#tbh if it was also an antiperspirant i might have bought it

[keirou-kun]

When Life and Game cross over...

Same photo? >w> Seen in the wild at Walmart. It amused me.

In unrelated news, I'm rather enjoying Honkai StarRail >w> Second image by Hoplitx on pixiv

[rhythmelia]

Thinking bout laundry

@prismatic-bell has a nifty post up about the technique of laundry stripping (with some discussion of the history of it, what it's for, the fact that Arizona has very hard water. Sorry you're dealing with a lot of shitty people in the notes prismatic-bell :/) here:

And I was just thinking about how, while laundry stripping is a kind of heavy-duty option you might do every so often, there's something that I do on a more regular basis that might also help.

Caveats apply of course, depending on your level of strength and mobility and spoons, and while my area has hard water, it's probably not quite as full of minerals as Arizona, and I don't have a water softener machine that my water passes through (my grandparents' house down the block that was built in the 70s does, and we have to periodically buy salt for it, and replace the dang thing every decade or so).

So I and probably many folks like me have a sideways loading HE (high efficiency) washing machine. Doesn't use a ton of water, doesn't really have a soaking option the way the older upright top-loading washing machines do.

I like to do this with my laundry before I toss it in that machine:

[ID: a shower stall with a large basin full of soaking laundry resting on the floor of it, some fabric being spot-treated for stains sitting outside the basin, and a smaller basin full of a few items of clothing that's had the water somewhat squeezed out of it. Plus a bar of laundry soap. /end ID]

I'm depending on the power of osmosis, lol. I plop a large basin into my shower, fill it with water and a little bit of the regular liquid laundry detergent that I use in the washing machine (we buy the hypoallergenic no scents kind), and then put my laundry in to soak for at least an hour, longer if I get busy because executive function? what's that lol.

(just don't soak it too long or you start getting a musty smell, but tbh I. uh. have had that happen to me too many times, and having it hang outside to dry for a day or so will deal with it. :P I'll soak a load of stuff at night to deal with in the morning and it's fine? The time I didn't have it in me to deal with for a few days was. Not great :P)

I know everyone says use cool water because hot sets stains, I've used warm water because I have poor circulation and I haven't noticed a difference personally? idk

For my clothes that have things like blood or grease stains, I'll spot treat with Oxyclean stain remover first and let it sit out of the basin for about 10 minutes per instructions, then dunk it in with the rest.

Back when I had a top-loader washing machine, I would use that soaking setting. Now I have to do it manually. And the soaking with the soap and water allows for my sweat and "the smell of youth" per my mom [wails Smells Like Teen Spirit into the void] to leach out into the water. And I might do some extra scrubbing with the laundry bar (laundry soap from Chinese or Korean brands bought from my local Chinese or Korean grocery, less slimy and disintegrate-y compared to body soap) for any items that need a bit more attention, like socks or underwear, or the underarms of tops that show antiperspirant residue.

Wet clothes are heavy, so I'll squeeze or gently wring out the water I can and take multiple trips to my washing machine with a smaller basin. Also now is the time to stick the more delicate stuff (like my cloth masks or some of the shirts with nice iron on designs) in the mesh laundry cylinders or bags. And make sure clothes are turned inside out to protect the nice side from the friction of clothes rubbing against each other.

I don't use fabric softener, typically wash all my clothes on cold-cold water cycle, and I generally hang my clothes out to dry when weather allows (and indoors when it doesn't), and I feel like my clothing has stayed in decent condition for a long (long) time, without too much fading or the fabric feeling icky.

I'm curious what other people do with their laundry? I deal with a lot of executive dysfunction, so I'm usually about 70% of the time managing to get my soaked laundry into the machine before too much time has passed lol.

[nagichi-boop]

Thank you for such an in depth reply!

I have been given the shower chair recommendation a lot, so maybe I need to suck it up and get one. My mum didn’t seem keen on the idea last time I brought it up, but that was before my tilt table test showed POTS (and for whatever reason she doesn’t believe me until a doctor agrees with me that there’s a problem), so maybe she’ll be more agreeable. Then again, she doesn’t shower in the bathroom I use. I share it with my brother, so it’s not like it really inconveniences her. And I can also maybe use it while brushing my teeth, too, so that’s a plus. The only options I really have at the moment are sit on the edge of the bathroom (very uncomfortable cuz it’s not a wide surface), the toilet seat (ew) or the floor (not impossible, but I have dodgy knees and also the floor is uncomfortable too). Getting mouthwash might be a good idea. I’ve been suggested gum before but mouthwash is probably better tbh. Plus I don’t have to then worry about getting rid of the gum when it’s not nice to chew anymore.

Tbh I already have dry shampoo but I tend to only use it when I need it since I don’t really like how it feels (not sure how to explain it cuz idk what specifically I don’t like about it, but I don’t like using it). But baby wipes or a cloth could be handy for when I need to wash problem areas but don’t have the motivation to wash my entire body. I guess I have an all or nothing attitude so I’m like “why would I bother doing that when I could just wash my whole body”, but then I don’t actually do that anyways. I also bought some antiperspirant to see if it’ll be better than the deodorant I usually use.

I actually listen to music or watch videos in the shower already, so I guess I’m doing one thing right! I think showering would be even worse if I didn’t do that.

And yeah, maybe I do need to keep a log of what activities tire me out the most. I know the top of my list would probably be changing my bedding and laundry would also rank pretty high. Showering in comparison isn’t as bad I guess? It’s more just motivating myself to actually do it.

And logically I do agree that trying to force something to happen means you’re less likely to do it. I guess I just can’t tell if I’m being unreasonable/lazy or if I am just fighting against my own limits mentally and physically.

How do I stop being stinky? /hj

Okay but more seriously, how the hell do I convince myself to shower every day and brush my teeth twice a day? I first of all struggle to just motivate myself to do it. And then past that, it can be kinda tiring sometimes. There are times I have to lean against the sink while brushing my teeth because I’m so out of breath. Would a shower chair help? Everyone who talks about shower chairs talks about passing out in the shower or getting dizzy, but I don’t get that. Would I even notice a difference because my symptoms are so inconsequential? Are there ways to keep myself “fresh” between showers/brushing my teeth, or is there a way to sucker-punch my brain into just being cleaner?