Since we have become a family of four, the laundry in my house has seemed to quadruple. Laundry is not an enjoyable activity, especially the folding part. No one would choose to fold the laundry instead of say, read a book, watch TV, or go to Target alone. So when you are seemingly doing nothing but laundry, it wears on you.
Because the constant laundry was becoming an absolute soul-sucking slog, I set out to find a way to make the inordinate amount of time I spent doing laundry at least somewhat enjoyable. What I didn’t expect was to find something that made me actually look forward to my time in the laundry room. Happily, I found just that – audiobooks!
I used to be staunchly anti-audiobook. I fancy myself somewhat of a book snob and thought I could never get anything out of listening to books. Boy, was I wrong! I have “read” some of the most impactful books of my life with my ears over the last year – all while getting the laundry checked off my list. Since January 1st of this year, I’ve read 52 audiobooks! I simply downloaded the Libby app on my phone, linked my local library card, and was off to the races. I have learned a lot about the world and myself, cried over deep human truths, and peed my pants from laughing so hard. Not a bad list of things to accomplish while folding the laundry. And all at no cost to me. I will say that I find non-fiction to be way more compatible with the audiobook format, especially when multitasking. I stick to self-help books, memoirs, and essay collections mostly.
To let you in on the secret to enjoying laundry, I am sharing what I consider to be the 5 best audiobooks. Pick one and give it a try – hopefully it will change your attitude toward the laundry too!
Best Audiobooks for Doing Laundry
The Lazy Genius Way by Kendra Adachi
Synopsis
“Be a genius about the things that matter and lazy about the things that don’t” is Kendra’s personal motto, the motto of podcast, The Lazy Genius, and the motto of her first book, The Lazy Genius Way. To accomplish this ideal, Kendra sets out 13 lazy genius principles to guide your every move: Decide Once, Start Small, Ask the Magic Question, Live in the Season, Build the Right Routines, Set House Rules, Put Everything in its Place, Let People In, Batch It, Essentialize, Go in the Right Order, Schedule Rest, and Be Kind to Yourself. The book goes through what each of these principles mean and then gives steps to apply each to your daily life (with examples!).
My Take
This book is literally life changing! I read this book right after my second child was born, when I was scrambling to figure out how to manage two kids, a dog, a husband with a demanding work schedule, and my own demanding work schedule. The concept of working smarter, not harder with the help of the 13 lazy genius principles really resonated with me, and I would guess will with you too. The most impactful of these principles has been Live in the Season. Kendra suggests that you live in the season of the year and in your season of life, embracing both fully so you’re not fighting against unrealistic expectations. This was such an epiphany to me and was the inspiration for Sara in Season! Please make the time to listen to this – you won’t regret it!
Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman
Synopsis
The concept of this book is that, if you live to be 80 years old, you have approximately 4,000 weeks on this Earth. Oliver is a former self-proclaimed productivity junkie who explores how we can all determine the best use of these approximately 4,000 weeks of life. This is a time management book that throws the old time management book out the window with its focus on meaning over productivity as it confronts the finiteness of time.
My Take
If The Lazy Genius Way was my inspiration for this blog, Four Thousand Weeks was the kick in the pants I needed to start it. I am definitely guilty of living life by my to do list, putting off joy until I can get all of the practical to-dos checked off my list. Reading this book showed me that I do not want to look back at the end of my 4,000 weeks and realize that I experienced joy only as an afterthought. At the end of the day will I really be that upset that I didn’t get the art for over the powder room toilet hung within 48 hours of purchase? No! Will I be upset if I don’t ever do anything that fills my cup? Absolutely! Listen to this is you want a similar wake-up call to make the most of your finite life.
The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman
Synopsis
After many years of seeing couple dynamics as a marriage counselor, Gary noticed that people typically speak one of five love languages – Words of affirmation, Quality time, Receiving gifts, Acts of service, and Physical touch. Once you find your love language and your partner’s love language, you as a couple can sustain a long-lasting, loving relationship.
My Take
Oh my gosh, if you are in any loving interpersonal relationship, LISTEN TO THE 5 LOVE LANGUAGES! I won’t lie, marriage after kids is hard. Especially marriage after the second kid. We were struggling to demonstrate our love for one another while in the thick of it with two young children. Then I listened to this book and learned that we both spoke different primary love languages. My love language is very much acts of service, so I was showing love through acts of love and expecting to receive acts of service in return. Come to find out, my husband’s love language is words of affirmation. What I thought were “empty” words were actually his way of telling me he loved me. My acts of service toward him were falling flat because he wanted to hear words of appreciation and encouragement. Now that we know what love language to “speak” with one another, we are back on the right track and not at one another’s throats nearly as often. I encourage everyone, married or not, to listen to this book, determine your own love language and the love languages of those close to you so you can maintain healthy, loving relationships.
Fair Play by Eve Rodsky
Synopsis
Tired of being the default parent for pretty much all aspects of her family’s home life, Eve created a practical system of spreading out these responsibilities more fairly. This new system is the “game” of Fair Play with four rules and 100 cards representing household tasks that you deal to yourself or your partner to more evenly balance the often-invisible work of running a modern household. The book and the game help you to prioritize what really matters to your family and rebalance your life.
My Take
This woman is a freaking genius! In my relationship, the concept of the mental to-do list that seems to be never-ending is a concept too abstract for my husband to fully grasp. And I don’t think he’s alone. Breaking the tasks of domestic life down into concrete items has really helped both my husband and me fully grasp who is doing what for the family. It’s important to note that this isn’t just about my husband being more thankful for all I do. I admit that some of his household tasks were going unnoticed by me as well. We don’t physically deal cards every week, but we do sit down over a beer (usually on Friday nights after the kids go to bed) and make a game plan for the coming week, taking work schedules and other commitments into account. In our house, the division certainly isn’t equal, but it’s much fairer than it was. We are definitively moving in the right direction, thanks to Fair Play. If you are struggling with the invisible load of domestic life, give this book a listen!
Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey
Synopsis
Matthew McConaughey takes the reader from his childhood in rural Texas to his experience as an exchange student in Australia to his career in Hollywood. Rather than focus on roadblocks he overcame along the way, Matthew highlights the Greenlights that led him forward to where he is today, both personally and professionally.
My Take
So this is clearly just for fun, but I enjoyed this waaay more than I thought I would. He’s actually really insightful and gets you thinking about how to look for the green lights in your life. At the end of the day, you get to listen to Matthew McConaughey for 6+ hours. All right, all right, all right!
Other Posts
If you want more book content, check out these posts:
Enjoy your laundry, friends!