Tuesday, July 23, 2013

The writing on the wall... and all over the house!

The kids were being unusually quiet one morning, and after a while I found them lying under the coffee table. I thought they were just playing "house" un pala...


they were drawing all over the under side of the table!!!

so serious pa talaga!
look at those happy misfits! how can you get mad at that? ;p

The good news is it's UNDER the table so it's not seen naman. And besides, I always appreciate their creativity and artwork...


The bad news is that they have extended their "creativity" all over our walls and other parts of the house! Here's just some that I was able to take pics of:

this was caused by a blue crayon and it was much darker before I tried removing it with baby wipes...
this was caused by a gel pen and it extends farther across the wall...
more pen marks all over the cabinets...
all our bed sheets have scribbles and lines from colored markers...

I started to do research on how to remove crayon/pen marks from walls and found this article with the following suggestions:

Baking Soda
Have your walls been redecorated with some original crayon masterpieces? Don’t lose your cool. Just grab a damp rag, dip it in some baking soda, and lightly scrub the marks. They should come off with a minimal amount of effort.

Lighter Fluid
Did the kids leave their mark with crayons on your walls during that last visit? No problem. Dab some lighter fluid on a clean rag and wipe till the marks vanish.

Mayonnaise
Here’s a simple way to remove crayon that requires hardly any elbow grease: Simply rub some mayonnaise on the crayon marks and let it soak in for several minutes. Then wipe the surface clean with a damp cloth.
Pencil Erasers
Your toddler has gone wild with the crayons, but he drew on the walls and not on paper. You’ve tried everything to get it off, but not this: an eraser. Try “erasing” the crayon marks to get the wall back to a clean slate.

Steel Wool
Your toddler just created a work of crayon art on paper. Unfortunately, it’s on the wallpaper. Use a bit of steel wool soap pad to just skim the surface, making strokes in one direction instead of scrubbing in a circle, and your wall will be a fresh “canvas” in no time.

Toothpaste
Did crayon-toting kids get creative on your wall? Roll up your sleeves and grab a tube of non-gel toothpaste and a rag or — better yet — a scrub brush. Squirt the toothpaste on the wall and start scrubbing. The fine abrasive in the toothpaste will rub away the crayon every time. Rinse the wall with water.


Vinegar
Kids often manage to get crayon marks on their clothing. You can easily get these stains off by rubbing them with a recycled toothbrush soaked in undiluted vinegar before washing them.


We tried using an old toothbrush and some toothpaste (with baking soda as an ingredient) and it worked after a couple of scrubs! The crayons were much easier to remove than the pen marks though. But at least the walls are looking a lot cleaner now. :)


I hate having to keep their crayons or markers away because I know how much they love them. And even though we give them lots of paper and coloring books to draw on, sometimes they just can't resist doodling on areas they know are off limits (even themselves!). I've accepted the fact that I will never have a perfectly clean house - not until the kids are probably in grade school? So they can scribble on the walls, furniture, and sheets all they want, I just told hubby that I want to have everything repainted and replaced in a couple of years (talaga lang ha! :p).

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