Washing Machine Woes

You might remember when I wrote about my stinky washing machine here.

After a lot of Internet research and tips from friends, here is what I came up with. I ran a cycle on hot water and added 1 cup of baking soda. This seemed to do the trick.

For those clothes that already smelled like mildew because they were (1) washed in the stinky washer or (2) damp items that weren't washed soon enough (e.g., towels and swimsuits from a day at the pool, sweaty workout clothes thrown into the hamper), I poured 1/4 cup of white vinegar directly into the wash with the load of clothes/towels, etc. That seemed to do the trick to eliminate the smell. And, surprisingly, my clothes did not smell like vinegar.

(NOTE: the vinegar trick also works when you are washing colors that bleed, like reds or you could use those handy SHOUT color catcher sheets, which are a staple at my house.)

Despite the fact that I no longer have a stinky washing machine, I am still dreaming of these ...

In the words of Snow White (which I've seen A LOT of lately), "one day my prince will come".

Today ...

While driving to work this morning, I was given a gentle reminder by God from something I heard on the radio. Our local christian radio station was talking to the pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle Church (home of the famous Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir). He said that we are only guaranteed today, this moment. He said we should live each day based upon the premise that TODAY is the ONLY day we can share our faith with an unbeliever ... the ONLY day we can do something nice for someone ... the ONLY day we can spend with our family ... the ONLY day we can tell someone that we love them. This really puts everything in perspective for me. If I really believed this, would I have rushed out of the house them morning without telling my children a proper goodbye? Would I have watched the Today Show while I was getting ready instead of talking to my husband or talking to God in prayer? Would I have slept so late? Would I be spending the day at work? I know that in all practicality, I cannot use this as an excuse to forego all of my daily responsibilities at work and at home. However, it does remind me that I should realign my priorities and not get so hung up on the little things that suck away my time from what really matters in life.

On a less serious note: I got the mildew stain out of David's outfit. I think the Oxy-clean spray is what really finally did the trick. Of course, maybe the spray was able to work its magic because of the three previous soaks in Oxy-clean, the ammonia soak and the lemon juice/salt solution soak. I mean, is this thing still safe for my child to wear? Is it toxic now? In light of my statements above, I probably should have tossed the outfit, and spent the time it took to work this stain out to do something more Kingdom-worthy.