History Always Repeats Itself

As I was hanging this particularly LARGE  load of "delicates" outside to dry this afternoon, I was struck by the thought....

That "History is destined to always repeat itself!".

P.S. Can you tell that I live in a predominately male household?

A Really Great Birthday Gift And Line Drying Laundry

I really have a fabulous Husband! I mentioned in an earlier post that He had been hinting about my really great birthday gift. He was right, it IS really great, and just what I wanted! I was at Costco about six weeks ago and saw this fabulous stainless steel drying rack. I didn't buy it at the time thinking that maybe it would go on sale or that there would be a coupon for it in the next month's coupon book (always the cheap skate). A couple of week's later when I went back to Costco, with every intention of buying the drying rack, they were sold out!! Stink! They have been sold out every week, since! Well, on my birthday my Dear Hubby, giddily surprised me with.............. a very much sought after (by me) drying rack ( He snuck to Costco, the day after he heard me mention how much I wanted the drying rack, bought it, and had been hiding it ever since!). Of course, this week Costco has them in stock, and they are on sale, but who cares!

My present couldn't have come at a better time, because:

A) I try to line dry most of our clothes from late spring until late fall (or when snow flies, which ever comes first) to save money on the power bill. By not using the dryer, I can justify using the air conditioning ( I am not a happy camper when I am hot and sweaty).

B) My makeshift clothes line that I have been using for several years broke, and I do not have a replacement awning, yet. I don't have a place in my back yard to put a permanent clothes line, so every year I have to make do.

I have strung a clothesline around the Quick Shade awning that is sitting on our deck (to shade the French doors from the blazing afternoon and evening sun). It has worked well so far, but it is not big enough to hold more than one load of laundry. Laundry day at our house consists of way more than one load of laundry! Now that I have my new, swanky drying rack, I can hang all the shirts on plastic hangers and place them on the rack to dry (which is handy for putting them away when they are dry). It is also has plenty of rungs to hang towels, undies, and socks on.

Not to mention, it makes a great place to set the clean laundry as I take it off the line and fold it.

My clothes pin bag that I made out of an old kid's T shirt also disappeared this year, too. Luckily, I was able to find a new clothespin bag and clothespins at our local dollar store (every Tuesday they have $.88 Tuesday, so one bag and three packages of clothes pins cost $3.52).

I also read on The Frugal Girl's blog that if you toss shirts, undies, towels, and socks in the dryer on the air dry setting (which costs hardly anything to do, because heating the dryer is what costs money)  for a few minutes before you hang them to line dry, they will be much softer and wrinkle free. I gave it a try and it worked great! I just toss the clothes in the dryer, on the no heat setting, while I put another batch in the washing machine. Then I remove and hang the wet shirts on hangers, and put the rest of the clothes in a basket to carry outside to hang up.

P.S. I love line drying clothes. It makes me slow down from my daily craziness, and gives me time to hold still and think.  Hanging wet laundry on the line and watching it blow in the breeze is kind of like going to my "happy place".

Stretching Fabric Softener

I promise I did not fall off the face of the earth! It has just been a busy (insane) week. Child #1 decided he was Johnny Rambo while paint balling with his friends (it was their way of celebrating the last day of school). He ran up a gravel incline, and jumped over the top, not realizing it was a small cliff on the other side. Being a genius 17 year old, he used his right arm to catch himself. He is now the proud owner of a cast and sling!!!!!! The garden has turned into quite a project, too. I have had to plant between rain storms, so it is still a work in progress!

Now on to the real subject.......Fabric Softener! I really like using liquid fabric softener, but it is kind of expensive. So, I have been experimenting with ways to make it last longer. After much trial and error (and Dear Hubby complaining about static y underwear), I have discovered that if you mix it half softener and half distilled white vinegar it works just as well, and lasts twice as long. Vinegar has anti static properties; I tried using it all by itself, but the clothes still came static y. The vinegar smell dissipates in the dryer, so the clothes just come out soft, static free, and smelling springtime fresh!!

Alternatives To Laundry Stain Removers

I have spent the better part of yesterday and today catching up the laundry that multiplied during the holiday vacation. I didn't even know we owned that many clothes! Anyway, it got me thinking about how expensive laundry can be! When it comes to laundry I am picky about detergent. I can usually save money on detergent if I clip coupons and watch for sales, or buy it at Costco (their brand is fabulous; I give it two thumbs up!). My biggest pet peeve with laundry products are stain removers. They are a necessary evil if you have anybody at your house that eats, plays, goes to work, goes to school, works outdoors, works indoors, or is generally human. Most commercial stain removers are expensive and don't work that great either. So when I decided a while back to trim the fluff out of our household budget I started experimenting to find cheaper alternatives. Here's what I came up with ( and thank you to my family for providing me with such a wonderful array of stains to work with!):

A bar of Fels Naptha soap, which can be found in the laundry aisle at most grocery stores for around a dollar, is a great all around stain remover. I keep a spray bottle of water on the shelf above the washing machine. When there is a stain to treat I just spritz it good with water and rub it several times with the bar of Fels Naptha. Let it sit for a few minutes to break down the stain and wash as usual. This will even work on grease stains (lip gloss stains) that have gone through the washer and dryer. Follow the instructions above, but let it sit for about half an hour. Then wash in the hottest water the fabric will stand.

Just a plain old squirt bottle (think empty ketchup bottle) filled with liquid laundry detergent works great as a general purpose stain pre treat too. I like to use the concentrated (like All 3x concentrated laundry detergent. I can usually buy it for about $1.00 to $2.00 for a 32 load bottle if I use a coupon and combine it with a sale). Squirt a little on the stain, rub it in, wait a minute and them wash as usual.

Shampoo will take out ring around the collar. The cheaper the better. Squirt a line along the collar rub it in, and then wash in warm water.

Dish soap is great for grease stains and grass stains.

Mix half white vinegar and half water in a spray bottle and use it to spray on the armpits of shirts that starts to get yellow arm pit rings. Let the clothes sit for a few minutes so it can start to break down the stain. Wash clothes in warm water if possible.

Hydrogen peroxide will get blood out of any white laundry (carpet too). It also works to bleach out stains on white areas of patterned clothes (try not to get it on the colored section. It can bleach out colors). Use a cotton swab to treat the white area.

Dishwasher detergent (gel works the best) is awesome for getting grass and ground in dirt stains out of white football pants. Get the pants wet and squirt dirty spots with dishwasher detergent. Scrub with a scrub brush. Let them sit for several minutes. Rinse out well and wash in warm water. I usually scrub the pants laid out in the bath tub so I can hose them down with the shower head and contain the mess.

Finally, if you have dingy whites soak them overnight in your washing machine. Add a cup of baking soda and 1 1/2 cups white vinegar to the wash water. Let them agitate for a few minutes and then turn off the machine and let them soak overnight. In the morning drain the tub and then wash the whites in warm water with your regular detergent. If you have a front load washing machine use 1/2 cup of baking soda and 3/4 cup white vinegar. Put the baking soda directly in the wash tub, add the clothes, and then add the vinegar in the dispenser cup. Set your machine to the soak cycle and then follow the instructions for your machine. The combination of soda and vinegar will break down the build up in the whites and make them brighter.