No, this is not the name of a casserole made from natural laundry detergents. It’s today’s cleaning challenge. I didn’t take a “before” photo, but I did take an “after” shot. Ooo, it felt good to vacuum up the dust that was hiding in all of the nooks and crannies, wash off that washer/dryer film that appears out of no where, CLEAN OUT THE LAUNDRY DETERGENT CUP!, and scrub the utility tub (even using q-tips for those nasty little soap dish ledges!). I don’t know if I’d call this particular space in our house a “haven” exactly, no matter how clean it is, but today’s once-over might make things a bit more pleasant for all of the family members who will be doing our laundry the first few weeks after the baby is born (wink, of course).

Another part of the challenge is to list 5 things we are thankful for… I’ve decided to keep my list to “laundry-specific” gratitude:

1. The cup of vinegar and hot water that I throw in with my towels.

2. Tide to Go (if you don’t believe in magic, you don’t have a Tide to Go)

3. The frugality of using the cold/cold cycle and still believing that our clothes are getting clean.

4. The smell of liquid fabric softener on clothes that are fresh (and non-wrinkly) out of the dryer.

5. The games Vivienne and I play while we’re folding laundry (“sock head,” “squirrel digs for underwear,” “who can find…” etc.)