Tuesday's Tip ~ The dishwasher is your friend

Hey y'all!

Welcome to another tip for Tuesday.  Today we're talking about your dishwasher.  No, not your hands, although I use those too, but the electronic device in your kitchen. 

The dishwasher can clean so many other things besides your dishes.  Before I turn on my dishwasher, I always look around to see what else needs to be cleaned and/or sanitized.

My first go to item is the sponge.  The dishwasher is a great way to sanitize your sponge.  

Here is a great article from Good Housekeeping. 

Those of you who know me well, knows I don't stop at just a sponge.  Oh no, I am still on the lookout for the next item that needs to be cleaned.  

Some other items I throw in the dishwasher are contact lens case, soap dishes (especially the ones with the suction cups that hang on your shower wall), the trays from the washing machine, toothbrush (head refills), hats, plastic toys, brushes, combs, sink plugs, etc. 

I mean the list goes on and on.  Since some of these items are plastic or small, I always put them on the top rack of the dishwasher.

Sorry.  I know I said dishwasher like 500 times! :)

What items do you put in your dishwasher?

Happy cleaning!

Tuesday's Tip ~ How to care for a wood cutting board

 Hey y'all!  I haven't given you a tip in a while and I thought this would be a great one to share.

~How to care for a wood cutting board~

Everyone has their own opinion and method when it comes to cleaning, especially in the kitchen.  This is my version on how I clean and condition my wood cutting board.

As you can see in this picture, the wood is very dry.  You really don't want a dry board.  Why? Because it will begin to crack.  Cracks are areas where food can get in and create bacteria.  YUCK!

After each use, I clean my board.  You can see how I have the board leaning on the side of the sink.  I don't want my board soaking in water because wood is very porous.  I'm using hot water and dish detergent. Never put your board in the dishwasher.      

 Rinse your board thoroughly with hot water.  Again, not soaking in water.

Allow your board to dry upright for several hours.  I normally just leave mine out overnight. 

This last step is something I only do once per month (or more if the board looks dry).

This is where opinions will differ.  I use vegetable oil or canola, which ever I have on hand.   Some will say that using those types of oils will leave a rancid smell on your board or even 'gum up'.  I have had this cutting board for over 3 years, and I've never had that problem.  Never use olive oil or an oil that has a taste or smell.  This will get into your food that you are cutting.

 

 I start with a small amount of oil on my board.  Probably 1/4 of a cup, depending on the size of your board.  You can always go back and add more, but you can't take it away once it's there.

You can use a dry cloth or a paper towel to rub over the board.  Once this is complete, let the board sit for a while before adding more oil (if necessary).

Following these steps, you will be able to keep your board for years.

Tuesday's Tip ~ Linen Closet Organization

Hey y'all!  Well, I haven't given you a tip in forever which was motivation for me to organize a bit.

I started out with the linen closet.

First I began taking everything out of the closet to start from scratch.  

Basically this is what it looked like before I began.  Well, I started and then realized I needed to take pictures.  

Everything seemed mismatched.  First aid, toiletries, towels, sheets, blankets, etc. 

 

 The first aid supplies and our toiletries were the biggest challenge.

 All of the first aid supplies were just thrown in this container.  We had 4 neosporins, 3 hydrocortisone creams, and bandaids everywhere!

 Then I thought about containers I had on hand.  Like this pretty little container that I got free to hold a roll of toilet paper.  I never used it for that and it has sat in the bottom of the cabinet for a year.

 I put all of the smaller tubes of medicine in this container.

 All of the bandaids were put in this container, which was from crystal light packs. 

 This glass canister now holds samples and extra tooth brushes.  

 Almost there...  This closet is actually pretty large.

All of the larger items were put in the baskets. 

 

 AHHHH!  This is much better.  Now everything is organized in baskets that I had on hand.  I didn't purchase 1 thing for this project. 

And all of the towels, wash cloths, and hand towels, are now in the bathroom where they belong.  

 

There is even more room to put a shelf here for more storage. 

 

Voila!  The finished product.  This makes me happy.

Show Us Your Life ~ Organization Tips

Hey y'all!  Another one of my favorite topics is organizing.  I don't know about you, but I'm always looking for new ways to organize.  

Last year I posted about these shoe organizers.  We still have them up and use them everyday.  You can read more here.

I have a 'I love organization' board pinterest.  You can check it out here.

I have found so many ideas on Pinterest.  There are some talented and creative people out there and luckily they are sharing their ideas with us.  

I love this linen closet.  I feel most of the time I am organized, but the end result is not this pretty.  

 

 {source}

This blog  is amazing.  Lots of great ideas and they are all pretty!  

 

Organizing makes me happy!  I can't wait to check out your ideas!

Interesting Fact

Hey y'all!  I have to say, I am completely floored by the number of folks who have responded to one of my posts.  

Last year in February, I shared a post about wire shelves in your pantry and closets.

Here is the post.  I'm amazed to say this tip has been viewed over 135,000 TIMES!!!  Oh my goodness!  I'm just a little (well, maybe not so little HA!) ole' Southern gal who is always looking for ways to make our home and life a bit easier. 

I will say we have added more tiles to our master closet as well.  We put our sweaters on the wire shelves and the wires were actually leaving marks on our sweaters. 

We added an extra shelf in our laundry room which is also next to the pantry.  So of course, we added the tiles here too.  I'm so glad, otherwise these extra appliances would not sit flat.  Now I don't worry about them tipping over. 

Some of your comments:

"This has got to be the best freakin' tip I've found on Pinterest yet. I bought tiles today and now my pantry's wire shelves are no longer sagging in the middle and everything is sitting up nice and straight. Pure genius!! Thanks!!"

"I am a remodeling contractor. I hate wire shelves and my clients hate them. This is a great idea!"

"What a great tip!! I'm featuring this today on my Tuesday's Tips!! Love you blog and I'm your newest follower. I can't wait to read more!" 


Thank you to those of you who have visited us and left comments.  I'm so glad we could help.  

Pinspiration

Hey y'all!  Ok.  I'll admit it!  Pinterest has inspired me lately to do {diy} projects around the house.  I just love Fall so when I saw everyone decorating pumpkins, I had to join the party.

I've actually seen this on several blogs, but here is my version of a DIY House Number Pumpkin. 

I tried to keep it as simple as possible, because after all, you are going to throw away the pumpkin at the end of the season.

I gathered my supplies.  A pen (not shown), stencils, and a sharpie marker.  I'm not in love with the font of my stencil, but I had this leftover from another project.  You could make your own stencil on the computer too.

Next, I traced my numbers onto the pumpkin using my pen.   I didn't tape the stencils.  I just held them, but you can definitely use tape.

Once I had my numbers on the pumpkin, I just traced the outsides of my pen marks and colored them in with the sharpie marker.  Literally, that's it!

This project took me less than 10 minutes!  And it's so cute!  I have our pumpkins on the front porch which is covered.  If you have yours sitting in the weather, you may want to spray a clear coat over the pumpkin to make it last longer.

I'm not finished with decorating, but I wanted to share my project with you.  I'm now looking for corn stalks to lean up against the windows, and of course some more mums.  Then maybe I'll be finished! ;)

Tuesday's Tip ~ Cleaning a glass cook top

Hey ya'll!  I'm back again to give you another cleaning tip.  I know, I know, more cleaning, but this is super easy. 

First, let me say, I am not being compensated by this product, nor are they sponsoring me or this blog.  I have used this product for years and it works, so my opinions are that of my own.  

Wright's cooktop cleaner does contain abrasive, but it does not scratch your glass surface.  You can use this cleaner on other surfaces as well....stainless steel, fiberglass, porcelain, etc.  And is excellent for a glass cook top.

I have seen other methods of cleaning the stove top with baking soda and soapy water.  Great, if that works for you, but I find it to messy and to many steps.  Using this cleaner, to me, is less work.  

I only use this when I have something that has boiled over or cooked on to the stove top.  With that being said, this product lasts a very long time and you only use a little bit when cleaning a small area.  

 

Dab a bit on the area.  Use a paper towel and a little elbow grease.  

 

You can see the burnt mess comes right off.

The best part is the end result.  When the cleaner dries it is like a wax and you just buff it off.  Your glass top is very smooth, shiny, and clean.  

New stuff

As I sit here in my bed, sick as a dog, (thanks to my son, Mason), I have something new to share with you.  As suggested by one of my friends (aka coupon buddy), I joined Vocalpoint.  Seriously, I don't know why I didn't know about this sooner.  Sometimes, I think I live under a rock.  HA!

Here's the lowdown.  Become a member to receive coupons, samples, product information, special offers, and the list goes on.  Guess what?  It's free!  OK!  I'm in!

Now, you are going to benefit from this too!  Since I have a blog and you are reading it right now (thank you), I will receive full size samples to test and review.  Of course I will post my reviews here and you can read it, before you buy it.  Sound good?


Hopefully my first review will be the Swiffer 360 Duster.  I have already applied for my sample, however, this will take 5 - 7 weeks to receive.  

 

I'm very excited about this and most excited to share my thoughts with you.  I am such a clean freak, so this is right up my ally!  HA!  It's the little things in life, right?

I'm excited to be the first to know!  Bring it on!

Pinterest Tip

Yes, I'm addicted to Pinterest. 

If you love having an organized life, but have no clue where to begin, please check out this blog IHeart Organizing.  I found this blog through pinning and I thought it was awesome.  Of course, I have now pinned it to my awesome blog board.

Take on one project at a time.  Don't overwhelm yourself. 

Have Fun!

Tuesday's Tip

~Couponing: Price matching~

A couple of weeks ago, Melinda and I went to a coupon class taught by the WRAL SmartShopper. If you are new to using coupons and live in my area, you may want to check out her blog.  She offers a ton of ideas on how to use your coupons effectively.  Poor Melinda was probably bored out of her mind.  She knew about 90% of the class, but I'm glad she was there to help me and keep me company.  :)

Here is a picture from inside the TV station where we took the class.  I thought this was so neat.

One of the tips I found interesting was price matching.  She didn't talk much about this, but Melinda and I talked about it quite a bit.  I always knew Wal-Mart would price match, but I never used it to my advantage and I never thought about food.  This tip will help you avoid going to different stores each week.  Some of the deals that we have price matched lately have been produce.  Wal-Mart had pineapples for $2.99 and I price matched them to $.99.  A 3 pack of tri-color peppers were $3.88 at Wal-Mart, price matched to $1.29. Grape tomatoes from $3.99 to $.69!  And so on....


You will need to keep your grocery ads through the week.  I don't always get all of the ads, so I go to the stores website and print out the list.  The BEST prices I have ever seen on produce is at Aldi.  Take the ad with you to Wal-Mart, pick up your items, and price match them right at the register.  Make sure you let the cashier know what items you are going to price match.  She/He will need to adjust the price right away.  Can you believe it?!  You tell them how much you want to pay!!  WOW!!


Yes, this does take time and yes, it can be a lot of work, but look at the money you are going to save.  You should be able to save at least 50 to 60% each week.  If you are Melinda, you are saving 80% +. HA!!  

Tuesday's Tip

~Front Load Washers~
 
A couple of weeks ago at one of our playdates, the Moms and I were talking about our front load washers.  We all said the same thing,  "it stinks".  Literally, it gets smelly over time and the smell can get into your clothes.  There is a reason for this and I figured it out with the help of one of my friends.  The smell is in the crease and crevices of the rubber that seals the door closed.   This is gross!  When you pull back the rubber piece, you can see all of the mold and mildew that has built up during the washes.  The problem is, not all of the water is draining out completely and it pools into this piece.

Basically, you have to clean your washer.  Not just with the Tide front load washer cleaner (which I don't use), you have to wipe out the washer to prevent the mildew from building up over time.  The cleaner is not going to stop this from happening.  This is why I don't waste my money on buying it.

I have recently opened a pinterest account. You can follow me here. Super neat site with tons of ideas.  I'm probably spending too much time on it already.    I found a great site through pinterest that explains in detail how you should clean your washer. She has also posted pictures to show the details of where to find the mildew.  You can find the tutorial here.



Happy Cleaning! 

Tuesday's Tip

~Couponing~

I must first say, no, I'm still not an expert on this subject, but I've learned so much in the past few months.  I'm also going to a couponing class this weekend, so I plan to learn much more.  YAY!  When it comes to coupons, to me, it's just a game that can pay you big bucks if you play it correctly.  You have to be at the right place at the right time.  

I owe this tip to my friend, Melinda.  She has helped me with some of the in's and out's.

Recyclebank is a website where you can learn about recycling and make eco-friendly purchases.   This site offers quizzes you can take and pledges you can make to earn points.  In return, you turn in those points for higher $ coupons or other rewards.  So far, my favorite coupon is $10 off of $50 at Harris Teeter.  This coupon only requires 100 points to redeem.  To earn 100 points doesn't take long at all and it's totally worth it.  The rewards are not just grocery coupons, but gift cards, coupons for other items, clothing, gifts, etc.  All for FREE.  There is no cost to you to join except for your time to do the quizzes. 

If you are interested in joining, click here. 

Just check it out, you might be surprised.

Tuesday's Tip ~ Cleaning

~Cleaning....Let me explain myself

It has been a couple weeks since I've given you a tip. I'm still catching up from my Lasik surgery or maybe it's because I'm always behind. HA! Either way, here you go.

I've had several people ask me recently, "how do you keep your house so clean"? First of all, thank you for the compliment. Secondly, I don't have a secret to cleaning, but I will give you ideas on what I do every day or week.

First let me explain myself. I am OCD. No, have not been diagnosed as such, but I know it can't be normal to constantly clean or organize. It is actually unsettling at times. I feel very anxious and can not relax until I'm finished. Sometimes, I never feel finished, which is not good. So, you see it is not always great to have your house spotless (which mine is not). There have been times that I have missed with Mason because the dirty dishes can't wait. Isn't that terrible?!

There is a reason I feel this way. Actually, I was just talking to my Mom about this the other day. I don't feel either one of my parents are OCD so for me, it wasn't inherited. I honestly think this is the reason why....

As a child, I frequently visited a house that was FILTHY!! I mean NASTY. Never vacuumed, never dusted, mouse droppings, roaches, etc. Plain and simple....disgusting. I'm giving you a generic story because of my privacy, but you get the point.

Seeing this house made me think, "I will not live like that". "My house will be clean". I truly believe seeing these things made me who I am now. It could be worse right?

So....on with my tips on cleaning. Because I am the way I am, I try to limit my cleaning. You have to find out works for you.

For example, I generally do 1 load of laundry per day. Clean 1 room per day. It doesn't always happen this way, but I would like it to. If I try to do more, I get overwhelmed. The kitchen is pretty much everyday because I'm in there so much. Go into the room, dust, organize, pick up, etc. The master bedroom is really 2 rooms because I clean the bathroom on the same day. I'll admit the dusting doesn't get done because I despise it.

As far as products, I use the basics. I don't buy into the everything has it's on product. I like Pine Sol. I use it to clean my toilets and my floors. I also like Multi Purpose Windex. I use it on my counter tops, stove top, windows, mirrors...Just like it says, Multi-Purpose. I do use a separate cleaner for the showers and tubs. I really like Scrubbing Bubbles. It works great on soap scum. For dusting, I use a swiffer and swiffer dust and shine for polish. The polish is great because it cleans, shines, and smells great with the febreze freshness. I sound like a commercial. HA!

I guess that's it. Don't overwhelm yourself. 1 room per day and 1 load of laundry per day. Sound's easy right? So why do I always feel like I'm cleaning. Of course there are messes that come in between the other daily duties.

I am really trying to relax a bit more, enjoy Mason while he is still little, and take some time out for myself too. Easier said than done, right?

Tuesday's Tip

~Spray Paint~

I LOVE spray paint. You can make something look brand new for $6.00 (cost of a can of paint).

I have had these old plastic planters FOREVER. They were a grey color with black specks. I think I used them once, but never wanted to throw them away.



Over the past couple of weeks, I have gotten Spring Fever. For me, Spring cleaning is not just in the inside, but on the outside too! I have been planting and cleaning up. I was excited when I thought of these old pots. I remembered I had most of the can left from painting my chalkboard. YAY! Green is perfect for Spring.





This took me like 10 minutes. I just cleaned up the pots, put down some paper, and sprayed away. Once they were dry, I filled them up.




I'm not quite finished with planting. I'm going to add some flowers around the spider plant, but it is still a bit early to plant flowers.




I'm was also thinking of maybe adding polka dots or a monogram 'K'. We'll see.

The options are endless with spray paint. We usually touch up our patio furniture each year too. It will make it last so much longer and give it a cleaner look.

Tuesday's Tip

~Organizing~

I am always looking for new ways to organize. Since we have downsized, and since I'm at home now, I look around, and think, there has got to be a better way to make use of our space.

I LOVE these shoe organizers. To me, they should be called All Purpose Organizer. The ones I am using are just basic canvas with over the door hangers. I'm using the ones that have a clear pocket. Obviously, you want to see what you are storing. This will also help let me know when we are running low on something. I ordered these organizers from Target for only $12 per organizer.



We do have a pantry, but it's not the ideal size for me personally. In my dream home, I would love to have a HUGE (walk-in size) pantry, but for now I'm working with what we have. To make room for our stock pile :), I'm using the organizer for smaller things. Oatmeal packs, drink mixes, breakfast bars...etc. I put Mason's snacks in the lower pockets. He just walks right in and grabs his afternoon snack. HA!


I have also put an organizer in the closet in Mason's playroom. Flash cards, glue, cd's, craft paint, crayons...etc. I'm still working on this one, but I think it's a good start.

There's a place for everything, and everything in it's place, Right?! It helps me keep my sanity. ;)