Wednesday, June 3, 2009

WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY MOM MINUTES!!

Good Morning!! Does anybody know what time it is?? That's right....it's time for MOM MINUTES! (haha...that opening line just came to me..it reminded me of a show that I used to watch when I was growing up)

My Mom has been busy, busy, but she still finds time to call me with a tip for her weekly bloggy column. Isn't she amazing? So, here is this week's handy, dandy tip from A.Marie's Mom, Earlene:

MOM MINUTES by Earlene

Today's tip involves laundry....and clothespins!! After doing laundry for my 4 kids for years and years, then doing laundry for the many residents of our local nursing home for years and years, I have picked up some handy tips and time-saving methods, involving these pins, that have proven to be invaluable. I am going to share a few of them with you today.

Tip One: Clip to Remember! If you see a stain on an item, ideally the best thing is to treat the stain(s)immediately, or as soon as you can. I always keep stain remover products right by my washer and dryer. Whenever I see a stain, I just spray or dab it on; it doesn't matter if I don't wash it right away. This way, when I am ready to do a load of laundry, all the items that are stained have been treated, and I just toss them in. But, if you are in a hurry, and don't have time to treat the stain(s) right that instant, just take a clip and "mark the spot" with it. Then, when you have more time later on, just find the items that have a clip marking the stain, and treat it. This have saved me so much time...no more hunting to find the item!

Tip Two: Clothespins are a laundry gal's best friend! When the kids were still at home, and I had lots of little items to wash, like gloves, mittens, or socks, I learned that if I clipped the matching items together with a clothespin, then put those items in a laundry bag, everything stayed together. No more searching for the missing mate. This works great with those cute little matching baby socks. It was wonderful! Personally, I like to use clothespins that have a spring in them; these give a tighter grip.

TIP THREE: Keep your clothespins clean! Don't leave them on the line outside; if they get rained on, and then don't dry properly, they can get dirty and then mildew. After you take the laundry down, put your pins in a cloth bag or even a bucket. If they do get dirty, I have put them in a laundry bag, washed them in the washing machine, then laid them out to dry. This worked well, but I believe that it does weaken the springs it you do this alot. There are plastic clips out there, but they are more expensive and I'm not sure that they are as durable as wood.

TIP FOUR: Buy the best kind that you can! Like most people, I love the deals that you can get at discount stores, but that is not the place to buy clips! I have found that unless you inherit some good, old-fashioned clips from your Mother or Grandmother, the kind that you buy nowdays, at $$ stores, just do not hold up as well. Look online at places like Vermont Country Store or other specialty stores. They do cost more, yes, but you are looking for durability and something that will last. Sometimes, you have to pay more upfront to save money in the long run!

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There you have it......Wonderful Tips from THE MOM herself, Earlene!!!!
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I hope you all have a wonderful day....it is the first day of Summer Vacation for my kids, and they are sleeping in, or lounging around, depending on which one of my kids I am talking about! HAHA!! )

5 comments:

  1. Now THAT is awesome. I have my wooden clothespins hanging in the cloth bag I inherited when I bought the house. My aunts used to dry laundry outside. Nothing like it. So those tips are great. And bring back lots of memories.

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  2. This is so timely for me. Just Monday I was wondering where I could buy GOOD clothes pins. My bag has some good, some so-so and some really flimsy pins, and I need more of the good ones. I can't remember where I got them.

    Thanks for the link to Vermont. :)

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  3. Hi there Helene! I agree, I absolutely love, love, love to hang clothes outside, and if it is raining, I just hang them indoors!! Yep, learned that tip from Mom, also! :)

    Annie Jones, Hi there! As I was re-reading the post, I realized that I mentioned Vermont, but the link didn't work right! So, I re-did it, and now you can link right to the page that shows the clothespin holder and extra clothespins to buy. I am buying the extra clothespins...can't ever have too many of those! :)

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  4. Love laundry outside, it smells so good, my mom used to hang them outside also.
    Kim

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  5. Tell mom thank you and I'm going to use #1! I'm just starting to hang clothes out. I love how everything feels cleaner or maybe it's just because I'm saving $ that I love it so.

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