My son (16) is taking his first trembling footsteps into the adult world by laundering his own clothes. My washer/dryer is very inconveniently located in a closet in a narrow hallway in front of our only main-floor bathroom. So when Kevin dumps two or three loads of (clean!) clothes on the floor, it's messy and in the way of everybody.

"Pick it up," I told him.

He picked it up--and crammed it on top of the washer/dryer and closed the closet door. I opened the door and was nearly buried in an avalanche of clean, dirty, and not-quite-dry laundry.

Obviously, this is my fault for not clearly communicating my wishes. Perhaps if I throw away all of his clothes he'll get the message.

Sigh.

E-