Also known as anxiety as I live it. I come from a long line of anxious women. It's really almost comical how deep it goes sometimes. Recently I was presented with a conundrum and I thought it would be fun to share.
So I moved in with my mom, into my step-sister's old room. Above my bed are like a couple randomly spaced, lonely glow in the dark ceiling stars. Hmmm WTH is up with that and what to do? Of course the OCD and woman in me is bugged the hell out of these things. If the whole ceiling were done it would be cute for my daughters who also share the room. But taking them down would be the easy, logical thing to do. Or so one would think. Here's the deal, my mom has anxiety too and the both of us under one roof is a bit caustic. So on top of my own issues I have the "trying to not poke the bear" factor of trying to figure out how my actions will make her feel. So I wonder if I should take the stars down. Well, I did not put them up, but I could ask if she minds my taking them down. Of course I am concerned with being able to get the adhesive off cleanly and will it make it tacky looking with dirty stuck glue left-over and what the hell would she say about said spots on the ceiling if I cannot cleanly remove it. And then I would have to go buy a whole new set anyway to cover the potential mess. SIGH. On the other hand if I were to go ahead and just redo the ceiling with many more stars I run into problems. a) what if she doesn't want more stars on the ceiling? b) what if i can't match the stars precisely and I end up having mismatched stars and lying in bed each night being driven crazy by it? c) what if they don't come with the same kind of adhesive, and they don't stick well and I'm being pelted in the head whilst sleeping with this plastic pointy objects, perhaps putting my eye out, or my mother sees the ill sticking stars and lays awake at night in fear for her grandchild's eyes? d) what if after I move out, my mom tries to take them down and THEN discovers the adhesive is hard to remove and it leaves the ceiling marred and I have to hear about it and live with the fact that I ruined my mothers calm with ceiling star adhesive? AHHHHH! And how do I ask her if I can replace them without the whole "I don't know right now, we'll discuss it later" meaning why are you poking at me when I just worked 10 hours and no one appreciates me, I want and have to sit in this chair and chain smoke watching lifetime tv and I can't deal? Or I could get the whole "they don't make those stars anymore and I know this for an absolute 100% fact because I have not seen them in stores lately and I'm all knowing and all seeing and if you challenge me or prove me wrong it just shows what a horrible daughter you are to be so petty" type ordeal. Or of course I could get the "i don't care BUT......." type of thing and then all I would hear about is me and my "bright ideas". It really is nerve racking, this star thing. I want to scratch the itch these things are causing me but how to do so without gaining a butt pain? I guess these sweaty palms, shortness of breath, and headache will just have to stay. I guess it isn't worth the trouble and I can just live with my stars (however wrong, wrong, wrong their installation is) and deal. I mean what's a little panic attack versus dealing with my mother??
Monday, July 13, 2009
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Laundry Detergent & Fabric Softener
LAUNDRY DETERGENT
I am prompted to talk about laundry detergent because there is some confusing information out there. My own mother is very clue-less and misinformed about the stuff. First off there is a vast difference in brands out there. Powders do clean better than liquid detergents. And some of you are saying the powder doesn't dissolve sometimes and that is because a) you are using too much, b) you are using a cheap brand powder or c) you have funky water (which can be remedied by first running hot water and allowing detergent to dissolve, then switching to cold and adding clothing). Believe me when I say that if you care about the life, and quality of your clothing, please use a quality detergent. There ARE some wonderful ones out there that are inexpensive, but IMO they still do not compare to the pricier ones. Let's just go ahead and put it out there and say it. I am a laundry snob! I am, it's true. I don't have the money to spend re buying my families' clothes so I want them to last! I love the orange/blue brand the best. Soooo many people have told me that I am only paying for the name and there is no difference, but I also clearly notice the difference in their clothing. The thing that is so great about costly brands, for example, is that they have this miracle ingredient. And what this ingredient does is it locks onto the dirt, and buildup from the clothes and washes it down the drain. Versus the cheaper brands which can and do actually re-deposit the ick back onto your clothing. Hence dullness, dinginess and "off looking" of colorings. And if you are skeptical, take a few items that are dull looking of yours and wash them the next few times in better detergent. It is amazing! For the love all that is laundry do not use the real cheapies on your clothing. No bright yellow, purple or teal bottles! You know which ones I mean! With the "good" brands, they have more quality make-up in general and a lot of them have wonderful enzymes which allows you to wash in lower temperature, less time and that also turns into less wear and tear on your clothing. Obviously if you have really sensitive skin, some brands are not going to work for those individuals. But most good brands do offer a "free" version that is almost as great a detergent but wont irritate skin. The two acceptable generic brands I like are the one with baking soda (A&H), the bright red bottle (where they write the name in grass stain). They are pretty good price and still good brands. The baking soda brand I like because the baking soda also clings to the dirt and washes it down the drain, and the red bottled one I like because it has extra enzymes that eat at stains but they don't wear out your clothing.
I have a method to my various loads and I'm going to share some of them with you guys.
White clothing
Chlorine Bleach is way hard on your clothing. I try to only use bleach every 4 or 5 washes. The way I keep my whites bright and stain free is with color safe bleach. The one in the navy/orange box is my all time fave. I put my whites in with only the color safe bleach, hot water, run half the cycle, then stop the machine and let it set for a couple hours to over-night. Then I do a quick wash in cold all the way through with a tiny amount of detergent. You won't believe how white everything will come.
Dark clothing
I separate everything down by color. I separate into Blacks/navy, all shades of gray, then blues/greens. I wash in cold water, use a little less than recommended amount of detergent and do a short wash. If something is really dirty I will soak it mid-cycle rather than a longer wash cycle. All darks have some fading and this is the best way I have found to drastically reduce this issue.
Bright clothing
I wash almost all my brights together. I treat them the same as darks.
Pastel/light clothing
I wash in warm water with full recommended amount of detergent and if anything is stained or kids clothes, I add a half load measure of color safe bleach. If they are really stained I will do a cold pre-wash and this really helps with my kid's dirty stuff.
FABRIC SOFTENER
Some people don't even like the effect of softener on some of their clothing but it is essential in my laundry routine. Fabric softener is actually pretty good across the board. I wouldn't recommend using the clear gallon of pink crap of my clothing, but other than that they are pretty good across the board. The only real difference I have found is smell and the amount the product is watered down. I use the higher end brands only because they are more concentrated and seem to last me longer anyway. I use the recommended amount of liquid softener in all my loads, with the exception of blankets. I use extra on those.
I actually do not like or recommend dryer sheets. They cause build up on the parts of your dryer and will actually make it wear out twice as fast. That, and I don't like the way it coats just the outside of the fabric. I prefer the softness and smell-good factor through the entire fabric. But if you do have sensitive skin, sheets are less irritating for the exact same reason.
Consumer Reports Info
I am prompted to talk about laundry detergent because there is some confusing information out there. My own mother is very clue-less and misinformed about the stuff. First off there is a vast difference in brands out there. Powders do clean better than liquid detergents. And some of you are saying the powder doesn't dissolve sometimes and that is because a) you are using too much, b) you are using a cheap brand powder or c) you have funky water (which can be remedied by first running hot water and allowing detergent to dissolve, then switching to cold and adding clothing). Believe me when I say that if you care about the life, and quality of your clothing, please use a quality detergent. There ARE some wonderful ones out there that are inexpensive, but IMO they still do not compare to the pricier ones. Let's just go ahead and put it out there and say it. I am a laundry snob! I am, it's true. I don't have the money to spend re buying my families' clothes so I want them to last! I love the orange/blue brand the best. Soooo many people have told me that I am only paying for the name and there is no difference, but I also clearly notice the difference in their clothing. The thing that is so great about costly brands, for example, is that they have this miracle ingredient. And what this ingredient does is it locks onto the dirt, and buildup from the clothes and washes it down the drain. Versus the cheaper brands which can and do actually re-deposit the ick back onto your clothing. Hence dullness, dinginess and "off looking" of colorings. And if you are skeptical, take a few items that are dull looking of yours and wash them the next few times in better detergent. It is amazing! For the love all that is laundry do not use the real cheapies on your clothing. No bright yellow, purple or teal bottles! You know which ones I mean! With the "good" brands, they have more quality make-up in general and a lot of them have wonderful enzymes which allows you to wash in lower temperature, less time and that also turns into less wear and tear on your clothing. Obviously if you have really sensitive skin, some brands are not going to work for those individuals. But most good brands do offer a "free" version that is almost as great a detergent but wont irritate skin. The two acceptable generic brands I like are the one with baking soda (A&H), the bright red bottle (where they write the name in grass stain). They are pretty good price and still good brands. The baking soda brand I like because the baking soda also clings to the dirt and washes it down the drain, and the red bottled one I like because it has extra enzymes that eat at stains but they don't wear out your clothing.
I have a method to my various loads and I'm going to share some of them with you guys.
White clothing
Chlorine Bleach is way hard on your clothing. I try to only use bleach every 4 or 5 washes. The way I keep my whites bright and stain free is with color safe bleach. The one in the navy/orange box is my all time fave. I put my whites in with only the color safe bleach, hot water, run half the cycle, then stop the machine and let it set for a couple hours to over-night. Then I do a quick wash in cold all the way through with a tiny amount of detergent. You won't believe how white everything will come.
Dark clothing
I separate everything down by color. I separate into Blacks/navy, all shades of gray, then blues/greens. I wash in cold water, use a little less than recommended amount of detergent and do a short wash. If something is really dirty I will soak it mid-cycle rather than a longer wash cycle. All darks have some fading and this is the best way I have found to drastically reduce this issue.
Bright clothing
I wash almost all my brights together. I treat them the same as darks.
Pastel/light clothing
I wash in warm water with full recommended amount of detergent and if anything is stained or kids clothes, I add a half load measure of color safe bleach. If they are really stained I will do a cold pre-wash and this really helps with my kid's dirty stuff.
FABRIC SOFTENER
Some people don't even like the effect of softener on some of their clothing but it is essential in my laundry routine. Fabric softener is actually pretty good across the board. I wouldn't recommend using the clear gallon of pink crap of my clothing, but other than that they are pretty good across the board. The only real difference I have found is smell and the amount the product is watered down. I use the higher end brands only because they are more concentrated and seem to last me longer anyway. I use the recommended amount of liquid softener in all my loads, with the exception of blankets. I use extra on those.
I actually do not like or recommend dryer sheets. They cause build up on the parts of your dryer and will actually make it wear out twice as fast. That, and I don't like the way it coats just the outside of the fabric. I prefer the softness and smell-good factor through the entire fabric. But if you do have sensitive skin, sheets are less irritating for the exact same reason.
Consumer Reports Info
Hello Peeps!
As a mom I have found so many tips, tricks and things that I wish I knew sooner. I'm going to focus my time here giving reviews of products, the pros/cons type of thing and some shortcuts or tips to help my fellow girls out there. I am by no means an expert, but I am a major egghead and absorb information, especially "girl-friendly" information like no ones business. Make-up, hair, cleaning, computers, etc. I am a well of useful knowledge. And as it turns, also a well of useless knowledge...lol! But things that are no-brainers to some, another person might have just never had the experience or lesson of learning. I would love tips from you guys also. Buzz them over to my email TLBW31@yahoo.com.
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