RECYCLE THAT!!!

I love to recycle! Anything that I can reuse I try and do, after all, our landfills are full of things that take years to break down,anything we can do, even small, can help a great deal. I love to recycle things from my kitchen especially, things I purchase at the grocery store that's a perfectly good storage container often work great for other things. We drink Maxwell House coffee and I buy the large tubs with the handle....wow, what a great storage container, you can store Q-tips,cotton balls, fingernail polish or even drill bits, nails and much more in these handy containers with lids! I also save my Parmesan cheese containers! I store salt, powdered sugar and I mix my own spices in them....they are great for lots of stuff. How about those wine bottles? I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease 17 years ago and my doctor recommended I drink red wine everyday, so I did! I buy the gallon table wine in the pretty glass jugs and boy have I had fun with those! You can take the metal lid and put a slit in it and paint the glass.... POOF, you have a bank! I also have a sea shell collection that I store in these beautiful glass jugs, and you can also take lights and stuff them in the jugs, place them behind your shrubbery or on your deck....PRETTY, especially for Christmas or Halloween! I love recycling, it's a challenge for me and I would like to challenge you!! What can you recycle this week or month? You might find yourself thinking the next time you go to throw the next Gatorade bottle away or coffee jug, "what could I use that for?" Happy recycling, The Mrs...................

The Holidays are upon us!!

"Our company is here!!!", I here this often during this time of year, all the way through until after New Years, and I love it!! I myself have very little family left, I have a brother and my mother and Rick has his parents, so most of our company is friends. Although, our immediate family is growing, I now have a wonderful son-in-law and a precious grandson due in March! The term "Home Improvement" is generally used to mean improving a structure or a landscape and so on but this time of year I think of it in different terms. I see so many families with parent, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, children, all still living but because of some petty pride or self centered attitude, they don't speak, even at holidays. Now, I understand that in some instances it is completely necessary for safety or proper mental health, I'm not talking about this. I'm talking about adults acting like adults!! Rick and I miss our family members, especially this time of year and we are saddened when we hear about families who are not speaking due to adults not accepting their kids or family members not respecting each others choices......WHAT???? "Home Improvement" is needed not only ON our homes but IN our homes!! Lets love our kids, after all the are just kids even when there 20, and lets tolerate our mouthy aunt or know-it-all uncle, isn't this what the Holidays are all about? "Home Improvement"....if your family doesn't need it I bet you know a family that does, lets encourage peace and harmony the Holiday season and do some REAL " HOME IMPROVEMENTS"!!!! The Mrs.........

Breath Clean Air

I have pretty bad allergies as many people do. I took allergy shots for almost 3 years and they did help but they still exist! I am mainly allergic to dust and dust mites, so no matter where I live I still am exposed somewhat. I have learned many things about controlling dust over the years and one of the things is keeping your duct work clean! There are many companies now that clean duct work and most of them are very reasonable. I would recommend having your duct work cleaned especially if you are moving into a new home! We were having a house built and the finish carpenters had the windows and doors open to let air in (as we didn't have our heat and air on yet),and we didn't think anything about it. We moved in and my allergies went nuts! We had gone to extra pains over my allergies...hardwood floors, allergy filters, well cleaned before we moved in, but to spite everything I was getting really sick! After two rounds of antibiotics and a bunch of other meds. Rick said "somethings up and it's time to investigate!" Well he did! First call was to an air control consultant, he tested the air and nothing. Next call was to the Duct Doctor! They came out and began cleaning our duct work and guess what? BIRDS NESTS had been constructed in the master bedroom over our bed and in our living room over the front door, right up in the duct work! The vent openings had been covered while we were working on the house, before we moved in but I had begun to take some down and clean right at the openings while the finished carpenters had completed those rooms and that's when my fury friends had went to work! WOW, what a difference....I finally got well! So take it from me, if you or a family member is sickly, have your duct work cleaned, you might be surprised what you may find in those ducts. Breathing clean, The Mrs...................

Clean Cheap!!

We all need to save money any way we can now a days and one way I've found is in cleaning supplies. Can you believe how expensive cleaning supplies are? The only inexpensive product that I sometimes buy is Ajax or Comet, I can buy these on sale at Walgreens for .50 per can, with their coupons. I make most all of my cleaning products and you can too!! Rick has had some great guest on his show that I have learned a lot from on this subject, along with reading and such, and I thought I would share a few.
I keep 3 spray bottles with different mixtures, depending on what I'm cleaning. #1 sprayer contains 1/4 cup ammonia with the rest water. I use this for grease cutting and it works great! I use it on my vinyl flooring with a microfiber mop, my kitchen and little greasy finger prints.
Spray #2 contains 1 cup of vinegar and the rest water. I use this to clean mirrors, pictures, glass, tv screens, computer screens. It works great!!
Sprayer #3 contains 2 Tablespoons of bleach, 1 teaspoon of Dawn dishwashing liquid and the rest water. I use this for bathrooms and kitchen. It works great to clean toilets, sinks, tubs and tile. I sprinkle a little baking soda on my sinks and tub after I spray the bleach mixture on, if it needs a little extra scrub from soap scum or you can use the comet.
This is sooo much cheaper than all of the fancy cleaners on the market today!! If you don't like the smell you can add a drop or two of lemon or lavender oil, I guarantee you'll notice the savings!! Happy cleaning, The Mrs.................