In the Trenches: a Brief Tutorial

"In the Trenches" is probably going to become a regular posting - all about the rad stuff you learn living with kids. It kind of comes from something my awesome sister-in-law, Helen, said to me one day.  While wrestling her kids out of the car, she observed a lady precariously navigating an icy parking lot in stiletto boots, thought about her own ultra-practical look, shook her head in amazement, & thought to herself, "I'm in the trenches over here." (Actually, the way she said it was so much more funny.)

Not to knock stiletto boots. We all know they look hot. What she meant (and I echo) is - this family living is UN-glamorous business. And doing this line of work usually demands the kind of UN-glamorous approach that could be summed up in a pair of ratty overalls and sneakers...at least with little dudes. It takes skills. The kind you learn on the job.

(I guess doing the dirty job of parenting WHILE in stilettos would be one of those amazing skills too. I just haven't tried to master that one yet.)

So with that introduction, today's post:

WHAT TO DO WHEN A KID (or adult for that matter) LEAVES A CRAYON IN THEIR POCKET, AND IT GOES THROUGH THE WASH

11:00PM last Wednesday.

This is what I discovered as I attempted to change the laundry before bed.

In this load: almost ALL of the kids' school pants, the boys' church shirts, one of Mike's more expensive work shirts, a few pair of maternity pants, Sully's linen Easter vest and a couple of t-shirts. In total: several hundred dollars worth of clothes. The dryer barrel was nicely smeared with melted red crayon - so I couldn't put the wet clothes in that were waiting in the washer. 

Breaking it down for you: two problems. #1. How to get crayon off the dryer barrel? #2. How to remove crayon from all those clothes? Problem #2 seemed most challenging. Mike left a fountain pen in his pocket once and it ruined a whole load of laundry - and there was no recovery in that case. I didn't hold out much more hope for this situation.

Google to the rescue. (How did people EVER survive without the internet?!)

With a little Soft Scrub and about 5 minutes our dryer barrel was restored.

The clothes were a little trickier. The best advise I found was this: start with the simplest solution and work your way up to the more complicated. So....

I soaked everything (in batches) in HOT water with detergent and baking soda for 30 minutes. This took care of most of the crayon. Then I washed everything again in a HOT cycle (even that linen vest). And...everything came out crayon-free. (Except Noble's best church shirt which held the stain for some reason. Still, replacing one expensive-ish shirt is no biggie when I think of what I would have had to replace.)

Sorry, no finished product photo. I was kinda preoccupied, saving the world...or at least the laundry. Next time I'll do it in stilettos. Wait. I don't own any.