"Mom, you forgot to take the sharpie out of my shirt," child says while showing me the dime sized DARK green spot as well as several much smaller spots.
This is something we've been working on with the boys for over a year. Things MUST be taken out of pockets before going into the hamper. We don't let them off easy either. If it goes through the wash it may end up either in the trash, mommy's wallet, or up on the freezer (where toys etc go for a "time out"). Obviously this is not working well and at least one child does not see this as something they are responsible for.
"No, _I_ did not forget to take your sharpie out of your pocket. It was not my responsibility; it was yours. I don't think you will be using sharpies again for a long time." Since this was permanent marker I didn't think that the spot would come out but figured it was worth giving it a try. It lightened a bit but not much. I used rubbing alcohol, bleach, and oxyclean (separately).
this is the "after" picture after soaking for hours
This poor child is learning the lesson of responsibility the hard way. He is buying a new dress (on eBay) for his little sister, as well as a new white maternity shirt for his mom (also from eBay). Maybe he will be the only one that needs to go through this? Maybe the others are watching and learning? I can hope.
Oh, and if you are wondering.... yes, my maternity blouse had several spots on it. It is white so I thought it had a better chance of being fixed, but after spot treating with bleach gel and then running it in the machine with more bleach it did not take enough out to give much hope (though I did give the rubbing alcohol a try). There were a few other things that had spots on them; fortunately the rest of the spots were in hidden places so they are not ruined!
this is also an "after" picture
Whoever would give a boy a sharpie? *shifty eyes* :-|
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