Monday, September 22, 2008

Monday, Wash Day, Part II: Recycle

Hello, F.O.T.E.'s,
Hope y'all had a great week last week. The temperatures seem to be cooling off a bit here, which is very welcome by The Ewe. Mostly, it's been under 90F during the day. Still too hot for me to do much outside, but very pleasant after the sun goes down.
So, is all your laundry washed up? ROTFLOL!!! (sorry) Mine is not. I believe my laundry holds the secret to perpetual energy. Even still, let's press on with today's treatise on laundry, entitled: "RECYCLE"

The first idea: "Recycle...Carefully"
Here, I am speaking in regard to hand-me-downs for the children. When Lioness was little, I saved every piece of clothing she had, in case we had more children and another girl. (Was *I* in for a surprise! lol) Well, when Lovable was born, she was born in a different season than Lioness, weighing 3 pounds more. How much of those carefully saved baby clothes do you think she was able to wear? Practically none. Still, I gathered more and more baby clothes, bought more and more Rubbermaid boxes and rented a storage unit to keep all our stuff that we couldn't cram into our home. Three years later, Musical was born--a pound heavier than Lovable and in yet a different season. So, though Musical and Lioness could have conceivably worn the same clothes (Musical was born in late Spring, Lioness in Summer) the weight difference was substantial AND...ahem...well, I couldn't even *find* the baby clothes amongst all the other umm...Swell Junk. Eventually, when I was ready to give away our baby clothes (we simply did not have room to keep everything we had) I discovered that most of them were either mildewed from storage, moth eaten or had sprung odd stains that were impossible to get out. So, all those carefully hoarded baby clothes went *in the dumpster* (some with tags attached) !!! because I had kept them so long they were ruined and unfit for any baby! ARGHHHH!!!! What a terrible waste! (Some day I'll tell you about the $500 uniform that broke me of hoarding...grrrr...)

So, what's my point? Don't save clothing too long. Here, we save what we could probably use within the year. I will buy clearance clothing at the end of a season for use the next year, but that's it. If it came from Goodwill, at the end of the season, to Goodwill it will return. As my precious friend, L.A., once told me, "If God could give it to you once, He can give it to you again," meaning that we cannot let fear turn us into misers. We trust that the Lord will provide all the things we need. He has never let us down--even when we began giving away the children's clothing (uh, after they'd outgrown it, I mean :-)

Next up: "Recycle...The Laundry!"

This is so simple, I don't know why I never thought of it. When the dryer stops running, put the clothes away. Then, put the wet clothes into the dryer and start it. LOL
Amazing how much laundry I can do in a day, when I am sure to listen for the "beep, beep" that tells me the dryer is finished. It does require self-discipline to stop what I'm doing and just go finish that load. I'll admit, I'm not real good at doing this except on the days I've committed myself to tackling as much dirty laundry as possible. Like I said last week, that's usually Monday and Thursday.
So, to summarize today's thoughts: "Recyle Carefully" and "Recycle the Laundry"!

I realized I forgot something last week. I could call this tip, "Recycle...Health Care Items," but I won't. When I'm treating blood stains, I've found that shampoo works great. Use it full strength on the stain...scrub it in and let it sit. I've let things sit for a few days before washing them, and it was fine.

Well, The Ewe must run. I need to (can you guess?) do a load of laundry. And a load of dishes. But, we won't talk about dishes for now. :-)

Hey, y'all keep your wool dry!
The Ewe

3 comments:

Lisa-Anne said...

"If God could give it to you once, He can give it to you again,"

awww shucks! :)

:) I have to just say, this was so true in my life! :) I gave away all the baby clothes after Jesse and Ivy were born, even though I wanted more children... and it took 10 years (!!!) for the next one to come along. I'm so glad I didn't hold on to those things. I discovered that all my old baby things and furniture were handed down from friend to friend to friend. When I had this baby, I was afraid some of it might come back again! lol!

Instead, a nice *new* friend with the same mindset came along with her son who is the same season and build as Blaze, only a year older... so we have nice NEW hand me downs, all as good as the high quality ones we gave away! :) The only pang of regret I had was my super safe high chair that was on the rather high end side... :) but Guess What? :) That's right, a newer model came my way... the Peg Perego Prima Papa high chair with the upgraded leather seat! (And the old one is still at a dear friend's house where it is currently blessing her bebe #7!)
I've already given my "new" high chair away, by the way, to a friend who has a little boy just at the right season for hand me downs! :)
God is just so good like that... :)

Miiko said...

Hi Amy! I'm enjoying your treatise, lol. BTW, I use hydrogen peroxide for blood stains. Always works! I'm with you about recycling, and as for laundry, I wash 5 days a week and I have only two kiddos! (Well, I have lots of tea and kitchen towels that need washing every other day since we don't use paper towels and then we have our TKD uniforms that need washing 2-3 times a week). Around 3.30pm most days we spend like 20 minutes hanging, folding and putting away stuff. When I'm not disciplined, we'll all do a mountain of folding on Saturday as a family activity, lol.

Alipurr said...

amy, this is really good. I love this series. It did take me 3 kids to figure out not to keep so much stuff for the babies. I found much joy in gifting...

Right now we still have way too many clothes per child, and it is taking me way too long to get their clothes washed and folded. Can you give any tips as to how many outfits each child should have per season? I know that's tricky, because you have church clothes, then play in the dirt clothes, regular everyday clothes....

Also, I need some tips for my 7 yr old, who has gotten suddenly picky about her jeans.She is tall and slim, so usually if the waist fits, they are too short. She is wearing mostly 6X but can still fit the waist of her 5 knit pants...

I am to the point of going ahead and maybe giving away the cute jeans (jc penney type with sparkly flowers/butterflies embroidered on), and just keeping the ones that fit....the only question i have is, will i regret not having them when the 4 yr old who is wearing 5's needs them in approx 1.5 yrs....

my guess is give them to someone who can wear them now, and more will come along when i need them

you can email me with your funny answer, haha