Congratulations to the winner of the poetry contest:  MaryAnn!  Her laundry limerick won almost 50% of the votes, and several people asked permission to hang it up in their laundry rooms.  🙂

It’s a blessing to do everyday,
To serve my family this way.
I have to repeat it
Until I believe it,
For laundry will not go away.

And for her masterpiece, MaryAnn wins this lovely crown and a spot of honor on my sidebar over there —–>

For your own inspiration, here are a few quotes I found about laundry:

If you are still in the process of raising children, be aware that the tiny fingerprints that show up on almost every newly cleaned surface, the toys scattered about the house, the piles and piles of laundry to be tackled will disappear all too soon and that you will—to your surprise—miss them profoundly.  — Thomas S. Monson

“How in the world can I do everything I know I should be doing when I am barely managing the basic tasks of my day?” I wondered. By early evening I was exhausted, but I set aside discouraging thoughts during dinner, family home evening, and the boys’ bath and bedtime routine.

Finally, with the children in bed, I sat down to do what I had not had time for earlier. I picked up the May 2006 Ensign, which was open to a talk by President Henry B. Eyring titled “As a Child.” My eyes fell on a passage I had previously marked: “To keep the blessing of [changed natures] in our hearts will require determination, effort, and faith. King Benjamin taught at least some of what that will require. He said that to retain a remission of our sins from day to day we must feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick, and help people spiritually and temporally” (Liahona and Ensign, May 2006, 17).

Immediately, I again felt that I wasn’t living the gospel fully. I wondered, “How can I feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick, and help people spiritually and temporally when I can scarcely take care of my own family?”

That’s when I experienced an overwhelming feeling of divine approval. It was so clear, precise, and tangible that I knew I had to write it down so I wouldn’t forget. I could see my day replay in my mind—full of feeding the hungry, doing laundry to clothe the naked (I changed Caden’s outfit multiple times), gently caring for our sick baby, helping our five-year-old prepare a family home evening lesson on missionary work, and then discussing the power of example with my family—in other words, helping people spiritually and temporally.  — Carolynn Spencer

Try to think of the unexciting tasks not by themselves, but in terms of their larger significance. As she matches socks on laundry day, a woman might say to herself, “I’m overqualified for this job. My family scarcely even realizes this work goes on. It’s trivial.” But doing the laundry and cleaning the house leads to a greater end than simply clean socks and dusted furniture. Put small tasks into the framework of their larger goal. … Enjoying life is often more a matter of adopting the right perspective and so living that you experience peace at the center of your soul. Real excitement is knowing that, whatever your tasks, you have the Lord’s approval and love.  —Karen Davidson