Our Slimy Spring Break

This post is sponsored by Clorox and Cotton.

Scarlet is a sassy girl. I have respect for her sass most of the time, as she deploys it strategically. I think it will serve her well when she gets older, but for now I suffer (lol). One key tactic she uses to both frustrate and amuse me is to quote myself back to me. For example, she likes to whip out some words I once wrote in a book for her, I said something about how important it is to get messy. I still believe those words, but geez, can this girl make a mess.

You all may also recall that Scarlet has some major issues with clothing, all related to some sensory issues (she says “I’m sensitive! That’s just how I am.” Can’t argue with that.) This means that when she finds a dress, or socks, or shoes that she likes I buy it in every color and three sizes so I know she will have something to wear. Anything that touches her body is always cotton, because she wants everything soft and familiar. Then she ends up falling in love with one particular item and wearing the same thing over and over and over again. So her love of making messes and her need to wear the same thing every day means I am constantly in a pickle when it comes to laundry. I do a lot of it, I do it often, and I know all the tricks about making something last and keeping it clean.

So when Clorox asked me whether I use Clorox Regular-Bleach on my whites and if I would care to share about my experience, I chuckled to myself and readily agreed. So on that note, here are some filthy things we did on our spring break, all in the same white cotton t-shirt. Scarlet has this shirt in 4 different colors, but of course the white one is the only one that “feels right” about 4 days a week.

First we decided to plant our veggie garden. I have this spot behind the house where we used to keep the chickens that we decided would be perfect for our little backyard farm. We tilled it, laid down some fresh soil and compost, and got to planting. We planted three varieties of tomato, three squash, lots of sweet and spicy peppers, and a whole bunch of herbs. I asked her to wear anything but that white cotton shirt, but alas it was the only thing she wanted to have on. At least she wore gloves. The garden looks great.

Scarlet Gardening Shirt The white shirt not so much. Somehow she managed to get grass stains on it as well – I think she was rolling around on the lawn with the dog while her shirt was wet. Kids are gross, but they have so much fun. Into the wash it went (for standard machines or high-efficiency machine wash, add 1/2 cup of Clorox Regular-Bleach with your favorite detergent and then wash) and it came out looking like new.

Noah Purifoy 4 Next, we went camping in Joshua tree. The white cotton shirt is hidden under the jacket. Joshua tree was amazing (read about it here), and thankfully she packed a few other shirts because the white cotton one got trashed on day one. It was also a little stinky after a day tramping around the hot desert underneath that weird (but awesome) shiny plastic jacket she is also obsessed with. Not to worry, I bleached that baby as soon as we got home (removed the dirt and sanitized the stank) and she was ready for spring break adventure #3…

Scarlets Super Slime-2

…which was starting Scarlet’s Super Slime Corporation (So puffy! So fluffy!). All children between 8-12 are obsessed with slime now, no? It has been my experience. Scarlet wanted to make slime to sell to her classmates. I didn’t think this would go well, but I was glad to have her excited to be working away on something non-screen-related, so I invested $30 in materials and had her do a P&L (profit and loss statement), and said after she paid back my investment she could keep the profits. So she went to town. It was pretty adorable watching her first entrepreneurial endeavor. It was also a hot mess. Scarlet Slime Shirt

Her slime ingredients were white glue, shaving cream, contact lens solution, glitter, and food coloring. Turns out food coloring is not a great thing to play with while wearing a white cotton shirt. Back to the washing machine with  Clorox Regular-Bleach, and to my surprise the shirt was in the clear after one wash. It also removed all the stickiness of the glue/slime. And FYI, turns out you generally cannot sell slime out of your backpack to your schoolmates. She got busted after her first sale, and I lost my investment. Still worth it.

And then the white cotton shirt went to the dog park, because cotton is comfy and dog parks are places where a kid needs to be comfy. The shirt played with many dogs, including of course our beloved Princess Cheese. It looked clean enough but it smelled… like a dog park. BLECH. I washed it with regular detergent but it still was stinky. That dog park poop-and-dust smell can really latch on to things, but luckily her favorite shirt is cotton, which means you can wash that smell away with the help of bleach. Scientists say it’s bacteria that causes smells in clothing (I don’t want to think about dog park bacteria), which bleach kills 99.9% of. Another load with a 1/2 cup of Clorox Regular-Bleach and and the beloved white cotton shirt smelled neutral again. Clorox Shirt

And after all that, the girl put it on that same white cotton shirt and wore it to Easter brunch, smelling fresh, feeling cozy, and looking crisp and bright! I begged her to wear a fancy dress… a fancy skirt was as far as she would go. Luckily, I think it turned out pretty dang cute. I did also make her put on shoes before we left 🙂 Scarlet Easter

This post is sponsored by Clorox and Cotton.

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One Comment

Laura

Well done! I always use bleach for my laundry whites. Keep getting messy, Scarlet!

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