It’s time for another Non-Consumer Advocate photo essay, as spring is in the air and the world is bright and beautiful!
My friend Gail has solved a problem I didn’t even know I had, which was how to maintain an organized shopping list when you buy from multiple sources. Multiple lists, all neatly organized and stuck onto the fridge with magnet clips.
So very satisfying . . . .
My clothesline has been a sad squirrel-eaten mossy tangle in my backyard all year, but the (dare I say it?) hot Portland weather has been laundry shaming me. So today I decided to do something about it. I brought in all my plastic hangers and sent them through a dishwasher cycle.
I scrubbed and bleached all the clothespins. They were absolutely slimy and disgusting, so I though for sure it was wasted effort, but look how nicely they cleaned up!
I took the two nibbled lengths of clothesline and was able to tie a knot and create a single clothesline for now.
No laundry shame in my game. Well, except for the underwear in this photo. Sorry . . .
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
If you have a smart phone, the free version of the app “Anylist” works beautifully for this, and you can share with family members. So anyone who goes to X store can check the running list, mark off the purchases, or make an addition to the list.
Thank you for sharing this! I’m downloading it now! (iPhone users of the world, unite!)
My husband and I use Buy Me a Pie. Changed my errand game!! 🙂
I just invested in an inside drying rack 🙂
I don’t have washer / dryer in my tiny NYC (or rather, Queens) apartment and it is always such a hassle to get laundry done.
Now that I do a lot of hand washing, the drying rack will come super handy 🙂
I’m back to commenting after a brief hiatus. Kudos on your indoor rack, Mariana! As I have noted in comments on previous posts, I’ve got two racks that are about 70 years old and still going strong. (DH scored them from rental properties back in his landlord days.)
And kudos to Katy on the post in general and the clothespin cleanup in particular. Not many people would have gone to the trouble to do that, but the results are impressive.
I used to live in NYC, and doing laundry was such a hassle. I feel for you.
We live in the sunny West and I dry clothes outside year-round. I love to hang laundry out and if I don’t have a load, I sort of miss it. We used to live in cold Europe and still hung laundry out year-round. If it can be done there, it certainly can be done here! I have 2 indoor drying racks for our infrequent wet days.
I’m loving that clip idea!
That is seriously ingenious with the multiple shopping lists. Why had I not thought of that???????
Ingenious shopping list solution!
I tend to keep a little notebook in my purse. It has a running list of things I buy from different stores. It helps me to keep it handy.
My clothesline was calling me today as it was 90 degrees, but I’m sorry to say I resisted the urge. I had gravel being delivered and didn’t want everything dusty, but tomorrow is another day, and there is always more laundry to do
I don’t have that many stores available!! Living in the country requires fewer lists.
My DD has coin operated washers in her apt bldg but hits my washer every week or two to do delicates in my “nicer” machine. She takes them home wet and hangs on drying rack. Mom doesn’t charge for the washer, but DD does supply her own soap. Plus she picked up all my coupons and ads from the Sunday papers, and even got a dish of mashed butternut squash to take home for dinner. I cooked the last four squash today and froze them, as the temperature is no longer 50 in the basement, and I didn’t want them to spoil.
She hates to cook but doesn’t mind eating free food. We often share cakes, etc. because there are only 2 of them and only 2 of us. She DOES bake.
The 1/2 bushel of squash cost me $11 in the fall, and fed us all winter. Still have several meals worth in the freezer too.
I hung outdoors for years but never left my clothespins outside. I was trained to bring them inside with the clean laundry and I have to say, I haven’t needed to buy any in 20-30 years! The snap kind break but CAN be put back together if you take care to keep your fingers out of range of the snap! I do use the dryer now because we have bird feeders in the yard, AND I’m old and lazy. I will hang out items that need stains bleached out during the summer, however. It does get to be a lot of extra work as you get older, but I miss it too.
I just have not started line drying again yet. We wash at least one load every night. I do hang some things on hangers around the inside of the house to dry. We just aren’t home much because we own a business. I may try to hang clothes outside on Sundays since it’s going to be getting warmer and I don’t want the extra heat in the house.
Love the list idea. That could be used in other ways besides shopping lists, I’m sure. I just can’t think of a way at this moment, but I’ll bet others can!
I have to clean my umbrella-type clothesline about once a year. In spite of all the sunshine, the Florida humidity makes my line black sometimes, and I have to clean it off — a not so fun task since I’m short and the line is high. Like Marcia, I never leave my clothes pin bag outside, though; the sudden showers, humid heat and nest-building birds make me keep the unused pins inside. I have some of my mother’s old pins, including the peg kind that straddle the clothesline, and I use them along with mine.
Katy, you are dedicated, cleaning up those clothes pins. So many people would have said, “Meh, what’s two dollars to buy some more?”
It’s not just the money, as the errand would have had to be run.
I am also digging the clip idea! 🙂
I used to use really strong magnetic clips on the frig, one per child, to hold their mail, notes, and other stuff, so that when they came home from work (often way after I’d gone to bed) or came over to visit, they knew right where to look. Worked great!!