The Archives: My Laundry Day

One of my worst pet peeve happen to be dirty laundry! It just drives me nuts- bananas- crazy when we are down to the bear minimal of clean clothes choices to wear for that day. For the past three months I have been behind in my regular laundry routine, and it's getting to be so embarrassing. And it's not that I have become a lazy housewife. It just that it has been a series of laundry malfunctions. And this is how this smelly thing started:

First: Our dryer broke. We have an old stackable washer and dryer. And one day when I was drying my towels the spinner stopped working. And that was the end of the dryer.

Second: My husband tried to fix the the dryer. That meant that the washer part of the stackable was not in service also. So for several days we couldn't do any laundry. When things started to pile up like Mount Everest, we resorted to our friendly neighborhood laundromat, which truthfully I am not crazy about, but I rather have clean clothes than having a pile of smelly clothes in our closet!

Third: Our car broke down! Now that in itself was a nightmare. My poor husband couldn't make it for a job interview and we ended up again with a pile of dirty laundry. Yikes, here we go again! With no car we couldn't go to our friendly neighborhood laundromat. And our stackabe had its wires hanging out. So after a week my hubby decided that the dryer part of the stackable was not worth fixing. He finally put it back together. And again I was able to start washing clothes. But because we didn't have a dryer I had to hang the clothes outside, like the old fashion way.



Forth: The first time that I started to hang our clothes in our yard, I felt like a fifties housewife. It was a great feeling being outside and enjoying nature while doing housework. So one day while I was in the kitchen I thought that I heard rain. And sure enough when I looked outside, the first thing that I thought was my laundry. The rain got most of our clothes wet and smelly. So I had to end up washing that load again.

Fifth: My brother and his wife have moved with us recently. They have given us their brand new washer and dryer, which made me smile with glee! Though for us to connect the dryer to the wall unit we have to buy a converter thing. So in the meanwhile we had to still hang our clothes. One day when my brother saw me running outside in the rain to get our clothes, he suggested that I should dry our clothes in the garage. Drying the clothes in the garage was the best household tip that I have ever heard! And especially coming from my baby brother was sure amazing. The car garage acts like a hot oven, which makes the clothes dry quicker. And the best thing about it, my clothes is not getting rained on!


This week though I have been crazy busy so our laundry was a tad behind, so after finishing this post, I will be on my way to finish my laundry for this weekend. So that way comes Monday, my husband will have a clean pair of undies to wear!


And when my laundry is finished, I will be the happiest housewife in the world!




P.S. The lovely items above are all from my favorite store Victorian Trading Co. They have all sorts of cute vintage inspired products and gifts!



The Archives: Post's from my old blog The RetroChic Corner. Original Post Date: 08/15/09

The Archives: Mrs. Dunwoody's Excellent Instructions For Homekeeping

Mrs. Dunwoody sat down at her kitchen table one spring of 1886 and penned down her first entry in a notebook that took fifty years to complete. She was able to impart advice and words of wisdom, recipes, household tips and etiquette from women of her day. Her notes were meant to to be passed down to each generation of women as they married and took up housekeeping while they nurtured their family and home with love and joy. This wonderful book by Miriam Lukken would be a delight to explore. It will bring you back to an era were things were simple and household shores were not a shore but a privilege to perform. This book will inspire the inner homemaker in you!

From the Dust Jacket:

A delightful and practical compendium of homespun advice, cleaning and etiquette tips, traditional recipes, and Southern wit, Mrs. Dunwoody's Excellent Instructions for Homekeeping will bring warmth, gentility, and order into your home. Today many of us yearn for the home-centered values of yesteryear-homemade desserts, family traditions, and sparkling clean rooms that radiate comfort and good cheer. Now you can bring the wise, unhurried ways and charm of an earlier time into the 21st century with:

Mrs. Dunwoody's Judicious Cleaning Hints:Make every room in your house shine with homekeeping tips that include a recipe for organic furniture cleaner made from lemon and mineral oil and an easy way to help prevent tarnishing with a piece of white chalk in your silver chest.

Mrs. Dunwoody's Useful Notes from the Kitchen: From choosing the freshest foods at the market to seasoning and cooking, delight your family with such delicacies as Big Mama's Baked Country Ham and Ambrosial Pecan Pie.

Mrs. Dunwoody's Advice on Etiquette: Brush up on letter writing, table manners, and timeless social rules like "Always stand at the doorway and wave good-bye until your departing guests are out of sight."

Mrs. Dunwoody's Tips on Laundry: Protect linens and clothing with ingenious homespun techniques-rub ink stains with a sponge soaked with milk, use stale bread to remove fresh spots from leather or suede.

Mrs. Dunwoody's Guide to Entertaining: Make every kind of party a success. Learn formal table settings, proper service, and toasts that will charm your guests.

Your home can be a place where you and yours truly feel surrounded by tranquility, cleanliness, and love. With hundreds of time-tested and fun-to-read nuggets of advice on everything from keeping your home organized to gardening and making homemade health remedies, as well as special pages for your own words of wisdom, Mrs. Dunwoody will take you back to an era where good things take time, but the wait is always worth it.

Whenever I want to get inspired and get into the Housekeeper mood, I sit down and read my Mrs. Dunwoody's book.

Then I am ready to tackle the dirt!

You can pick one today at Amazon.com:
Mrs-Dunwoodys-Excellent-Instructions-Homekeeping



Have a great weekend!


The Archives: Post's from my old blog The RetroChic Corner. Original Post Date: 07/24/09