Backwards WFMW: A few for Moms
This week, Shannon at
So, here are a few questions I need help answering!
1) We have a bathroom with no real storage (it’s a pedestal sink), other than the already stuffed medicine cabinet. Where do other moms store those huge, over-sized electric toothbrushes their kids use?!
2) My husband and sons wear a lot of “polo” style collared shirts. How do you prevent the collars from creasing or sticking up funny after many washes?!
3) How on earth do you keep crib bumper pads from folding? My daughter has the cutest crib set, but every morning I go in to get her and it’s all smushed down around the mattress. Help!
I know these aren’t problems that will make the earth spin backwards or anything, but I would like help. You’d make this mom a happier camper if you have ideas. Anyone have suggestions? THANKS!
November 6th, 2007 at 10:47 pm
I’m hanging out to see what good ideas you get. I’ve got nothing.
November 6th, 2007 at 11:34 pm
I think the shirt collar thing is dependent on the quality of the shirt–but it may be that I’ve simply been conditioned by way too many Landsend advertismentst o believe that.
November 7th, 2007 at 12:59 am
1) How about a suction cup plastic or wire basket; or a decorative cabinet to hang on the wall; or one of the shelving/cabinet units for over the toilet; or a small shelf?
2) Quality/brand of the shirt will affect it. Just use starch to bring it back to the way it should look.
3) How about a few pieces of Velcro?
November 7th, 2007 at 6:52 am
Get a silverware caddy (you know, like for picnic tables) for the toothbrushes. Bonus is that toothpaste fits well in the napkin slot.
My husband’s shirts do that too. I’ve been meaning to tack the corners down with a stitch or two but haven’t gotten around to it yet!
November 7th, 2007 at 8:00 am
I have no ideas on 1 and 3. As for 2, my dad always taught me to hang the shirts up with the collars buttoned. It is a bit of a pain, and it makes it more challenging for a kid to get it off the hanger on their own, but in my experience it does help the collar hold up well. That’s all I’ve got!
November 7th, 2007 at 8:19 am
Not only do we have four toothbrushes, but three different kinds of toothpaste. So, I found a pretty ceramic bowl to use. It’s pretty deep and holds all our stuff. And it’s dishwasher safe which I like.
November 7th, 2007 at 8:27 am
I never had the folding problem with my oldest’s bumper pad, but after about a week of straightening it each morning, I just gave up. I think it has to do with the thickness of the pad used under the material, but I am not sure. It is frustrating, though!
November 7th, 2007 at 8:32 am
I know you said it’s a pedestal sink, but do you have any place to try this:
http://insertwittybloghere.blogspot.com/2007/10/works-for-me-wednesday-bathroom.html
It’s a great organizing tip!
November 7th, 2007 at 8:45 am
Have you tried making a skirt around the pedestal sink to add hidden storage? I think you could do it pretty easily with a nice fabric and some sticky velcro - that way you could rip the thing off to throw it in the wash every so often. If you did that, you could add bins or shelves or something under the skirt.
November 7th, 2007 at 8:50 am
We got rid of the crib bumper after #1 for just that reason, but for a while I did have it woven between the crib rails. (So it was inside the crib most of the way, but then I pushed it out and around one rail, every 4th vertical rail or so - oh, does that make any sense???) That helped some.
Sorry, can’t help with the other two!
November 7th, 2007 at 8:57 am
Collars- Sometimes it depends on the brand, but I find that if I button them up all the way before washing, it helps keep the shape.
Crip bumber- may be time to take it down. After time, they lose their shape as well. If she is really tiny, the folding could become a suffocation hazard. Depends on her age.
I have no clue about the toothbrushes! :>)
November 7th, 2007 at 10:01 am
for the bumper how about more frequent ties. made out of a “grippy” material that won’t slip down the rails as easily. or if you sew you could “quilt” it with verticle stripes about 1 inch apart. this will force some stiffness into it but it may also shorten the overal length.
for the bathroom I love the idea of the picknic utensil basket I’m going to have to use that one.
Mrs N
November 7th, 2007 at 12:21 pm
1. We have a cabinet in the bathroom that holds towels on bottom, toothbrush, hairbrush, washrags, etc on middle shelf & I use top shelf for my cleansers.
2. I like that other lady’s idea of stitching the collar in place since I’m not a big fan of ironing daily clothes.
3. Could you iron that bumper pad w/starch? Or I’d say roll a few towels & put them between the mattress & the rails under the pads so there’s no where for them to fall down.
November 7th, 2007 at 12:34 pm
Toothbrushes - I’d hang a small basket or a shelf or something on the wall.
The collars I can’t help with - my husband likes to iron, so he always just ironed his.
Crib bumper - I second the person who said to slap that sucker with some velcro. (But, if the bumper is down in the morning, that MIGHT mean that the kiddo is using it as a step stool to try to get out over the edge of the crib, so it may be better to just get rid of it altogether.)
November 7th, 2007 at 12:42 pm
For the toothbrushes and other bathroom stuff, maybe you could try one of those shower curtains with pockets. That way each child could have their own pocket for their toothbrush and paste.
November 7th, 2007 at 1:05 pm
Oh, the bumper pads… they look like they’ve been stepped on. Does your daughter pull up? If so, you need to get rid of them for safety reasons. They are really only there for little ones who might bonk their head on the side of the crib, but if a baby is old enough to crawl and pull up, they could use it as a step stool to launch out of the crib.