Laundry after the 9 Days

I have an unusual laundry set up for Israel. We actually have our laundry room in the basement, and we have a laundry chute! We just open the door of the chute and dump the laundry down and promptly forget about it. At least, that's what we did during the 9 Days.


So now the laundry room looks like this:

It also looks like SOME people have decided that various boxes, and yes, even Tonka trucks belong in the laundry. If I find those things in the washing machine, I bet you'll hear about it!!
 
Are you wondering, as I am, just how long it will take to sort out that laundry into manage-able piles about the size of a load?

 Or perhaps you wonder, as I do, exactly how many times I will be loading up my trusty washing machine this week?
 
 Or maybe you want to know who is going to hang it all to dry, shlep it back inside after, and then fold it?

 So many laundry questions to ponder...

During the rest of the year, I usually go down there every couple of days to "check" on the laundry. We have a 10 kg washing machine (Love it!) and I like to run full loads. So when I have enough for a load of laundry, in it goes, and then I hang it on my drying racks. This house did not come equipped with a clothesline, but luckily we purchased these awesome, handy-dandy folding drying racks with tons of space and stowed them on our lift.

They look a lot like this, only we actually purchased them at Ikea. (Sorry, the current Ikea catalog does not seem to include them. So, Israelis, you may be out of luck. But those of you in America can  just order them - free delivery - from Amazon , and you'll be air drying your clothes in no time, whether or not you have a clothesline!

Have I mentioned that air drying our clothes helps keep our electric bill down? I won't say manageable, because it's all relative. We started air drying clothing when we live in Florida, and got the shock of our first electric bill there in the summer. It was either give up A/C or give up the dryer. We gave up the dryer, and I don't really miss it!  Try it out, let me know  if you've considered giving up your dryer...

Homeschooling Fun!

I was so happy to be able to host a homeschoolers' get together today at my house!

We had kids playing with cars, trains, dolls, puzzles, computer programming, softball practice, cartwheeling, jumping rope, running in the grass, and perler bead making. (I'm sure I missed a few of the activities that took place, but that should give you an idea of what it was like around here.)

It was busy, rowdy, and lots of fun! (And everyone was happy. Imagine that!) I love that we can have kids over ranging in age from about 1 to about 14, and everyone finds something to do!

We also had some eating. At the last minute, I made up a recipe for Raisin-Bran Cake. Check it out!

A day off...

Today we ventured out of our little piece of Israel, and we went to the center of the country. We played in a Eucalyptus grove at the Mekorot Hayarkon, but since it was so hot (but surprisingly less humid there than home! Who would've thought?), we ended up finding a water fountain and spraying water all over each other. It turned into a soaking wet, fun time. And I only felt a little guilty about using the extra water!




Then we went to visit my aunt and uncle in Hod Hasharon. Sometimes you just need to see family in order to feel anchored. The kids love going there, it's like having another Saba and Savta who spoil them! And honestly, it was really great for us adults too. It's nice to spend time with family, I highly recommend it to everyone!

We always will do things differently, but there is no denying that we come from the same family! I can't help but see bits of *my* grandparents in my aunt, and bits of my mother too. Makes me feel all happy/sad.


A little homesick and missing those not with us and those no longer with us, but also anchored to family in the here and now...