7/12/11

Good morning, all! Wow, I didn't realize how long it'd been since I've been on here, so it's probably a good thing that I ran across a great money saving tip yesterday.

So, I found myself in an annoying spot while I was cleaning my house yesterday. I usually use one of that plastic handle things that has the flushable scrubbing pad. Well, of course, when I went to reach for a pad from under the sink, guess what? They were all gone! Great! I had no idea what I was going to do. But, then I remembered that I always keep my sponges when they're too yucko to wash our dishes with. So, I improvised!

I cut the sponge into fourths, popped it into the little blue part on the head of the handle, got my trusty old toilet bowl cleanser out, and scrubbed away. It worked like a charm! And he best part about it, it worked BETTER than the usual cleaning pad in less time! It also seems to be staying clean longer than with the stuff made by the company that makes this product. So here's what I got:

AND:

 Put em all together, and you've got the best toiler cleaner you've used in years! FYI: If you don't want to throw the sponges away, simply throw them in the dishwasher or washing machine, and you'll be able to reuse them!

6/26/11

    Merry Sunday, everyone! I hope you all are having a superb weekend! The weekend in my house means laundry day, and I have to confess our family is hard on clothes! So, I've become quite good at getting stains out. So much so that my hubs calls me the queen of stains, and my daughter calls me Wonder Woman. There isn't a stain out there that scares me!



    So, here's a trick I thought up yesterday. My husband had this HUGE dark looking circle of who knows what on an AWESOME new t shirt that I'd gotten him. Shout hadn't worked very well before, not that it usually does on stubborn stains, so I had to come up with something else. I looked at the stain, and saw that it looked like a food grease stain or something like that. Then, I saw the KA-BOOM sitting on the shelf. AHA, "I yelled,"! (Yes, I actually yelled, AHA!) and I sprayed the heck out of that spot! Do you know what happened next? I had to put it in the dryer to see if the stain had come out. It's a dark green shirt, and the stain area was hard to see when wet. THEN, I put it in the dryer. When I pulled it out of the dryer, THE STAIN WAS GONE! Whoopee! So, the moral of this long and drawn out tip is to use a kitchen degreasing cleaner on stubborn grease-like stains. I will warn you, as every cleaning product does, to test it on part of your clothes to make sure it doesn't ruin anything. I just took a chance cause it had already been washed and dried several times, to that stain was set in anyway. Good luck!

6/18/11

Woo hoo! It's definitely summer here in AZ!!! That's why I like to keeps lot of water, iced tea, ice cream, and popsicles on hand. I like to make my own out of the plastic mold you can by at the store. 
One of my favorite ways to make them is out of juice that's been in the fridge a while. I have never figured out what can be used for what period of time after the sell by date. So, if there's ever any fruit juice in the fridge that no one seems to be drinking, I just pour it in the popsicle mold and pop it in the freezer. I'm currently waiting for my mango lemonade popsicles to freeze!

6/12/11

WOW! How did Sunday come so fast??? My list of chores and home improvements isn't nearly finished. It seems like the list is too long and the days are too short! Did you get all of your chores done?

If your home improvement includes painting, here's a little trick I read about:

 
Summer means flying insects that are attracted to A/C and weird smells. To keep bugs from sticking to wet pain, add vanilla to your paint. You can also use Citronella oil, but I haven't been able to find it. Now you can re-paint that fence in your yard without all the little gnat bodies left over!

6/11/11

Merry Saturday, everyone! I hope everyone had a great week and is ready to have an even better weekend. 
Since summer is upon us, especially here in Phoenix, don't forget to do some important things everyday!
#1 Drink LOTS of water. Sure, an ice cold soda on a very hot day is great, but water is SO important to keep you're body looking and feeling hydrated.
#2 Wear sunBLOCK! Sunscreen is great, but there is a difference. Hence, the different names. Make sure you put it on at least 15 minutes BEFORE you go outside or get in the pool. And, make sure you reapply according to the SPF on the bottle. Some people may not know that the SPF number is how many minutes the lotion works.
#3 Take care of your hair, too. There are a number of ways to protect your hair from sun and chlorine damage. You can wet your hair with regular water and that should keep the chlorine from soaking in too fast. You can also spray a leave in conditioner and comb it through your hair. And it's important to also rinse your hair after you leave the pool. That should help get the chlorine out. 
#4 Pay close attention to kids and pets, since they're probably not sure what cues to listen to with their bodies. Well....and pets can't talk. Little kids especially will keep playing until they drop. Hats and sunglasses are a great way to protect the kiddos.
WOW....that's the longest blog yet. I hope the truly simple tips help you all have a safe and fun summer!

6/9/11

I don't know about you, but I love to give gifts that I make myself. There's just something about presenting someone with something that you put your time and thought into.

Here's a super easy way to make home made soap.

Gather any pieces from bars of soap. Tie them lightly in a piece of soft flannel, and dip into boiling water until soft. Place the flannel into cold water until it's firm. After removing the flannel, a good ball of soap is ready to use!

5/8/11

Happy Hump Day!!! YES! Another weekend us almost upon us. Here's a sweet treat that's been a favorite of mine since I was a little girl. I have MANY memories of  visiting family and being so excited to eat the "Red Applesauce." It was a summer staple for me, so now I'm making it for my daughter. It's also super easy to make, so the littlest cook can help!

"RED HOT APPLESAUCE"

It's SO easy. Buy a plain jar of applesauce, no cinnamon flavor. Buy red hots, not Hot Tamales, red hots. Put the red hots in the jar. There's no specific amount, it just depends on how much you like red hots. Put in the fridge over night before eating. ENJOY!