Housewife MacGyver: The Damsel's Bag O' Laundry Tricks

I am SO thrilled today to welcome the Damsel of Old School fame here today. When I found her site, I was instantly in love. Each post is about doing something the way that Grandma did, in order to be self-reliant and, you know, just to know how to do that. She covers just about every topic imaginable, from home repairs and cleaning to gardening and finances. And you'll just love her writing style!

By request, the Damsel takes on one of those perplexing problems of modern life.

Static Cling. **shudder

Grandma didn't really have a problem with static cling since she hung her clothes out to dry in the fresh sunshine. The Damsel recommends you try this if you have any possible way of doing so. There are plenty of benefits. Your clothes will smell fresh, not perfumey, and because they haven't been tumbling around in an over-hot dryer, they won't be staticky either. Plus, a dryer uses a lot of energy, so you can feel good about saving money/going green by drying your clothes on a line.

Have you ever slept on sun-dried sheets? Grandma would have laughed to think of it this way, but this is one of life's best and cheapest luxuries.

The Damsel understands line-drying isn't for everyone. And for those times when you need to use the dryer, many people love the ease of using a dryer sheet to both soften the clothes and reduce static. But is there a way to make your own?

Way #1: Take a rag such as an old washcloth and soak it in liquid fabric softener for about ten minutes, or until it's thoroughly saturated. Squeeze it out, and hang it somewhere until it's dry. Now you can use it like a dryer sheet . . . just hurl it into the dryer load. You can use the same rag over and over again, without resoaking it MANY TIMES . . . months, even, depending on use, before you have to resoak it. You will go YEARS before using up a bottle of liquid fabric softener used this way. Cheeep!

Way #2: Mix some hair conditioner (a cheap kind, if you like, but one that you like the smell of) with an equal amount of water. Either do the soak method in #1, or put in a spray bottle and spritz a few sprays on a washcloth and throw in the dryer. You'll need to respray each time.

If you still have too much static (and even with dryer sheets, that happens) try crumpling up a ball of aluminum foil and putting that in the dryer. The Damsel has no idea why this works and kind of wants to know. Another part of her likes thinking of it as an unfathomable aluminum foil mystery.

Margot  is a  mom of seven and pretty much crazy from it. Online she's known as  the  Damsel in Dis Dress and blogs at the Old School (http://www.mynewoldschool.com/) and twitters at @the_damsel.
A blog about her writing adventures is found at Inklings.

Thanks, Margot! My husband is always bemoaning the static at our house, so this exactly what we need!

Pop on over to the Old School and check out the rest of the Damsel's bag o' laundry tricks:

• make your own laundry soap
• make your own fabric softener
• simple and cheap laundry stain pre-soak treatment
• make your own febreze
• ironing a shirt

This post is part of the Housewife MacGyver series on just Lu. Read more about Housewife MacGyver and see all the posts in the series here.

Your tax dollars at work

Good morning! I'm over at Housewife Eclectic today sharing some awesome apps that show you where your tax dollars go, courtesy of a Google-hosted competition. This is just one of the many great apps (and the winner of the competition):

You'll never see your taxes quite the same way again... for better or for worse. :)

Thanks for reading!

Housewife MacGyver: Have a Happier Laundry Day

Hey there! Mrs. Clean Madwoman here! I'm more commonly known as Keira, and now that we've finished our fashion confections, I'm branching out. An important part of being a MacGyver housewife is to: a) know where your resources (stuff) are, and b) never let your hard work go to waste. Today I’m going to show you how to make your laundry day—and subsequent days—a lot easier.

These are just a few things I do to keep it simple with my laundry:

Which one is which??

We all know children (and sometimes even HUSBANDS!) can get that fresh stack of nicely folded laundry from us and do what? …throw it somewhere instead of putting it in drawers, where it should be. This is one of the reasons you have an ENDLESS cycle of laundry going—is this TECHNICALLY dirty? Before you do the sniff trick and end up next to the toilet over some pants, I’ve got a better idea!

When you sort the laundry and put it in the washer, ZIP UP THE PANTS AND BUTTON THE FLY. On shirts, button ONE button, near the top is suggested. On socks, unroll them. On under wear, turn them right-side OUT. On your bras, clasp them closed like you’re wearing it (you should do this anyway to avoid tearing and catching with the hook-and-eye clasp). Turn T-Shirts right-side-out, unless they have a special screen printing that needs to be protected (check the label!).

Wash your clothes like normal, dry and fold. Hand to your children and husband—then prepare yourself for the possibility that your two-year old will pull all the clothes out of the drawer, so you don’t know which is dirty and which is clean.

This is the good part, I promise. All of us have a tendency to undress and leave it like that. Pants are left unzipped, shirts inside out, bras undone. SO…if you find a pair of pants all buttoned up? They’re clean! Your bra is clasped? Clean! Socks are folded together? Clean! Your shirt is right-side-out, but on the floor/bed/dresser? Clean!

Enjoy your time not using your nose to test every article of clothing!

Avoid tears (and tears!)

Going along with the benefits of the last section, as you load your laundry, you should “re-do” everything you “undo” while getting undressed (minus buttons on button-up shirts). Zippers should be zipped, clasps should be clasped, buttons buttoned. This helps avoid the inevitable laundry fiasco of someone’s beautiful polyester blouse being caught, snagged, and ripped by jean-zipper’s teeth, or shredded by a hook-and-eye clasp.

And those buttons on those shirts? Out of sheer laziness I don’t button every button, because you have to unbutton it to hang it as well as wear it, but buttoning one toward the top can help keep that firm collar shape we all love. If you keep all your other clothes in check, buttons are usually safe enough to brave the washer without being ripped off. :)

Avoid your child’s creativity on your clothes

We love our kids, but there is nothing more frustrating than finding an entire load of laundry soaked in red. At the bottom of the disappointment, we find the culprit: one red crayon (or marker, or pen). We all know we should check the pockets of every article of clothing, but we don’t. But since you ALREADY have to zip it all up, why not do a quick run-through? You might find extra change, but even more valuable, you’ll probably find a crayon or a piece of cherry candy, saving you a load of laundry.

Don’t search



Ever lose that ONE pillowcase in your set, right when you need a complete set the most? Now you have several mismatched sets of sheets, lost and lonely! Here’s what to do so your dryer eats less of these things (if your dryer is the enemy). When you go to fold your sheets, fold the flat sheet first, then the fitted sheet, then ONE of the pillowcases. Place the flat sheet and pillowcase INSIDE the fitted sheet, and fold the whole package into a standard pillow size. Take the remaining pillow case and open it like you would to place your pillow in it, but instead shimmy the contents of your set into the pillow case. Voila! You can’t lose ‘em! On a related note, check the fitted sheet before you fold it—that’s usually where I find lost socks later. :)



If you’d like to go a little over-zealous with this project, use old, odd-and-end pillowcases (or buy some at a garage sale) to also store your towel sets—both towels, hand towels and washcloths placed inside—you’ll have extra clean towels (not so much as dust on them!) and you’ll never have mismatched washcloths again!

I hope you find these hints helpful -- happy laundry day!


Thanks, Keira! If any day needs more happy at our house, it's laundry day :)
 

This post is part of the Housewife MacGyver series on just Lu. Read more about Housewife MacGyver and see all the posts in the series here.

Housewife MacGyver: Natural Cleaning with Increasingly Domestic

Today we have as our guest the fantastic and lovely Amy from Increasingly Domestic. She is one creative and seriously funny woman, so go on over and check her out! She's here today sharing some of her favorite natural and make-at-home cleaners. I'm convinced that she can clean anything with lemons and vinegar, and she has yet to prove me wrong! ;) Here's Amy:

Hello fellow Lu readers! 

I am so excited to be here sharing about how I clean my house

...when I actually clean that is! *wink wink*

My name is Amy and I blog over at Increasingly Domestic,

where I write about all things domestic: sewing, crafting, upcycling, cleaning, parenting, cooking, decorating, painting, furniture refinishing and more.

I am a little bit all over the place;)

I have switched from using toxic commercial cleaning products

to all natural non-toxic cleaners that I make using ingredients from my kitchen!

Let me just say that I am not all granola-y...I just do what I can to minimize the toxins that come into my home in order to protect my family. We live in a toxic world and though we have no control over the external toxins, we can take steps to decrease some of our exposure at home. Those toxins build up in our systems, entering through inhalation or even by being absorbed through the skin and can do some serious damage over time. Our bodies were not made to process these chemicals and so they accumulate and affect us at our core.

Today I am going to share a recipe for a natural Furniture Polish.

1/4 Cup Distilled White Vinegar

1/4 Cup Olive Oil

Essential Oil (I used Lavender)
Small glass jar (I used a jelly jar)

Pour the oil and vinegar into the jar.

Try to resist dipping bread in it or covering a salad with it.

Add 20-25 drops of your favorite essential oil.

Shake well and pour a little onto a rag or cloth diaper and rub with the grain of the wood.

The Vinegar cleans, the Olive Oil moisturizes and the Essential Oils just smell amazing!

Store in a cool, dark place.

BEFORE:

 Disgusting right?

That's from this little gross-o.

He likes to chew up crackers and then fingerpaint with them.

He also likes to smear food in his hair;)

AFTER:

Much better, right?
Plus, I know that the next time my son decides to lick the cracker goo off the table
that he is not getting any chemicals along with it! ;)

Here are some more natural cleaning posts:

Natural All Purpose Cleaner

Clean your microwave naturally

Cleaning and deodorizing the garbage disposal naturally

I hope that you will take a look at the products you use in your homes

and will take steps to live a greener life for the health of your families:)

Thanks for having me over Lu!

 

Thanks, Amy! All of my furniture can use a polishing right now, and this recipe gives me no excuse not to do it NOW -- since I'd been putting off going to the store for furniture polish ;)

This post is part of the Housewife MacGyver series on just Lu. Read more about Housewife MacGyver and see all the posts in the series here.