TheCleaners.net

Sometimes I feel like I live in a foreign country -- especially when it comes to deciphering meanings of things like flowers at Valentine's Day.  I send what I like, but now that I've learned more I realize I've been sending mixed messages for years!

This week, learn more about what messages are hidden in the colors of the roses you select for your loved one, and learn the language of petaled love (instead of getting hit over the head with the thorny end of the stem.)

We've also got tips for dealing with what you'll be wearing on Valentine's Day -- red.  It's tricky to clean without turning the whole load a rather nauseating shade of pink, so be sure to check out how to do it better.

Happy Valentine's Day -- you make our hearts beat faster!

Jim Nixon,
The Cleaners

Quote of the Week

I ran up the door, closed the stairs,
said my PJ's and put on my prayers,
turned off the bed and hopped on the light,
all because you kissed me goodnight!!

A Coupon You'll LOVE!

Red is for love... right up until you try to clean it at home and it dyes the rest of your load pink.  So, let us handle the reds for you.  We'll clean a RED item at no charge when we dryclean $10 of other items. (i.e., excludes laundered items.) (Include the first page of this e-mail with your order. Offer expires February 21, 2004.  Cannot be combined with other offers.)

The Flowery Language of Love

You know a co-worker has done something great, or fallen in love, or lost someone close to them when you suddenly see flowers appear on his or her desk.  Flowers seem to be the ubiquitous language of love that says more than words ever could.

Hundreds of years ago, flowers actually DID speak.  In the days of Queen Victoria and the ultimate propriety, lovers exchanged messages through the kind and color of flowers they sent one another, carried or wore.  At a glance, the message was clear.

We've lost a bit of that ability to know what the colors of flowers symbolize, so let's go through the vocabulary of roses.  That way  when you give them or receive them this Valentine's Day, they'll be more significant than ever.  (If you choose flowers with a meaning in mind, share the meaning in your card.)

Color Me Love

You can purchase roses in a variety of colors, and each has a meaning that has evolved over time.  Here are a few of the more well-known:

• Red -- Romantic love, passion, congratulations, "I love you!" 
• Coral -- Desire, excitement, "You are my heart's desire."
• Orange -- Fascination
• Yellow -- Friendship, joy, gladness, new beginnings, "I care". (Good for new parents, graduates, newlyweds, friends.)
• Dark Pink -- Gratitude, thanks, appreciation.  (Good for a special teacher or mentor, caretaker, childcare provider, pet sitter.)
• Light Pink -- Sweetness, grace, admiration, gentleness. (Good for young girls, Mom and Grandma alike.)
• Lavender -- Love at first sight, "You enchant me."
• White -- Innocence, happy love (Bridal), purity.

You can also mix colors together to enhance the meaning:

• Red and white -- Unity, "I love only you".
• Red and yellow -- Congratulations!
• Pastels -- "I care", "All the best".
• Or mix and match your favorite meanings and colors above.

Of course, if the one you love also loves yellow roses above all else, don't let meanings stand in your way -- send what is preferred.  But when you're trying to make a statement, a rose can carry the fragrance of your message in a memorable way.

Learn More

Roses aren't the only flowers with meaning.  The links below will give you more information about roses and other flowers and their meaning.

• The meaning of flowers -- A list of several commonly-given flowers and their meanings.
• Know what you're sending -- Tulips, Camellias, Daffodils, Daisies... they all mean something.
• A-Z Flower Meanings
• A vast list of meanings -- alphabetic listing with breakdown by first letter.
• How to grow your own roses.

Dressing Red for Valentine's Day

If you forget what the date is when you sashay out the door on February 14, you won't be in doubt about it for long.  Everybody will be wearing red, or accessorizing with red.  And that means lots of red is going to get spilled on, wrinkled and otherwise "lived in" on that day.  And you know how you hate to wash anything red!

Why Red Runs.

Red is a vibrant color, and the frequent butt of jokes since more than a few of us have ended up with pink underwear or towels or sheets because "somebody" slipped a red sweater or shirt into the wash when no one else was looking.  But why does that happen?  You don't end up with green underwear, or yellow.  Just red (and perhaps blue from jeans, or grey from black items.)

The plain fact is that the manufacturers go overboard on vibrant colors.  They intend for you to fall in love with that cute little red and white polkadot dress, or that gorgeous soft red sweater.  And you do, because they've not only dyed the item, but over-dyed it.  The excess dye comes off when you wash the garment -- much to the distress of the rest of your wash.

How to handle the Running Red blues.

If you have something you want to clean at home, test it for color-fastness first.  You can do that by wetting an inconspicuous part of the garment (like a seam flap) and pressing a clean white paper towel onto the wet fabric.  If the towel comes away with the tell-tale stain, you know you've got a bleeder on your hands. 

• Read the care label carefully before proceeding!
• Clean according to the label, and use one of the new dye-catching sheets that are available where you buy your laundry supplies.  They look like a dryer sheet, but soak up "loose" dye in the machine before it has a chance to redeposit on other garments.  For a real bleeder, probably better use more than one to be safe.

We deal with red as cautiously as you should.  Because we get a volume of garments in at one time, we can usually arrange a load that is red garments only, and save everybody the headache.  So don't be afraid to leave the reds to us.

Happy Valentine's Day from all of us!