Grateful to do Laundry?

I have to say that I overwhelmingly happy that all of my orders are out from my various Very Jane sales.

I am so grateful for the opportunity...but wow...the most stressful couple months EVER. I have learned a lot though and I have learned what I can and cannot do.

It's been so crazy that so many things have fallen in the cracks, like laundry...which is really easy to wash...but harder to fold and put away apparently.

I am a stay at home mom but miss my kids...seriously. I've had my sewing machine set up in our living/dining area so I can feel like we are hanging out...

I got a kindle for an early Christmas present from my hubby but haven't had time to curl up with it much.

I haven't had time for my own projects for my family.

So yes. I am grateful for being able to wash, fold and put away laundry. Sit and watch a show with my kids and the time to BLOG (oh yeah...I have one of those).

The whole work at home thing is really appealing, but I definitely know the level at which I CANNOT do it. 

I know I sound a little whiny, but isn't the reality so much more daunting than the fantasy. A super successful Etsy store sounds awesome in theory, but the reality is that yeah...you have to actually make all that stuff...

So I think I am going to be happy with a moderately successful store.

I don't have to be on all the cool blogs or even be a cool blog.

I am totally happy being able to clean my kitchen, make some pretty things for others and myself, and be a super great mom and wife.

And bless your little heart if you made it to the end of my whine fest!

The Dishwasher - Friend or Frenemy?

So before everyone throws stones and accuses me of blasphemy, let me preface this by saying that these are the random thoughts and ramblings of a slightly overtired mom, you may take this with a grain of salt if you wish.

Ok, so this all started when some random piece in my dishwasher came off and we couldn't figure out how to re-attach it so we left it off.

 Poor, broken dishwasher

Soon I realized my dishes weren't getting very clean and obviously that little part was important.

There isn't money in the budget for a new dishwasher at the moment so I just started handwashing my dishes. So after a couple weeks of hand washing my dishes I realized something.

My dishes were always clean. 

Almost always put away.

I was spending less time in the evening washing dishes.

Very. Peculiar.

So here are some thoughts. How helpful are dishwashers really? 

We load it full of dishes throughout the day.

Meanwhile the number of spoons in the drawer is dwindling.

45 glasses are used in one day.

You usually forget to TURN IT ON.

If you remembered to turn it on, you have to UNLOAD all of those dishes.

This usually doesn't happen till the next day.

Here is what I am finding. We have breakfast. While the kids are playing I wash up the dishes and put them in the strainer. Takes about 5 minutes. A couple hours later i'll notice they are dry and put them away. Another 2 minutes. I do the same for lunch.

So here comes dinner time and I actually have eating utensils and glasses! The dinner dishes clean up surprisingly quickly and sometimes I'll even put them away before I go to bed.

 

Clean and happy dishes

I wake up with clean dishes and nothing to put away. Maybe it's all in my head. Maybe I am nuts. But I am kind of enjoying my dishwasher not working. It makes me wonder if we are just being duped into thinking that dishwashers save time. Is this some sort of ploy by appliance companies to sell a huge, space wasting, waste of time? 

I don't know, but I am starting to wish that I could put it away and just take it out for big family dinners and Thanksgiving dinner.

So who knows? Maybe I'll change my tune soon, but the overwhelming feeling of accomplishment (and the constant supply of spoons) is making me put off a new dishwasher for just a little longer ;)