How to Get Crayon Out of Washed and Dried Clothes Cheaply

This blog doesn't usually diverge from food (does it ever diverge from food). I don't claim to be the least bit crafty. I definitely don't claim to be super neat or organized or put together. Fashion? (I like things with butterflies/birds on them; and braids.) So, yeah, me and my girls kind of have the same fashion sense.

But today I want to give you a different kind of recipe--one you will not eat. Why? Because last week my girls' clothes went through the laundry (washer and dryer) with an orange crayon in it. Which--in case you're one of the lucky uninitiated--meant that all their laundry--new school clothes and all--came out with splotches of orange crayon all over them. And I do mean all over. And I do mean splotches. And I do mean orange. I knelt by the laundry basket for several minutes just looking through it in despair. What good does it do to try to save money on food if you have to go out and buy all new pants for your six-year-old only a month after you went out and bought a bunch of new clothes for your six-year-old.

Now--not shockingly because I am a sort of lazy mother--I'd had this happen to me once before several years ago (green crayon on my son's clothes). Then I had used a different (and effective) internet recipe and most of that green had come out. But it had required lots of somewhat expensive "ingredients" (Tide--like, a cup of it, Borax, Oxyclean, and some other stuff). Also, when my sister had come to our house once bearing a load of laundry that had crayon all over it, this "recipe" hadn't worked for her. I don't know why, but it didn't.

So I went back online to look for a different "recipe." And I found one with just three ingredients (plus HOT water) that were cheap. And it worked really really well. The crayon came off of almost everything the first time. The stuff that still had a little on I ran again and it came off of all except one pair of polyester Tinkerbell jammies (who knows?)

I didn't actually think it would work (too easy right), so I didn't take any before pictures. I should have. Fortunately for me and my lazy, slightly sloppy-basemented self, I found this sock after I'd washed all the clothes (orange splotches plus orange-ish hue). Now look at its nice clean mate. Impressive, eh? And many of the clothes were much much worse than this sock (no, I don't unroll my kids' socks either when I do the wash; told you--lazy parent; unrolling is their job and they do it badly).

And truly the extra beautiful thing about not needing to re-wardrobe my children was that one load of this de-crayoning laundry cost only about $.10-.20 more than a normal load of laundry.

How to Get Crayon Out of Washed and Dried Clothes Cheaply
thanks to Diary of a Doctor's Wife
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Regular amount of laundry detergent for one load (I had some Tide coldwater, but any type should do--the original poster used All Free and Clear. I imagine even a cheaper laundry detergent would do as long as it's not super-cheap-watered-down-doesn't-clean-your-regular-laundry kind of stuff)
1/2 C vinegar
4-6 Tbsp dish soap (the kind you use to wash your dishes with by hand; I had Great Value)

Run the hot water in (you want it super hot, so turn up your water heater or add some boiling water or whatever, but lukewarm will not do). Add detergent, vinegar, and dish soap.

Put clothes in and shut lid so all that heat stays in.

Let sit for 15 minutes. Set a timer if you must because you don't want the water to get cold.

Run laundry.

Note: I did not have any crayon on my dryer (I think because I had a towel in there that seemed to wipe it off as it dried--that towel was covered in crayon and I really wish I'd taken a before and after of it, because after this recipe I could not see any orange). However, sometimes if a crayon gets in the dryer, the dryer gets crayon on it and that, my friends, is bad because it will then continue to color any clothes you put in there. Diary of a Doctor's Wife used a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser to get her dryer clean after red crayon got all over it. So if you need to clean your dryer, this is probably a good method.

Double Chocolate Mint Cookies

Okay, so I know it's October and I should be making pumpkin something or others, but when I got Secrets from the Cookie Princess I knew I wanted to make a cookie for this month's Secret Recipe Club. And then I saw these and, I'm sorry, but my mind just fast-forwarded to December and I thought, "I have to make them." I even took them to the Halloween party we attended tonight. So much for pumpkiny pumpkin things. Incidentally, Colleen has tons of delicious-looking cookies on her site. Other things too, but, yes, lots and lots of great-looking cookies.

Anyway, if you really want Halloween-looking cookies, I'm sure you could dress these up for whatever holiday you wanted with some colored chocolate chips. Orange would be perfect for Halloween and I know you can find red and green for Christmas.

And let me tell you these cookies are good, but this dough--this dough is the best dough I've ever eaten in my life. Yeah, yeah, I'm a dough eater; wanna make something of it? Next time I make cookie dough ice cream, I'm making this dough (sans the eggs) and I think it will change my life forever.

Double Chocolate Mint Cookies
adapted from Secrets from the Cookie Princess
makes 4-5 dozen
Prep time: 10-15 minutes
Cook time: 9-10 minutes per batch
Cost: $4.65
butter: 1.50, brown sugar: .35, sugar: .15, eggs: .20, flour: .25, cocoa: .30, chocolate chips: 1.90

1 1/2 C butter, softened (I always get my really softened and I like it that way)
1 C brown sugar
1 C sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp peppermint extract
3 C flour
1/2 C unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 C chocolate chips

Combine butter and sugars. Beat. Add eggs and extracts (and, yes, that is 2 tsp peppermint--I thought it was a lot too, but it's perfect). Add dry ingredients and mix. Add chocolate chips.

Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes or until those middles aren't raw looking (shiny) anymore. Chocolate cookies can be a little easy to overbake, so be sure to take them out as soon as that raw shininess is gone.

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Classic Cheesecake (with a tip)

Growing up, cheesecake was one of those things my parents talked about like it was pure impossibility.  (Also they talked about how high fat it was and were always looking for low fat versions, which couldn't have helped). Anyway, I grew up believing cheesecake was just hard. My Uncle Ralph had this recipe that my parents just raved about, but were always talking about how they just couldn't make this cheesecake. I don't know that I ever actually ate this cheesecake--it was like fairy tale, Uncle Ralph's cheesecake.

As an adult, I realize that cheesecake can be a tiny bit tricky. It can crack on top or come out dry and crumbly or even chalky, or just be sort of lame and boring tasting (I believe that at least half of the cheesecake haters of this world don't like cheesecake for one of those reasons).

I, however, am a devoted cheesecake fan. As such, I've realized that cheesecake is not too terrifying of a beast--cream cheese, sugar, eggs, and a bit of lemon. The tricky thing is--and this is my tip in all its simplicity--you can't overcook it. And overcooking it is easy to do because when it's done it doesn't look done. When it's done it jiggles in the middle. Regular cake doesn't jiggle in the middle when it's done. Pregnant women don't jiggle in the middle when they're done. But cheesecake jiggles in the middle when it's done. You want to take your cheesecake out at about 160-180 degrees--preferably closer to 160. This will help prevent cracking, but more importantly (and more reliably--I still get a crack here or there), it will be silky smooth, creamy goodness. Now let me repeat that at 160-170, your center is still kind of jiggly and it's scary to take something out of the oven when it jiggles. I get it, but you should do it anyway. If it's at 160, it's thoroughly cooked heat-wise and it will continue to cook and set up as it sits and cools. Try it.

Below is Uncle Ralph's recipe--a steady, delicious classic cheesecake. A recipe that I finally--at the age of 36--made and thoroughly enjoyed.

I adorned it with this raspberry sauce, some squirts of homemade whipped cream, and raspberries from my bushes (because I'm cool. that's why).

Uncle Ralph's Classic Cheesecake
makes 1 9-inch spring form pan
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 30-40 minutes
Cool time: 4 hours
Cost: $3.80, plus crust, which will bring you up to about $4.50 (this is about $.45/serving--take that Cheesecake Factory)
cream cheese: 2.00, sugar: .10, eggs: .20, sour cream: 1.50

2 8-oz packages cream cheese
3/4 C sugar
2 eggs
1 pint sour cream
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon juice
dash salt

Grease your springform pan (mine is 9 inches I think). Make a graham cracker crust (this is my favorite) and press it into the pan.

Preheat oven to 325. Cream together sugar and cream cheese. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each. Add vanilla, lemon juice, and salt. Mix well. Add sour cream. Mix well. {See-it's not so hard--you just throw everything into a bowl and beat it; it's the cooking technique that's gonna make or break you. Jiggly middles, people, jiggly middles.}

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the center still wobbles and an instant read thermometer reads at least 160 (and for all that is cheesecakey good, less than 180) when inserted in the center.

Remove cheesecake from oven and let it cool completely, then refrigerate. This is a four-hour deal, so plan on that, okay.

Top with raspberry sauce or whatever your poison might be.

PRINTABLE RECIPE