Kmart Deal? PO Done!

I came across a blouse someone gave me. It is not in a color I like or in my size. Surprisingly, the blouse actually is large enough. Of course, it is from a better store than WM or Kmart.  Thursday, I decided that a necklace and earring set at Kmart would give me another outfit when worn with black sweater and pants.

When all was said and done, I decided $8 was too rich for my blood. Then, I realized all the jewelry that had been marked down before, was marked up! When I went to WM to get milk, I found a necklace there that I like better and was cheaper. When I can walk hanging onto a cart, I will look at Belk because they have some things marked down at a deep discount some days. They have no electric carts, so I will have to feel better.

Just before closing time, I dragged myself into the PO and mailed the two packages--one to NY and the other to TX.  I put out one line of clothes to dry and took them down when I fed Dominique. These two things, PO and clothes on the line, were the total of my accomplishments today. I forgot, I folded them, too.

Tomorrow, I will hang out the clothes I washed today. Slowly, I will get all the laundry done. When I was younger, I was like a whirlwind with laundry, washing and drying as fast as the washer and dryer got the clothes washed and dried. Now, well, I am sick today and don't, even on a good day,  move like a whirlwind.

The results of culture for the doctor is still NOT in! Monday, I am doctor shopping. I am so ill that I am not even eating right. I need gravy from KFC! No, KFC gravy is not eating right, but it will make me feel better.

Your turn
If you do things more slowly now, do you fondly remember the days when you worked long and steady and recovered easily? If you still work long and steady, do you believe you will ever slow down? Have you ever had a culture or heard of one that takes 6 days?

Laundry Tip: Refrigerate

You can buy this from eBay. ----->

I washed a load of clothes yesterday that I wanted to hang on the line for two reasons:
1) I don't dry socks and panties in the dryer
2) I wanted the deodorizing action of the sun.

Only the load of towels and a few other things would fit because I have one line, strung by me from the house to a pole near the fence.

Since it has been in the high 90s and with high humidity, I knew the load inside would sour/mold/mildew/smell musty. I remembered what we did with certain laundered pieces pre-ac, in Jackson, MS, in the early 1950s. We put things in the refrigerator, tightly wrapped. So, I did the same with the articles I had to hang today, about 1.5 gallons if we accounted for laundry by gallons.

You can dump it in a bowl and cover. You just don't want to add that moisture to your refrigerator, dry the clothing, or get odors in the clothing. Put it in a garbage bag, store bag, any perfectly clean container will work.

Now, to answer your burning question of why my mother refrigerated laundry~~

When a white shirt or another garment that needed starching and ironing did not get ironed after it was dampened, we had a method back then. Wash, starch, and line dry the shirt. When it was time to iron, just use a Coke bottle sprinkler and moisten the clothing. Let it sit in a wad in the refrigerator all wrapped up in plastic for a while so the moisture would sort of permeate the starched garment. Then, the heat of the iron would spread the moisture to the rest of the garment as you ironed.  If you had a few pieces or a lot that did not get ironed that day, we just put it in something and place in the refrigerator. Later in the day or the next day, the garment would still be moist and not "soured."

My mother had four children and a husband that made her life difficult beyond belief, so she did the best she could as far as finishing chores. Maybe you think she was slack in not doing all the ironing in one day. You have obviously never felt exhaustion like the mid-summer, scorching, humid South without ac and little rest from a man's relentless demands!

I ironed my first man's white shirt in this manner when I was seven-years-old because my mother was bedridden after have a midterm miscarriage. (That's the way they did it back then.) I was also washing every dish in the house, even the heavy cast iron. The shirt I ironed was probably hung on the line to dry by me. I had to jump to catch the clothesline with one hand while I held a piece of clothing in the other. Somehow, I never felt put-upon by all I did. I was not so willing to be helpful as a teen, but still did lots.

Maybe they had steam irons back then, but we did not. I still prefer a dry iron and not one with holes in the plate! Plus, the picture is just all wrong...lol...it was a Coke bottle!

The next time it is mid-summer and it rains or you have clothes in the washer that will be "off" the next day, put them in a pot with lid...yes, I have done that or put them in a plastic bag and just stuff the bag on top of the upper shelf or the one with the most space.  Oh, I use a porcelain pot not cast iron.

Share your experience with refrigerating clothing, if you will
Did you ever starch and iron clothing, using the Coke bottle  and the shaker top to moisten for ironing. Did you refrigerate clothing when wet?

Renewing Clothes Washing Supplies

All this, plus Clorox

For obvious reasons, I had massive amounts of laundry this last weeks. I was out of Arm and Hammer Baking Soda, except for enough to bake a bit. Arm & Hammer Washing Soda has never been on a shelf in this town that I have found.  About twice a year I buy Fels-Naptha soap but have never made the recipe for homemade laundry soap. Of course, the 20 Mule Team Borax had just all been used. AND, I had not had Clorox in about two months.

That meant I had a bit of money and a huge need. Luckily, I remembered the store credit on a Walmart card. It saved my life this week.

Rarely do I use Clorox. My illness meant I thought some things needed Clorox. This will not go in the laundry. One bottle will last me all year or maybe three!

There is enough ALL liquid detergent for maybe another dozen loads of laundry since I use about a teaspoon at a time. I could not afford to buy more ALL, but will have enough. Maybe I will finally make my own detergent since I obviously have all the ingredients.

Part of the Baking Soda is in the kitchen for cooking. The rest resides in the bathroom for cleaning and in the kitchen for cleaning, and in the shelf in the laundry room.  

Your turn

Do you use any of these products? If not, why? Is the Washing Soda harsh on elastic? What is your favorite recipe for dry detergent? I just don't want 5 gallons of cooked, liquid detergent! Does rubbing Fels-Naptha bar on fabric remove more stains than a regular bar of soap?