I’ve had a little pile of vintage laundry items unintentionally accumulating this summer. Some of them are items my picker has found for me, and some are things I found … or already had on hand. They were all pretty random finds, but in the end they have a laundry related theme.
Meanwhile, I was skimming through the April 2022 issue of Country Living and they had an article on exactly this sort of thing.
They featured vintage clothespins, washboards, and these cool retractable clothes line reels …
I kinda wish I had one of those for my basement in the winter.
Anyway, after seeing that article I decided I should figure out a good container for grouping all of these items together for sale. I had a couple of baskets on hand, but I didn’t like the size and/or shape of them for this particular use.
Then while garage saling a while back I found this wooden box.
I thought it would be the perfect size for my accumulation of stuff, and it was priced right at only $3. So I nabbed it.
After giving it a good scrub with soap and water and then letting it dry in the sun for a day, I painted it with just one coat of Dixie Belle’s Midnight Sky. Once the paint was dry I sanded it heavily to give it a really worn appearance. Then I added the Laundry & Co stencil from Maison de Stencils using Dixie Belle’s Putty.
Today’s q tip; I highly recommend doing any sanding before adding your stenciling when working with highly contrasting colors like black and white, or red and white … if you wait until after adding the stencil you will get a mess when the fine sanding dust from the black paint works its way into the white (or, in this case, Putty) stenciling.
So, I sanded first, wiped away the dust and then added the stencil.
FYI, I usually use a small paint brush to fill in the bridges on these kinds of stencils, and I did do that on this one except for the word “AND”. I must have missed that one!
After the stenciled design was dry, I used DB’s Big Mama’s Butta to finish off the box.
Next up, I gathered up all of my vintage goodies to fill it up including the Watkins Household Hints book I picked up a while back …
the washboard …
some vintage wooden clothespins …
and hangers …
and finally this adorable vintage embroidered clothes pin bag.
I filled up the box, and I even threw in the magazine for good measure.
Sweet, right?
It would make a fantastic house warming or wedding shower gift for someone who appreciates vintage. One could also just add all of these items to their laundry room for some instant vintage flair.
I’ll be taking this one in to the shop where I sell on consignment and we’ll see if it goes, unless of course one of my locals wants to snatch it up first. If interested, be sure to check my ‘available for local sale‘ page for more details.
q is for quandie 
Oh this is fabulous! I love the combo of items and that laundry bag is the best. I imagine some young lady stitching away on that and romantically imagining the joys of doing laundry as a newlywed only to wake up to the reality that it’s not all that awesome😂. But the bag makes a mundane chore fun at least. Anyway the box is just perfect and just perfect for vintage lovers!
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LOL, rude awakening 😉
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Such a great compilation of laundry items assembled and displayed wonderfully. It will sell quickly!
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Thanks Laura!
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Love the vintage laundry collection! I have a small noncollection of Watkins products including the black painted wooden carrier that was my father-in-law’s father’s tote (perhaps from when he sold Watkins door-to-door) My father-in–law also sold Watkins products in his shoe repair shop for years. When he retired, he sold and delivered the products locally until he was unable to drive in his 90’s. So I have a soft spot for Watkins products and your household hints book hit good memories! Thanks for always having great blog entries!
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That’s so cool, Karen! I sold Watkins double strength vanilla extract as a fundraiser when I was in scouts. Good memories!
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Did you see my post (here) when we visited the Watkins headquarters in Winona? I shared a photo of one of those black totes that was on display there. You’re so lucky to have that, I’m sure it’s a prized possession!
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Mine is an exact match to the one you saw at the Watkins headquarters except the handle on my carrier is not painted black like the rest of the tote. It is definitely one of my favorite pieces!
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I can see why!
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Love the box! …And i thought i already bought everything i wanted from Mason de Stencils.. Adding this one to my next purchase. I became a regular customer since you introduced their stencils here on the blog – thank you!
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I’ve gotten quite a bit of use out of this laundry stencil. It’s great for so many things!
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Oh, how cute is this! Great way to group these vintage items together – much more impressive than separating them as individual items. Bet this will sell in a flash!
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Fingers crossed!
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Combining all of these items to make a theme box is such a creative talent that you have Miss Quandie! I love it (-: And yes, accumulating, like non-collections. can really sneak up on you!
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Thanks so much Connie!
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That set is a lot of fun. Hope it sells quickly.
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Me too 🙂
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Nice creative work on the wooden box! Love the wooden clothespins, hangers, and the memories of touring the Watkins Company as a small child!
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Thank you!
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Love the display…I have a similar box in blue. Laundry isn’t the chore I remember from the 50s…with wringer washer & rinse tubs! I don’t mind the washing/drying (thanks to machines) but…the folding & putting away! 🙂 I always loved hanging my sheets outside on the line…they smelled so fresh…like sunshine. (Wish I had one now.)
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