DIY Life

You're generally an eco-friendly sort. You try not to use that dryer much, and when you do, you cut your dryer sheets in half to make them go further.

It still rankles a bit that you then throw them right out, though, doesn't it? You could always make your own, re-usable dryer sheets, of course: they're far less expensive, less loaded with chemicals,and less wasteful.

A lot of people sell clothing on eBay, and a few years ago, I was a frequent buyer. But I often found myself disappointed in my purchases. Nothing sticks out in my memory like one particular dress: I searched for it for months and was overjoyed to find it... yet excitement turned to horror when I received it. Why? Because although the dress was machine-washable, the seller sent it to me covered in old deodorant. Disgusting!

The more usual experience with unwelcome deodorant stains isn't quite as off-putting: white marks and goo on dark-colored clothing. Still, we all want to keep our clothes looking nice, right? That's why I was so intrigued by the following deodorant removal tips from CasaSugar.

They suggest two possible ways to deal with this nagging issue: dab the stain with white vinegar, then allow it to soak for 30 minutes before washing the garment in the hottest water it can stand; or soak the garment overnight in a mixture of one part water and one part ammonia with a squirt of dish soap, then wash it. Either process should remove the nasty gunk from any affected areas... making your black tank tops presentable once again.

I don't fold my sheets. There, I said it. It's not that I don't know how. I do know how; I helped my mom with laundry all the time when I was a kid. But I don't really know how to do it by myself. What do you do when no one is holding the other end? So, I just sort of do a half-hearted fold, then wrap them all up until they fit into my linen closet.

Now you know one of my deepest, darkest secrets.

Ok, I kid (about the secret, not about not folding my sheets). The truth is, neatly folded sheets just aren't a priority for me. I mean, they're sheets. When I use them, my eyes are closed. Who cares if they're wrinkled?

Laundry is definitely one of my favorite household chores to do. Taking something that is stained and dirty and making it come out clean and beautiful always puts a smile on my face, even when I have to dig into nasty laundry baskets to accomplish that task.

ModHomeEcTeacher on Curbly shows us how to make a hangable laundry hamper with one yard of fabric and plastic purse handles, a wooden spool to mark a round pattern and a sewing machine to stitch it all together into a gorgeous stylin' new laundry hamper that we should be proud to carry around.

I think the hangable hamper would be great for grocery shopping too, as long as you don't fill it with too many cans or plastic bottles. Check your local thrift stores for some really nice vintage fabric and purse handles; you never know what cool items you may find!

I'm sort of embarrassed to admit it, but mildew got its spotty little grip on my bedroom curtains this winter. The fabric was sort of bunched up against the window pane a lot. Little did I realize it, but every sunny morning was like a mildew fiesta back there.

When sunlight and warmth hit the cold glass, condensation formed on the inside of the pane. The curtains soaked up the moisture and the warmth. Lo and behold, a big ugly patch of mildew was the result. Yikes!

What makes mildew so revolting is its sheer persistence. Once it gets its hooks into any household surface--whether it be a painted ceiling, an item of clothing, or a home fabric such as curtains--removal is genuinely tough.

I have sponges, rags, and cloths for every cleaning job in the house. Sometimes it is hard to remember which sponge or rag I used for cleaning the toilet, so I just keep the rags apart from my regular laundry so that a particularly dirty rag or sponge doesn't contaminate anything else.

Tipnut reader Margie says she separates her cleaning cloths from her regular "good" items by clipping off a corner of the cleaning sponge, rag, or towel. That way, she won't get nasty, dirty grunge on her nice hand towels, or use a germ-filled sponge to do her dishes.

I buy all my cleaning sponges and rags in bulk, so many of them are the same color, and it is sometimes hard to remember which sponge is for dishes and which one is for cleaning up a mess on the floor. With the clip tip, I no longer have to worry about germ transference.

We've discussed stain removers before on DIY Life. We've covered the homemade brew, taught you how to get ink out of laundry, and let you in on the peanut butter secret.

So that's it, right? All your stain removal questions are covered, and we can call it a day.

Hardly. As long as I remain helplessly clumsy and my children remain, well, children, I will be finding new stains and learning new ways to remove them.

The School of Fiber Science & Technology at the University of New South Wales has put together this list of 21 common stains, and how to remove them. Did you know that borax will remove cocoa and that lemon juice will treat rust stains? Some of the solutions are surprising, but I'm willing to give them a try. You already have most of what you need around the house.

[via: Lifehacker]

There's nearly nothing so frustrating as a clothes dryer which returns your freshly washed laundry in the same condition as when you put it in there. Most of us know the feeling we get when we stick our hand in the dryer expecting warm fluffy towels only to find a cold wet lump of terry cloth fabric.

There are three main conditions which most commonly cause this problem to occur. Your dryer vent could be plugged up, your heating element could be failing, or your dryer drum may be refusing to turn. A few tests and observations can quickly reveal the source of your trouble.

My oldest daughter was a great little artist. She loved to draw with markers and crayons, and whenever she could get her little paws on an ink pen, she would get artistic and draw not only on the paper, but all over her body and any clothing she had on.

Ink stains no longer have to be difficult to remove from your precious clothing, thanks to an awesome article that I found on Tipnut.com. The author gives us 10 ink stain remover methods for your laundry. Along with great tips to follow before you remove the stain, such as testing in an inconspicuous place first so that you don't ruin the fabric, there are 10 ink stain removers that should remove any ink stain from your stained laundry.

Funny thing about men: when it comes to choosing what to wear, you can be just as vain as most women. Surprisingly though, unlike women, most men have no problem wearing those same clothes with the 'just-slept-in-look'. For whatever reason -- cultural, spiritual, X-chromosome deficiency -- men don't like to iron.

Here's why you should make the effort:

Wrinkles can make clothes look cheap, and the way you dress speaks volumes about who you are as a person. Let's face it, clothes talk. Whenever you enter a room for the first time, it takes only a few seconds for people you've never met to form perceptions about you and your abilities. You don't have to utter a word; people peg you one way if you're dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, slacks and a sports coat, and yet another if you're wearing any style in a wrinkled mess.

Back when I was regularly paying $20 for a large box of Tide, I'd grumble to myself that there must be a better way. And there is! When I switched my baby from disposables to cloth diapers, I had to do a lot of research on how to get them diapies clean without leaving any residue. Along the way, I discovered there are lots of super-affordable and eco-friendly alternatives to get your laundry clean.

My fav discovery so far is this detergent "recipe", spotted on the website for Sunshine Diapers, a Florida-based cloth diapering supply company run by a work-at-home mom.

Being a frugal person, I am always trying to save money. I can't stand wasting my dollars on things that I can only use once before I have to throw it away. I cut my dryer sheets in half so I get two loads of fresh smelling laundry instead of one. My clothing smells just as nice as if I had used an entire sheet.

How about eliminating the dryer sheet altogether? You can eliminate fabric softener by adding 1/4 to 1/2 cup of vinegar to your load of laundry and amazingly, it works. It also means that your clothes are odor free. If you like a nice smelling garment, TipNut has an excellent article with instructions on how you can make lavender dryer bags that can be used over and over again.

All you need is some cotton muslin or cheesecloth squares, some thread and some lavender. Sew your pieces of cloth together, throw in some lavender, and finish stitching up the bag and you are ready to dry some laundry. Best of all, when the lavender no longer has smell, you can crush it up and drop it on your carpet. Then when you vacuum, you'll have nice smelling rugs. I am so going to try this awesome idea! How about you?

In some areas, school has been in full swing for a month; in others, it only started last week. Either way, it's safe to say that plenty of college freshmen are just getting the lay of the land. Some have no idea what their major will be. Others know exactly what they want to do: design stuff.

Core77 has created a guide called Hack 2 School, for all those incoming design majors. It's worth checking out because, while its specific focus is industrial design, it has plenty of useful material for all art and design students, and even some ideas that will be appreciated by college students in general, like those for laundry, living in small spaces, and making good meals with few ingredients.

We all know that wool is warm, nice to look at and nice to wear. It is not, however, nice to wash. Wool is easy to shrink, easy to let get moldy, and just plain easy to ruin. What is the answer to the wool washing woes?

Tipnut.com has compiled a detailed tip list (imagine that) of how and how not to wash your lovely woollies. With tips ranging from water temperature to how to make sure you get it dry enough to prevent mildew, this list seems not only helpful but fairly extensive.

There are several tips on the best way to wash wool. Squish, don't squeeze or wring. Lukewarm to cool water is best, never hot. Our best household friend here at DIY Life, vinegar, even found its way into the wool friendly tips.

They also tell you what not to do. Did you know that baking soda could ruin wool? I didn't. Never use a hot iron, again, didn't know that and never, ever hang it dry or leave it to soak. From what I gathered these instructions are mostly referring to hand knit items.

Do you our lovely readers have any additional tips and ideas for washing wool? Or do any of you wool clueless reads, like myself, have any other questions? If so please leave your tip or question in the comments.

I tend to be a pack rat. I save everything. Well, of course I will use that someday. My husband always asks what I am going to do with that. Lately, when he asks if I can use something, the word yes always come out of my mouth, even when I mean no.

For years, I have been saving all my old bed sheets. I have quite the pile stacked up in my linen closet. I decided to do some searching to see if I could come up with some ways to reduce my pile and I found a list of 20 things to do with old bed sheets at Simply Thrifty. I knew of some of the ideas from my childhood and have used many of them as an adult. My parents used to cover all our garden plants and our grape vines with old sheets. My mom would take old bedsheets and the clothes we had outgrown and make rag rugs. I used to use them as a ground cover when I wanted to tan, as grease rags, cleaning cloths, dust rags as curtains and valances. At this very moment, I have a folded sheet hanging from Savana's window over the blinds so that I don't get woke up at 5 am just because the sun shine woke her up.

Join me after the break to see the list of bed sheet uses.