Laundry tips

"I feel like the latest edition of something or other."  ~Arthur, Lord Goring from An Ideal Husband


I'd like to offer advice that everyone can use, from laundry to politics.  With that in mind, here is the first installment of practical tips for laundry.

Tip #1:  Many stains can be put in one of two categories: Sugar or Protein.  If it contains sugar, wash it in the warmest water the fabric can stand.  Cotton, if pre-washed, can usually stand "hot."  If the stain has protein in it, wash it in cold water.

Examples of sugar-based foods would be juice, candy, and cereal (usually has more sugar than protein, unless the stain has a lot of milk, but crushed-up cereal is often found on baby clothes).  Fruit of any kind requires warm water, and blackberry stains can only come out if you pour boiling hot water through the fabric.  You can put a bowl in the sink, and pour water from a teakettle over the cloth.  Be careful to let it sit for ten minutes, so you don't burn your hands.   

Examples of protein-based stains would be egg, milk, other dairy, and any bodily fluids (gross, but true especially when dealing with babies).  Blood stains require cold water as soon as possible.  Adding vinegar to the cold water can help remove the odor, especially with pet stains.  You may have to try more than one washing.  If protein stains are old, you can use Shout spray, and let it sit for a few hours before you wash it in the warmest water the fabric can stand.

So, sugar: hot water.  Protein: cold water.  I put a little note about this is my own laundry room, since it is hard to remember things for specific stains when you are doing laundry at 3 in the morning.  Lots of things can be sorted into these two categories.  Tomato juice?  Fruit = sugar = hot water.  Baby spit-up?  Protein = cold water.

I hope this is helpful.  Good luck!
  

Picking a blog name

To clarify the name of this blog, I offer the following:

1) I had to pick something.
2) I'd rather be known for an ounce of common sense than a pound of trouble.
3) I am the magic fairy to my children and husband, and love delighting them with mended clothes or special gifts.
4) "Fairy" signifies an appreciation of humor, whimsy, and nursery rhymes, but also means I'd like to zoom over the whole world, sprinkling some common sense where it is most needed.  However, I'll just start with a blog.

Welcome!

Hello, world! I am joining the ranks of bloggers to provide a forum for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness with children.  I am a wife, mother of five blessings, writer, and musician.  As many moms can attest, things "magically" happen around the house, but rather than harbor bitterness for the sheer volume of things I do, I would rather embrace the joy and spontaneity in every day.  I serve the Lord with enthusiasm, energy, and above all, common sense.  This is true even when common sense is hard to find, when nothing makes sense with kids, and when "fairy land" makes the most sense of all.

"Well, I left the fairy tales lying on the floor of the nursery, and I have not found any books so sensible since."
-G.K. Chesterton