Mom vs Crayon!

Crayons are wonderful little things aren't they? I mean for paper and coloring and drawing and all that fun stuff that little ones love.

But what happens when they turn bad, very very bad and make you want to throw a tantrum and scream at the top of your lungs?

Been there? Done that?

Oh I'm sure you have and I'm sure there may even be one or two moms out there, at this very moment, screaming in frustration. Why?

Because as much as you check pockets before you throw laundry in the washer, there are those days that even the best of housewives will forget.

And that's exactly what I did this morning, forget to check the pockets of the little man's shorts, so instead of a rock or a little piece of paper, there were crayons, green ones.

Thankfully, I was doing a load of colors and not whites because if that had been the case, oh you bet you would be hearing my cries of anguish in your homes, all over the States.

The result was, two crayons broken into tiny pieces, the paper wrapper completely destroyed and random green dots here and there. ALL.OVER.MY.LAUNDRY!

After almost bursting into tears and savagely ripping through the laundry with a "oh No....no no no no noooooooooo" everytime my eyes met another green dot, I ran to the computer!

Because that's what housewives do right? *snicker*

I searched and searched and googled til my fingers couldn't type anymore and came across a couple of suggestions and some of them were a little out there, like using WD 40 which, ummm...nope, big no no on my kids clothes.

But then I found one which sounded harmless enough and I happened to have all the ingredients on hand and low and behold, it WORKED.

And no I don't have a picture, the clothes are in the dryer right now, but here's what I did.

I threw on my boxing gloves, gave the little culprits the stinky eye and got to work. I ran the first load the way I always do with just the detergent while I searched for answers to my dilemma. Yeah, that didn't work, the spots were still there.

So then I tried this suggestion and YAY about 99% of the spots came out, there's still one or two left but they are in areas that you can't really tell and I'm sure over time I'll get them out.

I started with hot water to let it soak in, then washed it in warm water, and rinsed with cold. I used:

• 2 almost full scoops of Gain detergent
  
• 3/4 c. Borax 20 Mule team
• 1 c. white vinegar
• 1 c. Shout

It worked like a charm. I've also found out that toothpaste will do the job, so I'm going to try that on the last few spots left and see how it works, but I'm so thrilled that I didn't have to throw any clothes out.

And in case you're wondering, the vinegar does not leave a smell on the clothes, matter of fact you can't even tell you used it.

Some of Jasmine's new shirts for school were in there and I just wanted to cry, having to listen to a tween whine about her new ruined clothes is worse than the load full of crayons. Believe me!

So go forth and conquer, never again fear for another crayon in the washer. Just try to remember to check the pockets, I could kick myself for not doing so, but hey, I'm allowed one mess up once in a while right?