The following is a tale of an eventful evening and a few valuable lessons learned.

When I started making dinner, I thought to myself, “Should I change out of my dress first?” I pretty much always wear an apron and it seemed pretty silly to change into a whole new outfit just to cook, especially considering the mountain of laundry that always seems to be building in the corner of our bedroom. So I left my brand new J. Crew sundress on, threw on an apron, and proceeded with dinner.

I wasn’t making anything too fancy. Just oven roasted potatoes and broccoli, a fairly simple meal really. The potatoes and onions were chopped and then the fun began as I brought out the olive oil, an absolute essential in any meal made at our house. I started generously drizzling it across the pan of potatoes when all of a sudden the jar gave a burp, and a splash flew through the air landing in no spot other than the two inches of sundress hanging out from the bottom of my apron. At this point, I hastily threw the potatoes into the oven, ignoring the remaining ingredients and abandoning the broccoli all together, and raced to the computer.

I really didn’t think you could ever remove olive oil stains from clothing but was willing to give anything a shot. I thought about calling my mother but realized she wouldn’t really appreciate such an interruption in her sleep at 11 pm.

A quick Google search and I was well on my way to dress recovery. The two most commonly mentioned stain removers were dish soap and shampoo. With not a moment to lose, I grabbed them both and got to work. Miracle of all miracles, the stain was gone in a matter of seconds. I really couldn’t believe it. A quick rinse with cool water and the dress was as good as new.

Side note: I also had to look up if hot or cold water sets a stain. I’m pretty sure that is one of those little things that your mother teaches you from about the age of three, yet you always seem to forget when it counts.

Lessons learned: You can remove olive oil stains. And change out of your new sundress before doing any cooking!

Here are a few helpful links for removing all sorts of stains.

Real Simple‘s Stain Removal 101 covers everything from cranberry to tree sap.

Martha Stewart mentions the basics. Also, take a look at the printable Stain First Aid chart.

Do you know any other stain removal tips or tricks? It would be great to add some to my arsenal.