Yes, they are all mine!

We are constantly being given hand me downs by wonderful people but sometimes they do not always look so great.  A friend of mine told me a great way of really cleaning them and I have to say that it works!  Load up whatever it is that you need washed and refreshed- I usually do this right before I go to bed.  Do not add laundry detergent at this time.  All you put in is a cup of oxiclean liquid or clorox 2.  Allow the washer to fill and wash enough to distribute throughout the clothing.   Stop the washer.  Let it set.  You can leave it anywhere from 2-8 hours depending on the stains and if you are going to let them set overnight.  When you are ready to restart the clothes just add detergent then and let it wash as normal.  I have done this with clothing of every size and it gets them so clean!  I even do this with a front load washer.  I choose to put the washer on rinse and spin then restart it with detergent but you do not have to.  It works great for me and I hope you have just as great of a success!

For more tips on all kinds of things visit Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer.

With 6 children I find that we have a lot of “stuff” for them to play with, learn with and the like.   One of their favorite things to do are puzzles.  Puzzle boxes, though, do not last at all.  They tear at the corners and then start spitting pieces all over the place.  The boxes also take up a lot of shelf space and shelf space is at a premium here!  When we get a new puzzle (or new to us) I get an appropriate sized plastic storage baggie to put it in.  I cut the picture of the puzzle off of the box and put it facing out in the bag and then fill the bag with the puzzle pieces.   The picture lets you know which puzzle is in there and how many pieces it has.  I have a clear tub (15 qt.) for the puzzles that has over 20 puzzles in it.  They take up far less space and we lose far fewer pieces.   Hope it works just as well for you!

~Rhen

For more great ideas head over to Rocks in My Dryer!