QUEEN’S LAUNDRY QUIZ
To test that red blouse to see if it is colorfast prior to washing you
a. toss it in with your husbands underwear, if they come out pink it’s not
colorfast.
b. soak in a sink of cold water, if the water turns red, it’s not colorfast.
c. Rub with a white cloth, if the color rubs off it’s probably not colorfast.
d. Moisten a cotton ball and dab an inside seam, if the color transfers to the
cotton, the blouse should be washed separately.
To remove blood from clothes you should
a. cut the spot out and apply an appliqué.
b. If you have blood on your clothes maybe laundry is not your biggest problem.
c. Soak for hours in cold water
d. You know that blood is a protein based stain so you moisten with cold water and apply a heavy coat of meat tenderizer to digest the protein in the blood. After 30 minutes launder as usual.
To whiten the kids white socks you
a. buy gray socks, no problem!
b. Pour on the bleach and hope for the best
c. Scrub each sock by hand before you launder them
d. Add 2 tablespoons or one tablet of automatic dishwasher detergent to a bucket of hot water, soak 30 minutes, dump into the washer and launder as usual.
When you bring a new piece of clothing home you look at the care label
a. then cut it out, who needs it hanging there.
b. Cut it out and store it in the drawer with all the other piles of care labels.
c. read it and hope that you remember that it says “hand wash”.
d. Leave the care label in place so you can easily refer to it on laundry day.
On laundry day you sort your clothes by
a. grabbing as much as you can and shoving it in the machine
b. sort by type, all shirts can be washed together, right?
c. sort by water temperature.
d. Sort by color and water temperature, being sure to separate hand washables and delicates.
When you are ready to pre-spot clothes, you
a. why pre-treat, just add extra detergent.
b. pre-treat what you can see when the garment is in the pile on the floor.
c. laboriously go over each item of clothing to find the spots and pre-treat.
d. keep clip-type clothes pins near the laundry hamper so that everyone can clip a clothes pin on any spot when they take the clothes off. You just look for a marked spot, remove the clothes pin and pre-treat.
To remove a grease spot from clothes you
a. vow to buy bigger napkins and ignore it
b. rub in some bleach, tie dye is “in” again
b. scrub with a brush and laundry detergent
c. know that “grease removes grease” so you keep a spotter of 8 tablespoons water, 1 tablespoon glycerin and 1 tablespoon liquid dish soap on hand to work in and then launder as usual.
To remove underarm perspiration stains you
a. keep your arms down – maybe no one will notice.
b. cut out the sleeves, tank tops are fine.
c. scrub with a brush and soap in hope that the discoloration will come out.
d. Dissolve 8 to 10 aspirin tablets in warm water, saturate the underarm, soak 30 minutes and launder as usual.
To fluff up down clothes and comforters you
a. dry them in the dryer with lots of softener.
b. hang outside and beat them with a broom.
c. Spend an hour shaking and hand fluffing them.
d. Put them in the dryer at the recommended temperature or on “air-fluff” with a couple of clean tennis balls.
To wash the plastic shower liner you
a. throw it out, it will never come clean.
b. Cut off the bottom every week or so to remove the soap scum areas.
c. Lay it out and scrub with a scrub brush, wash with a rag, rinse and dry.
d. Toss it in the washer with a couple of old towels, laundry detergent and a cup of white vinegar and re-hang to dry.
If you answered mostly A’s: You are, and there really is no nice way to say this, a Laundry Loser. Laundry is a mystery to you, spotting sends shivers down you spine and you are throwing out more clothes than you can afford. You and I should be talking dirty about laundry! Try some of my easy tips, it may surprise you.
If you answered mostly B’s: You are in Laundry Limbo. You haven’t ruined all the clothes in your family’s closets, but they fear they will never see their clothes again once you announce laundry day is here. Give some of my easy laundry solutions a try. It can’t hurt!
If you answered mostly C’s: You are a Laundry Goddess. You are working way too hard to get results. Follow my queenly tips to do it faster, easier and smarter. You’ll find out you have more time for other things and your clothes will look great.
If you answered mostly D’s: you are the Queen of Washing and Drying. You have obviously tried the Queen’s time saving laundry tips. Your clothes are in such good shape it’s hard to find space to hang the new ones! Keep up the good work and don’t forget to teach the kids how to do laundry too.
