10 Simple Laundry Prep Solutions

by Country Living, on Fri Jun 17, 2011 7:11am PDT

A little bit of TLC before washing can go a long way when you’re doing the laundry. Say buh-bye to stains forever.

See the other 40 of our classic cleaning tips for your clothes.

Plus: Make your compact laundry room packed with style

1. Body oils rub onto shirt collars and attract dirt, leaving them grimy and worse for wear. Reverse the damage by grabbing your shampoo and a clean paintbrush and paint a line over the soiled collar before washing.



2. Soaking clothes overnight in
a tub of water really helps loosen
dirt and grime and can be especially effective when your clothes have
that dingy-all-over look.



3. To keep brights their brightest
and blacks from fading, turn garments inside out and choose
the coolest temperature setting that will get them clean.

Plus: Super Cheap Craft Ideas


4. For stubborn food stains, such as coffee, soy sauce, or mustard, blot the troubled area with foam shaving cream and allow it to sit for half an hour. Repeat the process and if the stain remains, try leaving the cream in overnight.



5. If you’ve just washed a stained garment, examine the results before tossing it in the dryer. If the stain didn’t come out, the dryer’s heat will set it and make it even harder to deal with. Your chances of success are greater if you remove the item while it’s damp.



6. Your best chance of salvaging a stained garment after it’s been in the dryer is to soak it for thirty minutes in a solution that’s equal parts water and hydrogen peroxide. Be sure to wash it immediately afterward.

Plus: Sizzling Summer Sides


7. Adding a quarter cup of baking soda to a wash will take care of stale, musty odors common during the summer months and give your machine a fragrant boost to boot.



8. When conquering dried bloodstains, dampen the damaged garment with hydrogen peroxide, then rinse with cold water. If possible, set your washing machine’s temperature for cold as well.



9. When battling mildew and soap scum-stained shower curtains, don’t hesitate to drop them in the washing machine. For cloth as well as heavier vinyl and plastic curtains, use ordinary laundry soap and the recommended amount of bleach per load.

Plus: Capture This Whimsical Decor Trend


10. Whether you’re washing by machine or hand, vinegar is a must-have in any laundry room. A cup of vinegar is an effective fabric softener in the rinse cycle, adding a little bit to a hand wash will keep clothes from staying sudsy.

Guest Bedroom Ideas

My aunt gave us her bed which we will be using for our guest bedroom, so I have been researching ideas on guest bedroom designs. What timing since we will be having house guests for the 4th of July weekend! Here are some designs that I liked:

Loft Guest Room

Prince William and Princess Catherine Royal Wedding

I enjoyed watching the Royal Wedding live, even if I had to get up at 1am to watch the commentaries before the actual wedding itself! Catherine was radiant and William looked very much in love! May their union be filled with lasting love and peace.

Photos courtesy of this and this website.

Royal Wedding

Watching the Royal Wedding! It must be so exciting for William and Kate!

An official photo of Prince William and his fiancee

Catherine Middleton, released April 28, 2011.

Happy Easter

There are so many things to be thankful for this Easter. Its very private so I cannot post it here, but truly, I am thankful! HAPPY EASTER!!!

Quote of the Day

Home Offices and Pros/Cons of Telecommuting

Photo courtesy of Ikea

Our company is offering some employees a work from home program. I'm still unsure if it is right for me. A lot of my friends who have "gone home" to work are loving it. My biggest concern is missing the people interaction. Now, all these home offices look nice, but I still have to weigh the pros and cons of working from home. Here is an article I found here about the pros and cons of telecommuting.

June 11

The Pros and Cons of Telecommuting

by Chris Poteet on 6/11/2010 8:00 AM

Category: Misc

Telecommuting has become an increasingly popular benefit offered by companies to their employees especially in the IT sector. Many people start these jobs without understanding the full implications of such a lifestyle choice.

As one of Portal Solution's full time remote employees, I'd like to share some of my experience and things I've learned to remain effective while telecommuting. Portal Solutions does allow their employees to work from home on occasion even when they are local, so this would apply on a smaller scale to that work situation as well.

The Pros of Telecommuting

Telecommuting has some advantages that make it a particularly attractive alternative for employees. While the telecommuting situation is most often desired by employees there are benefits to the employer as well.

• Physical commuting ceases to exist. The most amount of commuting I do on a daily basis is from my bedroom into the office, and there are no traffic jams in between.
• There is no dress code. I don't have to worry about ironing pants or shirts since I work in casual clothes all the time.
• You are close to family. Most jobs pull apart families for at least 40 hours a week, but in this situation that doesn't exist.
• More flexible than flex time. Telecommuting allows you to work when you want (within reason) as long as you complete your tasks and hourly requirements.
• Less distractions during the day. During a normal work day there are many impromptu meetings and discussions that can interrupt your workflow, and a remote worker often isn't included in those.
• Cheaper to have employees. If a company is completely a remote workplace then there is no need for physical offices, utilities, etc.

The Cons of Telecommuting

Even though telecommuting appears on the surface to be all positive there are some things to keep in mind.

• No real relationships with co-workers. One of the fun things about work is that your co-workers become your extended family. When you're remote it's difficult to build that level of familiarity especially when you miss out on birthday parties, company picnics, etc. Also, sometimes the most productive work happens informally, and it can't be duplicated working remotely.
• You are close to family. Even though this was listed as a pro it is also a con. Family can often get in the way of productive work if they are not giving you space while you work.
• Chores around the house await. For some reason when you're working from home the immediacy of needing to clean your apartment/house increases. It's not fun to work in disheveled environment.
• The need to travel. Some may view this as a pro or con, but telecommuting most often requires of the employee the need to travel whether to the main office or to a client site.
• The blurry line between work and home life. When going into an office it's much easier to separate your work from home life since they live in different physical locations but not so when telecommuting. Your home is your workplace, and if you're not careful one can consume the other.

Tips to Stay Productive

While there are pros and cons to working remotely there are some things you can do to stay productive and maintain a good relationship with your employer.

• Stay in constant communication. The responsibility lies with the remote worker to maintain active communication with everyone. You must not let yourself fall between the cracks.
• Be involved when you're in the office. Whenever I travel to the office I make an extra effort to do activities with my co-workers. This might be meals, hanging out at night, or even getting the opportunity to enjoy those informal conversations.
• Ensure personal accountability. The remote worker is responsible to an even greater degree that their tasks are being done effectively and efficiently. The best way to ensure this is to set up accountability for yourself and not wait on others to do it for you.
• Get into a working mindset. Some remote workers still dress up like they're going to work to ensure they stay in a work mindset. Do what you need to do to put your attention to work when it's time to do so.
• Set up work/home boundaries. After you've worked your eight or so hours for the day you have to consciously put work down to focus on your home life.

Conclusion

As you can see there are real pros and cons to this lifestyle, but when you take necessary steps to ensure success then both the employee and employer can have a successful experience.

Thankful for...

... having a wonderful husband
who I can share my life with!!!

(photo courtesy of this website)