Category: laundry

Mixed-Sorted Laundry

Nick surprised me by doing the laundry yesterday. I expressed my gratitude, and I had to suppress a giggle. I hope I hid my shock. Why would I have gratitude, giggles, and shock? Well, Nick did the laundry!

Last April I worked a seasonal job, and I asked for someone to take the responsibility of washing clothes. Nick volunteered to do the laundry. I taught him how to sort by colors, which temperature to use, and what each cycle meant. I showed him how much detergent to use. He did quite well after several practice runs. While I worked, he did fine.
Well, several months have lapsed.
Yesterday, he sorted the clothes by dark colors, whites, and towels. I watched him do the first load. He picked the towels. He tossed them in the washing machine. He put in the correct amount of detergent on the correct cycle. YEA. He remembers! All my concern faded quickly, and I left.
About an hour later, Nick announced that he had switched the loads. Everything was going smoothly. I smiled. I could focus on other items demanding my attention.
Another hour lapsed, and I walked by the laundry room when Nick was switching the current load from the washer to the dryer. I noticed a mix of white and dark clothes coming out of the washing machine. ??? I saw him sort the clothing. What had happened?
Nick explained that he put in the white clothes, but there wasn’t enough to fill the washer. He knew that he could only run the washer on a full load, per my instructions. Consequently, he put in the dark load to fill the machine. The whites remained on the bottom, and the dark clothes were on the top. They were still separated. Really?!
From his perspective, yes.
He had sorted the clothes. He followed Mom’s instructions to not run the washer unless it was full. He did as directed. Literally. Nick was proud of himself!
Yes, Mom could scream, laugh, or frown. I chose the laugh.
I did explain that the reason for sorting is to NOT mix them in the machine. I showed Nick how to change the water level in case this ever happened again. I had to rephrase the instructions of the “full washer”. TRY to run the machine as full as possible. If it isn’t full, either wait until there are more clothes, or switch the water level.
Only time will tell if this lesson is learned.
Life with teenagers who have autism. It keeps me on my toes. Definitely need to keep a sense of humor and optimism.
photo credit:Average Jane

The Countdown Begins: First Task: Laundry


Over the last ten days the boys and I have discussed what they will have to do while I am working full time. Some of them volunteered to do extra responsibilities. Others were volunteered by me.

Nick volunteered to do the laundry. He already knew how to separate the colors. Yea. He proceeded to stuff everything in the washing machine. I had to gently tell him to keep the clothes loose, so that the water and soap could actually clean.

Then I made the mistake of answering the phone while Nick put in the soap. Upon my return I saw soap covering all the clothes. I asked him how much he put in. He responded, “Enough.” Trying not to flinch, I showed him how much he should have put in, two tablespoons. He shyly whispered that he put in about five more. Since we make our own laundry soap, I was not too sure what the result would be. I could imagine the movie scene, where the machine oozes bubbles throughout the house. Alas, no such thing happened.

Then the next morning I found those same clothes still in the washing machine. I asked Nick about putting them in the dryer. “But you didn’t say I had to!” Is this a mom thing or what? When clothes are put in the washing machine, they have to go in to dryer…

So I reran the load, and then put them in the dryer. The clothes came out fine. Now they sit on the couch because no one has said, “Please fold your clothes.”

It’s become quite obvious that what I think is obvious is not to the boys. They need specific directions, but then again, I have been doing this for years. It is very easy to forget how I learned, yet I want them to master these tasks NOW. Nick responded quite well to suggestions and compliments. Gee, I prefer those too!
photo credit: antwerpenR