Is cleanliness next to Godliness?

The pile of dirty laundry, in the room that will eventually be the office, looked daunting. Having avoided it long enough the options of clean items and such had dwindled down to one towel, very few articles of clothing and, well, the bed sheets needed to be changed. Still living in and out of boxes with about 60% left out on the back patio, which is down from a few days ago, maybe not by much but it is progress.

Separating it into appropriate piles has always been the first order of business when tackling laundry. Taking longer than expected, in the end, hills of laundry surrounded the room. Not piles; hills. 12 loads needed to be washed, dried and folded. One washer and dryer in the house was going to take hours to complete. Then the bright light went "ding" and the idea of taking all of it to a laundromat came up.

Having not been in a laundromat for years, what was to be expected? It was much cleaner than imagined. Less occupied than thought to be. More expensive than recalled. Faster than thought. So fast, the first four loads seemed to be completed through the wash cycle before the last pile was put into the washer. Drying came next and one can only wish to have those supersized dryers at home; a time saver, for sure.

Being in a laundromat was a reminder of youth. Times in the winter when the family lugged the bags and baskets of laundry to the laundromat because line-drying would be impossible; too cold to dry outside. Folding warm, Downey-fresh clothes and linen; a reminder of how much cleanliness defines. Cleanliness is next to Godliness, or so they say. If that's true, would one be disconnected from God with 12 piles of dirty laundry?

Thoughts of sleeping on clean sheets, warm and clean-smelling, brings a smile. Imagining the doggies rolling around in the clean beds and blankets. Thinking of the clothes that will be available to wear, now that the weather is turning chilly. All reasons that make this all worth it.

12 hills of laundry, finally clean. Breathing a sigh of relief and turning attention to more unpacking.