New Years+Table Linen=Disaster Averted!

One of the things I hear a lot of at the store goes something like this: "I love linen table cloths but my friends get a little carried away with the red wine and well, you know . . ." Being the celebratory time of year that it is I though that now might be a good time for a post on tips to keep your linen in good shape without resorting to white wine only dinner parties.

It certainly is heartbreaking to find that your best linens have been permanently stained but don't fret. Heartbreak can be avoided with a little extra effort at the end of the evening a keeping a few easy supplies around. This biggest mistake we make when dealing with soiled linens is leaving the clean up for later. I know that it's a bit of a pain to have to deal with stain removal at the end of a fabulous party when you'd really rather sit back and put your feet up for a few minutes, but if you take care of your table linens right away you'll save yourself a lot of work later on.

The most common culprit in the ruination of tablecloths is red wine but the up side is that if you can treat it immediately it will come out very easily. For tiny little drops don't sweat it, you can rub a little salt on them and soak the cloth overnight in cold water before it goes in the washer the next day. For larger spills however, you best bet is to have a clean cotton terry towel and a can or two of club soda handy. Lift the cloth up from the table and place your towel underneath then pour the soda over the wine until it's removed. It will be a little awkward with your guests around the table but it can wait until the course is cleared and it really can save the cloth.

Other common stains are covered in the list below. A few things to keep in mind is that you'll generally want to err on the side of caution in order to avoid damaging the cloth. So where the list says "rub" go gently, you don't want to scrub the fabric. Additionally keep in mind that the following tips are generally geared for white or natural colour linens and using substances like peroxide, bleaching agents and borax on bright or dark colours is not always a good idea. Borax can be found in the laundry care isle of your grocery store.

In general I recommend washing your table linens in a luke warm wash with cold rinse then hanging to dry. If you are going to press your linens the job will be easier if you do your ironing while the cloth is still damp.

BERRIES AND FRUIT: If the stain is still wet, sprinkle with salt and gentle liquid soap. Let sit for a couple of hours, and rinse well. If the stain is dry, a solution of borax (one part borax to six parts water) may remove the stain. Soak until it has disappeared.

BLOOD: Attend to bloodstains immediately. Rinse well in cold water (never hot—it will permanently set the stain), then try one of the following: a) sprinkle the stain with unflavored meat tenderizer; or b) blot on hydrogen peroxide with a damp cloth, allow to bubble, then wipe with a fresh cloth. Repeat if necessary. For dried bloodstain: soak overnight in cold water and two cups of salt. Wash as usual.

BUTTER OR MARGARINE: Mix one teaspoon of detergent with warm water. Apply to spot and blot. You may need to repeat a few times. Or mix one part white vinegar and two parts water. Saturate the stain and blot until dry. Wash as usual. You can also try the method for old or set grease stains as listed below.

CANDLE WAX ON TABLE LINENS: Gently peel away the wax that can easily be removed with your fingernail. If the wax is soft, harden with an ice cube. Place the item between two sheets of brown paper, and press with a warm iron; the remaining wax will be absorbed by the paper. If the wax is colored, spot clean with a very mild, diluted, bleaching agent. If grease residue remains follow the directions for set grease stains as below.

COFFEE OR TEA: Apply a borax solution (1 part borax to six parts water) directly to the stain, then wash in warm, soapy water.

GREASE: Do not allow grease stains to set! Sprinkle fresh grease stains with baking soda or cornstarch and leave for a couple of hours until the powder gets thick. Scrape away and repeat the process. Brush off the powder and launder as usual. For old or set stains spot clean with a mild, clear dish washing liquid then launder normally. If the stain remains try the following: using baking soda/cornstarch and an iron. You'll sprinkle the stain with cornstarch and press it between two clean lint free cloths (linen for preference but cotton is o.k. too) with an iron set at the highest heat but with no steam.

GRASS (on tablecloths): Mix one-third cup vinegar and two-thirds cup water. Apply to stain and blot. Or pre-soak in hydrogen peroxide and launder as usual.

LIPSTICK: Scrape off as much as you can with a dull knife. Use a pre-wash spray or mild liquid dish liquid and rub with a clean white towel. Wash as usual. You can also use the grease treatment if a colourless spot remains after the first treatment.

MILDEW: Apply white vinegar and lemon juice to kill the mildew. Let the item sit in the sun for a few hours. Wash as usual, but separately.

SCORCH MARKS: Treat the same way as mildew, but drying in the sun is not necessary.

WINE: White wine is easily removed with normal laundering. Red wine stains can be handled two ways: a) rub salt on the stain, and soak in cold water or b) saturate the stain with club soda until it disappears. I recommend the second way while the stain is still wet and on the table. Use a cotton terry underneath the stain to absorb the soda and the wine.

But really try not to worry too much about your linens, they are intended to be beautiful and useful, to help make your home the lovely place it is. If you can't get a stain out there is a pretty good chance that a professional cleaner can and if even that fails there are always table runners and placemats to camouflage the problems.

Have a great holiday and a Happy New Year!

Yay! & Boo!

I probably should have started doing Yay! & Boo! for traffic and parking updates ages ago, but better late than never right?

Yay! After almost a year of Sussex Drive being an almost unnavigable mess of torn up street, sidewalks that looked more like trenches, shouty construction workers and the odd excavation explosion there is finally hope. The new sidewalks have been laid and there is asphalt on the road! You can walk all the way down Sussex without risking life and ankle. There are still lane reductions in effect, but traffic is moving much more smoothly than it has in a very long time.

Boo! From 11 p.m., Friday, October 29 to 5 a.m.,Monday, November 1 there is a ramp closure and detours are in effect. The Nicholas exit of the 417 is closed for repair of the Transitway overpass. The city advises drivers to use either the Vanier Parkway exit or Metcalfe Street exit.

If the Vanier Parkway exit is better for you I would take it to St Patrick Street which will lead you straight into the Byward Market. The other option is to turn left onto Montreal Road where it crosses Vanier and follow that through Rideau Street turning right on Dalhousie into the Market.

If you're taking the Metcalfe exit (which is exit 119 Metcalfe /Catherine) you'll follow Metcalfe to the right and then the left around the Museum of Natural History then continue right on Metcalfe all the way down to Wellington. Turn left at Sussex Drive then right into the Market.

As far as the parking situation goes, as of 11 am this morning Saturday October 30, from my front door I can see four open spots on Clarence before Parent/Byward Market and a few more on Murray close to Sussex. From the back door across the Jeanne D'Arc Courtyard there are quite a few open spots (10+) on York Street. And as always there is city parking available. Follow this link for a map to the city's interactive traffic map.

The surprise sale ends on Monday!

It's almost over! Our surprise sale ends on Monday October 25th.

Our "surprise sale" is winding down and we're running out of sale stuff but you still have the weekend to take advantage of some great deals.

We have some beautiful Amenity duvet covers, pillows and prints at 30%off. For the first time ever Talesma waffle towels and Archipelago's pomegranate bath collection are 50% off. There are still a few floor model steals to be had and we've got some very cozy blankets for a very good price.



See you this weekend!

Sale!

We're having a sale!

Oleander for Home is doing an end of season clearance. It will run from today, September 20, until I'm not sure when!

We're clearing selected summer and floor model bedding, our organic towels and bath accents. The amenity collection, bedhead pyjamas, archipelago pomegranate bath products and our talesma waffle towels are also on sale.

As a thank you to our blog readers, mention that you read about the sale on our blog and you'll receive an extra 5% discount on any sale merchandise and a 15% discount on regular price table linens.

See you soon!

Folding a Fitted Sheet

It's been ages since I did a tips and tricks post, so here goes. I'm using a king size fitted sheet with shower cap construction (elastic all the way around) to illustrate. After laundering (cold water with mild detergent and low dryer until just dry) remove from the dryer promptly and shake out the sheet over a large flat surface and fold as follows.

1. Place your hand into the pocket of the sheet with the underside of the seam facing out.
2. Bring the next corner on the short side of the sheet, the width of it, to the inside out pocket on your hand so that they are one over the other with the underside seams together. You should be looking at the good side of the sheet.
3. Repeat with the remaining corners so that all four corners are folded into one. Place on a flat surface and smooth until the edges sit as flat as possible. Don't worry if you find yourself pulling the elastic quite far into the the middle of the sheet. Smooth flat.4. Fold the side with the longest of the two elastic edges into the middle of the sheet. Smooth flat.
5. Fold the opposite side into the middle so that the two edges meet in the centre of the sheet. Smooth flat.

6. Fold in half lengthwise. Smooth flat.7. Most of the elastic is now in the top end of the length of sheet. Fold the top third of the sheet into the middle. Smooth flat.

8. Fold the bottom third over the rest of the folded sheet. Smooth flat.

That's it!

The Winner Is . . .

Kelley is the winner of the Oleander for Home + ecochick Giveaway. She has been notified by e-mail and will soon be enjoying her bucket of lovely Ginger Pomelo goodness.

Thank you to every one who participated and I promise (yet again) that the powers of our mailing list will only be used for good and never evil. I'll keep the mailouts relevant, exciting and worth the time you'll spend reading them.

A big thanks to the fabulous ecochick for coordinating the giveaway. Keep reading her blog! She's informative, funny and likes to give stuff away!

This picture is a dramatic re-enactment of the very low tech, old school style draw we did to pick our winner.

Thanks again!

Oleander + Ecochick = Giveaway!

For my first ever giveaway I'm going to send you the fantastic eco-friendly shopping blog that my friend ecochick writes. In her own words "ecochick is a consumer who's tired of "environmentally friendly" really meaning "expensive, inconvenient and ugly". It's time to make living green mainstream, fun, fresh and cool. Here you will find the latest in trendy, stylish fashion, beauty, home and more - all with the lovely aura of green." All that and she is awesome with the giveaways too! So when Caldrea sent me a bucket of Ginger Pomelo goodness I knew who to call to help me give it away.

Head over to www.ecochick.ca for all the details!

Edited to add: Today (April 9 2010) is the last day to sign up to be eligible for the giveaway. Do it! You could win!