Note: The following giveaway is open to Canadians only.
We’ve all done it. Some, more than others. Some… all the time. And make no mistake; it always catches up to us. C’mon… you know you’ve done it.
You’ve forgotten to move the clothes from the washer to the dryer.
After the first hour, it’s cool. No harm done! In fact, one could argue that allowing clothes to “cure” in the washing machine drum is a good thing. The clothes are promptly (albeit tardily) transferred from washer to dryer and you don’t look back. Moving on.
Sometimes, two hours go by. And after the second hour, while you’re not yet in Panicville, you’re definitely on the outskirts. But it’s alright! You can deal. You give your clothes a quick whiff, confirm that no offensive odour exists, and silently reprimand yourself for being so forgetful. You vow it will never happen again… But it does.
This time, you forget for a longer period of time. Maybe even overnight (gah!). And as you pull open the drum, you notice it. Frankly, you are confronted by it. That smell….
The musty odour of clothes; the pungent mildewy smell of dampness wafting from the drum. A veritable reminder that you suck, and your suckage has led to a stinky washing machine and even stinkier clothes that will now require a re-wash. You carefully measure out the detergent, silently cursing your forgetful ways. To add insult to injury, the energy savings period has passed, which means you’ll pay through the nose to wash the same damn towels through the same damn hot wash cycle yet again.
Yeah, we’ve all done it.
Of course, I do have a few suggestions to try and help you remember. First, tie a string to your finger until you’re just about cutting off the circulation. By the time it turns purple and starts throbbing, your wash *should* be done. Or, you can always leave your 3-year old to stand guard at the washing machine, because we all know 3-year olds never wander off, right? Failing that, you could strap a megaphone next to the “end of cycle” signal and pray that you don’t blow out your eardrums when it inevitably beeps. (Disclaimer: Do not try these suggestions at home. Unless you want to. In which case, stinky laundry isn’t your biggest problem.)…
The thing is, I’m often too lazy to wash stuffed animals, especially if they’re not visibly dirty. Because I know that no sooner than the stuffie is reclaimed… behind the toilet it will go. (I swear kids do that just to get a rise out of their parents. I know Ryder does.) Plus, it’s not always feasible to do a full load of stuffed animals, especially when there are whites, darks and delicates waiting in the wings.
Next, the laundry fairies (as I’ve since dubbed them) replaced the set with a brand, spanking new