Wearing white has seemed to be the anathema of mommy-hood. Let's face it, white is not the #1 neutral that anyone with kids of any age gravitates toward when considering their everyday wardrobe.
Such is not the case for me.
I'm wearing my favorite white skinny jeans as I write this and I love it! So, in Fat Amy style, I want to rub some of my confidence onto you so you too can rock it in your type of white*.
(*Quick refresher on Types of white: T1= Winter White; T2= Eggshell; T3= Wheat; T4= Stark White, as pictured below. Tip or darken your screen to see the undertones or lack thereof.)
This post was inspired by a recent conversation with a friend who was despairing at the possibility of not being able to keep whites clean with small children around and all that entails. I offered her 3 solutions to this problem that I will pass onto to you, dear reader, as well as 3 bonus ideas I didn't think of at the time (you know how that goes).
Wash Your Babies
I know the image that haunts you. You are loving your white and then your adorable child approaches for an embrace... with hands and/or face and/or...everything covered in (insert substance of choice). The white is now ruined!
Simple solution: watch your babies, know when they are dirty, wash them immediately when messy project/meal is complete, then continue with the hugs.
Alternative solution: Avoid the mess to begin with. Be the Nazi mom who doesn't let your kids get messy in the first place, i.e. don't serve your spaghetti with sauce, etc.
Feed Babies at Arm's Length
The second obstacle my friend offered was the fact that she is feeding a small one with a tendency towards projectile spit-up. We do play dates on a weekly basis which end after lunch, so I've watched her feed the baby in question, usually on her lap.
Solution: Use a high chair to get some distance from the source of spit-up. If your child has great skills as to distance projection, wear an apron and if your white is in the form of a second layer (we're not just talking about jeans here) then remove that layer during feeding.
Cook with an Apron
I too live part of my life in the kitchen and I can't boast of being an especially clean cook. I'm not a total mess, but I still take preventative measures. Yes, I wear an apron even (sometimes) if all I'm making is mac 'n' cheese. I wear it anytime I'm cooking, not just when I'm having a white day. It helps if you have a cute apron that you love. My current model is in shades of blue with tiered ruffles.
Bonus Solution #1
Pants/Clothes DO NOT =Napkin. I know my husband is not completely house broken in this area, but he is not the one wearing white. It's one thing to blame your kids for a mess, but another to create the stains yourself. Avoid this by using good manners. Simple as that.
Bonus Solution #2
I also have a healthy, breastfed baby that poops. This means we have experience with blow-outs. These have been less frequent of late because we finally figured out that she was ready for the next size of diapers. That aside, when a blow-out has occurred you often don't realize it until you have the baby in your lap and by then it is too late. You may also have poop on your pants now.
Solution: Use preventative measures, again. On my white days, I don't pick up my angel, poopy or otherwise, without first having those buns wrapped in the all-purpose blanket that is always at hand. (We are a blankie family.) My theory is that she is poopy until proven otherwise.
Bonus Solution #3
All other solutions and precautionary stratagems in play, life still happens and life sometimes =stains. When this happens my OxyClean stick is my best friend. (Note: I am not affiliated with OxyClean. I just love it.)
I would keep this miracle wand in my travel bag when we were having more periodic blow-outs. Of course, I forgot it on our most recent weekend away, but the beautiful thing is that it works when pre-washing dried out stains as well. And that has been my experience with all the different patterns, with or without white, of our baby clothes. I think she's pooped in every outfit so far and they all come out clean.
If you don't have OxyClean yet, go get some. (I use the sticks because I feel I have more control with it than the spray offers. Plus our laundry detergent has it too.) Or use bleach as that is what is used on whites historically speaking.
And those are my solutions to help you bring white into your life. Now you should have (less) excuses for avoiding expanding your color palette with this excellent neutral. I've brought it into my current capsule wardrobe to welcome in the spring season...whenever that truly happens in southern Idaho.