This weekend, I was home alone for the first time since Sloane was born. Two days to myself, and what did I do? Yard work. Some podcasts. Closet cleaning. Some legal work. Laundry. Some trash TV. And mostly, I just missed the tiny toddler sounds that usually fill my too-quiet house.
Raffia bags are the hot thing for summer. Plenty of designers have pricey styles made of palm straw, but my tastes run more to the mid-price choices. This Alex Mill tote is simple and classic. If you want a modern shape with leather accents, J.Crew has you covered. Need something under-$75? Both Mango and ASOS have bags that are perfect for summer. Or, if you’re lucky enough to head to the beach for a bit of rest and relaxation, you can pick one up there.
Last week, I spotted this video of Barbara Corcoran strolling down an NYC street in the most fantastic rainbow pajamas. I went on a search for them, but the closest thing I could find are these Hanna Anderson pjs. Maybe I’ll snap up a matching pair for Sloane.
Speaking of colorful, striped pjs, Jimmy Fallon (yes, the Tonight Show guy) designed a colorful pajama collab with Alex Mill. I was particularly taken by the white pajamas with colorful trim.
Looking for something more affordable? I also like this orange-and-pink stripe short set from Land’s End. Because who doesn’t love a punchy color in summer?
Now that Sloane is mobile, the stains. Dear heavens. The stains. And not just on Sloane’s clothes. So I’ve had to relearn how to do laundry.
I’ve picked up some helpful tips from Martha Stewart. I add a 1/2 cup of Borax to our detergent (we use this one because Sloane has sensitive). For simple stains (usually berry related), Oxy Clean Spray is my first pick. For more stubborn stains (have you ever seen sidewalk chalk mixed with chicken nugget grease?), Fels Naptha is my chosen antidote.
Need more stain tips? Reddit is still good for some things.
Also, if your washing machine has a smell, I like these cleansing tablets. Have a front loader? This mold stain remover will help clean the door seal and this door prop.
How do you save your children’s heirlooms and sentimental things? Sloane isn’t even three and I’m struggling with how to save special things. I have a lock of her hair from her first haircut and thought I might save it in one of these monochromatic frames with matching matting.
If you have tips for storing kid art, trinkets, and mementos, leave them in the comments.
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Buy a large plastic hanging file box and store items by grade or age. This works best with art and flat things like school papers but it gets the job done.
I highly recommend a subscription to ArtKive for saving kid art. It gets crumpled in piles or fades with the sun if you bother to hang it up, but if you mail it to ArtKive every 6 months they’ll photograph it and send you a beautiful hardcover book to save forever. My kids love them! I order one about every year and give them to my kids for Christmas. https://www.artkiveapp.com/box/referral/ba90bccc-55d3-4fe5-aefb-8c3cb1797928
What a great idea!
My twins’ godparents gave them Petit Keep trunks for their baptism and while I’d never have spent the money on them, they are lovely (they picked the color/fabric liner/monogram). So far, I have a few baby clothes I kept, their first pair of shoes, baptism candles and a few other little things, and I love that everything is kept safely in one spot.
Like another commenter said – for grade school ages, we have a plastic hanging file box with one folder per grade – I used The Short Years printable for the front of each folder, it’s a quick way to write down few memories. So far, it’s a great system after using it for 2 years of preschool plus kinder (because omg the paper that comes home from kindergarten!! I quickly recycle what can go, then stash away keepers).
My go-to stain remover for years is The Laundress Stain Solution, works wonders on grease stains. Or hydrogen peroxide bleach (Oxy 2 or Clorox 2) for ‘colored’ stains like fruit stains or grass stains. Trick is to apply it directly to the stains before laundering. Sometimes Borax added to detergent, especially for whites, and wash them, if not delicate material, in hot water. You are on the right
track.
I, too, once found myself ‘alone in the house’ when my mom took my 10 year old daughter for “Nana Time”, the son was at camp, the husband working in Helena for a week. Just like you, cleaned and polished the house from top to bottom, finished ALL the laundry. On the 3rd day she rested.
Everyone came back on the 4th day, and by mid-
day you couldn’t tell I’d done nearly a damn thing.
Barbara’s pjs are from the Color Factory
https://shop.colorfactory.co/products/rainbow-striped-womens-pajamas
Tracy, I don’t even know you and I love you. I have not been able to stop thinking about them.
Dawn power wash dish spray will remove even old food or oil based stains. It’s the best thing I have ever used for laundry treatment. Great for my kids’ things and great for the dingy marks on my husband’s French cuffed white shirts. It’s amazing.
Ooh, good tip.
Seconding Dawn power wash! In addition to using Dawn power wash for oil based stains (and good old Shout for everything else), I’ll soak my kid’s clothes in Dawn power wash for 30 minutes before washing. My washer has a pre-soak option so I can set it and forget it and it doesn’t feel like an extra step.
I got one of these Keepsake Bears after my third moved on from baby clothes https://www.etsy.com/listing/1750976285/memory-bear-from-baby-clothes-custom
It seems counter intuitive but boiling water will remove berry stains. I use my electric kettle to get the water hot then pour over the stain. It works wonders!
This guy is really into laundry: https://laundryevangelist.com
Librarian here – This may be a bit much, but I did a webinar on personal archiving for parents (including a look at my own archive) last summer – https://youtu.be/yXOLJaFobFg?si=aJIyWUw_qY2Ftj_M