Stressed out preparing for the 9 days

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shalhevet ↓

Wed, Jul 30 2008, 4:20 am

I am just so stressed out - I have stacks of laundry (no idea where it all appeared from) and even more stacks of ironing. It's already Wednesday and I have to get everything ready so that it can be worn in time. Plus there are 2 Shabboses to have clean ironed clothing ready for.

I also need to buy my girls new uniforms this week, since I can't next week, and I don't know if I will have time in bein hazemanim (or if they will have all the sizes left).

Meanwhile I am getting little cooperation from everyone around here - my older girls are wearing the same clothes as yesterday instead of saving them for the nine days. Which means they will end up in the laundry for washing and ironing all over again tonight. And of course we are on vacation-routine which means everyone is busy making things as dirty/messy etc as possible and aren't rushing to clean up after themselves.

And then I'll have to watch it all pile up again and start all over again the day after Tisha B'Av.

AAAAAAAAAAArrrrrrrrrrrggggggggggghhhhhhh.

Thanks for letting me vent.

May Mashiach come today, and solve all our very many bigger problems than this minor one.

sarahd

Wed, Jul 30 2008, 4:41 am

I feel for you. I got up at 6.15 this morning so I could make a dent in the piles of ironing - and the baby woke up at 6.20, so there went that plan. One thing I'm happy about, though. I thought Rosh Chodesh was Friday and realized yesterday that it's Shabbos, so that gives me one more day! Very Happy

Purplehair

Wed, Jul 30 2008, 9:49 am

AFAIK, you are allowed to iron during the nine days. Only the actual washing of garments is an issue. I've read Rabbi Shimon D. Eiders kuntris on the Three weeks over and over, and nowhere in it does he mention ironing as a problem during the nine days.

freidasima

Wed, Jul 30 2008, 9:52 am

Ironing? What's that?
Except for shabbos shirts of course...

Tamiri ↓

Wed, Jul 30 2008, 11:45 am

It's too hot to iron. I have been sending my males out in unironed shirts this summer and no one has complained yet. Can you dry them a bit in the dryer then hang them up to finish drying? This works pretty well for us.

I have done many loads of laundry this week. Zehu, whatever isn't done by tomorrow isn't getting done. I do so hate piles of laundry. In the States I had a basement where the dirty clothes could be dumped, but not anymore. Uch.

And what about food? What will I serve, when I usually have 2 weekday meals leftovers from Shabbat. That's more stressful: feeding for the whole week with no cheating.

his_sweety

Wed, Jul 30 2008, 11:50 am

I only do laundry if I have the time and patience to hang or fold everything right away, no need to iron anything if you do so...

DH's shirts always go to the cleaners.. that would need ironing, and that's exactly why I give it in!

azoy

Wed, Jul 30 2008, 11:51 am

whats the deal with not wearing clean clothes during the 9 days?
which is worse, doing tons of laundry before hand, or wearing everything you plan to wear over the course of 9 days??

sky

Wed, Jul 30 2008, 12:24 pm

azoy wrote:

whats the deal with not wearing clean clothes during the 9 days?
which is worse, doing tons of laundry before hand, or wearing everything you plan to wear over the course of 9 days??

I agree - I hate the trying on everything before the 9 days. I feel like it takes so much time. And I have to figure out which towels we will need and make sure that they all get used once before. I still haven't even washed them and I'm already thinking about how to make them dirty.

Don't iron too much. Once the clothes get tried on they will get wrinkled anyways.

ChossidMom

Wed, Jul 30 2008, 12:51 pm

I hear you, Shalhevet.
I did some laundry today and I have a pile of ironing. Mostly my OWN shirts which are not permanent press. I don't iron dh's shirts. I guess I'll have to do it tomorrow.
Whatever I do, though, I always have to wash my 4 and 2 year olds' stuff during the 9 days. At least once. I don't have enough Shabbos clothes!!! My bigger kids can just wear the same pants twice. Maximum, I won't make Challah tomorrow and concentrate more on the clothing.

Clarissa ↓

Wed, Jul 30 2008, 1:02 pm

I'm with friedasima. People iron? Listen, if you want things to look less wrinkly but you don't care about perfection, hang them up on your shower curtain rod, turn the hot water up high, and leave them in there to let them steam out. You can go about your business and come back and retrieve them, smooth them out a bit, and they'll look better. But don't leave them in there too long -- last time I did it, I steamed off some of the paint on my ceiling.

Mrs. XYZ ↓

Wed, Jul 30 2008, 1:07 pm

Hey, Shalhevet, this so doesn't sound like you!! Wink

You know how to scream, too?

Ima'la ↓

Wed, Jul 30 2008, 1:35 pm

Sounds like those clothing-wearing DDs of yours need some jobs! Wink

Raisin ↓

Wed, Jul 30 2008, 1:36 pm

my husband just suggested I take stuff to the laundromat if I run out of time. but I think im almost done. I may need to buy some more underwear for the kids so we don't run out.

Are you allowed to wash a kids clothes if he has accidents?????? otherwise I am stuck.

soldat

Wed, Jul 30 2008, 1:40 pm

from what I understand, you are allowed to do laundry if you have babies in the house. but please ask your LOR I could be totaly wrong

↑ shalhevet ↓

Wed, Jul 30 2008, 1:52 pm

Purplehair wrote:

Asked dh this one and he says it says you can't in the SA (their equivalent). Ask your LOR.

his-sweety wrote:

DH's shirts always go to the cleaners.. that would need ironing, and that's exactly why I give it in!

Uh... not on a kolel budget in EY (I don't even know working people who do this here).

Clarissa wrote:

In EY we pay for every drop of water, so rather an expensive alternative. (Not to mention that we need every drop here, even if we didn't have to pay.)

Ima'le wrote:

Sounds like those clothing-wearing DDs of yours need some jobs! :wink

It's that vacation time laziness. I can't really complain though - they are keeping their younger brother entertained, and dd1 has been baking enough yeast cakes and rogelach for the next two or three weeks.

Raisin wrote:

Are you allowed to wash a kids clothes if he has accidents?????? otherwise I am stuck.

Our rov says yes. Ask your own LOR (or are you the local orthodox rebbetzin yourself? Wink

)

↑ Clarissa ↓

Wed, Jul 30 2008, 1:55 pm

How embarrassing, I sound like a water-waster. I wish I could edit. This morning I was Clarissa the Liberal, and now I'm Clarissa the Liberal Water-Waster. You can't imagine the shame.

That was a dumb suggestion.

I do want to make one other minor point. It's very nice that you followed up your original complaint with a disclaimer about their being more important problems out there, but you don't have to. We should be allowed to gripe, especially about having a lot of work to do in a short period of time. And I'm not just saying this because I considered my lice post to be the most important post on this board ever, since Yael started it, because it was my problem.

↑ Ima'la ↓

Wed, Jul 30 2008, 1:57 pm

Ah, you just reminded me why I didn't post that suggestion this morning. B/c it occured to me then that it might be hard to rope girls into laundry duty during chofesh hagadol!

Ditto on the problem with the hot shower steaming suggestion - besides, that would totally empty out your hot water tank faster than the sun could re-heat it! (I know b/c I tried it once. But not for piddling laundry - for a croupy baby.) Then besides the expense of the water is the expense of the electric boiler...

↑ Raisin

Wed, Jul 30 2008, 1:58 pm

shalhevet...cant you enroll your dds? maybe "pay" them? (I remember you had a whole pesach system where your kids helped and they got a sefer. or was that someone else?)

yes, dh is the l.o.r. Although we do have a Rav we ask questions. Id rather not bug him with such an obvious question though.

↑ shalhevet

Wed, Jul 30 2008, 2:18 pm

Raisin wrote:

shalhevet...cant you enroll your dds? maybe "pay" them? (I remember you had a whole pesach system where your kids helped and they got a sefer. or was that someone else?)

Ye Olde Experienced Ima (indeed twas moi) says - if ye useth the same tricke too many tymes it loses its attractiveness.

So Ye Olde Experienced Ima says - if I use that trick tomorrow I may be posting on the 12th Nissan that no one is helping me because they have enough seforim already and everyone is sunning out in the park while I am hoping to start the kitchen.

↑ Tamiri

Wed, Jul 30 2008, 2:20 pm

Clarissa wrote:

Most of us in Israel can't do something like that Clarissa.

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