With the kids back to school now and school uniforms making up a large % of back to school costs, we want to share some tried and tested tips on caring for school uniforms to make them last longer . We spoke to those in the know My Kids Time.
All Change
My top tip on caring for school uniforms would be to get the kids to change as soon as they come home. Apart from being more comfortable, it avoids the possibility of spills at dinner, rips and tears from play and keeps school uniforms fresher for longer.
If they have after-school activities or play dates, simply pack a change of clothes and teach them to fold their school uniform neatly in the bag!
Washday
As soon as my kids come home on a Friday afternoon everything goes in the wash and out on the clothes line. There is nothing worse than a plaintive cry on Sunday evening bemoaning that fact that their school uniform is not clean or they forgot to add their PE gear to the wash. It is now second nature for my girls to gather all school uniform items and add the to the wash basket on Fridays.
Being in the West of Ireland does mean that we are often blessed with rain! Preferring to dry all my clothes outdoors, I have found the clothesline canopy a real lifesaver. Not only does drying clothes naturally give them a lovely fresh aroma, clothes keep their shape and become less worn than using alternative drying methods.
Common Sense :
The following tips are really just common sense, but no harm reminding you of them.
- Check the care labels on all items before you wash them. Some items like jumpers will require a cooler wash than cotton shirts.
- Separate darks from whites, again this may seem obvious, and while it can be tempting to just throw everything in together, as the school year rolls on, you will notice the difference if you don’t separate.
- Use the correct detergent too. Some have bleach and are suitable for lighter colours, some have built in fabric conditioner and others are best used on darker garments.
- Wash anything with a school crest of embroidery inside out, this will help to keep them from catching or fraying.
- And finally, check care labels for ironing. Not everything will be suitable for ironing and strong heat could damage delicate fabrics.
It will extend the life of your school uniforms if you take care when washing them.
Thanks to www.mykidstime.com.
It's July 1st hopefully that means more time outside and with the Patio Canopy it means you can spend even more time outdoors. We were delighted to have Mark Doe of Just Cooking Cookery School cater for our recent barbecue. Along with BBQ meats he had a lovely Caesar salad to accompany it and we have the recipe below:
Caesar Salad -Serves 6
For the dressing
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 anchovy fillets, chopped
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Juice from ¼ lemon 300ml mayonnaise 3 tablespoons boiling water
4 tablespoons grated Parmesan
Sea salt and black pepper
For the salad
1 baguette, cut into slices
2 tablespoons rapeseed or olive oil
4 streaky bacon rashers, cut into thin strips
2 heads of romaine lettuce or 4 heads of baby gem lettuce
- To make the dressing place the garlic, anchovies, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, lemon juice and mayonnaise in a food processor. Blend until smooth. With the food processor running add a few tablespoons of boiling water until the dressing is the consistency of thick cream. Add theParmesancheese and season if required.
- Preheat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Place the baguette slices in a bowl and toss with the oil. Place on a baking tray and bake for 6-8 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
- Heat a frying pan and add a little oil. Fry the bacon until crispy. Remove the bacon from the pan and drain on kitchen towel.
- To assemble: wash and dry the lettuce and break into bite size pieces. Place the lettuce in a large bowl and dress with about
2-3 tablespoons of theCaesar dressing. Toss the leaves in the dressing until all the leaves are nicely coated. The leaves should be lightly dressed and not clumped together. Add more dressing a little at a time if required. Add the bacon and toss. Place the salad in a serving dish, sprinkle with Parmesan and baguette slices and serve.
TIP
– Dress the salad just as you are about to serve it.
Thanks to Mark and his wife Bernie for the recipe.
We held our first BBQ gathering of the year recently with family and friends and had a great time enjoying good food & sunshine. The Patio Canopy gives us an extra room outside that we can use from morning till night.
Huge thanks to Mark Doe & Bernie from Just Cooking Cookery School for the delicious food, to Falveys Nurseries for their help with the flowers pots, to Mary from Mary O'Donnell Beauty for her kind words and a big thanks to all who joined us to make it a great day.
Credit : Murt Mulcahy Media
Exciting news ...
Starting tomorrow Monday 25th February and running all week we have a competition with Radio Kerry to win a €300 voucher for either a Clothesline Canopy or Patio Canopy.
Tune in at 1.30pm everyday with Deirdre Walsh on her Talkabout show.
Winner picked on Friday. Best of Luck.
Understandably, everyone wonders about this. In wet and windy conditions you hang your clothes doubled over the line so that they are not hanging too low and allow a small space at the side and they will dry perfectly. Some more tips for best results.
There are 4 lines in each Clothesline Canopy. Hang small items like socks on the front or back line and longer items on the middle lines. In Ireland we tend to get a lot of showery weather and the problem for people is that their washing has dried only to get soaked in a shower! A Clothesline Canopy will ensure that your washing stays dry until you are ready to bring it in. No more running between showers or if you forget or run late, your washing will be dry and ready when it suits you.
