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