Pit stain removal tips (yeah, I really just said that)

Yes, my white shirts get pit stains. It's gross, but I know I'm not the only one, and since I've found a removal method that actually works, I thought I'd share it even though it's a smidge embarrassing to admit that my armpits don't emit perfume. (It would probably stain anyway.)

A week or two ago, I got a sudden bout of fierceness and really attacked those stains because I was sick of them, along with some shirts that had perpetually smelly pits--the one you put on freshly washed, right after you get out of the shower, and in ten minutes it smells like you wore it to the gym three days in a row. Anyway, I'd read various magazine articles, internet articles, and tried a few things.

Here's what DOESN'T work:

1. Baking soda in the wash.
2. Peroxide in the wash.
3. Rubbing "an enzyme-containing detergent" on the stain, letting it set, then washing. (This does work on newborn poop stains--just FYI.)
4. Rinsing the stain with cool water, then doing #3.
5. A cup of vinegar in the wash for the stinkiness. I think it helped, but it wasn't strong enough.

What Worked:

For Yellow Sweat Stains

1. Make a paste of peroxide, baking soda, and water. Unless you're doing a lot of shirts you won't need more than a tablespoon of each.
Protect the counter with a towel, then lay out the shirt and coat the stains with the paste.
2. Let this sit for at least half an hour.
3. Rub it in with an old toothbrush.
4. Wash in hot water.
5. REPEAT.**

** I don't think it ever said in anything I read that it might take more than one treatment to see results. I could tell it had diminished the stains some, so I did the whole process at least four more times. Two of my three shirts looked almost new by this point! (And I don't mean to be gross, but the stains had been...substantial.)
Source

For De-Stinking

1. "Put a cup of baking soda in the wash if it's not too bad. For stubborn stink, read on."
Apparently mine were stubborn. :|
2. For stubborn stinkiness, dilute 3 tablespoons salt in 1 quart of warm water and soak the garment for at least one hour. [I was hurriedly typing this all into my phone in a doctor's office, having gotten it from a magazine I was reading, and it seemed to me like it might have said "or, for best results, up to 24 hours" and I left it out in my hurry. So I went for the 24.]
3. Rinse out and wash.
4. I added one cup of vinegar to the wash for good measure. It's also a good fabric softener.

This really did work! I wore one of the shirts yesterday and it didn't smell at all!

I'm not perfect at recycling and I use paper plates with only minor guilt, but I really like that all of this didn't require any scary chemicals or pesticides or anything. I mean, if it can be done naturally (and cheaply), that's gotta be better. I've been using these items so much for household cleaning and laundry that I've started buying them in bulk. It really does feel good to be green where you can!

I truly hope these tips help someone out there. I've been embarrassed by these things and even thrown shirts away because I thought there was no way to fix them. Have I mentioned I LOVE the internet and all you can learn on it?


One more interesting note: in getting the baking soda image, I came across this article for making your own simple, natural, non-aluminum deodorant! Intriguing! If I try it and it works, I'll let you know.

New gadget

Is that how you spell "gadget"?

Yup, I'm pregnant again! That's probably part of why I haven't written in awhile; I haven't been feeling at my best. My crafting has almost completely cut off for the last month or two--that's pretty drastic for me. Just haven't felt the motivation or enthusiasm, I guess. I've been REALLY tired at times, nauseous at others, suffering from extreme and almost constant hunger at others, and it's seemed like every couple of days for the last 2-3 weeks, I would re-injure my back. I tried to pick up Jamie the wrong way on Wednesday, fell on the floor from the sudden pain, and literally was laying down in pain for almost the entire rest of the day. Thank goodness for Jason. He's definitely been doing more than his share lately, taking care of me and Jamie while I've been feeling bad in one way or another.

I'm not even sure what else there is to say...I'm due March 19, ten days after our anniversary. I had a miscarriage at about 6 weeks in April; that wasn't fun, so I only mention it now since I can quickly skip over it to the happier news. Everyone asks me if I have leanings in the gender department; I'm not sure. I think of the baby as a boy, I guess because that's what I'm used to now, and then it will occur to me that it could be a girl, and I feel a sort of shiver--shock? Fear? Girls scare me now. As cute as little girl clothes and accessories are, I like being able to put just two things on Jamie--a shirt and shorts--and be done. :) I always hear friends who have girls calling them "sassy"--and I'm not a fan of attitude in little kids. Character, silliness, great.

Don't get me wrong though. I would be excited to have a girl. How could I not be? I would just be scared, too. :)

So like I said, I haven't been doing all that much of interest. Reading a LOT. I read The Help in less than a week; I was totally hooked. I think I must be one of the few women I know who hasn't seen the movie, but I figure I'll wait until I can get it at Redbox for $1. I also finished the Duggars' latest book, A Love That Multiplies. Last week I made full-fat yogurt for Jamie, and this week I'm going to try canning a new jam recipe. Exciting, right? :)

Jason has started a new semester, including a new internship at an organization called Anasazi. It's a wilderness therapy program for troubled youth that has been pretty much saving kids' lives since the 70s with an unbelievable success rate. He's learned a lot already and has great respect for the organization and the people there. He went on a three-day trip with just staff to see how it all works, and while there he carved his own spoon from a stick and then ate with it; drank river water; learned which plants will kill you and which make great toilet paper; slept on the ground; and held a freakin' tarantula, among other things. (Even the look of that word creeeeeps me out.) He'll spend ALL day--8 a.m. to midnightish, when you count three hours there and back for travel--on the trail every Tuesday.

Jamie is doing so well. He's talking up a STORM, all day long, and it actually can get pretty aggravating.

"Mommy! Mommy! Mom-MEE! Mommy! Mom-MEEE!!!"
"What??"
"...Water wet."
"Yeah, water is wet."
""Mommy! Mommy! Mom-MEE! Mommy! Mom-MEEE!!!"
"What, Jamie?"
"Water wet."
"Are you kidding me?"

Lol. Obviously, he's just an attention-hungry boy. He can say every letter of the alphabet, spell his name, and count to ten, plus identify lots of teen-numbers. This is all thanks to Sesame Street, which we have had to limit to two episodes a day; otherwise I'm pretty sure he would do nothing else.

No #2 on the toilet yet, unfortunately. I'm hoping I'll get lucky and he'll be trained before the baby's born. I can dream, right?

Jamie LOVES to help. He loves to help me throw dirty laundry in the washer, put ingredients in the bowl when I'm cooking (I can be pouring a bowl of cereal, and he'll see me, start pushing a chair from the table into the kitchen for him to stand on, and say, "helping Mommy"), into the blender (UNPLUGGED!) to make smoothies, etc. He was great to have around yesterday when I was trying not to bend; he picked up things I dropped, and retrieved things for me so I wouldn't have to get up.

He can dress himself, including socks and shoes, as long as the shoes just have velcro or are flip-flops. He can climb up into his car seat and then buckle himself in, which he loves to do. He's very independent and fusses if we try to do something for him that he thinks he can do himself.

He loves to hide, jump, run, climb, etc. When we arrive home, he always says, "Jamie run door!" and then does his funny little run to the front door. Poor kid doesn't get to run enough, our place is so small and it's too hot to set foot outside. Oh, and he speaks in third person. "Jamie doe [go] nigh-night lih-ttle bed, Jamie wate [wake] up, Jamie doe downstairs, watch Elmo." He says this rather monotone until the end, and I tease him about being a robot (adding appropriate noises), to which he says, "no bot. Jamie no bot."

Well, I need to get going. Sorry there aren't any pictures for this post; we've taken almost none lately. One last thing though: last night, since Jason had a night class, I hitched a ride with a friend to a Relief Society activity. Jamie was in his car seat in the back with my friend's 1-year-old daughter, and they were giggling and Jamie was playing peek-a-boo with her. It was SO cute, and, I hope, a little glimpse of precious things to come.