How to get Sharpie off wood

This "tip" comes to mind today because the crowns the kids made at Janie's BD party as a craft were decorated with varous things, including glitter markers. They got marker all over the coffee table. (No biggie!) And, when my girls put their crowns face down on the hardwood floor in our home's entryway, the marker was "shared" with the floor. :-)

So. Here is one of my favorite house-caring tips.

HOW TO REMOVE SHARPIE FROM WOOD (tables, floors, etc.)

You need two things:
1. Target store brand Flushable Toddler Wipes (the wipes are flushable, not the toddlers)
They come in a blue and green plastic wrapper and are priced around $1.27 per package. These are good for LOTS of things.

2. A can of aerosol hairspray.
I use TRESemme' brand Tres Two ultra fine mist. Works great!

Spray the markings on the wood with hairspray. The mark will appear brighter for a moment. Don't panic. Wipe the hairspray off with a Target toddler wipe. Use both sides, so you get all the hairspray off.

WHA-LA! No more Sharpie, or other marker.

One time when May was 2, she colored on her new lavendar colored summer pants with a ball-point pen. There were marks ALLLLLLL over the legs of the pants. I lay them out flat and sprayed them with hairspray and the marks disappeared. I washed the pants as usual and they were good as new.

Another time, when she was 3, she got a Sharpie and was coloring at the kitchen table (wood) with it. She decided the table needed embellishment. That table was harder to get clean (maybe teak is harder to clean?) but I did eventually get all the Sharpie off.

I hope this tip is of some use to someone. Perhaps someone whose wood has been embellished by the crowns made at Janie's birthday party? Um. Sorry.

-Holly