The Laundry Nazi: A journey in OCD.

I've never really called myself OCD, or even thought of myself as being "particular" about certain things. However, if anything will make you look at yourself in that way - it's having a spouse who hits every.single.nerve. you have over it. First, a little back story:

First, I was in a car accident that at best almost left me with only one arm. If you look at the scars you can see that there was only about 2 inches in the back of my arm that wasn't cut, and my arm was broken at the elbow (so, it was almost twisted off). It makes it a little hard to hold any kind of weight in that hand. Secondly, for the past 5 years we've lived in an apartment that didn't have washer/dryer hookups in it. That means our laundry was having to be carried to the community laundry room once a week. So, I've had to deal (that word is very appropriate) with my husband doing the laundry. 

Hey, you can't complain right? Never washing or drying the laundry. Heck he even folds and puts away. Every woman's dream right? Well...not mine. But *shrugs* as I said, one can't really complain when someone else is going that mile for you. We moved a few months back though into a townhouse. And holy crap on a cracker the parentals gave us a washer/dryer for Christmas. Let the adventures begin!

My husband is now been barred from ever doing laundry again. Oh happy day for him right? Yeah, except he's the helpful sort. Oh happy day for me right? o.O Yeah, not so much.

I wash a load of laundry. Dry it. Immediately take it out and fold/hang/put away. I've really been in a sick kind of Heaven the last month. Yesterday as I was doing laundry I told the husband that I hadn't left a single load in the dryer ONCE since getting it. Nor had I even taken them out and thrown them in a basket. BUT, by golly I really didn't feel like matching the socks. 

*Husband busts onto the scene with an S on his chest and a cape flowing in the breeze like a real modern day super hero* DUN DUN DAH! Saving damsels in laundry room distress is what I live for!

So, we get the whites out of the dryer. I put the load that's in the washer into the dryer, and get to work on putting in a new load. The husband sits down with the whites and gets busy. The problem with this? There is more than just socks in that load of whites. I looked over my shoulder and saw a white towel folded and cringed at the sight of it's "no particular reason" style. I looked up at him and cringed at the sight of the white shirt in his hands. STOP FOLDING THINGS!!! Just...just match socks. 

I go over and fix the towel, and take all of the non socks away. 

Ok. I have lived in almost complete silence over the years of his laundry habits. The occasional "Are you effing kidding me" comment, but mostly silent. Can't complain when someone else is doing the work. But seriously, if I had ever thought that I might have been a TAD particular about the laundry.....he makes me fee like an OCD lunatic. Each item has a manner in which to be folded, and no matter how big or small a piece might be, it gets folded the same way based on what it is.

Towel = fold in half (long ways so you have more or lessly a squareish shape), then fold into thirds.

Shirt = Folded in half (so that the sleeves meet), sleeves folded in, then folded in half.

Boy underwear = folded in thirds, and then in half.

Girl underwear = folded in half (bottom to top) and then in thirds.

Pants and shorts = folded in half long ways, and then folded in half the other way.

Hanging things up? OH.MY.GOSH. Looking at my closet currently makes me REALLY sad and cringey. But hey, when someone else is doing the work? YOU CAN'T REALLY COMPLAIN! 

Tanks/sleeveless
Short sleeved
Long sleeved
Skirts
Pants/capris
Seasonal

And each section is hung up color coded. Except, every time I FIX the closet *cough* someone *cough* hangs stuff up in a completely RANDOM order. Not only are the colors and the styles random....who they belong to is random. My clothes are in his closet, his clothes are in my closet....

No one has ever helped me with the laundry before. And when my kids were little I may have not always been so good about getting the clothes out of the dryer. BUT now that I have full ability to do laundry as I see fit, and have someone willing to help with the laundry... I have never been more aware of the fact that I am a Laundry Nazi!!