incline mix it up idea! I like 12/3/30 but it does get tedious. Mixing up inclines and speeds is a great solution!
Elisabeth
I’m definitely loosey goosey!
I find the incline so much more enjoyable by mixing it up. I think I do have a rebellious streak, too, and so I like the autonomy. Some random person on TikTok once said it should be 12/3/30…it’s not like a law or anything. Please report back!
Allison
I used to do inclined walking, but it was hell on my lower back. Most of my walking is now with Lucy, I use the basement treadmill when the weather is no good even for her.
I am so bad at remembering to evaluate habits (ADHD brain) but it is SO satisfying to realize something isn’t working and change it to something that works better. I’ve been working on this especially with Matt traveling so much, because even with just myself here running the house can feel overwhelming if I don’t prioritize properly.
I did all the laundry until the kids left home. I was usually the least busy person, and it stressed me out trying to figure out how it would work to schedule everyone doing their own. I threw a load in every night before I went to bed and folded and put away the previous night’s at the same time. I worried that I coddled my kids too much, but they both moved out at 19 and still figured out how to adult pretty well, so basically I learned nothing.
Elisabeth
I hear you! I think having a spouse that travels a lot puts extra pressure on the spouse left behind to come up with really great habits…but then those have to be flexible. Like you mentioned having someone come and plow you out when Matt is away – but I presume when he’s home, he does it? There is all this flip-flopping of habits and routines that happen when a spouse is constantly coming and going. I FEEL YOU!
I think kids need some coddling. Some people choose to ONLY coddle, but I think a healthy mix is the way to go. I didn’t do any laundry until I was in my early 20s! Ever! Like I had never run a load of laundry EVER in my house growing up. I figured it out plenty quick. I think kids need to be loved and have some healthy boundaries while receiving freedom to make mistakes. Every parent is going to dole that out in different ways. THE SHORT ANSWER. Doing or not doing kids laundry is unlikely to change anything about their long-term trajectory and ability to cope with adulthood.
Venia
Well, laundry of all things pulls me out of my blog-lurker status to comment 🙂
I do all the laundry for our family of (currently) three, and it used to feel like a Huge Burden. Then I realized that a big part of that burden was ignorance: what in the world am I supposed to be doing with _____________? So I got Patric Richardson’s *Laundry Love* from the library and it was so helpful that I bought it. He recommends washing everything on warm and sorting into cool colors / warm colors / whites / blacks including EVERYTHING. It turns out I’m still most comfortable washing our kitchen towels separately, and I still do the toddler’s clothes in his own single load (hangover from the days of using infant detergent), but we also often don’t have enough warm colors or blacks to do a load. So we usually have five loads a week.
Following Dana K White’s system, I aim most weeks to have a single laundry day, which is Monday. Sometimes things bleed over into Tuesday, but not always. Every other week I throw our sheets in with the whites load (they fit fine).
This system works really well, and the thought of complicating things by handing over parts of it to another person gives me metaphorical hives. I like knowing exactly where everything is in the process of getting clean, and I LOVE only thinking about laundry one or maybe two days a week.
Enjoy your blog and the regularity with which you post!
Elisabeth
Hi Venia! Happy to have you come out of the shadows 🙂
This systems sounds incredible! I love how you’ve tailored things to work for you, and I do think that it IS more efficient and less mentally draining if there is a specific laundry day (it reminds me of Ma’s poem in Little House on the Prairie). I have really liked Dana White’s books, but never heard of Patric Richardson! Thanks for the recommendation.
Thanks again for saying hello. Happy laundering!
Lisa’s Yarns
My favorite cardio activity is definitely running outdoors! I don’t tend to run outdoors in the winter though so this is typically a time when I’d be focused more on strength training if I wasn’t in a splint. I was enjoying doing some of the Caroline Girvan workouts, but I’m on pause until I’m further along in my recovery.
Our routine will get a bit, shook up in the fall when taco starts a preschool program at Paul’s school. Right now Paul does before and aftercare Monday through Thursday and then he takes the bus on Fridays both to and from school. He would love to take it more days of the week, but it just doesn’t work for our schedule. I look forward to a day when both boys can take the bus without any intervention from parents! The bus picks up literally in front of our house so it’s super convenient, but we are probably 3+ years away from them being able to get on the bus themselves.
All of our laundry gets done together. Phil typically gathers the laundry and start loads and then I do all of the folding of mine and the boys’clothes. I’m really particular about how their clothes are folded and put away so I continue to own that task at some point. Paul can take on folding and putting his own clothes away but not tell if he’s picking out his own clothes.
I tend to play my word games while drinking coffee, such as spelling bee, Wordle, and strands on the New York Times games platform!
Elisabeth
It took me a while to “warm up” to Caroline Girvan, but now I’m really enjoying her videos. I did her deep stretch two days ago and LOVED it.
You will LOVE it when the boys can get themselves to/from school. It is a game-changer.
I hate how the kids put away their clothes but I stopped battling it a while ago. Belle does it 100% on her own, but I do sometimes go in and tidy up how Indy has hung his shirts (it’s not that hard, but somehow he manages to get every short contorted in a million ways).
Maria
Whose laundry am I responsible for? EVERYONE’S. although my husband does also do a lot of the laundry too, to be fair. We have a not very complicated laundry system in that we don’t really sort the clothes. (Sorry laundry purists.) We have a basket in each bedroom and don’t sort clothes further than that. Then we have a separate kitchen laundry basket in the kitchen and cloth diaper laundry in the bathroom. It’s a system that works well for us right now, though I do have to remember to sort by colour when around my mom so she doesn’t get stressed.
Elisabeth
Maria, I am so far from being a laundry purist it’s laughable. I throw everything in together (except sheets).
My parents are die-hard sort-by-colour, and John does do it quite regularly because of work clothes (that said, I also own almost no lights, maybe subconsciously so I never have to think about sorting).
Sabine
Interesting to read about everyone’s laundry system…to bring in another perspective:
we do not have a dryer (which is not uncommon in a lot of European households).
We have a large drying rack in the attic (which fits about 1 big load of laundry) and a smaller “hanging” drying rack over the staircase (which fits another say 8 shirts or trousers). In the summer we also dry the clothes outside (and also the attic gets more sun), but in winter the laundry frequency is much lower as it takes more time to dry.
We do all laundry together (family of four) and I usually do the whole process. We try to include the kids that they at least put the clean clothes away, but I do not have a consistent enough routine (and space), so that they could for example have a pile of folded laundry ready to take to their room just before bedtime or so.
Elisabeth
My parents hang almost everything to dry! In the winter, they hang it in a loft that gets very warm from their wood stove and all spring/summer and fall they hang clothes to dry outside. It is hard to beat the smell of freshly dried clothes from outside!
That said, I do love having a dryer!
Stephany
My brother and I used to attend this youth group outdoor event weekly, and my mom likes to remind my brother and me how we would make her park a few minutes away from where we met so we could pretend we walked there. HA. Being embarrassed about your parents is such a rite of passage.
My favorite cardio is spin class! I’ve been going one morning a week and I really enjoy the instructor. I wish I could go more often but they only have one 6am spin class, unfortunately.
My favorite warm beverage routine is similar to J’s. I love drinking my coffee while playing all of my NYT games – Wordle, Strands, Connections, and the Mini Crossword.
Elisabeth
I know it’s normal, it still feels utterly bizarre it’s happening to me in the role as a parent. Truly, I cannot believe I have a teenager?!