Growing up, the laundry room was called "The Dirty Clothes". I don't know why, but you would constantly hear my mom telling someone to "just put it in The Dirty Clothes", or "maybe it's in The Dirty Clothes"...We don't call it that at my house.
First of all, if I told my kids to put something in The Dirty Clothes, they would just stuff it into a used sock or something. And then put it back on the floor. I have to specify that it needs to go down the hall, into the laundry room and into the green basket. After weeks of keeping up with the laundry, my boys were short on undies. I never know where this stuff goes, but yesterday, I found a pile of the in the sink in our laundry room. That is when I started to specify "green basket". I suppose they were thinking that basket meant anything that you can put something into.
Also, I have noticed that "dirty clothes" is not an apt name for the things that are in the laundry basket...Only about half of what is in there is dirty clothes. Some of it is clean clothes. When the kids get down half of their wardrobe to find a pair of jammies, and then find it easier to throw it into a basket (or a sink) instead of putting it back where they belong, I suddenly have five loads of laundry to do in one day. Also, some things are not even clothes.
Here are the current conditions to make it into the "laundry club"...
1.) If you are made of fabric, contain fabric, have fabric anywhere on you, have fabric just sitting on you, you are hiding under something fabric, or someone picking you up off of the floor can see any fabric anywhere, you are so in.
2.) If you have even been in the laundry room for any reason, into the basket you go.
3.) If the person who picked you up does not feel like putting you where you belong, or they want to hide you from a sibling for awhile, congratuations.
4.) If the person who picked you up was watching cartoons at the same time, you are in.
5.) If you have ever been in our house and got put within the reach of a child, or know someone who has, this club is for you.
So you see, it's a very discriminating club, and can hardly be called "The Dirty Clothes".
But this way, when I do the laundry and everyone's whites turn color, I always have something to blame it on. And my change cup is ALWAYS full.
