fake flowers washed in cold water -- do this
You can wash cheap, Dollar Tree fake flowers.
Hand wash in a sink of cold, soapy (liquid dish soap) water. Swish around, gently rub off any dirt, dust, or grime. Rinse in clear cold water. The key is to use cold water. Hot water will cause the colors to bleed into the water. But in cold water my flower color held up well. After rinsing, give them a good shake then transfer to your washing machine and use the spin cycle (no rinse) on gentle to remove most of the rest of the water. Stand up in a jar or glass to air dry overnight.
 |
| fake flowers washed in hot water -- don't do that |
I was collecting "red" things from my house a couple of weeks ago, to create some patriotic displays in our living areas. I had some fake red geraniums and mums sitting outside on our covered front porch for a couple of years. They were quite dirty. I washed the first stem in hot, soapy water, and a lot of color bled out. I then washed a second stem from the same set in cold, soapy water and the color mostly stayed with the flowers (minimal color bleed). After this trial, I washed all of my fake red flowers in cold water and had success. Of course, I'm not an expert on this topic. But with cheap, dollar store fake flowers that are so dirty you don't want to display them any longer, it's worth a shot to see if they can be rescued before tossing them out. The way I figured, I wouldn't know unless I tried.
The American flag, when displayed vertically, should have the field of stars (the union) on the left side.
We're all familiar with how the American flag looks when it's on a pole or displayed horizontally. On Flag Day, earlier this month, I went to display my father's flag inside our house. (We have a different flag that we use outdoors on a pole.) So I decided to display this flag vertically, hanging from the upstairs' handrail. I originally hung it with the field of stars on the right side of the flag. Then my daughter noticed a little instruction booklet that came in the box with the flag. It says when hanging the flag vertically, the field of stars would be to the observer's left. I didn't know this, but now I do.
Our Goodwill Outlet (the Goodwill clearance store) gives away free reusable shopping bags with each purchase.
Our local Goodwill stores have begun saving all of the reusable shopping bags they receive with donations. Then they give them away in the outlet stores for customers to carry away their purchases. This most recent time my daughters shopped there, they got this cloth shopping bag to hold their "new" stuff. What a wonderful thing for Goodwill to do -- giveaway useful items they can't seem to sell. We now have one more reusable grocery bag. This one looks like it will last through many years of grocery shopping. I had no idea Goodwill was doing this.
Just a few things I didn't know.
Do you put up a flag for Flag Day or the 4th of July (or Canada Day, or other national holiday where you live)? Have you ever decorated for a patriotic holiday? Would you take a gamble and wash some dirty fake flowers? What's been your best supply of reusable shopping bags?
I have not washed silk flowers before, but I have heard that you can wash them in a mild soap solution. There are many "disposable" things that I run through the washer or dishwasher. If they survive, great. If not, well, I didn't pay much for them in the beginning. However, I will say, I think most everything I have tried has survived multiple machine washings.
ReplyDeleteMy son, from his Boy Scout days, is a expert on flag etiquette. He has taught classes in it various places he has worked. We only display a flag on a pole, but is we hang one vertically, I will pay attention now.
Hi Live and Learn,
DeleteI wash so-called disposable items too. Most turn out fine. There's a certain type of plastic container that doesn't do well in the dishwasher for us. I'm not sure how to describe it, but it's like deli containers, but used for products like hummus. Those become so misshapen after one time in the dishwasher that they're unusable after. But the rest do well. We wish and save all of the plastic, disposable cutlery that comes our way, too. Then we can use those pieces on trips then dispose of them after use at a picnic or in a hotel room and not feel wasteful.
Neither my husband nor my son were in scouts growing up. I'm sure your son learned many very valuable skills, in a addition to his knowledge on flag etiquette. Kudos to him!
I was thinking along the same lines as L&L--my husband and son are both Eagle Scouts, so I defer to them regarding flag etiquette. We don't display a full-size flag, but I have several mini flags and we pull them out for patriotic holidays and put them in the planter pots on our front porch. I think it makes an attractive patriotic display and it's super simple to do. When my kids were little, I would pull out my red gingham placemats. At that time, I had white plates with blue teapots around the rim (I've since had to get rid of them due to the glaze getting really cracked) to make our table look festive. I also used to make the cake that probably everybody has made a version of--a 13x9 cake with white frosting, blueberries for the stars, and sliced red strawberries for the stripes. I often work the 4th these days and I don't really make an effort with that kind of thing anymore.
ReplyDeleteWe have an excess of those tote bags. They must be an inexpensive freebie to give out for conferences, staff incentives, and so on. I use the plastic bags supplied for the grocery store because I reuse them for cleaning the litter boxes.
Hi Kris,
DeleteYour table settings from years ago sound so cute and patriotic. I don't have very many red, white, and blue items, so I've been pulling out the red things, white things, and blue things, trying to get that same red, white, blue vibe going. Yep! I think the flag cake was required in the 70s and 80s. My mom made one for the bicentennial, and we brought it to a neighbor's house for dessert and to watch fireworks. I've done that cake at least once. I've also done red, white, and blue jello molds. I remember seeing those on the cover of grocery store magazines many years ago.
I hope that even if you work on the 4th this year, that you get some time to enjoy the holiday. Does your work ever have a potluck on holidays for the employees who have to work those days?
I think you're right about those tote bags. At some point, we'll have more than we could ever use. Our state banned thin plastic grocery bags a couple of years ago. Depending on what city you're shopping in, you can buy either a heavier weight plastic bag or paper bag for 8 cents each.
The thin bags were great for lining small trash cans. I don't like to use the thicker bags for the garbage, as they now cost money. So, we scrounge product packaging for lining the kitchen and bathroom trash. I do have a small stash of the thick plastic bags that we got with all of the grocery pick-up orders. Those fold neatly, allowing me to fit 4 of them into my purse when I grocery shop. But I also like to bring a cloth bag when shopping at thrift or vintage stores. They're more comfortable to carry on my shoulder when popping in and out of shops.