The Boy recently introduced me to Macklemore’s latest hit, Thrift Shop, which is sweeping the nation, and perhaps the world. Since I only listen to talk radio in the car (I’m such a nerd!) he had to fill me in on the latest happenings in “real” radio. I’ll admit, the song is catchy, hilarious, and holds a special place in my thrift-loving heart.

I got thrifty AND crafty in celebration of MLK’s birthday, and wanted to share all the deets. I was headed to the gym that fateful morning, when I passed my favorite thrift store, and saw a packed parking lot and signs for 50% off EVERYTHING. Obviously I slammed on brakes and pulled in. It was a madhouse. And no, I never made it to the gym, but I looked very sporty in my workout clothes, and called to ask about kickboxing classes from the parking lot, so that is just like working out, right?? Right.

This is the beauty that caught my eye:

I have been wanting a container with a spout for my laundry detergent for quite some time, thanks to some evil genius on Pinterest, and this giant jug won my heart. The price tag did, anyways:

$4.99 and 50% off? SOLD. She was a little plain Jane, but I knew I could fix that. There was already a hole in the side and a spout taped inside the jug, so I just had to assemble. Also, the top was just a plastic open ring, so I cut a piece of cork to size and simply super glued it on. I browsed the interwebs for cute laundry signs, slogans, etc., and settled on this one:

I can hear your sighs of relief that this post wasn’t an annoucement that The Boy and I are running away to join a nudist colony. That wouldn’t be good for anyone, except The Dog, who is always shamelessly naked. I didn’t like the white on beige contrast, and I wanted the paper to look a bit aged, so I soaked some coffee in water, squished it up a bit, and “painted” it onto the paper. Once dry, it looked exactly the way I had hoped, and matched the jug perfectly.

A little mod podge to hold in place, a few coats over it to make it moisture-resistant, and voila!

Here’s the catch, because you know I share it all – I am admitting for the first time that the dispenser method may not be the most practical. When shopping for furniture, clothing, housewares, pretty much anything, The Boy prefers function over form. He just doesn’t care about aesthetics. (“This puke green couch is super comfortable, plus it has a pull-out bed! It’s perfect!” or “NO. You CANNOT move the knife block left three feet because then it is not right where I prep food and thus it is NOT convenient.” or “Absolutely not. You cannot put a dresser in a CLOSET. It makes no sense.”) These are the battles I face. I’m sure no one everyone feels very sorry for me and my struggles.

The problem is that the detergent comes out veeeerrrrrryyyyyyy slowly. Painfully slow. Then, when you finally have enough detergent (or you are too impatient to keep waiting and say screw it and use 2/3 of the recommended amount), you pull your little cup away … and it drips. Several large drips. Even if you scrape off a few of the drips, they keep coming. And where do they land? On top of the washing machine. Sigh. The Boy did laundry this past weekend, and I kept waiting for his disgusted comments about HOW DUMB the new detergent dispenser was, but he never said a word, which only means one of two things: (1) He did laundry WITHOUT detergent, which is entirely possible; or (2) He used the extra container of detergent and never touched the jug.

Any guesses?

Here is The Boy’s response after reading this post:

I’m just glad he didn’t go with solution number 1. This is proof that men can be trained!