LIFE

Bargain Advocate | Outdoor living: A lesson learned

Abbey Roy

A couple months ago, when I and everyone else and everyone else’s brother were getting swept up in the “Outdoor Living” movement as we do every late-spring-early-summer, I inherited an outdoor canopy that had been living in my parents’ basement since our wedding.

In its former life, it was a decoration — sans fabric top, embellished with tiny lights, autumn leaves and brown tulle — above the dance floor on that magical October evening in 2008.

It was perfect and beautiful and we have some great chicken dance photos with it in the background.

For its second go-around, the canopy has proven itself a superb shade provider on our sunny back deck, which wasn’t getting much use this summer because of, well, the sun. I made a couple adjustments to soften it up and help it create an outdoor “room,” of sorts, that makes the backyard a more enjoyable place to be.

Since this canopy was quite literally the “no-frills” model — a little more along the lines of what you might take on a camping trip to shelter your picnic table — I decided to deck it out with curtains made of fabric drop cloths from the local home improvement big-box store, hung with cheap curtain rings strung on heavy wire, both from another big-box store. I also sprung for two strands of those cute outdoor lights with round bulbs (which, incidentally, break very easily) to make it a little cozier.

It came together quite well, and rather inexpensively.

... But here’s the thing: It’s been a couple months, and we haven’t been doing much outdoor living — which, I know, is terribly un-Bargain Advocate-like, but if ever there were a time to feel justified in one’s use of air conditioning, it’s when a gal is seven months pregnant and it’s 90 degrees outside with 100 percent humidity.

And then there’s the rain.

Thanks to a series of downpours a couple weeks ago, the once-fresh-looking, off-white drop cloth curtains have fallen victim to a predator with which any not-exactly-weather-proofed fabric must contend: Mildew.

Of course this possibility should have occurred to me before “Pinspiration” struck, but the blogger from Texas who used drop cloths for her porch curtains made them look so picturesque and fabulous, I just had to try them for myself.

Plus, budget-friendly! Who cares about practical things like weather?

Turns out the Bargain Advocate should have, because now she is in Damage Control Mode.

Don’t get me wrong: The curtains still look decent enough — but unless preventative measures are taken, they won’t last longer than a season.

To mitigate the problem, I Googled “Getting rid of mildew on fabric.”

An article on Reader’s Digest told me I should try soaking the fabric in a mixture of Borax and water; this yielded minimal results, even after hours of soaking and a thorough scrubbing of the particularly mildewy areas.

A dousing with vinegar and scrub with a salt-lemon juice paste were equally ineffective.

Plan D: wash the fabric in hot water with bleach. This did, indeed, improve the condition of the fabric overall — it looked (unsurprisingly) less dingy and the mildew had definitely lessened, but it was still there.

Not to mention the process of putting the drop cloths in the washing machine led to a couple detours: The fabric became so badly frayed in the machine I decided (as I’d dismissively thought when I hung the curtains the first time) they would need to be hemmed. When I set out to do that, however, the needle on my sewing machine broke (didn’t even know that could happen), necessitating an impromptu trip to Big Box Store No. 3, where I purchased a set of replacement needles — a wise decision, it turns out, because there has since been an additional casualty.

Whew. What a journey to create my own little backyard version of Better Homes & Gardens!

As I write this, I am somewhere in the long process of washing, de-fraying, pinning, hemming, re-washing, drying and re-hanging several pieces of drop cloth that I am not sure will keep their new, crisp, less-mildewy whiteness past the end of September.

Next, I shall be purchasing waterproofing spray in hopes of extending these poor dropcloths’ lives into 2018 or so. Wish me luck.

Why did I just devote an entire week’s column to explaining my dilemma to you?

First, to assure you the Bargain Advocate may know how to find a good deal, but she isn’t always smart in her execution. In fact, she can be downright foolish.

Secondly, to encourage you to thoroughly research Pinterest projects before you tackle them and to take the weather into account, when appropriate.

Third, to remind you it’s always better to do something right the first time. I should have hemmed the curtains before I hung them, but I was in such a rush to get them up that I made a conscious decision not to. Now I’ve created additional work for myself, which means less time spent outdoors (when it’s finally not sweltering) enjoying my little piece of heaven in the middle of Newark, Ohio.

Don’t make the same mistake, my friends — there’s still nearly a month left of summer. Be smart and enjoy it.

If you have insight about a frugal living topic or an idea for a future column, please email me at amroy@nncogannett.com. I’d love to hear from you!

Happy saving,

Abbey