I recently discovered laundry stripping and y’all, no matter how much of a crock of shit you think fast fashion is, you’re underestimating.

[image ID: a screenshot of the notes on this post, featuring several people indicating they want to know more. End ID.]

OKAY SO. You know how we talk about how one way fast fashion has made itself “necessary” is that the clothing looks like shit and feels horrible after just a few washes?

Let. Me. Tell. You. Something.

Laundry stripping is a process where you load your laundry into a tub or bin (I’ve been using my bathtub) with warm water, half a cup of borax, half a cup of washing soda, and half a cup of laundry soap (not detergent, SOAP, there’s a chemical difference). Leave it there for at least eight hours. I’ve been going for 12-24.

What you will come back to is a tub full of nearly-opaque black-gray-brown water that absolutely REEKS. This is normal. You are looking at (and smelling) hard water buildup, body sweat and oils that were embedded in the fabric, dead skin, and just regular grime.

Wring out your clothes. Throw them in the washer. (I like to do a spin-only cycle before going any further, because I have one of those washers that determines by weight how much water any given load needs.) Wash as usual.

You will notice I didn’t suggest any further pretreatment, and that’s because 1) you don’t want to layer too many chemicals on top of each other but also 2) you may not even need it.

When your clothes come out, check each one as it goes into the dryer, and if anything else s still stained, set it aside to run again with a regular pretreatment. One of the sweaters I did this with apparently did need a second treatment…to deal with what appears to have possibly been a hot chocolate stain that was previously invisible due to “well, it’s old” dinginess. I was planning to throw this sweater out. It looks almost new now. I need to wash it one more time for the probably-a-hot-chocolate stain, and then it needs to have the hem weighted to block it and bring it back to evenness, but dude. I wear my clothes to rags and I thought this thing was unfixable. “I need to reshape it” is nothing.

Remove clothes from dryer when done. Fucking MARVEL at the colors and how good the fabric feels. Give them a smell. Get righteously and royally angry that you can rejuvenate this stuff so easily, with a process that does take awhile but is 90% hands-off, but we’ve been trained to believe it’s all got to be binned once a year because discoloration and gross fabric is “normal wear and tear” and can’t be fixed.

It’s utterly unreal! I just pulled a seven-year-old work undershirt out of the dryer and this thing looks NEW!! It FEELS almost new!!! One of the shirts I hung up from the last load is older than some of the people on this site and it went from “I keep this to wear on laundry day, for sentimental reasons” to “I could actually wear this out of the house, it looks old but respectable”! The pajama bottoms I’m wearing were from Goodwill and they have BRIGHT YELLOW in them! I thought it was goldenrod!!

I do not know how often you’re supposed to do this (doing it every time can strip the dye out of your clothes, not to mention it’s way too much work to do every time), but once or twice per season seems respectable. I don’t wear white, so I can’t test the “it will make whites look almost-new as well” claim, but I’ve seen a lot of people on the cleaning subreddit attest that it works.

Just remember: WASHING soda. Not baking soda. I tried baking soda and a little bit happened, but not a lot.

Go forth. Rejuvenate your clothing. Strip your laundry.

I have a question about the "set it aside to run again with a regular pretreatment" bit: What is your regular pretreatment?

For grease: Dawn dish soap and a toothbrush. For blood: soak in peroxide, rinse, apply more peroxide. For ink: alcohol. Rubbing alcohol is best, vodka is an acceptable substitute. Do not use colored liquor like tequila or whiskey. Aerosol hairspray will work in a pinch. For red wine or grape juice: white wine. For "what the fuck is that, anyway?" stains: OxyClean Max Force Gel Stick. For "oh shit, there was a red shirt in with my whites" stains: I'm very sorry. Try bleach? Spot-apply all of these. In other words don't just toss your period panties into a sink full of peroxide, pour some peroxide over the crotch. Apply alcohol with a cotton facial pad or, failing that, a washcloth or kleenex. Let it sit for five to fifteen minutes, then throw it in the wash. Try to use cold water; hot water will set stains.

Plus Size, Cute/Nerdy Indie Fashion

No links, because I don't want Tumblr to eat the post, but message me if you have questions on anything. And if you have any suggestions for me, please let me know!

Morning Witch - Flora and fauna prints. I've purchased multiple midi skirts (with pockets!) and T-shirts, and one fantastic sweater. My datemate @fortangel loves their button downs, which have hip buttons to allow for more room.

Fresh Hot Flavors - Gorgeous prints and patterns, from floral to fantasy, anime-inspired to mythology, and of course pride colors. I've got their maxi and midi skirts, plus petticoats, all of which are super comfy and gorgeous and, again, pocketed.

Maya Kern - I've had my eye on her skirts for AGES, and now that I've got a few of my own I couldn't be happier! Once again, flora and fauna prints, plus some other neat options. These seem to fit a tad bit more snugly than the first two, so keep that in mind with sizing and be sure to pay attention to the measurements.

Witch Vamp - More skirts with pockets, skater, midi and max! A slightly darker/more edgy style, and some solid colors available too. My spider lily skirt from this shop may be the single most comfortable piece of clothing I own.

Vetiver Fox - Admittedly I don't have one of their skirts yet, but they're absolutely gorgeous and I'll be getting one as soon as they're in stock this summer. Truly stunning patterns, flora, fauna, and mythological.

Sealkie Cove - Source of my ridiculous, beloved, neon pink furby button down.

Crowlines - I don't have any of their clothes yet either, but the patterns are SO cute! Skirts and button downs. The best kitten prints ever, I think.

Cheek Boss - Odd shop out here, this one sells underwear and socks. The designs are lovely, they're ridiculously comfortable, and these are the first underwear I've ever looked at myself in and thought "Wow, I look cute!" The socks are also super cute, but I've had quality issues. Then again, they were from their first batch when they first started selling socks, and may have improved.

@morningwitchy @freshhotflavors @mayakern @shopwitchvamp @vetiverfox @sealkiecove

lahore pigeons are some of the most visually appealing birds out there. like in terms of visual design. very minimalist, good contrast.

Too bad Lahore pigeons are a domestic breed and don’t appear in the wild at all. Some equally balanced wild colorations include

Pygmy Falcon

Great Hornbill

Wallcreeper

and

Black-throated Loon

this is a good addition to this post. thank you for this birds educations

I would like to submit the following additions to the world of exceptional bird color design:

Cedar Waxwing

Red Crowned Crane

Brahminy Kite

Green Tree Swallow (I mean seriously - those are metallic teal feathers against stark white. Damn.) 

Bali Mynah

And, last but certainly not least, the cutest fucking puffball on this planet earth:

The Korean Crow-Tit

I’d also like to contribute some pretty awesome birds

Hooded Pitta (or as like to call them little olives)

Coua

Mot-Mot

The Blue Crown Pigeon (the biggest pigeon)

good post

@ilovegirlsalways

@candiceirae

I’m fond of the Golden Breasted Starling,

the Golden Pheasant,

and the Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher.

@izzyovercoffee

May I present the most fabulous turkey in the world, the Ocellated Turkey?

Might I add

The Violet-backed starling

@kiunlo

Alright so I’m doing this a bit late, but here’s where you’ll find me now that this site decided it doesn’t want us anymore.

Main site: www.qwilman.com

Twitter SFW: twitter.com/qwilman

Twitter NSFW: twitter.com/NSFqWilman

Mastodon: mastodon.social/@qwilman

Itch: qwilman.itch.io/

I’ve had more success and a bigger following on tumblr than any other site I’ve been on. I’ve got a lot of fond memories here, and I’m going to miss it. Thanks to all of you, see you where I see you.

web.archive.org

http://web.archive.org/

SIGNAL BOOST: YOU HAVE TO ARCHIVE EACH PAGE OF YOUR BLOG INDIVIDUALLY. 

To make this even easier: The Wayback Machine (web.archive) has browser plugins  and bookmarklets that will allow you to save any page with one click

https://blog.archive.org/2017/01/25/see-something-save-something/

I’m forever haunted by the knowledge that Dracula is a public domain work and I could literally just write Dracula AU (No listen, but hear me out, The Batchelor), and every second I’m not doing it feels like an affront to whatever god thought it would be a good idea to keep me alive.

Here’s a List of Public Domain Classics for those of you who want to get your Classic Lit AU on, and potentially create THE LITERATURE CLASSICS CROSSOVER FIC FROM HELL.

Which I’d read the shit out of.

Ah the free market at work. (Similar to when I went to CVS to pickup a 90$ prescription and they had their own generic version for 7.99).

This is important! Tell your Friends.

I can’t believe some insurances quit covering them 😐

From Slate:

The generic Adrenaclick will cost $109.99 for two doses, compared with $649.99 for the same amount of drug in an EpiPen. That’s good news, both for financial and safety reasons: STAT reported last year that some parents and institutions had begun filling up syringes with epinephrine as a cost-cutting measure, a DIY solution that could pose great risk to the children who may have eventually needed injections. A more affordable alternative will help ensure safer epinephrine injections.

That’s assuming, though, that the people who need these devices know exactly what to ask for when they’re sitting in their doctors’ offices. Otherwise, they’ll still be stuck with the overpriced product. Here’s why: The mechanism by which Adrenaclick injects the drug is slightly different from EpiPen’s mechanism, so the Food and Drug Administration has ruled that the two are not therapeutically equivalent. That distinction is important because it means a prescription for an EpiPen cannot be filled with Adrenaclick. If you want the cheaper option, you have to have an Adrenaclick prescription.

You must ask your doctor for an Adrenaclick prescription! 

I also found a coupon from Impax on 0.15mg and 0.3mg epinephrine injection, USP auto-injectors, which appear to be the generic version of Adrenaclick; these coupons cover up to $100 per pack for 3 packs of these injectors (6 total injectors).

Some customers may be automatically eligible for $100 off the retail price thus only paying $10 for a pack, but this may be good backup for those who for whatever reason do not meet those requirements.

Pass this information on, potentially save a life.

ALL 👏🏾 OF 👏🏾 THEM 👏🏾

This post goes harder than any post has ever gone before.

Precious Lee at Christian Siriano S/S 2017

Can you imagine the heat?? Badass af

How could you forget all the cool heavy metal ladies!? The metal scene of Botswana is NOT just a boys club

Anyone know any of the names of these individual’s groups? I love metal music and I’m always looking for new bands to listen to.

Wrust is my fave. Overthrust, Gunsmoke, and Demon are also good. 

PS in Botswana metal heads are called Marok, and lady metalheads call themselves Queens and give themselves badass nicknames like Phoenix Death Serpent.

Distress signals

“Divine Fate” Deon Hinton, Dan Osahon & Znere Grace by Travis Chantar for FGUK Magazine #5

Keep reading

more on writing muslim characters from a hijabi muslim girl

- hijabis get really excited over pretty scarves - they also like to collect pins and brooches - we get asked a lot of questions and it can be annoying or it can be amusing, just depends on our mood and personality and how the question is phrased - common questions include: - “not even water?” (referring to fasting) - hijabis hear a lot of “do you sleep in that?” (we don’t) and “where is your hair?” (in a bun or a braid, usually) - “is it mooze-slim or mozzlem?” (the answer is neither, it’s muslim, with a soft s and accent on the first syllable) - “ee-slam or iz-lamb?” (it’s iss-laam, accent on the first syllable) - “hee-job?” (heh-jahb, accent on the second syllable)

- “kor-an?” (no. quran. say it like koor-annn, accent on the second syllable) - people tend to mess up our names really badly and you just get a sigh and a resigned nod or an awkward smile, maybe a nickname instead - long hair is easy to hide, short hair is harder to wrap up - hijab isn’t just covering hair, it’s also showing as little skin as possible with the exception of face, hands, and feet, and not wearing tight/sheer clothing - that applies to men too, people just don’t like to mention it ( i wonder why) - henna/mehendi isn’t just for special occasions, you’ll see people wearing it for fun - henna/mehendi isn’t just for muslims, either, it’s not a religious thing - henna/mehendi is not just for women, men also wear it, especially on their weddings - there are big mehendi parties in the couple of nights before eid where people (usually just women and kids) gather and do each other’s mehendi, usually just hands and feet - five daily prayers - most muslim kids can stutter through a couple verses of quran in the original arabic text by the age of seven or eight, it does not matter where they live or where they’re from or what language they speak natively - muslim families tend to have multiple copies of the quran - there are no “versions” of the quran, there has only ever been one. all muslims follow the exact same book - muslims have no concept of taking God’s name in vain, we call on God at every little inconvenience - don’t use islamic phrases if you don’t know what they mean or how to use them. we use them often, inside and outside of religious settings. in islam, it is encouraged to mention God often and we say these things very casually, but we take them very seriously - Allahu Akbar means “God is Greatest” (often said when something shocks or surprises us, or if we’re scared or daunted, or when something amazing happens, whether it be good or bad; it’s like saying “oh my god”) - Subhan Allah means “Glory be to God” (i say subhan Allah at the sky, at babies, at trees, whatever strikes me as pleasant, especially if it’s in nature) - Bismillah means “in the name of God” and it’s just something you say before you start something like eating or doing your homework - In Shaa Allah means “if God wills” (example: you’ll be famous, in shaa Allah) (it’s a reminder that the future is in God’s hands, so be humble and be hopeful)

- Astaghfirullah means “i seek forgiveness from Allah” and it’s like “god forgive me” - Alhamdulillah means “all thanks and praise belong to God” and it’s just a little bit more serious than saying “thank god” (example: i passed my exams, alhamdulillah; i made it home okay, alhamdulillah) - when i say we use them casually, i really mean it - teacher forgot to assign homework? Alhamdulillah - our version of “amen” is “ameen” - muslims greet each other with “assalamu alaikum” which just means “peace be on you” and it’s like saying hi - the proper response is “walaikum assalam” which means “and on you be peace” and it’s like saying “you too”

As a Muslim this post is so very important and it makes me so happy that it gives the small facts and details that one might be unaware of or confused about.

I’ve reblogged it before but honestly this fucking post touches me so much. To see how intrinsic Allah is to followers of Islam and how ingrained He is in their daily lives is so beautiful.

Also, can we just talk about the fact that there aren’t like 100 different versions of the Quran? Because I didn’t know that and that legit AMAZES me.

LEARNING

WebGL Water is a great water simulator, with a sphere that can interact with the water’s surface. It can be paused which means you can then use it as a reference for lighting, reflections, refractions, etc.

Painting Tutorials:

A friend asked me how I draw feet/shoes so I made this quick thing for them on how I breakdown feet when drawing. Thought it might be useful to someone else.

-Red

I made a little tutorial for you, many asked me for the wind effect, so there you go! I hope it will help many of you considering those effects can be tricky. Details also on Patreon too, you can support me there!  

Good luck and hope it will help you all!

Tips from my dad about buying a car

- Go in at the end of the month - Buy the model of the year right before the model for the next year comes out (dealers get desperate to sell the old models) - Refuse to put any money down. Say that if they ask you to put down money, you’ll leave - Seriously. If they ask you to put down money say you need to go and walk out - If there’s another dealership nearby, tell them that you’re walking there right after you leave - If a deal seems unfair but you really like the car, tell them you’re going to another dealership and leave. Chances are, they’ll call back the next day with a better deal - If possible, after the first call wait till the last few days of the month and they’ll likely call again with an even better deal - Look around for family and friends that need a car. If you buy more than one car from the same dealership you’ll get a much better deal - If a family member/friend is looking for a used car while you’re looking for a new car or vice versa, still get the used car from the same dealership - If you decide to buy a new car after a few years, trade in the old car and buy a new one from the same dealership. Companies appreciate loyalty and will likely offer you a lower price

UPDATED (My dad went to college for finance, more specifically he looked a lot at stocks and how to sell things for a maximum profit. He learned it from the perspective of the company but it also works in his advantage)

- When you walk into a dealership, the salesperson will immediately “be your friend”. They’ll act like it’s you and them against dealership - Sometimes a salesperson will offer to talk to the manager. This does not mean anything. Chances are, they’re going to have small talk for a few minutes and come back out - Carefully consider the usefulness of an extended warranty. You’re losing money unless there’s an accident or issue soon after you buy the car - This wasn’t so clear before, but you’re still going to have to pay a down payment. What you should refuse is a securing payment - The securing payment is a psychological trick. You feel more tied to the company so you’re more likely to buy from them - You’re extremely more likely to buy at the last place you go, but with the securing payment you’re less likely to go to another dealership due to a sense of commitment - A salesperson may say it’s a limited time deal. Most times, unless this is the last of that years model, or it’s a special event, the deal is not going away and will still be there if you decide to go back. It’s not necessarily a deal breaker, but you should be suspicious if it’s said to you - Save money by asking to buy the floor model. There’s no mileage on it, but it’s worth less because people have sat in it - Or, ask to buy the demo if you’re willing to buy a car with some mileage. The depreciation of the price is usually worth it - Each can get you a few thousand dollars off due to the fact that it is technically not a “new” car anymore - Always look at the websites and play around with the build a car, payment calculators, or anything other offered features. Make sure when you’re using it you look at the down payment and the number of months that you will be paying for the car over - Try to not buy a really obscure model because the trade in value will be lower - Get the maximum down payment you can afford to lower the interest cost - Look for a crash rating test. A 5 is going to get good trade in value, and is much safer

(This was written in NY so there might be exceptions in other states or countries)

I needed this thank you

Does anybody work for a Benz dealership???

As someone who has been working at dealerships for years, if you do things 3-6ish, they’ll laugh you out the door and say “Don’t let the door hit ya where the good lord split ya.”

Lmaoooo ^^^