Laundry Games

My last post reminded me that we are on the verge of getting buried alive by actual laundry. (More on the mental cleaning this weekend…I’m working on worry this week! Not that moms ever have issues with worry, right??) I’ve found that including the girls in laundry and other housework is a great strategy. I love their creativity. They can create a game out of any task.

My four year old’s favorite is “parachute.” Whenever she helps with laundry, she begs to play it. What we do is spread out a small blanket, pile stuffed animals onto it, call out, “One, two, three…Go!!!” and shake the blanket, making the animals jump until all but one falls out. That animal is the winner, and goes to the “Winner’s Circle,” usually a corner of the couch. Then the game resumes with the rest of the animals. We play until there is only one animal left. So all the animals get to be winners! We even sometimes “introduce” each animal before throwing it onto the blanket. “Our next competitor is Daaaaniel Tiger!!” We cheer for our favorites. “Go Daniel, go Daniel, go Daniel!! Woo-hoo!!! Daniel Tiger is the last animal standing!” My daughter’s face lights up with such glee.

My 2 1/2 year old helps with laundry as well. I call out items for both of them to find, such as “Pajamas!”, or “Anything purple!” They then frantically dig through Mount Laundry, locate something, run to the washing machine, and throw it in. This also saves me the trouble of sorting the laundry. I wouldn’t want to take that joy away from them.

To be sure, since I’ve acquired these little laundry assistants, this once straightforward task now takes twice as long. And the whites are not so bright anymore since someone accidentally tossed the red sweater-clad Daniel Tiger in with the tube socks and undershirts.

But let’s not allow these minor frustrations to put a damper on the fun. C’mon, let’s play some laundry games.