I have reached the stage in life where I do not religiously shave my underarms or my legs. I admit to being more conscious of it in the summer when my legs are exposed in all their blotchy, scarred, bruised, and pale glory, than the winter. I really like depilitories for how well they work, but I hate the lingering smell! Back to the razor…

Other things I am much more consistent in shaving, like my socks. And some sweaters. I admit to shaving them more than I do underarms or legs.

Now that I use the “good stuff” more often than not in my knitting projects, I have discovered that they need an occasional touch-up to look and feel their best. Also, when I succumb to the inexpensive cashmere found at Kohls and Tar-jhay, those sweaters also benefit from a regular depilitorizing under the arms. Pilling underarms are *so* uncouth!

The oldest of my handknit socks are 5 years old. Most of them are worn, washed, and air-dried every week. The heavier winter pair (that broke several bamboo needles in the knitting because I was knitting so tightly) is the one requiring the most attendance. They need shaving every third or fourth wash.

The best tool I have used for this was a battery operated fuzz-buster. It was a great Christmas gift that got a lot of use until…well… until it got dropped once too often. Granted, it was taking longer to get the job done because the blades were definitely showing the wear of their 4 years of hard use, but when you fumble-drop it on concrete instead of rug too many times, it will break up into shards that disappear into dark crannies under and in back of the washer and dryer. This will happen during sweater and winter sock season when you really need it the most. Guaranteed.

Ironing is no longer a common activity. Many people do not even own an iron. Jess was surprised her son even knew what a iron *was*! I, on the other hand, have an advanced degree in laundry which includes the related fields of ironing and removing pilling from clothing, furniture, hand-knit toys, and yes, even woollen dryer balls (I bet a lot of you don’t even know what they are, let alone what they are used for!).

No working fuzz-buster was a problem I could not ignore. I knew I could find them online but the wait for delivery would irritate the daylights out of me.

I tried the evil local Wal-Mart. The store greeter did not know what I was asking for. Did I mean the lint rollers? No, I meant the electric lint and pill removers. Huh? She asked a co-worker who also tried to send me to the lint rollers. Asking store personnel was not really expected to provide any useful answer, but I was ever hopeful that they could shorten my search. And I did find one in the aisle with the laundry accessories (not the drug, health and beauty aides the stores aides suggested). There among the clothes pins, hangers, spray wrinkle remover (don’t get me started!), and net washing bags, was a single, battery-operated fuzz buster.

Excuse me while I go shave some socks. It’s finally decided to be winter around here, and I need them!