Friday, April 13, 2012

All in a Day's Work.

I've begun spring cleaning and was getting my summer clothes out of the back of my closet. I was specifically looking for shoes. I found this pair and was surprised to see they were torn and sticky.
I figured out what happened when I noticed the bag they were stored in. It was chewed up by little teeth. So the sticky part was mice pee. I loved having that on my hands. I guess mice like to chew leather on cold winter nights. Also, the shoes were squished because I had piled stuff on top of them all winter. Goodbye shoes, I hardly knew ye. 

I bought three thick, brown, bath towels and loved them. After washing them, this is what they looked like.

No, I didn't bleach them. But I had bleached the load right before this and apparently the bleach didn't release in the machine for that load. No, it patiently waited until I put my brand new towels in. Hubby says it doesn't matter because only family sees our towels, but I  grimace every time I look at them. They look like they have leprosy. I honestly don't know if I can live in the same house as them.

I hope your spring cleaning goes better than mine!


33 comments:

Claudia Moser said...

I hope you found the mice!

Tempo said...

Spring is still a long cold Winter away for us here in Australia.. If youre anything like me you have to many towels anyway. It seems to be the one thing I always forget when I go away so I end up buying a new one where ever I am. I now have a huge pile of completely unmatched towels bought from all over the country... You could always dye them if they are worth the added hassle.

Eva Ason said...

Hi Belle,
Oh that is not nice to have your shoes "eaten" by mice.
I haven't started to do my spring cleaning yet, but am forced to because I am moving to my own place.
Have a lovely day!

Eva

YeamieWaffles said...

I'm sorry to see the degradation that's happened to your clothes Belle, that towel is ruined!

Jenn June said...

They DO look like thay have leprosy! haha...I'm sorry to see that happened to your towels. I would have trouble living in the same house with them too. I've had things like this happen every time I buy a colorful towel so now I just stick to white or light blue.

A box of my son's stuffed animals was accidentaly stored in our shed when we first moved here and when I went out and found them a few months later, they were all chewed up by mice. There was mouse poop all over them too. It was yucky and sad. I hate mice! I rejoice whenever Smokey catches one and tortures it to death. I know that's not nice but what they do to our stuff isn't nice either.

Odie Langley said...

I know Belle if it is like my house we have entirely too many towels and that one could easily get buried or thrown out and no one would ever know.
Have a wonderful weekend and hope all your family situations improve as well.

Rhonda said...

LOL sounds as if you are having the same issues I'm having .....just pretend your are still a hippy and you just dropped acid and you are having a trip when you look at your Lepo-tie-dye brown towels.....LOL .....and that mouse.....would find some "BarBait" to chew on in my closet! Happy Weekend Belle

orchid said...

Dearest Belle,
Oh, spring cleaning!!!
We usually clean up inside the house at the end of the year to have a refreshing new year,
But I also need to check the spring clothes and shoes. Wow, so sorry for your shoes and towel.
Hope you can keep your chin up, my friend(^^;)
Love you always, xoxo Miyako*

jabblog said...

There's one way to avoid nasty surprises - don't spring clean:-)

Shady Del Knight said...

Don't be blamin' me for your ruined shoes, Belle! This old Dell rat was nowhere near the scene of the crime. I live 2,479 miles away from you "as the crow files." Yep, I looked up the exact distance. Besides, on cold winter nights I'd rather chew the fat than chew leather.

That towel has a groovy, psychedelic 60s look! Keep it an enjoy!

Jeanie said...

Spring cleaning....sounds like a lot of work. I guess you could cut up the towels and use them for the rest of your cleaning, or maybe wrap them around your mouse-eaten shoes and get then all out of your house. :)

ReformingGeek said...

Ugh. BAD WASHER! GO TO TIME OUT RIGHT NOW!

Sorry, but those towels have to go.

TS Hendrik said...

Kind of looks like the shroud of Turin. Though more alien. Possibly the shroud of ET?

Chatty Crone said...

Mouse pee is sticky girl! You are brave and you are funny. You should take the towels back - they shouldn't bleed like that! sandie

Betty WSch. said...

I agree with Jeanie, I'd cut the towels up and use them as cleaning cloths. I always do that with old towels anyway.
Sorry about the shoes, but hey,any excuse to buy a new pair, right? LOL

Betty Roan said...

Looks a lot like a couple of towels I have and anyone who uses our bathroom sees them. My towel storage is open shelves. :(

SherryE said...

Bad mice! Now you need a cat.

Belle said...

Claudia- You know, I never heard them at all during the winter, but my granddaughter hears them in the walls of her room.

Tempo-I was thinking of dying them, but any time I've tried dying clothes it doesn't work out so I think I will use them as rags or to wash the dog.

Eva- I hope you are happy in your new home!

Matthew- Yeah - the towels are pretty embarrassing to look at!

Jenn- Oh, I'm sorry about your son's toys. He must have been upset. My daughter only buys white towels. Maybe I should too.

Odie- Thanks, we just have to wait and see how my nephew will cope. Actually, I'll have to buy new towels. We don't have enough.

Rhonda- It does look tie-dyed! Good idea.

Jabblog- That is a good solution!

Tom- We do live on opposite sides of the continent don't we? I'm 5 hours from the Pacific Ocean and you are at the Atlantic. It is so great to be able to talk with people all over the world. What did we do before the internet?

Jeanie- Yes, I'm going to buy new towels on payday! I will get some use out of that terry cloth though.

Geek- I agree. My hubby doesn't care about such things, but they hurt my eyes. I am very mad at the washer and now I can't use bleach again for anything.

TS- It would fit ET very well!

Sandie- At first I thought there was something wrong with the towels themselves, but the bleach also got on other things.

Betty- I rarely wore the shoes anyway, but I did like the towels. They will be good for bathing the dog.

Betty- Oh dear! Well, eventually we both need to buy new towels I guess!

The Golden Eagle said...

Ugh. Mouse pee and bleached towels? That sounds like really unpleasant spring cleaning!

Shelly said...

What a shame about the shoes and towels. Darn mice! Your husband's right, though- their function is still good, even if their appearance isn't.

Yvonne said...

"look Leprosy" ---ha! I'd toss those suckers!

TARYTERRE said...

In their day, those were a FINE pair of shoes. I haven't got the cleaning bug because I have mobility issues. So things here are going to, you know where in a handbag. Sounds like you've got a handle on your situation, though. I wish you well as go on this CLEANING journey. What you find along the way should be fascinating, indeed. take care.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

My wife has done the bleach thing to worse items than towels.

Thisisme. said...

Hi Belle. Those poor shoes! I can sympathise about the mice. They are eating the crisps in our kitchen cupboard! Fortunately , I've never seen one. Blessings to you.

The humble MOSTress of GGFarm said...

Yay, a blog in Kelowna!
I visit there once or twice a year since my dad and sister live there.
I've lived there a couple times myself, in 2004/05 and 1984-ish.
Great pic of the quail.

Theresa Milstein said...

Yikes! I hope things go better after this!

Crack You Whip said...

Your towels make me laugh! I have always been afraid of bleach contaminating the next load. Guess I'll have to keep an eye on it!

romance-of-roses said...

Oh my dear Belle, two damaged items. Well you can always use the towels for washing the car, that's what I do with towels we don't want anymore. As for the pretty shoes, too bad. Mice will chew on anything. Yes, it's time to start spring cleaning for me also. Hugs...Lu

Pearl said...

I understand the loss of a good pair of flats.

I'll tell Liza Bean Bitey (of the Minneapolis Biteys) about your mouse troubles. She knows quite a few cool cats up in Canada.

Pearl

Michael Offutt, Tebow Cult Initiate said...

Be careful with mice. You should wear something over your mouth and nose or you run the risk of inhaling viruses in their pee and feces.

M Pax said...

Too bad on the shoes. They look real cute. I hear ya on the towels. We all periodically have laundry disasters. I tend to wash things on the wrong cycle about once a year and shrink stuff.

Belle said...

Thanks for dropping by everyone and your comments. I'm afraid I haven't been too with it lately.

Coloring Outside the Lines said...

Ew and Ewww! I hope you trap that mouse and off with his head! Sorry about your shoes and your towels. I believe one of us would have to go if they resided in my house.