NaBloCleanPoMo Day #13 Jeans

Today's NaBloCleanPoMo project is not cleaning per se, but something I've had on my list for awhile.  Hemming my jeans.  I should start by stressing that I am not a seamstress.  Hemming jeans made me panic because I couldn't imagine cutting the hem off.  Then I found this tutorial that doesn't require cutting.  So I decided to try it.  And it worked like a charm!

My camera battery died, so I had to take photos on my Blackberry.  My eyes hurt too much from sewing to transfer them over, but I followed the instructions in the tutorial above, but without a sewing machine.

So proud of myself!

NaBloCleanPoMo Day #12 Cashmere

I learned a few years ago that instead of dry cleaning cashmere, you can hand wash it.  I have to say, hand-washing at our house is made much easier by the fact that we have a utility sink in the laundry room.  If that doesn't make you jealous, it should.  I have never had a utility sink at all....and having one in the laundry room is awesome!

Dirty cashmere sweaters

Step 1: Soak sweaters in cold water with a hand-wash detergent (I used Woolite) for 20 minutes

Step 2: Drain the water out of the sink.  Then press as much water out of the sweaters as you can (do not wring)

Step 3: Lay sweaters on a towel and use the towel to press even more water out

Step 4: Lay sweaters flat to dry

Once they dry, the cashmere sweaters will be fresh, clean, and ready to wear!

NaBloCleanPoMo Day #8 My Closet

So tonight is one of my few nights at home during the week.  I even made a crockpot meal so that I wouldn't take up my evening time cooking a meal.  After I ate my pot roast, I headed upstairs to tackle switching out my summer and winter clothes and re-organizing my closet.

I hate organizing my closet.  We have a number of closets in our house, but J uses the two in our bedroom. The sitting room is my "dressing room"/closet.  But, there is only one small closet, so I use the closet in the 3rd floor hallway (old house...the closet is not actually in a room) as my off-season closet.  To be honest, I have all of my coats and formal clothes (including my wedding dress...which still needs to be dry-cleaned...definitely a NaBloCleanPoMo project) in the guest bedroom closet, which helps with space.

Anyway, switching clothes requires going up and down the stairs multiple times.  I dread it.  But, tonight, I sucked it up...and even managed to organize my shoes and some of the other items in the closet.

Notice the mess of stuff on the top shelf and on the floor of the closet

In progress.  My summer shoes are in the laundry basket to go upstairs

And After.  Winter clothes in, shoes organized, and top shelf in order.  I could probably organize the shirts, skirts, pants and dresses by color.  But that is a project for another day.