TV Turn Off Week

Last week, April 16-22, was TV Turn Off Week in the Provo School District.  The idea was to not watch TV, DVDs, or play computer games.  We were to be unplugged.  Although Brandt is the only one in school, we committed, as a family, not to watch TV.  We did really well.  The TV was not turned on, and although I did blog and check email, I did not play any games on the computer and neither did the children.  I felt it was only fair that Kent and I refrain if we were asking the children to do the same.

It was wonderful!  In our new house, the kitchen/dining/family room areas are all open, which I like, but I don't like that the TV is in the family room, and so I hear it when it is on, all the time.  It has been bliss to not have to listen to it over other activity.  Oddly enough, I don't know that the children really missed it all that much.  Brandt asked me on day two and day three how many more days we had, but day four and five I heard nothing.  When the weekend rolled around there was the question again about how many more days, but they were great.  The weather has been wonderful and so we have all been outside, and that has helped. I'm not sure we could have had TV Turn Off Week in January.

My only complaint was that I had to do laundry this week, and I usually get to watch something interesting, like a mystery, while I fold clothes.  No such luck this week.  As I knew I was not going to get to watch while I folded, rather than piling all the clean clothes on the couch, I made an enormous pile of clothes on our bedroom floor.

On Saturday I had a cunning plan.  I had Brandt and Blythe come into the bedroom and help with the laundry.  First off, we sorted.  We had a Brandt pile, a Blythe pile, a Mom pile, a Dad pile, and a towels pile.  Socks all went into a basket.  From there I had the children help me fold all the towels, because it is easy to fold towels.  I didn't worry if they weren't perfect, they just had to be good enough to stack.  Next we sorted out their underwear which are also easy to fold, just in half.  When they had done all the underwear, I had them take the stack to their bedrooms to be put in the drawers.  We played matching with all the socks and then I had them put their socks away.  Next came pants which, like underwear, are easy to fold--in half and in half again.  Blythe dropped all her pants before she got them in the drawer, but I helped with that.  I folded their shirts which are a bit trickier.

The children worked hard, and I only had to nag them a bit.  When all the folding was done, I complimented them on a job well done and I could tell that they were pleased to have been so useful.  I think this will be the new laundry routine.

As I left our bedroom to go downstairs, I passed Brandt's room and looked inside.  Although Brandt had put his just folded clothes away, he wasn't super neat.  Oh well.