Tutorial Tuesday!

Fall Cleaning Checklist:

Pumpkin Spice Playdough:

Woodland Elf Ornament:

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An InLinkz Link-up

Bananas That Last

I tried the banana tip I have seen several times online - wrap the stem end of the banana bunch with plastic wrap to slow the ripening process....

It worked!  I would say that though my bananas continued to soften, they stayed yellow twice as long!  Pinterest winner!

Curtain Panels!

After an exhaustive search for some new curtain panels that would coordinate with my new furniture, I had almost given up on new curtains for my family room. Everything was either too expensive, too fancy, not the right color, too short, blah, blah, blah...

Suddenly, I saw these 96 inch panels from Hobby Lobby - of all places!  I decided to give them a try. I mean, what is there to lose? These panels were only $32 ... wait I just noticed that they are now $16.99.  Let me get pissed about that for a minute...

I'm not even being paid for this, but I just had to pass along this bargain!  I really love the pattern and color but I have to admit I was skeptical when I opened the box.  They are really scratchy feeling and smelled terrible when I pulled them out!  I stuck them in the washer quick-cycle and let them air dry.  They are still pretty scratchy, but I can't remember the last time I cuddled up to my curtains so I have decided to let it pass.

I hung them using the clips that slide onto the rod because I didn't like the way they were hanging when directly on the rod.  I could manipulate the pleats more easily to get them to fall more gracefully.

Any other good options for curtains you want to share?

Tons of Cleaning and Organizing Tips

If you are like me and 90% of the people in the world, January is a time to resolve to clean up your messes and organize your home and life.  Here are a few pins I have saved over the past year to help me do just that.

30 Days to a Clean House:

Remove Sticky Build Up From Appliances:

20 Days to Organize and Clean Your Home: (we could have this done by the end of the month!)

Martha Stewart's Tub Scrub:

Here are some past posts I have written on the subject:

*Pantry Make Over

*Shoe Pocket Organizers Around the House

*Fridge Organization

*Shiny Kitchen Sink

*Funky Dishwasher

I Fixed My Dryer!!!

First, can I say how satisfying to fix something without having to ask The Big Guy for help?  Can I get an Amen?

I have a Whirlpool Duet washer and dryer combo, and a few months ago I told you How To Fix Your Washing Machine for overly long wash cycles and the "Suds" error message.  

Well, now it's time to tune up the dryer.

I've noticed that over the past few months it has been taking longer and longer for my loads to dry.  Pretty soon I was drying every load on "heavy duty" and sometimes it was still a little damp at the end.  So frustrating!

I'm good about emptying the lint filter, but I wondered if some lint was escaping into the area around the filter?  Let me walk you through it...

First and most importantly - either unplug your machine or turn off the breaker.  Try to turn it on afterward to be sure no electricity is getting to your dryer.  I'll wait...

Now, you can see my lint filter is in the front and held in place by screws in the front of the dryer:

And screws inside the dryer on the back of the filter (view from inside looking out):

After you remove all the screws, the pocket that holds the lint filter in place will come loose from the dryer.  It will be attached by wires so just hinge it open.

Now you can see doooowwwnnn into a dark, scary hole that is full of scary stuff like random lint and paper clips...although as you reach your hand into this hole your imagination will trick you into thinking it is full of snakes and mice and spiders.

You will want to rig up all sorts of contraptions to reach into this hole for you like bottle brushes and kitchen tongs wrapped in towels and yard sticks but really your hands work best.

Just take a deep breath and reach in there and pull out all the lint clogging up the bottom of this void and up into the pipe that runs under and out of the dryer.  I found it easier if I squeezed my eyes shut while squealing.  You will get a shiver and feel like you have cooties when you are finished.

Here is the collection of crap I pulled out of the bottom of my lint collection area.  See? No spiders or rats or snakes!

Scoop up all the lint and run the vacuum hose around inside the hole to clean up all the dust.

When you load your dryer the next time, you will have dry clothes lickety split!  (remember to return the power to your machine or you will panic and think you broke it...um, not that I did that or anything...)

Now, go lay down, you've had a trying day...

My Frugal (Cheap?) Tissue Trick

It's tough because the small boxes of Kleenex are oh so cute...

And the big boxes of Kleenex are so ugly - but cheaper...

So I refill the small, cute boxes I keep in the powder room for guests.  Shhhhhh!!!

Did I just cross the line from "frugal" into "cheap"?

Do you refill anything to keep the cuter container?

Simple Charging Station

Since Christmas, I have been collecting boxes, making plans, googling ideas, saving things on Pinterest...all to come up with a fancy charging station for the 6+ gadgets in our home.  There were routinely cords everywhere and it was a giant mess the way it was.

I finally took a step back and settled for a more simple version that gets the job done.

Rather than monkeying with building something, I looked around to make use of things I already had in my house.  What did I end up with?  Sharpies and a multi-socket plug adapter!

We each chose a color for our chargers and used the Sharpies to color the cube and the ends of the plugs.  Then I picked an out of the way spot on the counter to devote to our charging station.  6 adapters plug into one outlet and I can pull the whole adapter out and stash it in a drawer in the morning.

Phones and ipods are all in one place, everyone can identify their own charger, easy to move, simple.

Easy peasy.

What solution have you come up with for charging phones and gadgets?

Mom on Strike

 

The Huffington Post shared an article about Jessica Stilwell, a frustrated mom, who went "on strike".  She was trying to teach her 3 daughters (10 and 12 years old) a lesson about picking up and wanted to show them just how much she does every day...So, she stopped doing it.

 She decided to do no picking up, washing, or tidying for as long as it took for her kids to take notice.  She wrote about it on a blog called Striking Mom where she vented and shared photos of the mess piling up.

Dirty dishes and laundry piled up, backpacks blocked the hallways, and lunch bags were left dirty.  Finally, to get their attention, she started packing lunches in the "poo bags" they used for picking up dog poo (unused, of course).  After SIX DAYS the kids finally realized something was up.  Click on the link to her blog, you won't believe the photos!

It's Feedback Friday...

Would you consider these extreme measures to teach your kids about cleaning up?

Do you do most of the cleaning up in your home?

What would happen if you went on strike for one day?

Fridge Re-do

Watching the Today Show yesterday, I learned all kinds of useful tips about my refrigerator!  Turns out, all these years I've had it wrong.  My milk was in the wrong spot, my fruits and veggies were co-habitating, my juices were taking up prime real estate, some foods that belonged in there were sitting in my pantry...it's a wonder I've lived to tell about it.

So, I made some notes and reworked my fridge yesterday.  I thought I'd share.

Did you know...

*  Dairy and meat are supposed to be stored on the bottom shelf

*  Eggs must remain in their original containers and stored on a shelf, not on the door

*  Only condiments can be stored on the door

*  Fruits and veggies need to be kept in separate drawers or your fruits will cause your veggies to spoil - high humidity for veggies and low humidity for fruits.

* Reduced sodium soy sauce needs to be refrigerated since there isn't enough salt in it to keep it from spoiling

*  Pasteurized juices can live on the top shelve

 *  Many oils such as olive oil, sesame, sunflower can benefit from refrigeration

So, yes, I was breaking almost every one of these rules.  I did the switcheroo yesterday and decided to share a photo so I can look back at it next week when my fridge is a giant mess again.  I used some of these tips to clean it.

Are you breaking any of these "refrigerator rules"?

A Greasy Situation

It's funny how we all have our little tricks for this and that around the house.  My mother-in-law saves a coffee can under the kitchen sink to collect cooking grease.  She stayed at our house and looked under the sink... and found...NO COFFEE CAN!

She was thrown for a loop.  I giggled because it takes a heck of a lot more to throw me for a loop (but I digress).

Anyway, we had to describe step-by-step how we handle  "greasy situations" around our house.

Line a bowl with foil:

Pour in grease:

 Place in fridge:

Nice and solid...

 Make a little package and throw away!

Yep, rocket science.

Under $40 Pantry Make Over

A few days after I Pinned Dollar Store Pantry I noticed a few tiny moths here and there. The last thing I needed was little buggies in my grains, so I jumped in the car then and there to attempt my own Dollar Store Pantry Make Over.

Here is the embarrassing disarray my pantry was in before:

Lots of wasted space, lots of stacks of miscellaneous items mish-mashed together...

And here is the pantry $40 and one afternoon later - lots of containers from the Dollar Tree:



And a package of labels from Walmart:



I kept the shoe pockets to keep the water bottles and snacks handy:



The square and rectangular containers are stack-able so I can fit so much more into the same space! Neat, organized, and space saving for under $40!
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