Laundry

Let’s talk laundry.

Your parents will probably place a hamper in your room. They will be happy if you place your dirty clothes inside the hamper, but it is really more of a suggestion and not a requirement. If your clothes are on the floor in the vicinity of the hamper, that is usually good enough. The interpretation of the term “vicinity” here is subjective, but in almost all cases a standard child's bedroom is small enough to consider any part of the room to be in the vicinity of the hamper.

If your hamper has a removable lid, it should be removed and also be placed in the vicinity of the hamper. Guess what? Your room is now a basketball court. Upon deciding that an article of clothing is dirty (see below), you should never walk to the hamper and drop it in. Instead, ball up the clothing as tightly as possible (this works particularly well with socks) and shoot it into the hamper from across the room. Do not be discouraged if you miss. Just grab another article of clothing and try again (pull something from a drawer if necessary). Missed again? You’ll get it next time! Keep practicing!

So how do you decide if something is dirty? This is surprisingly simple. Is the clothing hanging up? Is the clothing in a dresser drawer? If the answer is no, then it is dirty.

PRO TIP: Before placing anything in (or near) the hamper, be sure to turn it inside out. All clothing washes better when inside out. The only exception here are socks, which are best left in their balled up state.