Santa has returned once more from whence he came and half the countryside is now hoarding away their booty, making stock with the turkey carcass and stuffing overflowing refuse bins with wrapping paper.
Meanwhile the other half, are busy making resolutions for the new year ahead. With recession all around us we need to be careful with our spending and look after the things we have.
I am sure there are plenty of cool new t-shirts being blogged about and sported at all the ‘IN’ places and parties this year. So what is the best way to look after them? Most care labels will tell you to wash dark colours separately, and you should, otherwise the whole wash will soon become a dull grey or the pure white shirt will look like it had the Batik treatment from a red item added by mistake.
To Fix a strong colour (read reds purples and black) and prevent it from bleeding into other washing, Fill a bucket with cold water and add 1 tablespoon of salt, give it a stir and add the coloured item! Leave it for several hours or overnight. Then wash in the normal way.
The normal way for black items & that includes socks, or indeed any strong colour is to turn the item inside out before putting in the machine, then if fading occurs it is on the inside of the garment.
Worried about losing socks in the wash… Put them in an old pillow case and tie a knot in the end of it before putting in the machine. This method also works for underwired Bras.
To store Christmas tree lights, wrap them around an empty paper roll – one from wrapping paper is perfect. Cut a notch at one end of the roll and tuck the end of the string of lights into it. Then roll the lights round the tube working slowly along its length. When you come to the end make another notch and tuck the end into it.
Remove rust from a knife or kitchen utensil by sticking it in an onion for about an hour. Move the blade back and forth to help the onion juice do its work.
