Okay. Today I'm going to tell you why and how my children's clothing always looks spotless and gorgeous. I get so many comments on the lovely state of their clothing that I decided to pass some hints along! I know you all were dying of curiosity and are so envious of how I get my kids to look so, well, so fashionable and so well put together! There's nary a stain, hole, or loose seam in any of their clothing!!!
Snort, snort!!!!!
Yeah, sure. Of course I jest!
But for real, in real life, my children's clothing looks a lot better than it should for a family with 6 active kids. Truthfully, I'm.....ummm........very obsessive about their appearance, and the state of their clothing, and here's why: I have to hand down my girls's clothes. Hannah's don't get handed down to Samantha, because they are too different in shape and size, but Samantha's go to Sara's go to Kellie (you get the picture).....because we are a big family and I can't afford to be a frequent shopper at Gymboree, no matter how much I would love to be!I mean, hey, they don't exactly have a Rewards card or a frequent shopper card, huh?? Thank God the closest Gymbo store is like an hour away from here!!!!! But I digress.....
So I feel challenged to keep the clothes looking spiffy. And because we are a big family, which is something of an anomaly in this day-and-age, I know people are dissecting us under a very unkind microscope, which, thinking about this all the time, used to have me in bondage! I used to be so caught up in what those people thought of me as a mom, and having a big family! But I got over it. Remember, I'm becoming.
I'm growing up now, finally, and I care about the way my kids look because I'm genuinely joyful when they look nice. I like to make sure my girls's hair is always done. I like them to wear skirts because we believe that it's so modest and beautiful. I like them to have clean faces and no stains or rips or holes. I do this because it's my job, and because I have time and I love to do it. I'm trying to be a good steward of my gifts.
People have commented on how their hair is always done and how they're so well behaved......really!
So I want to do a commercial for you as to why my children's clothes look so good.
The first reason is that I use Tide laundry detergent. I don't care how much it costs! Some of you out there spend oodles of bucks on fancy, brand name mascara and lip gloss. Some of you love lots of expensive handbags. Some of you like to buy tons of shoes. Not me. I have a fetish for Tide. Really. And yes, my husband is giving me therapy for this idiosyncrasy. But it hasn't worked and hey, Tide is the BEST. With a capital "B". And so I remain addicted. It's okay, it's the only bottle of anything I love to knock back, and it sure does last, because I don't use as much as it says to!! I use way less. It's still the best. Tide, you are my babe!!!
I never pre-treat any kind of stain on any of our clothes. GASP!!! Yep. Your eyes didn't deceive you. I have never owned Shout, or a pre treating pen. I just use OxyClean. And here's another dirty little secret, since we are talking about dirty clothes here, people........
I wash all of our clothes in hot water. There. The cat is finally out of the proverbial bag, and I feel so much better!! I guess you know by now that I have not one bone of frugality in me! I wash with the best stuff and I use the most expensive water......
But our clothes are uber-clean. Nary a stain. None. Not even mustard! My babe (Tide) gets it alllll out. Chocolate. Berry stains. Mold. Mustard. BBQ sauce and ketchup. Coupled with the expensive temperature of water, it's all a no brainer for Tide.
And my kids don't have play clothes. I know. I don't know if you can handle another secret from me!!!! I don't know if you want to be friends with my anymore!! But my kids play, eat, and do schoolwork, go to church, weddings, and do chores in the same clothes. And they stay clean because of that big orange bottle that I love!
Now, quit being frugal with your gross laundry stuff that you really aren't satisfied with, deep down in your heart, and go out and buy you some serious Tide!!! Kiss dingy, discolored, wrinkly, gross smelling, dirty clothes goodbye!
There! Don't you feel much better???
6 comments:
but do you sort your laundry. i've been doing things all wrong by not sorting. i haven't changed though.
a friend was over today and she said she was doing laundry. and i said, all day? and she said yes, she hadn't done it in three days. and i said, well if you didn't sort you could do a load every day and things would be good. she didn't believe me.
Everything in hot water? Don't your clothes shrink or bleed? I'am most curious about this.
Hi there! I've popped over here from HSB. I like your new 'look'. Thanks for your laundry confessions! I must confess that my boys do have pants with holes the knees! They're hard on their clothes and I try not let them wear them out! I'm always scared of shrinking things if I use hot water, but I don't buy 'bargain' detergent either.
Hi Leanne,
I used to love Tide too. Sadly, the septic man told me that it's a destroyer of septic tanks, and my hubby really doesn't ever, EVER want to have to replace our septic system (it would cost tens of thousands, he says). So I now wash with the cheaper stuff. And Borax. And spray 'n' wash.
I'm happy for YOU, though.
:-)
I love Tide with Bleach! No matter how tough a stain, it can always come out by soaking in TWB for several hours or overnight. My friend with 9 kiddos (that wear white!) swears by it.
I only wash the whites in hot. Cold for color and warm for everything else (or things I don't want to shrink).
We do have play clothes around here. It's a necessity. There are too many trees to climb, dirt piles to ride down and frogs/fish/lizards to catch!
I used to be super picky about clothes, but we moved to the farm and God gave us boys, and more boys,( along with 3 girls). With seven busy boys running in mud and dirt, and through barb wire fences, and helping daddy mechanic and change oil, we most certainly have two sets of clothes. I’d go insane otherwise. But trust me, you have to be on the lookout for youngsters who want to wear their “favourites “ when leaving house, that they don’t get mistaken for a homeless person!
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