Odds & Ends ~ Tips & Tricks

This Post is about useful tips and tricks as well as suggestions that can help us all live in a better world, one step at a time, each one of us can make a difference!!

WORDS TO LIVE BY EVERY DAY!!

Okay, here goes....

To remove RED WINE from a cloth surface, upholstery, clothing, carpeting, etc... pour white wine on the stain and it will neutralize the color. Blot with a dry towel until it is removed. Follow with dry cleaning, Hand washing or delicate cycle on your washing machine. I know it sounds crazy but it works!

To remove OIL of any kind from fabric, treat the area with Dawn dish soap then launder as usual. Make sure to soak the treated fabric prior to washing it. I got massage oil on my clothes that were packed in a suitcase and the treatment worked for every item of clothing. Saved the day and my clothes too =)

To remove candle WAX from FABRIC, place a brown paper bag on top of the wax, place a hot iron on the paper bag and the wax will melt to the bag. Repeat this process until all the wax is removed then launder as usual. I have saved window treatments, carpets and clothes with this method. Make sure the iron is not too Hot, you don't want to risk burning the paper.

To remove candle WAX from GLASS candle holders, candle jars, etc. put the container in the freezer for a day or two; the wax will harden and will pop right out of the holder when coaxed with a dry dish cloth or a small spoon. be careful if using a metal spoon to get the wax from a glass vessel, you don't want the glass to break.

To encourage the entire family to RECYCLE PLASTIC, GLASS, & CARDBOARD I have placed a brown paper bag in the kitchen for recyclable items that are then placed in the recycle bin every Thursday night for Friday morning pick up. If I leave the bin just outside the back door, more items that could be recycled are thrown away, out of site, out of mind. Keeping it simple for us all.

To RECYCLE NEWSPAPER easily, Collect the papers after you are finished with them and stack up in the same place. The papers fit nicely in a brown paper bag and when the paper bag is full the entire bag can be dumped in the recycle container outside your local grocery store. I save the plastic bags as well and after the bag in the laundry room is full of them I have them dropped off also.

RE USE SHREDDER PAPER ~ If you have a paper shredder at home or the office, local pet stores are usually happy to take the shredded paper off your hands for Free as they use it as fresh bedding for the animals in the pet store. Just call around and ask when is a good time to drop it off, Recycling the paper and keeping the pets comfy too!

DONATE HOUSEHOLD GOODS & CLOTHES ~ Do you find yourself with extra un-used household items, clothes and shoes that you just don't wear anymore? There are many shelters for domestic violence that accept donations of all kinds for women who are struggling to get back on their feet after leaving an abusive situation with not much more than the clothes on their back. These women usually have children and are grateful for any assistance they receive as they take their life back!

DONATE MENS CLOTHES to the local homeless shelter, they are usually happy to accept the donation and it may help a man down on his luck, struggling to get back on his feet. There are coat drives every year as well and that is a good time to DONATE USED COATS, it will keep someone warm all winter long.

What a Blessing we can be to others if we open our hearts and empty our lives of stuff that is just hanging around, stuff that you know you don't need any longer, will not use any more or it will just take up space and collect dust. Why not make room for new things in your life by blessing someone else with the items you are no longer in need of? Your trash is another persons treasure ~ that is a true statement.

This I know is TRUE!

I vow to continue to be a Blessing to others in any way where I can help. It sets a good example for my children, keeps things being used and re used, recycled and the BONUS is the Blessing we can be to total strangers ~ I am choosing to Pay it Forward because that's what I believe in!

The adventure of a home hair color (almost disaster) ~ Lessons learned!

You may laugh or snicker at this little adventure of mine, I did!

I also learned a few things and point out what went wrong and what I learned to do to make it right =)

Since I am living on a "Poverty Budget' ~ Only purchasing things we need, no wants right now, I am doing more and more at home beauty treatments. I like to go to the salon, who doesn't? but I can usually cover the white hair with an at home kit. I am recovering from surgery and have not been outside since June 30....that's a long time for a former beach babe like me!!! I wanted to cover the white hair and get an instant boost of feeling better about myself ~ It's important to me to look and Feel Pretty for me!

LESSON  1 ~ Always purchase the same hair color kit same brand, color, etc to keep your hair color consistant. ( I never do anything drastic, I prefer to keep my blonde tresses the same color as much as possible)

MISTAKE 1 ~ I bought a different kit that supposed to cover the stubborn white hair in 10 minutes, It was the same brand just a different color, no ammonia, etc.

LESSON 2 ~ Make sure to set aside time to color your hair by following all the directions and using a timer ~  I suggest you make sure you have an uninterrupted 45 minutes of time to yourself

MISTAKE 2 ~ I started the procedure thinking I had less time to deal with because it was a 10 minute kit right? Not so much! I had been babysitting that day and the child's mom didn't call before she headed my way so she stopped by unexpectedly to pick up her daughter. Of course we HAD to chat for moment and she could clearly see what I was in the middle of, needless to say our chatterbox selves got me in trouble and I left the stuff on too long! She offered to help me rinse it out and I could tell immediately that is was way darker than I had anticipated. I rinsed it out with HOT water and went to bed

LESSON 3  ~ If you make this hair coloring mistake, SHAMPOO your hair with a clarifying shampoo as soon as possible and do it more than once to rinse the color out of your hair as much as possible. (This probably wil not work if you are doing a drastic color change)

MISTAKE 3  ~ I went to bed that night, asked Mr. Man to pick up a hair color for me the next day after he got off work. He went to the store and tried (bless his heart) but 

came home empty handed that day and the next. SO, I am on day 3 of the hair color that I know I cannot live with for the next 6 weeks and I have a family reunion coming up soon, I need my hair to be the same beach blonde color that it always is!!

SOLUTION ~ I tend to google for answers to everything and even though it was not the best choice, I decided to use what I had at home, Head & Shoulders mixed with Dawn dish detergent. I used this solution on my head twice leaving the stuff in my hair for 30 minutes both times. I then left a deep conditioner on my hair to hopefully lessen the extra damage. It was a SUCCESS!!! My hair is still a little bit darker than it usually is this time in the summer but the stuff washed out pretty good! I am sure my friends who do hair professionally would frown on this greatly, I just did what I had to do with what I had!

Hope you enjoyed this little story and got a laugh out of it like I did.....feel free to leave me a comment

Next time I will tell you about the spray tan incident ~ Another adventure in itself =)

Photographs, Snail Mail, Memory Quilts & Baby Books....Projects waiting to happen

                                                                 GREETING CARDS & SNAIL MAIL

If you like to send snail mail even for special occasions, I find it easier to purchase a variety pack of greeting cards, when I find some I like, I buy more than one box, then I always have cards to send out, even for the expected birth of a baby, graduation or sympathy card ~ This is especially good right now since I cannot get out of the house much. Its always a good idea to keep a book of stamps on hand as well. I know not many poeple bother with handwritten letters and cards in the mail, why bother with all the technology we have? To me, there is nothing like receiving a card or letter from a loved one!

 

PHOTOGRAPH STORAGE

When storing photos in photo boxes as they wait for their place in an album or scrapbook some day....store them by year or in my case, by person ~ I have 7 younger sisters with so much memorabilia that they all need a separate box  ~ I plan to decoupage a hat box with the items from the milestones in their lives...it will make for a nice personalized and useful gift one day soon...the days of double photo prints from a camera are over, its a craft project waiting to happen!

I have SHADOW BOXES for the little things that  my rugrats held dear to their hearts once upon a time....the stuff I always found in the laundry or under the seat of the car ~ in his pockets and in her little purses ~ happy meal toys and other silly stuff, things that kept them both happy and content..one favorite is the hot wheels cinnamon toast crunch car we saved many cereal box tops for and had to mail them in, then wait  6-8 weeks for delivery...memories all around me! Sweet childhood memories!

                 T-SHIRT QUILT

You know all the t-shirts, jerseys, etc that our little boys and girls go through?? the ones that they will wear until you have to sneak it off of them after they fall asleep, wash it, then give it back to them in the morning so they don't start askng for it....My son had quite a few of these FAVORITE t-shirts so I saved them....   now I plan to have a quilt made of them.. a memory quilt from his little boy days ~ with my daughter, I saved her favorites but its not just shirts so I will have to get creative with her memory stuff from her little munchkin days.

           BABY BOOK

Should you be blessed with a bundle of joy ~ Try your best to keep up with the book, especially if it is important to you to document the first year, memories for you both to cherish when the baby is not so small any longer...Keep it out, visible & easily within reach, so you can write things down as they happen. Post it notes work great until you can write it permanently,

My first child has not only a baby book for the First 7 years & a monthly Journal for the first year, I took tons of photographs and promptly put the photos in albums. I recorded every little thing he did!

My second child came along 8 years later and I was not in a good place in my home life ~ I bought her baby book and had good intentions but circumstances kept me from any kind of normalcy so, I recorded every milestone of hers in my day timers (sometimes using post it notes) and took lots of photos, they are still in a photo box . My sister bought me a generic baby book just a few weeks ago, I can fill every page as I like, now that I am finally getting around to it...its important to me that both the kids have one, I don't want my daughter to feel left out in that department when I know its something I can easily fix!

With technology like it is today the video diaries and blogs keep track of all of the milestones and the templates are even free....how easy is that?!? and it can be shared right away with loved ones who want to be included..what a blessing that is!

Preserving the Memories of our life with Projects like this makes me happy =)

Spiritual Garden Instructions

How To Plant Your Spiritual Garden

First, you Come to the garden alone,

while the dew is still on the roses....

FOR THE GARDEN OF YOUR DAILY LIVING,

PLANT THREE ROWS OF PEAS:

1. Peas of mind

2. Peas of heart

3. Peas of soul

PLANT FOUR ROWS OF SQUASH:

1. Squash gossip

2. Squash indifference

3. Squash grumbling

4. Squash selfishness

PLANT FOUR ROWS OF LETTUCE:

1. Lettuce be faithful

2. Lettuce be kind

3. Lettuce be patient

4. Lettuce really love one another

NO GARDEN IS WITHOUT TURNIPS:

1. Turnip for meetings

2. Turnip for service

3. Turnip to help one another

TO CONCLUDE OUR GARDEN WE MUST HAVE THYME:

1. Thyme for each other

2.. Thyme for family

3. Thyme for friends

WATER FREELY WITH PATIENCE AND CULTIVATE WITH LOVE. THERE IS MUCH FRUIT IN YOUR GARDEN BECAUSE YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW.

the Domestic Diva in Training learns a few tricks

I am trying to get it right in our new home, I have learned a few things that I want to share, some may seem silly or unnecessary, to me it's all about the little things in life and if I can find a short cut, that's a good thing!

Every item in the entire house needs to have a 'home' ~ a place where it belongs

if you cannot find a home for it then you probably do not need it anyway

Make a list of everything you are storing in your attic, crawl space, basement etc....

Label boxes and store like things together. (I use different color storage bins for a visual aid) Keep a clipboard nearby for quick reference, it will make locating things easier if it is organized correctly.

Baking Soda cleans linens in the laundry just as good as bleach does and removes odors

Baking Soda mixed with vinegar will fizz up, is good for cleaning garbage disposals, coffee pots, items that have hard to reach areas that need cleaning

Vinegar in a bowl removes odors from a room,

Vinegar use 1 part vinegar 2 parts water, run it thru a cycle of your coffee maker to get it nice and clean.

Charcoal Briquet's are great for removing the musty odor in the basement, I put a few paper bags half full of the charcoal in the basement and it gets stirred up about every 2 weeks, it works!

Vanilla Extract on a cotton ball in the fridge keeps it smelling great!

Baby Wipes are the best for cleaning micro suede fabric that is so very popular for furniture, window treatments, etc.. I use them on anything with a surface that would possibly require dry cleaning, the baby wipe does the trick! I use them thru the house, wiping down surfaces that need it, doorways, light switch plates, cabinet doors that are used allot, faucets, I can name tons of things I use them for....best of all they clean shoes  & Purses gently too.

Bounce Dryer Sheets are great for storage of all types of household items, just put one inside purses, shoes, bags or boxes of blankets, clothes, toys, etc...they are great for freshening the air in your car temporarily as well.

If you have a Shark Steam Cleaner, USE IT!! the small handheld one has a few attachments and is great for freshening up the mattress (kills dust mites) and cleaning the fridge, windows, blinds and even outdoor furniture!

The Shark Floor Steam Cleaner works great on all surfaces and the best part is all you need to operate the Shark is distilled water and electricity! The cleaning pads are washable and reusable too!

Pledge Grab It Wipes are amazing! they literally grab the dust and don't let go! even pollen on the outside furniture wiped down with ease!

I will continue to share these tips as I learn more about the art of becoming a Domestic Diva!!

Help!! My Blackberry & Laptop got wet!

I have been unfortunate to have my Blackberry & Laptop get wet in the past few weeks....Both are operating just fine ~ I wanted to share how I rescued them.

After I totally freaked out.....
First thing I did both times was Google it....I chose the best answer I thought would work for me as there are a lot of remedies out there...

The first thing you need to do is remove the battery ~ liquid does not ruin electronics, electricity does!

Dry it off and take it apart as much as possible ~ dry it off as well as you can.

   
For the laptop; I only removed the back panels that were easily accessible with a small screwdriver (make sure not to lose the screws, they are very small) I turned it over and placed it in a 'V' position upside down, I used an absorbant cloth and wiped it across the keyboard multiple times (to prevent the keys from sticking since it was gingerale that spilled) and then left it in front of a fan OVERNIGHT. the next day I had to close it up and put it in the carrying case to travel the 6 hour ride home from our trip. I put it in the same upside down position for 2 more days (I wanted it to have the best possible chance of reviving) ~When I powered it back up it worked like nothing had happened to it at all....the key is patience!

  
For the Blackberry and cell phones; remove the battery first, then remove all parts you can access safely, do not attempt to take it apart, place ALL items including the SIM card in an airtight container with WHITE RICE (brown rice does not absorb as easily) wait at least 48 hours and the phone should work just fine...again PATIENCE will pay off!

Most IMPORTANT lesson of all, keep cell phones away from water, pools, bathtubs,the lavatory, large cups of water, coffee, small children or whatever and NEVER have a drink of any kind anywhere near the laptop! I am lucky this worked out for me, I cannot guarantee your results but wanted to share mine and maybe it will work for you too...Good Luck, keep the faith and have patience!

Beauty Tips from Nature

~To prevent having dark circles around the eyes, put slices of cucumber on top of the eyes for around 15-20 minutes. Do this twice a day.
~ To treat pimples, you can pound peels of orange of lemon. Mix it with water to make paste and apply the paste on the pimples
~If you think you are starting to have wrinkles under the eyes, apply egg white on the skin under the eyes. Wash it after a few minutes.