There is so much to do outdoors that I am itching to get at it. Mind you, if I did, I'd be itching for sure! The pollen counts have been in the HIGH range for the past few days. But oh how my spirit says "Get outdoors and get things painted, planted, spruced up..." Well I might do the weeding and the planting but painting is futile until pollen is done. And I can only do what I say I might if I shower immediately after.
Mama and I were out the other day and drove through a great cloud of yellow pollen that stretched across the roadway. Shortly after, Mama complained that her eyes and nose itched. I got rather snuffly myself and had a slight headache.
From various blogs I read this week I found these items which I thought worth sharing. I read a variety of blogs between Friday evening and Saturday and I do believe there are items that really ought to be shared. I don't always think to do so. Starting this week I'd like to add these sorts of things for you all to check out. I might not find something every single week to share at the start of our week but if I do...it will be here.
Did you know you can replace your dryer sheets by putting a few tablespoons of hair conditioner in a small spray bottle and filling with water? Just shake and spray a washcloth then throw it in with your dryer load - works fantastic.
From Becky's Frugal Measures blog.
Becky shared this blog this week and I am going to go explore it more fully. I am trying to cut down to a two serving portion for desserts, etc. and I think this will be an excellent site to use.
On March 25, Patsy will share her preparedness classes on her blog, A Working Pantry . She's offered it several times as a private class on Facebook but it was never at a convenient time for me to do a class. Gracious goodness, Patsy has been through three hurricanes now in the past two years and she's more than well aware of what is likely to be needed.
Now let us get down to business.
Last week:
I worked on my kitchen last week. I scrubbed all the walls and cabinets and even the understide of some of the upper cabinets. I cleaned the appliance fronts and noted that the little rolling kitchen island cart I have is ready for a fresh coat of paint. Deciding what color it shall be will be difficult. It's black now, and frankly I find black shows as much or more spots and dribbles than white cabinets. So shall I paint the cabinet white? Aqua? Red?
I cleared the coats and shoes and such from the back entry. It looks so much nicer than it did with all the winter things there...and of course, it's turned off cool for the week.
The fridge was cleared and straightened but I did no mopping as the only day I had to do it was rainy and humid, not a good drying out day for the floors.
We did grocery shopping, errands and I had my day out with Mama. All in all the week was full, with a visit from the boys, Katie stopping by twice and an outing every single day that John was home.
Meals went as scheduled except we never ate Red Beans and Rice and that's two weeks now that we haven't had a meatless meal. I'll make up for it this week with two.
I pulled out the vintage April magazines, continued to practice my single stitch crochet and got about half way through the Nina George book that I've been reading.
This week:
Zone: Beds and Baths
I don't have any special plans for these rooms. Both are in decent shape. I think I will work on moving the linens/curtains/etc. from the guest room into our closet which has more space on the upper levels. My closet's upper shelf is towards the center of the house, where the ceiling slopes upward to a greater height. I can add more to that shelf than I can to the ones in the back closet.
Weed the flower beds about the house.
Seriously start planning and shopping for the porches for spring/summer: plantings and mulch and such and pillows or material to make covers, paint for chairs and tables. I want to look first and purchase later, to gather inspiration before I do anything and determine what is the most feasible.
If we have a good sunny day I want to mop floors. The kitchen floor is looking a bit grotty.
And all the usual routine housework, visits, and such.
Meals:
Corned Beef and Cabbage, Potatoes, Brownies
on my own x 2, one a planned lunch with Bess and Isaac
Cauliflower au gratin, Green Beans, Salad, Rolls
Bean and Cheese Enchiladas, Yellow rice, Avocado and Orange Salad
Sirloin Steak, Baked Potatoes, Steamed Asparagus, Salad
Corned Beef Hash, Coleslaw, Rye Bread, Baked Apples
Leisure:
Reading, writing, 'rithmetic...Well not really. No arithmetic. Crochet, reading, music (I bought a new Ferrante and Teicher album last week at the thrift store), genealogy perhaps. John started us watching "The Crown" this weekend and I look forward to seeing more of that.
12 comments:
I discovered years ago if you put your dryer on the correct amount of time for drying and don't leave them in too long, you don't get static cling. Dryer sheets are not a necessary expense for my family.
Shell
We ditched dryer sheets 27 years ago after my allergist told me that the active ingredient is formaldehyde. We had less static and softer clothes after throwing them out. Good old Proctor and Gamble fools the American public sgain!
Terri, I found the Working Pantry class info to be very interesting and inspiring! Thank you for sharing. I think that emergency supplies for heat, water, light, and first aid are woefully inadequate in our home. I know that we should have a small generator too.
We use Molly’s brand wool balls for dryer sheets and find that they work well.
I hope you are having a lovely Shabat!
We don't use fabric softer sheets in our dryer, I'm allergic to the scent, so in winter there is a lot of static in some of my knit clothes. My little dog used to come running when he heard all of the little static pops and snaps as I got my tricot nylon nighties and pajamas out to fold. He used to like the sound and got all excited about it. He's 14 years old and almost totally deaf now so he doesn't "help" with the clothes folding anymore. The thrill of clothes folding is gone for him now. It was gone for me a long time ago.
I wonder if vinegar would work for clothing, it wouldn't have a pretty scent, but I find that a diluted vinegar rinse takes the static out of my hair. I no longer can use conditioner/cream rinse in the shower when I wash my hair because it takes too long, and makes the tub slipperier than I like with one bad arthritis knee and the other one a replacement. The vinegar rinse, and I rinse it enough so there's no vinegar smell in it when I'm done, not only keeps static at bay, but it seems to make my hair shinier. I can't explain how rinsed out vinegar works, but it seems to for me.
I'm with Karen about wanting to get a small electric generator for power outages.
I would like one that is big enough to run the electronic ignition on our furnace, and the a/c and to have our phone and a few lights on, and to operate our recliners. It needs to be easy to use. Unfortunately that is a purchase that keeps getting put on the back burner for us. We need one because we now have such different weather around here than we used to. Last week we had a couple of nights where 55 mph wind gusts buffeted our house all day and all night for two consecutive days and nights. It seemed calm on the third day but it was still going at 25 mph. it was only calm by comparison to the previous nights. I was amazed and thankful that we didn't lose our electric during any of those winds last week.
You are so much further ahead with your springtime flowers and grass than we are here in Missouri. Our grass is still brown, no trees even have the nerve to put one bud out yet. I did see one brave crocus in bloom in a sunny spot yesterday. Don't you love to find the first flower of Spring! With nothing looking like it is at the pollen making stage around here yet it took me a while to realize why my allergies are going crazy. That horrible gusting wind must have carried it from far away right to my house and driven it right into my home with all of the drafts that sneak past old rattly windows and other non air tight spots around our house.
A small box of dryer sheets cut in fourths and used very rarely lasts me well over 10 years. I go for the no scent type and that is usually Bounce as it's the only one that is truly not scented when it says no scent. I do have the wool balls but the boys have confiscated them to toss and roll in the house. I rarely use those either though. Our clothes are usually not 100% dry when we remove them from the dryer so we seldom have a static buildup of any sort. However, I thought the tip worth sharing if anyone else did use dryer aids at all.
A generator is also on my want list for our home. I've suggested more than once that a proper old fashioned well from which we might draw water wouldn't be a bad idea either but John just gazes at me like I've gone mad. A properly built up well house with a cover to lay over the hole would not be dangerous with nosy little boys about.
I use wool dryer balls and they seem to do the trick. There is so much to do outside here but thee weather has just now gotten workable.
I haven't bought any clothes softeners for 30 years. I just put white vinegar in the container in the washer meant for softer. My daughter tried to get fragrance free softener sheets and looked everywhere. Finally found some at Target. It seems all the softeners and detergents are now going for the over the top fragrances. When my neighbors use them I can smell them in my yard ! I mostly hang the clothes on the line but do put the blouses and such in the dryer for a few minutes to knock out many wrinkles then onto the line on hangers. I haven't used hair conditioner either for years. Everyone's hair is different though and this works for mine.
Thanks for the one serving site. This will be a help. I like Frugal Measures too and of course A Working Pantry and gdonna and get a lot of useful information out of them. Hints that are not found other places. We have all been looking for new ideas for years and when you find something totally useful and new it's great. ;) Sarah
I have two small rolling utility carts in the garage that were purchased at garage sales with the intent of refurbishing to use in the house. I'm thinking one will be painted cream, the other a light turquoise. It's almost warm enough to think about painting outside. Just a few more weeks, I hope.
Please share a photo of yours when you're done to inspire me! LOL.
The Amish put in a CLEAN SANITIZES septic tank for a cistern that connects to the down spouts. They did tell me to use the hand pump daily to keep it primed. The cistern has an over flow pipe so I don't have to worry about it backing up in the house and it also keeps the water flowing so no stagnation. Said it was the cheapest way to have flowing water without power. Did admit you need to clean the tank with bleach BEFORE using it and to do it on a good day of breeze to keep the fumes from messing with you.
We bought a small generator on Black Friday a couple years ago at a Harbor Freight store. Been a blessing many times.
I use the dryer sensor the few times I use the dryer. Usually it's clothes line or drying rack. Vinegar does well for a softener, even to help remove diesel fuel odor from Hubby's work clothes.
Well I think it's pretty much unanimous that none of us really uses hair conditioner nor dryer softeners sheets! I hope Susie that you take note of Juls comment about the vinegar in the rinse cycle of washing machine.
Tammy, please do not wait upon my getting that rolling island done...I forgot entirely to add it to my new projects list yesterday, lol. But you know when I do get it done I shall certainly post photos.
Juls, I shall keep that system in mind. Our well people are Mennonite so may well be familiar with it. I hope you are feeling better!
Sarah so glad you found that one dish site helpful. I plan to explore it further, perhaps this afternoon.
Terri, although I do use the vinegar in the rinse cycle for washing there are times when the wind is so horrid for days that I would like something to cut down the static on a few loads that season. So your hint is welcome. I can do that on the fly and not have a bottle of any softer on the shelf. Also I so seldom use hair conditioner this is another way to get it used up! A win, win. ;) Sarah
I just recently got some wool dryer balls from a friend who spins her own yarn. I'm loving them!
I love learning from Patsy at A Working Pantry. She is so full of resources and ideas on living prepared! She makes me realize just how unprepared I am for just about everything!
I know just what you mean about the pollen! I've been so itchy lately because our tree and mold counts are high.
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