Archive for the ‘clean it’ Category

I love a good laundry tip. My mom is kind of like my queen of clean.  Whenever I’m stumped for how to clean something, I give her a call.  She LOVES to clean and she loves laundry.  She really loves to find the most effective methods to keep clothes looking their best.

I take after her, I guess.  I hate to admit it out loud, but I really do like doing laundry.  I especially like it in the winter, when I pull warm laundry out of the dryer.  It smells so good and warms me right up while I fold.

I was talking to my mom last spring about what tips she loves best for laundry.

My dad wears a suit and tie to work and his shirts sometimes get ring around the collar.  She told me she swears by Fels-Naptha Soap to get the ring out.  She simply wets the collar and rubs it with the bar of soap.

My husband’s work is much more casual.  Dressing up for a meeting might mean he puts on a button down shirt… no tie.  So ring around the collar isn’t a problem for me.

But, I picked up a bar of Fels-Naptha Soap at the grocery store anyway.  It was very inexpensive and on the laundry isle at my local grocery store.

Lucky I did too.  It worked like a champ on the chocolate milk my son spilled on his shirt.  I’ve also used it on his baseball uniform that had mud on the knees.  It worked great on grass stains as well.  After I wet and rub the clothes with the bar, I let it sit for a few minutes and then throw them in the laundry.

I’ve found I actually like it better than Spray n Wash which I have used for years.  The Spray n Wash bottle drives me batty because it stops spraying after a minute of holding my bottle horizontal to spray the stain.

Spray in wash is also messy… and too perfumy, at least in my book.

Fels-Naptha Soap feels old fashioned and aesthetically pleasing, but the best part is how well it works.  It’s inexpensive and the bar seems like it’s going to last forever.  Thanks for the great tip mom!

I just wish I could take after my mom and find a way to enjoy ironing…

As part of my series on mending, a few of my friends have complained about little holes they get in the front of their shirts.  Yes!  I said, I get them too!

Do they happen to you too?

You know, holes right where your shirt rubs against your jeans.  I usually get several holes right together just below my belly button.

I’ve been really bothered by these little holes, partly because it means the shirt will be relegated to a cleaning/gardening shirt only.  Buying a new shirt will be in order, which really chaps me.  I especially hate when it happens to a shirt I love.  But mostly I’ve worried that it has something to do with my stomach that still pooches out from when I had my twins… uh hum…  8 years ago.

But the mystery of these little holes deepened when my sister-in-law Marcie, who is very skinny (even though her baby is only 11 months old…) complained that she gets those pesky holes in her shirts too.

What’s the deal?  Is it just cheap fabric?  Maybe.  But I’ve had it happen to shirts from Old Navy or Target just as fast as my J.Crew splurges… so the cost of the shirt doesn’t seem to make a difference.

Is it just the pitfalls of being a mother?  We do spend a lot of time leaned up against a counter after all… folding laundry, making dinner, helping with homework.  That’s a lot of rub time.

I wish I could tell you I’ve found a foolproof way to fix the problem.  I have really put my mind to it.  I’ve thought about patches, ruffles, alterations and other wild solutions.  But nothing seems viable.  I mean, who wants a patch just below their belly button?  And ruffles, which can be fun, just aren’t a reasonable solution for more than one shirt in my wardrobe.

So what’s girl to do?

Then a solution came to me… maybe our apron wearing grandmothers were onto something.  Maybe, just maybe, I need to wear my apron more.  Not just for cooking, but for cleaning too.

So a few months ago, I started wearing an apron more.  As in, I put it on in the morning… and wear it all day.  Unless of course I’m going somewhere, and then I try to remember to take it off.

And guess what?  There’s a noticeable decline in those pesky little holes.

Wearing my apron has other fringe benefits.  It cuts down on stains on my clothing.  An apron pocket is also a handy place to put the Lego block I just stepped on, pennies from the laundry, and clipped strings as I’m sewing.  At the end of the day, my apron has a pocket full of treasures.

So if you don’t have a full apron… or two or three.  Make yourself one today from your favorite fabric.  Be sure to check Barbara Brandeburg’s wonderful  Sassy Little Apron pattern shown above.  I’ve made her Flouncy Little Apron and her patterns are fabulous.

A good apron may just save your favorite shirt.