7.22.2011

A Little Help

I'm just over half way through The Help and looking forward to finishing it today.

I sit down to read in the living room. There is a plum pit sitting on the arm of the chair, the chair with the wooden arms which I just polished yesterday.

I throw the pit in the compost, then go to the bathroom to wash my hands. There is a dirty, wet rag on the floor, the rag which my daughter used this morning to clean up the milk she spilled on her blanket.

I wonder, what do my children think when they leave their fruit pits and dirty rags laying around? Then again, I hope they're not thinking. It's no wonder Minny couldn't keep her mouth shut.

In the spirit of Miss Myrna's Housekeeping Advice column, I thought I'd share a little laundry tip I couldn't live without:

a laundry tip

Do you love to wear white, but hate those yellow sweat stains under your arms or around your neck? (Please don't tell me I'm the only one with this embarrassing problem.)

Mix some baking soda and hydrogen peroxide; the consistency should be a runny, gritty paste. Rub the paste on the stains and let sit for a little while (at least long enough to sneak in a chapter or two of the book you're reading). Launder as usual.

It's like magic. The stains are gone! Now if only they'd stay gone.

31 comments:

  1. a great book! I hope you get to enjoy finishing it soon! I am looking forward to seeing the movie. What a lovely white dress in the photo.

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  2. Genius! I will keep this in mind for sure!

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  3. If you don't use commercial deodorant, you don't get the stains in the first place! I used to have horrible problems with sweat stains, not just on white, and then I read that in MSL about 10 or 12 years ago. I stopped using deodorant except on the hottest days (over time my body adjusted because I have been assured by many that I do not smell bad), and I didn't have any stains anymore!

    Now I use a homemade deodorant and I haven't noticed any problems cropping up, so it must be the chemicals in commercial brands.

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  4. something must be off with my pH then, because i haven't worn commercial deodorant for years now, opting for homemade, natural or none at all, but i still sweat. i guess we're all different!

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  5. yeah, i've not used commercial deodorant in years (opt for homemade) but i sweat. a lot. and usually wear black or heather grey tees because i can't stand the yellow stains. might have to brave a white tshirt again now that i'm armed with your secret stain weapon!

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  6. yep. i just happen to be wearing black and heather gray right now. it's going to be a scorcher today!

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  7. AnonymousJuly 22, 2011

    I have found many a fruit pits lying around my house. And, plenty of dirty towels too. You are not alone.

    I need to read the book. I heard it is really good.

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  8. just about finished with the book too....surely not today, but by the weekend.

    what's next on your book list? i've got 'silver sparrow' and 'imperfect birds' lined up next.

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  9. Oh, I hate those stains! I did use hydrogen peroxide before on them, but never in combination with baking soda - just the hydrogen peroxide didn't do the trick, unfortunately. I will definitely try this! Thanks for the tip!

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  10. That is quite a tip. I've been wondering how to get rid of those kind of stains exactly! I will try this for sure. I'm so glad I subscribe to the Miss Molly column. :)

    Also, I loved the book and read it in 3 sittings, which is amazing for a mother of young children I think. I want to see the movie, even though it won't be as good as the book, because they never are!

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  11. I read somewhere that if you sprinkle baby powder on the pits of your shirts (and on the collar if you get a grubby collar like my husband), and iron it then it helps prevent those stains. I've not tried it since all mine already have stains. Looking forward to getting rid of them! Thanks!

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  12. Thanks that's a great tip. Baking soda for laundry is such a life saver.
    Glad to hear you're enjoying The Help it's the best book ever written. I read it twice last year. There is a movie coming out which yes I know won't be as good the book but I think it will make a good keepsake for my kids when their older.

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  13. thanks for the advice!

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  14. I love it... thanks for the advice, and also for the perspective of things being 'left around the house'... i like the shift from "what are they thinking" to really, perhaps they aren't thinking as much as i am about it... and letting it go might be just the right thing to do.
    Haven't read this book... but it's on my list. Looking forward to it even more now. Have a lovely day!!

    p.s. i recall once finding a instruction to making your own header on your blog... and i cannot locate it again. was it you? can you help?

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  15. okay... just found the blogger header details... off to work i go... though it might take some time with all the wake ups recently (ha, ha)!!! thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

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  16. Dang it! I cleaned my closet this spring and tossed those into the rag bin, since I had given up hope.

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  17. That book is such a pleasure to read, enjoy finishing it.
    And, yes, the soggy gross things lying around really is annoying.

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  18. great tip, molly. and a great book - i really enjoyed that one.

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  19. wonderful tip. loved the book (didn't expect to, for a variety of issues), and yes to the plum pits and dirty wet towels. . . . xo

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  20. Everyone keeps talking about this book and now its already a movie. I guess I'll have to read it.

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  21. I've had that problem since very young, and those stains turn into hard pieces of fabric and eventually had to throw clothes away, now: what is hydrogen peroxide and where can I find it?

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  22. lula - hydrogen peroxide can be found in the grocery store or pharmacy, most likely near the first aid products. it's a topical antiseptic. it's cheap and safe and has many uses, just like baking soda.

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  23. gah. the abandoned fruit pit. one time we had such a problem with fruit flies I knew there was one someone in my living room. I eventually found it.
    seriously.

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  24. AnonymousJuly 24, 2011

    Have you finished the book? Did you love it? Will you go see the movie? White in the summer is a must, but keeping my arms stationary at my sides is impossible. I will try your remedy post-haste. BTW, we have cherry pits scattered around the house - this Idaho girl can't live without them.
    xoxo michele

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  25. Hope you enjoyed The Help. What a great read!

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  26. Ha! Wearing white with this new baby around is not gonna happen! You look great in white -- Happy Summer to you!

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  27. Loved that book. It has been the first book I have been able to read in years (besides school books)...being on a vacation with in-laws watching the kids allowed me that luxury!

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  28. I don't use "real" deodorant and I still sweat, hence the reason I just came back to this post--I've gotta get a shirt cleaned up and in order so I can wear it to Mass today.

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  29. Thanks for the tip! I have this strange love of doing laundry (the only household chore I don't mind...) and I can't wait to try it!

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