Do you have a problem with your polo shirts curling at the collar?  Or with the collar creasing?  Or gaping wide open?

My husband and little boy wear a lot of polo shirts.  And neither one of them like it when the collar curls up at the edges.  Or when one side of the collar has a distinct crease, yet the other side is normal looking.

So what do you do with that rebellious collar?

• Try mostly air drying the polo shirts and then tumbling in the dryer at the end to finish the drying job and knock out wrinkles.  Possibly it is that harsh dryer heat that causes the edges to turn up.  And if the collar is prone to creasing in an odd spot, the dryer heat will only reinforce that.
• A steam iron.  Yes, it’s a little labor-intensive to set up the ironing board and heat up the iron.  However a few bursts of steam can really help the collar look a little better.
• Buy nice quality shirts.  The $8 polo shirt at Kohl’s is probably not going to hold up as long as the $28 LL Bean.  Price is not always indicative of quality, but nicer quality clothes always last longer.  And their collars seem to perform better.
• Hang shirts – don’t fold them.  Regardless of how neatly shirts are folded, it’s practically impossible not to crush the collars when they are stacked on one another.  And it’s actually faster to fold items than hang them.  So two wins here for hanging the polo shirts.
• When hanging shirts, button at least the top button.  This helps with the collar gaping open when wearing it.  And arrange the collar on the hanger as if you were wearing it.
• If all else fails, you could try collar stays.  This particular brand (of which I have no affiliation) is reusable up to 6 times.  And they just stick on, which is essentially error-proof.

These methods work for me.

For more random tips unrelated to polo shirts visit WFMW over at We are THAT Family.

I have a ton of kitchen towels.  I’m a bit of a germ-a-phobe when it comes to raw meat and general gross kitchen yuck. 

So I have a lot of kitchen towels and dishcloths and I change them often.  It is not unusual for me to go through 3-5 in a day.  And then there’s my Sadie that keeps me rolling through the dishtowels.

I’m not a fan of piling them up on the kitchen counter or in the corner of the floor until it is time to take the to the laundry room.

So I use this:

This little trashcan sits underneath my kitchen sink.  Whenever I deem a towel to wet/dirty/gross to continue in the mix, I put it out of the way in my laundry trashcan.

I typically empty it every other day at the very least.  If I forget about it and let it sit longer than that, then I have mildew-y, smelly towels.  So I try really hard to remember to not go down the Smelly Towel Road.

I love my little laundry hamper for my kitchen towels, especially on Freezer Cooking Daze!  I seem to go through 10+ towels on those marathon cooking sprees.

This definitely works for me!

(I am not a Southern girl that puts on airs – well, only on the very rare occasion – so forgive  me for not cleaning out under my sink before snapping this picture.)

I am pleased to link this post to WFMW over at We are THAT Family.  Go visit for a ridiculous amount of good ideas.

There are many different methods of dealing with laundry.  I fully believe that a crucial step in every routine is sorting dirty laundry.

In my laundry routine, I choose to sort dirty laundry as I put it in the hamper.

We have a very small laundry room with minimal floor space, so I keep our laundry baskets in the master closet.  I use this style of  laundry hamper that I bought from Walmart for less than $5 each.

When it’s time for clothes to go in the dirty pile, they are quickly sorted into these hampers:

I know that one of these full hampers = a washer load in my machine.  So I can easily eyeball the laundry hamper and see if a load is ready to go.  (Also the lack of white t-shirts in hubby’s drawer is a big clue…)

I prefer to do a load (or three) per day, rather than use a whole day catching up on our laundry.  I check the baskets each morning and see if any are full.  If they are, I line up the full baskets in the hallway until it is their turn to be washed.

I love it when a routine is so stream-lined I don’t even have to think about it.  And my dirty laundry storage is a simple way for me to free up brain space for something else.

This definitely works for me!

Head on over to WFMW at We are THAT Family for a boatload of tips!

Dark wash jeans are very trendy right now.  But the questions is:

How do I make them stay dark?

I’m so glad you asked.

We’ll cover the ‘easy’ methods first:

1) Wash jeans only  in cold water and on gentle cycle.

Warm water and the washer’s agitation are not friendly to indigo dye.  In fact, they will fade at least a shade or two every time you use this method.  But it is the easiest.

2) Hang jeans to drip dry.

You can hang them on the line until mostly dry and then tumble on low in the dryer to make them a little softer.  Again, indigo dye does not like heat so the dryer will fade them over time.

3) Wear them multiple times.

Washing jeans every time you wear them will surely cause them to fade.  If there are no visible stains and they smell okay, you can probably get away with washing them once every 3-4 times.

(Side note: My roommate my freshman year at college had 2 pairs of jeans (her only pants) and literally washed them every 6 months. That’s too hard core for this girl.  Blech.)

4) Wash jeans inside out.

This will greatly reduce the fading when washed on cold and the gentle cycle.  I faithfully do this every time I wash my dark jeans.  And I’ve liked my results.

If you’re serious about having dark jeans, there are a few more methods which I would consider to be a little extreme.  But if I had a pair of high dollar jeans I loved I would use one of these:

1) Hand wash jeans in the tub.

Using only a little detergent (maybe a Tablespoon or two), run cold water in the bathtub.  Let the jeans soak about 30-45 minutes.  Slowly swirl the jeans in the water, but do so carefully.  Remember that agitation also helps fade jeans.  Rinse under cold running water, carefully wring out and then hang to drip dry.

2) Dry Clean your jeans.

It might be expensive, but it will keep them nice and dark. 

3) Don’t wash them at all.

I definitely don’t vote for this method, as I love clean laundry.  But if you are serious about your jeans staying their original hue, this might work for you.  It wouldn’t hurt to hang them outside every few wearings so they can air out.

Keeping my jeans from fading definitely works for me.

I am pleased to link this post to Works for Me Wednesday over at We are THAT Family.  A wealth of knowledge is waiting to be read over there!  Go check it out.

I hate messy dresser drawers.  And shelves.

It seems like the fastest drawers to become messy are underwear drawers and children’s pajama drawers.  This clever little method will definitely help with the latter.

First, fold your children’s pajamas neatly.

Now for the best idea you’ve heard all day:

When storing children’s pajamas, store the folded shirt inside the pants.

If the pajamas are smaller than 4T, just place the folded shirt inside the pants prior to folding them in half.

If the pajamas are longer (like my long-legged boy’s!), fold one third of the legs, place the folded shirt inside, and then complete the pants fold.

These stack so easily in the drawer!

And the best part? When you send your little one to go pick out their pajamas, they can easily find the matching top and bottom without destroying the rest of the drawer.

This definitely works for me.

I am pleased to link this post to Works For Me Wednesday over at We are THAT Family.  Need some Mama tips? Head over there for some expert ideas.

Some of the quickest, easiest clothes to fold are children’s pajamas. 

Starting with the shirt, pull both shoulders back so the shirt forms a mirror image.  Smooth wrinkles out with your hands.

Fold the arms in so the shirt forms as close to a rectangle as possible.

Fold the shirt in half from top to bottom and smooth again.  Set aside.

Lay the pants down flat on your workspace.  Fold one leg over the other, forming a mirror image.

If clothes are 4T or larger, you’ll need to fold the legs in thirds.  If they are smaller, folding in half is sufficient.