A basket case

Dear Three C's,

I would like to take a minute to introduce you to this wonderful item we have in our home. They are not new, we have had these for quite some time even before any of you were even born, but I don't think you properly understand how they work so I am taking the time out of my busy day to explain to you in great detail what these items are and how they should be used.

This is a laundry basket. Contrary to popular belief around our house they are not wagons, toy boxes, boats, or a cage to trap the dog. They are called laundry baskets because they were designed and even purchased with the sole purpose of holding laundry. You see kids, when you take your clothes off at the end of the day or change early in the morning you should remove the items and place them in said laundry basket. I know this will come as a shock but the floor isn't really meant to look like this:

Now, these items are centrally located all over our house in hopes you will soon grasp the concept. There is one in each bathroom, and brace yourselves, there is even one in each of your bedrooms. Yes, it is true. Believe it or not, but I have taken photographic evidence to show you children where you might find these handy baskets.

Yes, son that particular laundry basket was found right in your closet. I think you must have confused it for something else which is why I also found a pile of laundry located on your bedroom floor.

Now I don't want cause confusion or mass chaos but there is another reason besides keeping the floors clean that I want you to become acquainted with the laundry basket. There is a room located off of the kitchen that is called a laundry room. Inside you will find a washer and a dryer that keeps our clothes clean. You see your father and I have wasted lots of time picking up your dirty laundry and putting into laundry baskets so we can take it to the laundry room to spend more time washing your clothes.

If you open this door for a reason besides hide and seek, you will see I even have mesh laundry bags hanging on the wall for your convenience. You can put your laundry in the basket, carry it all in one trip to the laundry room, and then transfer the clothes to the bags on the wall and they never have to touch the floor.

AMAZING, I know. Then you have an empty laundry basket that you can carry back to your room with you and start the whole process over again.

Now I need to talk to your dad for a moment regarding his use of the laundry basket. Although I really, really appreciate your efforts, dear, when it comes to doing the laundry I just wanted to let you know that laundry baskets are not exactly the same thing as dresser drawers. Yes, that's right once the laundry has been washed and dried you can actually fold it right there in the laundry room and immediately put it away.

Maybe if the kids start noticing empty laundry baskets instead of you digging through them for clean clothes, they would start to understand the concept a little better. It would probably also improve the appearance of our living room if we didn't have a collection of laundry baskets filled with clothes surrounding the couch. That's not really what I meant when I said we needed a coffee table.

I have faith in you guys and know you can do this. It may be a little overwhelming now, but you will get used to the newly discovered laundry basket.

In high hopes,

Mom

P.S. You know that tall container in the kitchen? Yes, the one that gets filled with stuff. It is called a garbage can and believe it or not, you can actually take the bag out and remove it when it becomes full. You don't really have to cram as much stuff as possible inside it until it overflows onto the floor. Someone even comes to our house and picks up the bags each week if we set them near the end of the driveway. That is what the big cans in the garage are used for. AMAZING, I know.