Thrifty Whitties – Olivia Jones

As a young, often unemployed college student, I have discovered and perfected many kinds of thrifty fixes. From feeding an entire rugby team on-the-cheap to darning the holes in my favorite dress, there is a solution for everything. Some tips and techniques I have found on the Internet, some from housekeeping books, some passed down from the women in my life, and some I have made up, but each one has been tested. The theme for the first installment of Thrifty Whitties is late summer fixes.

Sunglasses Repair
Everyone has a pair of much-loved sunglasses that was lent to a friend or taken to a party or left somewhere carelessly (only to be returned or found with a lens or two missing). Do not despair! With the exception of aviators, this is an easy fix. If the frames of your sunglasses are made from hard plastic, all a Thrifty Whittie needs to repair the damage is a mug or bowl of very hot water and some patience. The trick is to make the plastic pliable enough that you can wiggle the lens back into the frame.

First heat some water until it is hot enough for tea (just starting to boil). After you’ve poured the water into your mug or bowl, submerge the side of your frames which need repair. Wait until the frames become too hot to touch, then carefully remove them from the water. Prop the glasses over the mug so that they are still exposed to the steam. Using a bit of cloth to hold the hot frames, fit the corner of the lens into the shallow canal that runs around the inside of the frames. Continue fitting the lens into the canal. If the plastic starts to cool down, leave the frames propped over the mug for a while longer before trying again. When you get to the final corner of the lens, simply push the lens down, and it should snap back into the frame.

Berry Stain Removal
Summer is a time of outdoor adventures, sitting in big grassy fields with friends, picking berries and eating them with everything. So what’s a Whittie to do with the accidental berry stain? Berry stains, surprisingly, are one of the easiest stains to remove. In fact, you can get berry stains out with your extra boiling water while soaking your sunglasses.

This will take a decent amount of water, depending on the size of the stain, so boil a full pot. If you value your fingers, get a friend to help hold your stained garment over the sink. Make sure the garment is suspended and not simply sitting in the sink. Then all you have to do is pour the water through the stained area until the stain disappears. Voila!

And that’s all for this installment of Thrifty Whitties. Feel free to write in with any requests!