Patti's Place: DIY Lavender Spray Starch

It's been many, many years since I bought a can of spray starch. I make my own, it's super easy and much cheaper than the aerosol cans. Plus, there's less waste and less cans in the trash.

Ironing is not my favorite household chore, which is why there is a basket of "ironing clothes" that is never quite empty.

I'm no stranger to starch nor ironing and it's my mother's fault that I hate ironing. Well, maybe more my daddy's, but she's the one who gave me that wonderful chore for my own. I think she probably wasn't too fond of ironing either, but.....

Daddy was a welder.

If you are a child of a welder and you were a child back in the olden days, say the 60's, you already know what I'm talking about. If not, let me briefly explain the process.

Wash and starch(extra heavy starch) the long sleeved denim or khaki shirts
Hang them on the clothesline(hot weather or freezing, made no difference)
Bring them in(very stiff, scratchy and in the winter, likely already frozen)
Sprinkle them generously with water from a sprinkler bottle(usually a Coke bottle with a sprinkler top)
Roll them up while wet and put in the freezer until ready to be ironed
Take them out, freeze hands in process of unrolling them, let thaw partially(shirts and hands)
Iron....and iron....and iron....Daddy worked a lot.....Daddy never missed work. We ironed those shirts a lot.

The heavily starched shirts protected their arms while welding. It was a necessary part of a welder's life, to have heavily starched shirts.

Now you see why I don't really like to iron....that would mess up anybody's childhood.

No, seriously. It was just what you did in those long ago olden days, it was expected and required...and we survived...and forever hated the task.

I can just hear my teenage granddaughters now, "you want me to do WHAT?"

Meanwhile, back to the DIY starch.

All you need is a spray bottle, some liquid starch, a few drops of Lavender(or your preference) Essential Oil. A funnel comes in handy also.

I use a 16 oz spray bottle, the small size is easier for me to use. I have small hands. They sort of match the rest of my short body, for which I am thankful...that they match I mean.

I am really digressing, aren't I? It must be the subject matter....I tend to run from reality when I hear the words iron, starch, etc.

Now comes the hard part. You just pour some of the liquid starch in your bottle, add about five drops or so of Essential Oil and fill the bottle with water.

Whew! What a chore!

I know....you're asking about now, "how much liquid starch do I use?" That depends on whether you want light, medium or heavy starch.

Quite honestly, I don't measure, I just guess. It's not really rocket science, but I'll try to give you a general idea.

I like a pretty heavy starch, not the kind that makes your clothes stand alone, but enough to make them look nice. I fill the bottle about 1/3 up with the starch and then fill with water. Until you know what works for you, in a 16 oz bottle, I would start with at least 1/4 cup starch and if it's not heavy enough, add more until you get it just right for you.