‘RECYCLED’ TODDLER FURNITURE
What do you do when your 4-year-old son vomits incredible amounts of medicine, food, liquid, some brown particles, and a few carrots, onto his favorite chair? You throw it away…
That was my first reaction. But the chair in question has been a mainstay in our home. He sits in it, does art projects in it. We make paper maps on top of the coffee table while sitting in it. It is a fixture.
It’s been through a lot in the past three years- snack incidents, mucus and colds, more vomiting, but I’ve always been able to clean it with whatever cleaning solution I’m into at the time.
But this time was the vomit of all vomits. And after trying to clean it and scrub it, my husband and I realized that it may have reached the end of its time with us. The chair smelled so bad, we had to put it down in the back part of the basement.
I started thinking… It’s gone. This stinks… literally.
Stain cleaners can’t tackle this job. It’s been a great chair.
Hmmmmm, I’d always noticed a zipper on the bottom of the chair. I went downstairs and looked at it again. There were a couple of zippers strategically placed on the chair, so I looked for possible laundry instructions. Then I saw the tag, and I quote:
‘Do Not Remove the Cover’.
“Shoot, I can’t take that off,” I thought.
Bummer!
Wait a Minute… Wait One… Little… Minute.
I can’t believe I’m obeying this little tag! This is worse than obeying those PILLOW tags that read- ‘Do Not Remove’.
I can do this. I WILL do this. I’ve lived through a 17-hour labor! I’m not listening to a little tag. I’m an educated mother, wife… woman.
I will remove this cover, I will wash this cover and take my chances. Consequences be damned! I will not obey this little tag, but instead obey my instincts!
I removed said cover. It felt great.
Into the washer it went… with a lot of detergent.
How will it look? Will it fit back on? The wash cycle seemed to take 45 minutes… Well, it always takes 45 minutes, but back to the story.
I took it out and it looked BRAND NEW! I’m embarrassed to admit how excited I was…
Victory seemed so close. So then I dried it on just the ‘AIR’ setting to prevent any shrinkage. Would it work?
My husband and I took it out of the dryer; he was completely into the ‘Saving of the Chair’ by now too.
It took some prying and wiggling and me pushing on the chair with my full weight at strategic angles to put the cover back on. I was sweating by this point, again… literally. BUT IT WENT BACK ON!!!!!
It’s beautiful! It looks like it can last another 3 years! Victory is mine (start humming ‘Rocky’ theme). I didn’t listen to that little tag or any little voices telling me to obey directions!
What a victory… I have saved a beloved chair from extinction!
Okay, it’s a small victory, but a victory nonetheless.
I am so psyched! Gotta go upstairs to the bedrooms to remove all those tags from the … well, you know.
This victory tale is crossposted at DC Metro Moms Blog. It’s a great site!
Comments
One Comment on ‘RECYCLED’ TODDLER FURNITURE
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Jen on
Mon, 10th Mar 2008 4:30 pm
That is an AWESOME STORY!
I NEVER listen to the tags! I WASH EVERYTHING!! SCREW THAT DRY CLEANING ONLY TAG! Oh… crap maybe that shouldn’t apply to that cashmere sweater I just massacred…
AN-Y-WAY…. : )
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