Thursday July 10th

It's the little things that make me happy.  I have been trying for what seems like forever to figure out a way to get our whites to be white again.  I know, this is sounding like a DIY homemaker blog, and I love those, but if that's what you're looking for, I'm afraid I can't help you.  I did find someone else's, though, and see their recipe for whitening clothes.  I gave it a try, and it worked ok.  The results weren't spectacular, but the clothes looked better. 

It's amazing what the Lord can do when you turn it over to him.  I finally had the idea (delivered by the Holy Ghost, I know), that I should use that same recipe, but boil the clothes in it.  Have you ever seen Mickey's Christmas Carol, when Scrooge is looking in Jacob Marley's window with the Ghost of Christmas Present, and asks what's in the pot over the fire?  The ghost says, "Oh.  That's your laundry." 
So why not?  It worked for Minnie Mouse, didn't it? 

So I tried it. I put all the cleaning stuff in the bottom of a pot, added a little hot water, added my clothes, and then filled it with enough water to cover the clothes.  I brought it to a boil on the stove, and then let it simmer for several hours.  Even though I started with clean clothes, the water was thick brown by the time I was done.  So gross!  It also started to smell funny.  Like sweat soup.  Super gross! 

Then I threw the whole thing in the washer and washed it.  Then I washed it again with White Brite, put them in the dryer, and held my breath.  And wow!  They looked awesome!  I'll take a better picture in the morning, but here's a sample of the miracle

These are both Friedrich's shirts, one before the whitening process and one after. And believe me when I tell you that I do not have the Photoshop skills to fake this picture.

The Lord is so smart!  So brilliant!  And the fact that he's willing to share even a part of that with me is so very humbling.  Hooray for white shirts!