Proud Moment of Domesticity

I've never been particularly good at cleaning. Admittedly, I've never been very good at any of the things I spend most of the day doing - cleaning, cooking, buying groceries, keeping children out of trouble... but cleaning is definitely my nemesis. Especially stains. I've been known to sew a patch onto an article of clothing to hide a stain rather than try to get it out. Also, I've always shied away from bleach because I don't understand it and it stinks, so my whites just get dingier and dingier until I throw them away or turn them into smocks.

Recently, however, two of our more beloved white items got stained and I couldn't bear to give up on them. Moses' "fancy shirt" had an unfortunate incident involving post-church donuts. And my new tunic had an even more unfortunate incident involving baby vomit at a Chinese restaurant. I gave them a normal washing and they both came out stained. Determined to do something about it but sure that the lazy side of me didn't want to, I put the shirts on the couch where they would annoy me until I figured it out. Unfortunately, I tend to be pretty passive-aggressive, so I ignored my not-so-subtle attempt to get myself to tackle the stains, and the shirts sat there for about a month. Today I gave in and busted out the Borax, which is the only cleaner I have on hand other than regular old laundry detergent. I made a paste out of it and scrubbed those stains for a bit, and what do you know - they came out. I am very proud of myself! This ushers in a whole new phase of life where my husband and sons won't have to walk around wearing clothing with random patches or strategically placed stickers covering ignored stains.

I highly recommend this Borax stuff. We've been using it as a water softener in the dish washer and washing machine and it definitely makes a difference - no more hard water deposits on everything. It is cheap and you can buy it a Target or the grocery store.

And while we're talking laundry, I also recommend these, also available at Target. They bounce around in your dryer and soften things up while keeping the clothes from getting wadded up into a big soggy ball. There are similar laundry balls available on etsy and I plan on getting a set of those soon. How about you - any laundry secrets to share?

Something for me (or you)

Yesterday I got the urge to make something for myself (which happens quite rarely) and found, miraculously, that I had a bit of time to do it. So I made these dryer sachets, which I have already used to death (coincidentally, yesterday was laundry day). What makes these so great is that they can be used instead of dryer sheets to lightly scent your laundry WITHOUT irritating sensitive skin. I thought I was doomed to a lifetime of clean laundry that smelled like ... nothing. But now my kids can smell lovely without breaking out in a rash. Yes! Plus, they are reusable, making them both budget and earth friendly.
These are super easy to make - basically the same idea as the bean bags but without the beans. Cut out two 5" x 5" squares of fabric (or, if you've misplaced your ruler, just trace around one of the square children's books lying around the house), and pin them together with right sides facing each other. Sew around the perimeter leaving a small opening for turning and stuffing. Turn 'em right-side-out, iron them, then stuff with something lovely. I made four, and stuffed three with lavender (which I bought here). I filled the fourth with whole cloves and two cinnamon sticks as an experiment, and it turned out awesome. Moses requested that I make more of those because it makes his pants "smell like ginger cookies." A feat indeed. I'm so happy I made these - it made laundry day a whole lot more fun. :)