January 20, 2018 -       “Is there nothing sacred in this house . . .”

         I heard the washing machine give it’s little ‘beep, beep, beep’ noise from the other end of the house.  Of course, my husband doesn’t hear it from five feet away. [I file that under ‘selective hearing’ as some of you might understand that phrase.]

         He does his own laundry the majority of the time because he fills the washing machine as if it is his own personal hamper.  It drives me nutty.  Yes, it does get his clothes where they need to be – don’t get me wrong – but often it is inconvenient, because I need something washed right away and I have to unload his dirty laundry in order to get mine done to meet a deadline.

         It got to me yesterday when I entered the mudroom, where the washer and dryer are located, and a delicious lavender scent filled the air. Hubby was on his way out the back door to feed his birds, not in hearing range, when I switched the completed wash over to the dryer. I spouted off to myself aloud,

         “Is there nothing sacred in this house?  He’s gotten into my expensive laundry detergent . . . how dare he?” [I talk to myself often; I believe that is a trait of being intelligent or keeping my own counsel.]

         What is this sacred thing? I am trying to be frugal and I hold back using my delicious scented Mrs. Myer’s Clean Day Laundry detergent for only special things, i.e., the sheets, underthings, etc., [honestly, mostly my things] because it is “pricey” as they say here in the south.  Does his jogging suit need “lavender” scent?  I say, NO.

         After I started the dryer, I snagged the half-gallon jug and put it in another hiding place.  Hey, it’s about $20 for a jug, in fact the current price sticker on the cap is $19.89 and our regular washing machine detergent is a quarter of that price for twice as much.

         I remember the first half-gallon I got of Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day Laundry detergent.  It was a surprise gift from my friend, Becky the “ultra-shopper,” who finds deals of a lifetime just about every time she shops.  I think she bought a case of it at a remarkable price one day and was bragging about it and I mentioned, “ooooh!”

         She said she’d been using it for years and simply loved it. 

         I said, “I’ve seen it, but I am too cheap to buy any but I love Mrs. Meyer’s liquid dish shop and her All-purpose cleaner concentrate.”

         Out of the sweetness of her heart, she ran out to her vehicle, came back, and plunked one on the kitchen table for me as a love gift.  Of course, I said, “Oh, no, that’s too expensive . . .”

         But, Becky prevailed and I stashed it under the sink in my master bathroom and first saved it for my hand washed sweaters, and then I branched out into my fluffy bath towels and then the slippery slope began and next it was the sheets, and so on.  When that first jug was empty, I had to fork out big bucks for my next half-gallon; and I again became “stingy” because I really am a cheapskate half of the time. [Being a Libra, I swing from frugality to extravagance when it comes to spending money.]

         Okay, Okay, I hear you. I will get over it; I guess it isn’t really sacred.   However, when someone mentions that my husband smells like a woman’s lingerie drawer, trust me, I won’t suppress my laughter.