Kris Mares

Today, I felt very much like a domestic diva! I was the queen of the castle, caring for my children while utilizing the resources I had in an efficient and effective way.

In an effort to be frugal and “use it up and wear it out,” I dyed some clothes for the first time. Professor has to wear uniforms to school and after a year of wearing the same navy shirts and shorts (mixed with red and white and khaki), the navy was faded. They all still fit (I’m expecting a growth spurt any time now), so I needed to simply freshen them up and they would be ready to go!

I wanted to use the washer dye method, but since we have a new HE washer, I wasn’t sure how I do it. Plus, the dye will stain plastic and with a plastic agitator piece in the bottom of the drum… Well, let’s just say Racer’s response was this “I didn’t spend hundreds of dollars on a bid new fancy washer for you to stain it with some project.” So instead, I used the sink.

After 2 hours, 2 bottles of Rit dye, one wooden spoon and 3 trips to the washing machine, I successfully freshened the navy on 3 shirts, 7 pair of shorts, 2 pair of pants and 1 skirt (for the neighbor girl). I also tried to dye 2 white shirts, a pair of khaki pants and 4 white dish towels that were stained. Since I did those last, they didn’t quite make it to navy, but more of a purplish, indigo color. I think another round in some navy dye will do the trick though.

Now everything is washed, dried and looking great for another new school year. The Frugal Girl would be proud of my efforts today. Next time though, I think I need to remember the rubber gloves…