After noticing that the sheets on my bed were worn through (How did that happen?!), I bought a new set at Macy’s. Then I noticed my bathroom towels were becoming frayed, so I ordered new ones from Restoration Hardware. Then I called the local SPCA to see if they had a need for old linens–and boy, did they!
So while I was on a roll, I went through my linen closet and added the many sheets and towels and blankets that I no longer used–lots of them could never be used because they were the old flat style sheets that are no longer large enough to tuck under today’s thicker mattresses.
It was quite a pile I dropped off last week–took me three trips to carry everything inside. The receptionist was delighted. They can be used in many ways, like to clean animals or use for bedding inside cages. It turns out that there is usually a need for old towels and such at animal shelters, and I learned what they DIDN’T want–quilted items. Evidently the batting can cause choking or other problems.
So now I know some little puppy is snuggled up against the cuddly wool blanket I dropped off, and another dirty dog is being washed clean and dried with my old towels. Makes me happy!
Spring cleaning season is fast approaching. Is it time to clean out your linen closet?
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About Mary Miley
I was born at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, NY, where my father taught tactics to the cadets, so it's no surprise that my earliest memories are of the Corps drilling on the parade grounds to the rhythm of the Army band. I attended public schools in Pennsylvania, Illinois, and France, then worked my way through the College of William and Mary in Virginia as a costumed tour guide at Colonial Williamsburg, experiencing first hand the pleasures of wearing 18th-century attire during the sweltering summer. After putting my husband through law school selling cheese in Cleveland—aw, come on, it was a recession!—I returned to Williamsburg for a masters degree in history and a full-time job at Colonial Williamsburg, working with antiques and reproductions. It was there that I really learned how to write and how to make history come alive.
When my children were young, I left Williamsburg for a thirteen-year stint teaching American history and museum studies at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, and at the same time consulted with museums across the country on matters retail and financial. A free-lance writer since 1986, I have published a dozen nonfiction books and more than 200 magazine articles, most on history, travel, and business topics.
During the past few years, I've branched into fiction, writing the first two of a mystery series and a romantic suspense, all set in the 1920s. The first, THE IMPERSONATOR, won the national contest for Best First Crime Novel and was published in 2013 by St. Martin's/Minotaur; its sequel, SILENT MURDERS, came out in 2014.
I live in Richmond, Virginia, with my husband, an attorney. My greatest pleasures are traveling, playing the pipe organ with all the stops out, and reading mysteries.
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