The Third Load of Laundry

That's what really kills my day. The third load. I used to be a person who only did a few loads a week for two people. We had to pay for the use of the washer and dryer and go down three flights of stairs into a cold, or hot, or damp basement, so we worked at minimizing our loads.
Then last year, we had laundry in the house, on the same floor as the bedrooms no less, and I did a load every day. I still tried not to go overboard, an eye to conservation and all that, but it was blissful. I could finally sort lights and darks and faithfully wash the sheets and towels every week. Plus, it was really, really easy to do a load a day and always be caught up.
Now there is a load of diapers every day, in addition to whatever our needs are. And then there is the potty training toddler. So many underpants, extra pants, sometimes even new pairs of socks, and then perhaps sheets and the mattress pad after naptime. Not every day has three loads, but definitely a few times a week it gets there. Often the third load will not get entirely finished until the next day, so even a two-load-day gets bloated with the weight of yesterday's third.
The switching of loads never matches up either to further complicate things. The diapers require an initial rinse, a long, hot wash, and then they are dried on low for an eternity. The extra absorbent liners that are so useful on the baby absorb extra time in the dryer. And then, of course, there's folding. So much folding. And putting inserts into diapers. And stripping and making beds. Over and over again. I will be happy when the potty trainee is finally potty trained and we can go back to two lovely, manageable loads. Until then, I will listen faithfully for the water to drain, for the drum to stop spinning, for the rhythmic clack of snaps and zippers to quiet.