4 Reasons Laundry Leads to Happiness (Having Clean Socks Is One of Them)

Karen Maezen Miller is an errant wife, delinquent mother, reluctant dog walker, and expert laundress

Happiness researchers are mystified. Almost nothing we think will make us happy actually has that effect: not

higher incomes, not bigger houses, not having kids, and not even winning the lottery.

Everyone has a notion about where to find happiness, but no one seems to have a hold on it. The bigger we make the question, the more likely we are to overlook the answer.

These are my top four reasons why doing the laundry can make you happy, healthy and wise:

1. Someone has to do it.

2. You can stop looking elsewhere. We spend most of our time looking fruitlessly for more meaning, more money, and greater purpose.

3. It's cheaper than therapy. You can learn a lot about yourself by how you do the laundry.

4. No one turns their nose up at a clean pair of socks. Doing the laundry is practical, and that's what makes it so gratifying.