Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Miscellaneous Hints



On a recent sleepless night I dug out some of Mom's old cookbooks to entertain myself. I got such a laugh from some of the Misc. Hints in one of the books, I just had to share them with you.....

Clothes do not freeze on a wire clothesline if first wiped with kerosene cloth!!!

A little vinegar added to the water in which you rinse silk stockings will increase their elasticity and make them practically run proof!!!

Insert a teaspoon in the toe of your nylons when hanging them on the line to prevent blowing and snagging....oh my...I'd like to see this one!

After washing cotton or silk gloves, rinse them by holding them under the cold water faucet so the fingers are inflated with water. Then let them drip dry on the same line and they will dry without twisted fingers.

Sprinkle clothes right on the line if you have a garden hose (turn on fine spray). Roll clothes as you take them down! (Hang clothes to dry...wet clothes and remove from line????????)

Put a small amount of cologne in the water to be used for sprinkling clothes. Makes ironing pleasant and freshens dresser drawers and closets. (Can't you just smell it now?)
Sprinkling clothes brings back fond memories. I always got to sprinkle the clothes and I loved that job. I dipped my hand in pan of water or under the faucet and really sprinkled em good. Roll them up and they were ready to be ironed. I got to iron the pillow cases, another job I loved. I worked so hard getting them just right and folding them where the embroidery was showing (yes, most of them had beautiful embroidery on them)
I wasn't involved in the starching process. The starch was dissolved in a pan and Mom only starched the white shirt collars and cuffs. Another step of wet then dry then sprinkle. I'm telling you, laundry was a long drawn out process...........I remember a friends mother starching her brothers blue jeans and they would stand alone....so funny!
Well I better go hang out some clothes and get the hose ready to sprinkle.......(NOT)
Have a good day all.
Nanny

12 comments:

Jill from Killeny Glen said...

What a fun post!
ALL THAT IRONING! I am so GRATEFUL that most things do NOT need to be ironed anymore! I do collect old linens (kitchen mostly) and enjoy ironing those for company!

Rose said...

fun reading. i hate to iron clothes. sometimes if i do need to iron, i forget where i put the iron. have a good day. rose

Joyce said...

I had a good chuckle reading these. My Mom had an old Coke bottle with a little spigot on the end to sprinkle the water onto the clothing and then she would roll them up and put them in the fridge until she was ready to iron. She ironed every single thing. I hate ironing but my son follows in his GMs footsteps and irons (he has a lucky wife). My GM had a machine and I think it was called a mangle perhaps and you put the sheets on this machine or pillow cases or towels and it ironed them for you. Me I have a steamer when I am desperate because I am totally allergic to ironing:-)
Joyce

Deb said...

now that was fun...I remember my grandmother had the wire things she put in my grandpas pants to keep them from wrinkling on the line..I always thought it was so cool when she put them in...they could almost stand on their own...I loved when my Mom ironed...she would always fix us popcorn and we would watch a movie on tv....

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Cute post, Nanny... I remember sprinkling clothes. We had a sprinkle bottle which we used... And we did wrap damp clothes to be ironed. I never used starch much--but my mother did. I used the spray on starch years ago..Remember it????

Yes--Doing laundry was a big deal. Mom washed on Mondays. She had a wringer washer and had to hang the clothes on the lines outside. Tuesday was ironing day.... I don't think my mother ever strayed from that schedule.

Thanks for bringing back so many great memories in my childhood. Nowadays though--I do NOT iron anything. Yeah Rah!!!!

Hugs,
Betsy

Tanna said...

That did bring back some memories! Mom had this green bottle with a cork/sprinkle head for sprinkling before rolling up to iron. I toss everything in the dryer with fabric softner sheet... and, that's it. Hardly iron a thing. LOL! What I do miss, is the smell of those clothes off the line. Ahhhh... I can almost smell it now... ;)

Betsy Brock said...

Too funny! I'm guessing they wet the clothes after drying because they needed to be a bit damp to iron. Before steam irons, right? What a PAIN! OH my. This is when everyone ironed sheets and pillowcases, too. ugh.

Ca88andra said...

What an amusing post. It all sounds like such hard work...

Joy Tilton said...

We must have grown up in the same family, your memories are mine too! Mom would have a bushel basket of sprinkled clothes to iron on Tuesdays, wash day was always Monday. We had a Coke bottle with a sprinkler top...wonder where that is at Mom's house? Now you've got me thinking I want that bottle!

Tasha said...

Wow! Those ladies earned their stripes for ironing back then! Thank goodness for fabric softener and synthetic fabrics that don't need to be ironed!

Sandi @the WhistleStop Cafe said...

I love these tips!
...not that I will ever need them. My ironing days are limited, and clothes line days are over.
Thanks God :-)

Alison said...

That might be my favorite post yet! How funny! It makes me thankful for my front loading washing machine :)