Works for Me Wednesday is a “backwards edition” this week, wherein we can ask a question for all the experienced experts out there.

My question is this: some of the new towels I buy sprout fuzz balls over over themselves and everything else in the washer the first several times they’re washed. Sometimes after repeated washing and drying it finally stops doing so, but some of them just keep on. I don’t know if it has to do with the quality of the towel: I’ve gotten them at three different places, and it hasn’t seemed to have made a difference. Any ideas?

Works For Me Wednesday is now hosted at We Are That Family.

Have you ever been trying to take a group picture only to have one of the subjects strongly protest, put a hand in front of her face, or run off? Most people do this because they feel self-conscious. But what they don’t realize is that they are calling even more attention to themselves when they protest or run or make disparaging remarks about themselves. And sometimes they even mar what was intended to be a commemoration of a memorable occasion.

I know sometimes when we see ourselves in a picture, we’re shocked. The image differs from what we see in the mirror. All our flaws seem seem to stand out. But everyone has already been seeing us that way and they still love us. 🙂 And they want the picture because they like you and want to remember you in that way.

After all, when you look over pictures of relatives or special occasions, you’re not looking for super-model subjects, right? You’re looking at people who mean something to you and remembering the good time you had together. That is all that the people who want your picture desire as well.

So go ahead and get in the picture and smile. 😀

That works for everyone.

For more tips each Wednesday see Rocks In My Dryer.

This isn’t going to be a full-fledged how-to-pack-for-camp post, but just a couple of tips I’ve learned the hard way.

1. When my middle son first started going to camp, he would consistently lose or leave behind a few things, and they would consistently be new things I had bought just before camp. I got so frustrated — until I realized that, because they were new, he didn’t recognize them as his when he was packing things up. So it might be helpful to buy their new swimming trunks or shorts or whatever they need a little while before camp so they can wear them and get used to them.

2. As I unpacked their suitcases after camp, I would find unused items. When I asked about them, they would reply, “Oh! I didn’t know that was in there.”

It took me years to learn in general that the best way to teach a child how to do something is to have them do it with you first, then to have them do it under your supervision, and then to do it alone to be inspected by you later. Somehow it didn’t dawn on me to apply this to packing until my oldest sons were teens and said they would rather pack for themselves so they would know what they had and where it was. That makes sense: if someone else packed for me I would waste time rifling through looking for what I needed rather than knowing just where to look.

So with with my youngest son this year, we discussed what he needed to take; I helped him gather items; he packed while I watched; I gave him a tip about using socks to stuff into corners or spots between stacks; before he left I double checked with him about whether he had gotten certain items. It was much less work and stress for me, plus he has a handle on what he has with him and is learning a life skill. He even engaged in some decision-making about what to leave behind and what he could use twice (so as not to need a replacement) when his suitcase was getting too full.

Works for me! You can see other workable tips every Wednesday at Rocks In My Dryer.

Did you know that if you itemize your tax deductions, you can claim donations to charities?

To do so, you need to make a specific list of what you are donating and get a receipt when you donate the items. When we have done it, we have simply listed “5 boys’ shirts; 6 men’s slacks,” etc. The recipient does not assign a value to what you have donated: you must do that. There are guides for how much you can claim for donated items at the Goodwill site and the Salvation Army site. I imagine you can use the same guidelines if you donate to a local rescue shelter or children’s home.

For example, you can claim $2-12 for a shirt, $2-10 for pants, $3-20 for a dress, depending on the condition. That’s more than you could make at a yard sale on those items. Household items seem to have about the same value that you might get at a yard sale, maybe a little more (lamp: $4-12; books: $.75-1.50; chair: $5-15).

There is a much more detailed document titled “Determining the Value of Donated Property” on the IRS web site at which covers multitudes of types of donated items. It also warns that there can be a 20-40% penalty if it is discovered that you overstated the value of a donated item. The IRS document on Charitable Contributions details what types of organizations and donations qualify for deductions.

The advantage to a yard sale is that you can get the cash immediately for your items. But if you don’t need the money immediately, you might make out better donating the items and claiming the deductions. Both efforts take time: the yard sale takes time to price things, advertise, and spend a morning actually selling and then packing up what’s left over. Donating to charitable organizations takes time to make lists and assign values and haul your stuff to the donation site (although some charities will pick up items) and then keep up with the paperwork until tax time. It just depends on which method you find less frustrating and confusing.

Of course, if you have things you need to get rid of and you don’t itemize your deductions and don’t want to have a yard sale, you can just take them to a donation site and drop them off without dealing with itemizing or receipts. Or you can donate them to a charity that is holding a yard sale. Some things might do well on eBay, but to list things item by item would be a bit tedious if you have a lot, and I don’t know that common everyday household items would do well. Some items, particularly children’s clothes and women’s clothes, might do well at a consignment store. Mrs. Wilt had a great post about that this week.

See Rocks In My Dryer to find more great tips or share your own with us.

The first WFMW of the month is often a themed one, and this time Shannon has asked for our favorite online shops.

I love online shopping! I probably did at least half of my Christmas shopping online.

Probably everyone knows about Amazon.com. I buy a lot of books and DVDs there, and I’ve rejoiced to find used out-of-print books there, too. But I have also bought a tent and toys and I don’t know what all else.

I buy many Christian books at my local Christian bookstore — I do want to support the local economy — but what I can’t find there I look for at Christianbook.com. I’ve also bought some nice plaques there.

If you love crafts, the place to go is Etsy, where individual crafters sell their handmade items in a wide variety of categories.

I buy most of my clothes online through Woman Within (formerly the Lane Bryant catalog), Roaman’s, Just My Size, and Jessica London (all of those are plus-size stores) as well as Blair and Bedford Fair. I also occasionally buy clothes at Coldwater Creek and Silhouettes, but generally they are beyond what I like to spend. Many department stores also have online shops.

Here is a listing of other frequented places:

Current: stationery, gifts.

Oriental Trading Company: Birthday party items, also good for classrooms and VBS.

ThinkGeek: all sorts of nerdy t-shirts and gadgets like USB “toys” (like this rocket launcher).

Fabric.com: I found the Waverly fabric I wanted for my family room curtains for less, plus I found the perfect shade, which local stores didn’t carry. For many, if not all, of their fabrics, you can order a swatch first to see how you like it.

Terry’s Village: cute home decor stuff.

Lillian Vernon: I’ve bought storage-related things that that I couldn’t find locally, but they have gift items, home decor, toys, personalized items, and a number of other things.

Domestications: sheets, bedspreads and comforters, table linens.

Nanalulu’s Linen Closet: Beautiful tables linens and handkerchiefs.

Graphics for my blog or ladies’ ministry newsletter: CLM Graphics and Graphic Garden (both of these sites do have a few free graphic downloads as well).

That’s all I can think of for the moment! I did want to add, though, that many of these stores can be reached through Igive.com, which is an organization that coordinates charitable giving with shopping: a portion of each sale goes to the charity of your choice. I try to remember to start any online shopping there (they have an a-z listing of the stores who work with them as well as a “mall” where you can peruse by the type of shop you are looking for). If you don’t have a charity of choice that you support, may I suggest the Transverse Myelitis Association.

Check our more of the best of online shopping at Rocks In My Dryer.