Works for me Wednesday » Making A Home And Family

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Apr 2008

Making laundry easy with hampers

I ~~despise~~ despised doing laundry. A few things that have worked for me and made it easier:

1. Putting dirty clothes into a pretty hamper. I don’t know why a cloth hamper like this (no wheels and made with wood on the sides instead of metal) has done so much, but it has really made me use it. No more clothes piles on the floor in the bathroom, the bedroom, or where ever else I may have changed. My DH and I have both started picking up after ourselves when we bought it.

2. The hamper bag comes off of the stand and can easily be carried to the washer/dryer. I have given this duty to my DH. I wash and put away… he brings it to the machines.

3. When he brings it to the machines, I sort it in one of these. That way when I go to do a load, I just empty out one compartment of the hamper into the washer and it’s ready to go. I don’t sit and sort out one load and then sort for another load later. It’s all sorted and awaiting a good wash.

Theses changes are small and simple, but it sure has made a world of difference when it comes to doing my laundry. For other ideas that work for bloggers, check out Rocks in My Dryer.

Category: Works for me Wednesday 2 Comments

Apr 2008

Clean with baking soda and vinegar

Jennie

I have made the switch to cleaning with baking soda, vinegar, and water. I do have some chemical based cleaners, but I have a feeling they will be sitting in my cupboard unused for quite awhile. Three reasons I made the switch.

1. I wanted to go green. Using chemicals is not good for me, my DH, or my critters that could somehow get it into their mouths by licking.

2. It also eliminates all of the other plastic or aresol bottles used for many different things in the house – toilet gel, Draino, Windex, Pledge for dusting, and Pine Sol for the floors. Now I use a mix of vinegar and water in a spray bottle for windows, mirrors, scrubbing floors, and spraying down the counters. I use the powder in the toilet and then add vinegar to let it fizz before I scrub, and I use the same idea for the drains and follow with boiling water to unclog the gunk. When I scrub the tub, I create a paste with baking soda and water to scrub all the soap scum and then I add some vinegar to help it break up more and I scrub again before I wash it with water.

3. It’s cheaper. Not only am I cutting out all of those extra bottles to add to the dumps, but I’m saving money by only buying baking soda (about $1.25/box) and vinegar (about $1.50/jug). I am guessing that this will last me about 3 months.

4. It cleans just as good (sometimes better) than the toxic stuff. Make the switch… it’s worth it for your pocketbook, your home, and your family.

Category: Frugal, Works for me Wednesday 4 Comments

Apr 2008

Works for Me! Musicovery!

Jennie

When I’m online, I really like listening to music. My issue has been that my cd player in my laptop makes it sound loud. I don’t like hearing my cd loading up and then my laptop making a roaring noise to keep the sound still coming out. I don’t really agree with downloading music, so downloading it and then playing it off of my laptop really isn’t my thing. I could buy from iTunes, but come on! I am cheap and want something free.

My DH found a great techno site that he listens to all of the time, but that isn’t my style of music. I came across skyfm, but they don’t always play the songs that fit in the category they listed, and it doesn’t sound like the original artist.

Finally, I have found my website. The music is free, it’s based off of *your* mood, and you can fast forward to the next song if you don’t like what’s playing now. It’s called Musicovery.

Go play with it! Have fun!