Introduction

If you've just stumbled onto this blog, please forgive the appearance; it's still under construction. If I've used one of your photos (found on Google) in a lecture and you don't approve, please write a comment and I'll remove it.

The purpose of this blog is to explain the basics of art and culture to English language learners in secondary school in Slovakia. This is not for profit. If you look to your right, you'll see a long list of topics that I plan to cover. This is a large project that will most likely take years to complete, covering some topics I know little about (like dance), so I will be borrowing heavily from other experts, with their permission, giving credit wherever possible. Please be patient, and, of course, all advice is greatly appreciated.

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Caring For Clothes

Pretty soon, you'll be living on your own, and that means laundry, ironing, sewing, and stain removal - if yo don't do it already.

Washing Clothes

You need to separate your clothes into piles, based on colour and material. Different colours wash at different temperatures.

-Whites, such as cotton socks, underwear, and undershirts should use hot water and bleach.

-Light colours should use warm water, and a color protecting detergent.

- Darks and red clothing should use cold water and a color protecting detergent. I separate my darks and reds.

Never put a red in with light or white colours!!!

Also, always wash wool materials in cold water, and never put them in a dryer, or they will shrink (get smaller)!

Some clothes should only be dry cleaned. You have to take them to a dry cleaning service that uses a chemical process to clean them.

Ironing

Here, comedian Conan O'Brien shows the fun way to iron shirts, with help from America's most die-hard mother, Martha Stewart:


Here's a less fun video that's more informative:


Stain Removal



Mending & Sewing

 
Shoe Polishing
 
For the basics of polishing shoes, start with how the army does it. This video explains all the different kinds of polish, and uses lots of spit.
 
 
The funny thing about polishing shoes is, it used to be that everyone wanted their shoes polished. There was nothing special about it. It was a job for street kids. Now, though, it's becoming an artisan skill. Only the wealthy would pay someone to shine their shoes, and it's amazing the techniques some shoe polishers have come up with:
 
 
This guy actually sets the shoes on fire:
 


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