This morning I woke up with the urge to wash some of the linens I’ve picked up in the last couple of months. I had an especially good day at the flea market last month, so I had a good bunch of them. I will buy things that are discolored and hope I can get them back to normal. If not, I just love them anyway. Those things add some character.
Sometimes it’s just dirt. Or yellowing from cigarette smoke. However, sometimes it’s just a stain that won’t come out regardless of what you use.
Today I did a few soakings and washings, with various additions to help the cleaning along.
This is my little arsenal of products on a shelf above the washing machine. I just can’t stand ugly plastic bottles sitting around, but fortunately, my local thrift stores have provided me with an assortment of prettier bottles to use.
The decanters both hold liquid detergent. The bottle in the front on the tray is bleach. I buy those bottles – originally meant to mix your own oil and vinegar dressing – whenever I find them. They always hold bleach – at the laundry, kitchen sink, bathrooms, etc.
Behind that is borax. I’m not sure what is in borax, but I can’t run a household without it. It has magical powers.
Also magical is the fels naptha soap in the metallic creamer in the front. Again, I have no idea what is in it. I just know it gets out stains better than almost anything else I’ve ever tried. And it costs 97 cents a bar at Wal-Mart. I haven’t seen it anywhere else, but all of their stores seem to carry it.
The tall green jar is to hold change that might be in my pockets. Yes, I know, I should be organized enough to take it out of my pockets before they get to the laundry, but I’m not. That’s why there’s a container there.
Behind it, in the large jar, is powdered oxy-clean. It’s another product I like, especially for these sorts of things. I do use it other times, but mostly it’s for linens.
I think part of the reason I love these things is seeing how they come out in the wash. Literally. I feel somewhat like a chemist, mixing and adding various things to see how they work. I continue to experiment.
But, sometimes, I’m rewarded with something that looks a 1000 times better when it’s clean. Today it’s this doily, which I loved when I spotted it under a table at the flea market. I paid $2 for it. It’s all one piece, although it’s made to look like two. Essentially, the two outer pieces with the pink in them share the same inner circle.
Anyway, it is so much brighter than when I started this morning. It was incredibly dingy. I knew it had the potential to be bright, but even I am a bit surprised by the difference in it. I love, love, love this bright green and pink. It’s a different take on one of my favorite patterns – the pineapple.
All in all, a productive day.
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