Travel with a Beveridge: A sloth in the laundry

Sunday, August 1, 2010

A sloth in the laundry

By Scott Beveridge

These here Purex COMPLETE 3-in-1 Laundry Sheets are the best things going since flip top beer cans for a lazy guy like me whose dirty clothes often end up on the same floor as those just out of the dryer.

You see everything I need to clean them right comes in one thin sheet - that's right, the soap, the fabric softener AND the anti-static guard - to get my tighty-whiteys easily bright and clean from the washing machine right through the dryer cycle.

When you buy this stuff, you no longer need to measure laundry soap. If there is a big load of dirty clothes, you just have to toss in two sheet of this miracle product.

Seriously, though, my favorite part of this invention involves its ability to eliminate bulky plastic laundry soap jugs and other related products from the waste stream. For less than $10, one small package of this Purex stuff has the capacity of cleaning 38 loads of clothes.

While this product had been introduced about a year ago, it's taken this long for it to either find its way on the shelves at the Wal-Mart stores in this neck of Appalachia, or I sadly have been wearing blinders while shopping. It's true, I do grumble at the thought of grocery shopping, and also chant F-bombs under my breath while I'm in those kinds of stores until the experience is over.

And, I am not alone in giving Purex the seal of approval for this invention. The Discovery Channel gave the product a gold star two months ago at its Edison Best New Product Awards in New York.

“Innovation is more important now than ever,” Sarah Miller Caldicott, great-grandniece of Thomas ALVA Edison and chairman of the awards committee, stated in a news release.

She nailed that one right.

Somehow I managed to find the motivation to run two loads of clothes through my laundry room this weekend, and they came out perfectly clean and without static. Well except of a few T-shirts that have black ink stains on them now because I left two pens in a shirt pocket.

But, thanks to Purex, I have had a little more time to waste.

(PLEASE NOTE: This blog does not accept invitations or money for product reviews or endorsements.)

3 comments:

MJ said...: Nice socks; August 3, 2010 at 11:20 PM
Amanda Blu said...: Tighty-whiteys? Ugh. And you say I share too much info. ;); August 4, 2010 at 12:02 PM
Scott said...: Revealing my underwear preference is so, SO mild compared to the information you share.; August 4, 2010 at 1:22 PM

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WELCOME TO NOWHERE

Scott Beveridge grew up in Webster, Pa., a village along the Monongahela River that experienced one of worst environmental nightmares in the United States. His family moved there in 1960 about the same time the nearby zinc and steel mills ceased production. Those mill furnaces were to blame for the damages that awoke America to the dangers of air pollution. After their demise, the grass and trees began to return to the barren landscape that appeared as if it belonged on the moon. His short stories about that adventure appear under these links: Introduction: The warning signs were there

Part 1: Where the houses turned black - The murders killed our reputation - Steel wives were desperate - A cantankerous boom town - Dying for fresh air - A railroad to disaster

Part 2: Bad boys of Webster - The seedy side of town - Swept out the door - A storm was brewing - The search for plant life - Little hope for Donora - Another mill folds

Scott sends dirty clothes home when on the road

If you are like him when you travel, your clothes seem to take up more space in your suitcase after you have worn them. Take a tip from Scotty and mail yourself a package home filled with those dirty socks, underwear and T-shirts after you have been on the road for five or six days. You can buy a box and enough postage at the post office for less than $15. Postal workers seem to get a kick out of the idea, and they will even help you fold your box and tape it closed, too. Seek out a post office in a small town, where the workers have more time to gossip, while driving to a tourist destination. Now, you have room in your carryon to cart home your souvenirs, without having to worry about them getting broken or flown to St. Louis when your switchover is aiming for Pittsburgh.

He also hates road warriors; prefers to chill on down time

The successful traveler packs a personality blessed with patience and some understanding of the road.

Scott says do everyone a favor and STAY HOME if you are an anal retentive, control freak who spends far too much time complaining about life. When traveling, folks always take the risk of flight delays and cultural misunderstandings, or having companions who don’t wear watches or luggage and could land in Macon, Ga., when they are flying to Istanbul.

So keep a book or two in your carryon in case you are stuck in the airport in Haiti while rebels are burning tires in the streets and preventing the pilot from reaching the cockpit of your plane. That bag should also carry any prescription drugs you need, deodorant and toothpaste, along with a toothbrush, clean pair of underwear and T-shirt.

When you arrive, please don't linger in your hotel room. Go outside to meet interesting people. You can sleep when you get home.

Always take a moment to sit down and remove your shoes, like the old man in Hanoi, who is shown in the above photograph at the Temple of Literature in Hanoi.

And before you fly overseas, please check with the U.S. Department of State to find out which countries hate Americans the most.