Even More Whiteness

As I have been helping my son whiten his clothes, we have also been working on underarm stains.

Again...don't know why his clothes seem to have this problem and ours don't--same machines and products, yet different outcomes.

Along with the super whitening, I found this recipe for underarm stains that also works great.

REMEDY FOR YELLOWED UNDERARMS

1 part Dawn dish washing liquid

2 parts hydrogen peroxide

some baking soda

mix together

using a brush apply liquid to affected areas

let stand for about an hour

If needed, brush more peroxide to affected areas, wait awhile longer

rinse clothes out before washing as usual.

Some of the shirts we treated cleaned up with the first application, some needed more peroxide, scrubbing and time.

All of the shirts came out clean and white, you could almost see it working before your very eyes.

I love clean laundry.  

PS...I put my liquid fabric softener into a clear glass iced tea jar with a spout, it looks so nice sitting on the shelf in my laundry room.  I like the clean lines.

Bright White

My son's white clothes have been looking a bit dingy lately.

He does his laundry in our machines, with our same products, yet the outcome is quite different.

I've been on a quest to help him return to bright white, and I am winning.

I have been making my own laundry detergent for a number of years now, and it works great.

I just found a recipe for super whitening, and it works great, too.  Say good-bye to dingy, off white undies, and hello to bright whites once again.

EXTRA WHITENING POWER CLEANER

Bring 2 large pots of water to a boil

1/4 to 1/2 cups laundry detergent

1/2 cup powdered dishwasher detergent

 **1/2 cup bleach

1/4 cup borax

Place boiling water and cleaners into a large bucket.

Add clothes, one at a time.

Let soak a few hours, or overnight.

Dump bucket full into washer.

Wash on hottest setting--no extra detergent is necessary.

If possible--dry in the sun.

Works best on cottons.

**If synthetics need whitening--omit the bleach--

Substitute 1/2 cup peroxide and 2 tablespoons lemon juice-- proceed as before.

The results have been wonderful, hope it works as well for you.

White clothes should be white, not dingy grey--right?

Girls Camp

Ever since before I was born my family has gone camping.

I love to sleep outside and cook over a fire.

Now I would not love to do this on a 24/7 routine, but for a week, once a year, I am in heaven.

I love the peace of no TV or telephone.

The smell of bacon in the morning sets the mood for a wonderful day.

I enjoy creating a delicious meal for my family using the fire and a few simple tools, it makes me feel content.

I like being able to sit under a tree with a good book and not feel the need to go anywhere.

I like that my children can run and yell and carry on all day long.

I enjoy stories and songs around the campfire in the evening.

It is true that camping is a bit of work to get ready, but over the years I have gathered plastic bins that stay packed with supplies.

It is true as well that cleaning up after is a chore, but I have a wonderful washing machine, and it is camping gear, it will wait on the deck while I get the job done.

This year I am camping with the girls from church, I am the cook.

My husband is worried about me, I am thrilled for the opportunity.

Yesterday I practiced baking brownies in a cardboard box with charcoal, they were yummy--totally amazing.

Today I make the last minute lists to be sure I don't forget anything--old brains need a little help.

Tomorrow we load it up and start a fun adventure.

I am so excited.

Paint and Paper

I have been wearing my designer painting clothes all week. They look very interesting with their splotches of color I have dripped and wiped away. I always wonder why I choose the light colored paint clothes when I am using dark stain and the dark clothes when I am painting with white?? Sometimes my choices are a bit questionable.

I have been climbing on ladders, squatting near the floor, reaching and twisting trying to finish this project before we head out to pick up two sweet 8 year old grand children--but that is next week's story.

I have learned that a bit of paint and some clean lines make a space seem bigger--even when you put the same amount of things back into that space. We painted all of the woodwork white and found a pretty shade of taupe for the walls that make the white woodwork stand out--yet when you look into the room it seems quite neutral and light.

A number of years ago I transferred my dish washing detergent into a pretty bottle. The pretty bottle sits on the counter ready for service looking lovely and tidy. When it is near empty I fill it up again from the bottle with a label that I keep hidden in the cupboard. Using a bottle that has a pretty color and shape makes the sink edge look lovely and not just functional. Now I am working on my laundry room trying to get the same effect with laundry detergent, bleach, oxyclean and fabric softener. I have a number of baskets just the right size and a few white buckets that just might do the job.

One lasting thing that happened from all of this fun is that I twisted myself into a permanent pretzel. My hip hurts like the dickens.

Usually when I over exert myself it takes a few days for this grandma body to recuperate and soon I am back to being myself again. This time everything started feeling better except my hip. OH NO!! In fact it has hurt so bad it is difficult to sleep and is worse in the morning.

I called my doctor to see if I could get a recommendation to see my favorite physical therapist (we became quite friendly over the year long frozen shoulder, but that too, is a story for another day). Unfortunately, when I call the doctor I get the people at the desk and they do not always feel the urgency or timeliness I try to communicate through my pleas. I thought that with the two weeks before our trip I might be able to work in 4 or maybe 5 visits to the physical therapist. NO!! They would not let me see the doctor until 5 days later.

The doctor was apologetic as she gave me a shot to ease the pain. She recommended some rest while others finished my project. Now, I do not know about you, but if I want to find something I really should be the one putting it away in the first place. I pretty much can tell you where most things are in my house. But, my sweet husband still asks where items in the kitchen go when he empties the dish washer and they have lived in the same place since we remodeled the kitchen 10 years ago and he is a regular kitchen helper.

The room will get put back together this week slow and steady as I limp along. Finally, after two weeks the washer is hooked up and ready to tackle the mountain of wash we have waiting. The new freezer will be delivered on Tuesday. By Friday the house will be tidy, the car will be packed and we will be off to the next adventure--taking two cute 8 year olds on a roadtrip to remember.

Today, I am thankful for Sunday and the commandment to take a day of rest. I will tackle all of the chaos in my house again tomorrow.

homemade laundry detergent

Today is laundry day again. When the kids were all at home I did 2-4 loads a day. Today it is tablecloths from the 200+ guests at the dinner I helped serve over the weekend. A few months ago our septic system started acting up and we decided we needed to cut our water usage--especially with our daughter and her family coming for an extended stay. With 11 people in the house that is a lot of laundry, showers and flushing--SO--my husband bought me a new washer that uses much less water. We are enjoying the new washer and find ourselves watching the machine do it's work with amazement.

I was concerned about the need to purchase expensive HE detergent for the new machine, however, while researching for my new washer and dryer I found a number of recipes for making your own detergent. They all called for ingredients I was familiar with (as a bonus they were a fraction of the cost of commercial detergent) so I thought I would give it a try. I have been using the homemade detergent for about 3 months now and I think my whites are whiter. The clothes are clean and smell wonderful. A years supply of the new detergent costs the same as a months supply of what I used to use. You, too, might want to make the switch.

Homemade Laundry Detergent
2 bars natural soap *
3 cups washing soda**
3 cups borax***
Finely grate the soap. Mix with washing soda and borax. Store in airtight container. For normal loads use 1 tablespoon. For extra large loads or heavily soiled loads use 2 tablespoons. For whites add oxyclean and an extra rinse.

*The best soap to use is Fels Naptha, Zote, Sunlight or Ivory. Fels Naptha comes highly recommended but I could not find it locally so I used Ivory.

**washing soda is different than baking soda. It is made by Arm and Hammer. Find it in the laundry aisle. I found it at Kroger.

***Borax is found in the laundry aisle and is made by 20 Mule Team.

To really make your whites clean try hanging them out to dry. You will not believe how white they can get or how good they smell!!