10 In Midlife Crisis Fodder

It Could Be Worse—I Could Have Used Ex-Lax

There’s a sock revolution going on at my house.  Actually, it’s more of a silent laundry boycott—a peaceful protest wherein I’m the only knowledgeable participant.

It’s a genius strategy—one initiated through my kid’s babysitter who’s probably clueless about what she’s started.

You see, ever since I got married, I’ve come face to face with wrong-side-out socks in the hamper.  Shirts, pants, underwear—it all ends up in there the same way.  But the socks?  Those are the worst!  To get those scrunchy, tube shaped scraps of material turned the right way, you have to pull a puppet routine with your hand and then shake, shake, shake before they’re washer ready.

Photo courtesy of James Aville via Flickr Commons.

Photo courtesy of James Aville via Flickr Commons.

I talked to hubby early on in our marriage.  Told him it would really help things if he could just slide ‘em off his foot right-side-out to start with.  He looked at me like I’d just announced the sky was chartreuse and said, “Its ok.  The dirty part’s on the inside anyway.”

What?

Even if he was right (which of course he isn’t)—does he realize I STILL have to turn them right-side-out when I take them out of the dryer? 

I didn’t take my arguement further.  Despite the grumbles it gives me three times a week as I sort the laundry, it didn’t seem like the right battle to wage.  (Yes, I said three times a week.  I live with two little girls and a husband who, I suspect, think there really is a laundry fairy.)

Photo courtesy of Flexagons Villota via Flickr Commons.

Photo courtesy of Flexagons Villota via Flickr Commons.

And then came the sitter…

Muahahahaha

Photo courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Photo courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. (And this is meant to be me…NOT the sitter. She’s a lovely girl.)

 

You see, any after school sitter we employ is asked to keep the laundry moving in the afternoon so I’m not still folding and putting up clothes at 2am.  Our newest sitter is just a doll.  A young woman who’s about as easy going as they come—even in the face of third grade math homework.

I’d already given up on turning hubby’s socks right-side-out coming out of the hamper, opting to handle the task during the fold process.  (Hey, if he thinks the inside is the dirtiest part, who am I to judge?) 

I was putting up a round of clothes folded by the sitter one day when I realized, “Hey, his socks are still inside-out.” 

I sat down the basket and started to fix them.

Then I stopped.

“What would happen,” I wondered, “if I left them alone?”

My mind swirled around like an angry April Oklahoma tornado.  Would he actually WEAR them that way?  I mean, if he did, then eventually, they’d end up in the hamper right-side-out!  Genius!

It’s been going on for about a week now.  I still haven’t been able to tell if he’s wearing them wrong (they’re black and too hard to see without blowing my cover), or if he’s fixing them before he puts them on.  Either way it comes out as a win.

What about you?  Do you have any mini-rebellions under siege in your house?  Ever thought about starting a rebellion? 

I could be more like my mom and do a lot worse.  She put Ex-lax in a desert for my dad once when he made her mad.  At least I’m limiting mine to socks.

Ex Lax

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10 Comments

  • Reply
    Susan Jaymes
    May 3, 2013 at 6:31 pm

    My husband does the same thing and yes I wash the socks and then turn them right side out. Drives me nuts. I use to fix all his shirts that way too until a friend of mine told me she refuses to fix her husbands shirts. If he can’t fix them himself, they get washed the way they appear. I started to do the same thing and my husband adjusted. With two boys they follow suit of their father. You are right. Some battles just aren’t worth it.

    • Reply
      Rhenna
      May 3, 2013 at 8:20 pm

      Wahoo! Women and socks unite!

  • Reply
    Lynn Kelley
    May 3, 2013 at 8:41 pm

    Oh, wow, you’re way nicer than me! No, that wicked witch reflects me, not you Rhenna. I stopped doing my husband’s laundry long ago. Probably about the time we had kids and I joined the ranks of the working moms. He didn’t complain. He saw how exhausted I was, so he’s just done his own laundry all these years. And when the kids got to a certain age, they each did there own laundry, too. There are drawbacks with that, but that’s a whole book in itself.

    Fun post, Rhenna!

    • Reply
      Rhenna
      May 3, 2013 at 8:43 pm

      Oh, wow. You’re brave. I’m afraid of what would happen to my washer. 🙂

  • Reply
    Maggie Amada
    May 4, 2013 at 9:33 am

    Rhenna, I’m likely the worst housekeeper to ever walk the earth. I’m just awful and I would have no problem with washing socks, drying them and putting them in the drawer upside down for my husband as well as myself. Thank goodness my husband is a tad bit more organized than I am.

    That being said, I totally dig the passive aggressive approach. Sometimes you can win through demonstration what you can’t win through argument. I love your mom’s ex-lax idea. I’ll keep that in mind for future arguments — hilarious!

    • Reply
      Rhenna
      May 4, 2013 at 9:35 am

      Mom made passive aggressive an art form. I don’t exercise it nearly as well as she did.

  • Reply
    CJ Burright
    May 4, 2013 at 5:41 pm

    I once protested the dirty dish situation at my house by refusing to do any more dishes. I figured my family would realize how amazing I am and appreciate the time I slaved in cleaning once they realized they were out of dishes and couldn’t eat. Unfortunately, the piles of dirty dishes only drove me crazy and I lasted about two days. I don’t think anyone besides me even noticed. Obviously, I need to work on my passive aggressive skills.

  • Reply
    gretchen wing
    May 6, 2013 at 5:22 pm

    I once threw a fit about replacing dental floss into the drawer in the bathroom instead of carrying around the house or putting it one’s pockets. Wasn’t pretty, and I’m not proud. But guess what: I have my dental floss right where I want it. And the husband…? Work in progess (after 25 years). But then he’d say the same about me and dishes. And cupboard doors. And…

    • Reply
      Rhenna
      May 6, 2013 at 6:47 pm

      Those fits do the trick, don’t they? I will say, I put up the laundry today and, whadaya know? The socks were right side out. Hmmmmm…..

  • Reply
    Mommy Confessions – I’m No Donna Reed | Rhenna Morgan
    April 28, 2014 at 6:31 am

    […] week I threw my husband under the blog bus by divulging my Sock Rebellion on the internet.  He took it like a champ, but I figure it’s time for me to make like Fox News […]

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