Hoarders and Rule # 17

I LOVE watching the show "Hoarders." I have no clue why.  I find it simultaneously repulsive and intriguing.  I do realize it is a serious mental illness/compulsive addiction, but I find myself wondering: How does that happen?!

And then I walk into my husband's office and I realize the answer.

Husband isn't a real hoarder, but he doesn't follow Rule # 17:

Touch things once.

My mom and dad came up with this one.  It stipulates that you only touch something once.  Simple right?

Here are some examples:

When doing laundry, touch each piece of clean laundry once.  Take it out of the dryer, fold it, put it away.  It takes more time and effort to keep touching it to put in a pile over by the tv while you fold, and then to put the folded stacks on the bed, and then to move the stack at 11:00pm to sleep, and then to move the stack to find your clothes at 6 am, and on and on.

Dishes: take the dirty dish, rinse it and put in the dishwasher rather than touching it once to put it in the sink, then again to wash the crusty stuff off, and then into the dishwasher.

Trash: instead of putting the empty juice container back into the fridge, while it is still in your hand from pouring, just toss it in the can.

It sounds stupid, but if you touch things once, piles don't materialize, clean clothes don't get wrinkled and need to be washed again, and you don't find trash anywhere except the garbage can.

Believe me.  Rule #17 save time.  And lives.

What Easter Bunnies Leave Behind...

I saw this recipe on the blog "Our Best Bites" and I knew I had to make it since I am ADDICTED to Cadbury mini eggs. I actually buy a dozen bags the day after Easter when they are 50% off, and make them last all year.  I almost made it this time. I got to December, but then luckily Cadbury made a similar Christmas themed candy and I stockpiled that until now.

I am actually too lazy and busy to make cookies from scratch, so here is my super simply recipe.  Husband  loves these cookies.  You can mix practically ANYTHING into them and it will taste good.

1 box Devil's food cake mix
2 eggs
1/2 cup butter or shortening (shortening works better, I think. If you use butter, chill the dough for an hour before baking)
Optional: splash of Mexican vanilla (You can get Molina brand at Walmart now, and it is just as good as the fancy brands. When I was growing up we actually had to go to Nogales, Mexico to get Molina vanilla!)

...and that's it. Bake 350 for 8 minutes blah blah blah...

I tried making these cookies with Cadbury mini eggs, Reese's pieces eggs, and Whopper mini Robins' eggs.  They are all delicious options. Husband liked the Reese's eggs best.

To me, these look like Easter Bunny poops.  I told Husband they are called 'Bunny Turds.' He thought that was funny.  If you don't say 'poop' or 'turd' in your house you could call it "Bunny Scat.'

Anyway, here is the link to the original, more complicated recipe:

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2009/04/cadbury-egg-cookies/

(Dani, this was for you as another mini egg addict!)

Rule #35 Use less=clean less

This rule applies to extra bedrooms and bathrooms. Basically, what I do is I never use my extra bathrooms or bedrooms so I don't have to clean them.  Maybe it sounds weird, but let me explain:

I grew up in a house with 3 bathrooms. One upstairs for the girls, one in the master suite and one powder room off of the laundry room. My mom discouraged us from using the powder room and reserved it only for visitors or guests.  I always thought that this was stupid. Until I had a house of my own.

Our house has 3 bathrooms too.  2 full upstairs and one 1/2 near the kitchen.  When we first moved in I gave Rodney a choice: he could use ALL the toilets if HE cleaned all the toilets. Or he could use ONE toilet and I would clean it.  This works great (when he follows the rule, anyway).  I just HATE cleaning "boy" toilets. So I will clean ONE.  And only ONE.

When we have guests or visitors, I can feel confident that the bathroom is just as clean and fresh as I left it last time I cleaned.  I generally sanitize and spot clean them once every two or three weeks.  Before and after a guest comes to stay, I deep clean the bathroom.

For guest rooms, I just keep the door closed and no one goes in there, so it's always neat and tidy.

My Husband hates this rule, but it falls under rule # 1 : clean smarter, not harder.

Following this advice will save you lots of time especially if you are using and cleaning all  bathrooms in your house on a weekly basis.

Random Pet Peeve: I hate in when we have male visitors or guests and they leave the toilet seats up.  Maybe it's okay with your wife, but you're in MY house, so leave it like you found it! :)

Thanks :)

Just a little note just to say thank you for the support.

I am so glad that there are others out there who appreciate my little tips.  If you have any time or money saving things that you do around your home I would love to feature your ideas!

Doing Laundry

Quick tip:  Don't use expensive, perfumed fabric softeners anymore! Just use white vinegar.

My husband has very sensitive skin, so I have to use a free and clear detergent.  But these leaves the clothes looking a little less white, less soft, and less fresh.  To boost the cleaning power of the detergent, and leave clothes softer, cleaner and whiter I fill a Downy ball with white vinegar and toss it in.  Vinegar also is great for colors too because it fights color fade.

When you remove the clothing from the washer, it may smell faintly of vinegar.  DON'T WORRY!  After the clothes dry in the drier or by air drying the smell will completely evaporate.

If you can't part with the fragrance of fabric softener, use a dryer sheet.  That will be enough fragrance.  I even tear my dryer sheets in half or reuse them for more than one load to save a few more pennies!

When do you have time to...?

I hate cleaning the shower.  It takes too much time and I always get soaking wet trying to rinse the walls.  So I devised an easy, but strange solution: I clean the shower right before I shower.

After I clean the house, or whenever I decide that the mildew can no longer be ignored, I spray the shower down with whatever I am using to clean.  For touch-ups I'll use the eucalyptus cleaner, but for once-a-month scrub downs I'll use something more heavy duty like Lysol bathroom cleaner or CLR.  I spray it and  leave it for a while and turn on the bathroom fan thing so I won't die of fumes.  10-15 minutes later I grab a scrubby sponge and get ready to shower. I hop it and scrub for a few minutes and then turn on the hot water.  I rinse down the shower and then do my regular shower routine.  It saves time and while I still get soaking wet from cleaning the shower...at least it is on purpose!

And that's why I have time to clean the shower.

Makeup Stains

Somehow, once every six months or so, my dog manages to get into my cosmetic bag.  She LOVES to eat lipgloss and lipstick; which means it gets all over her, and all over our beige carpet.

"Your strawberry lipgloss? No, I didn't see it. I swear!"

But I don't worry too much because I am the StainMaster...er...StainMistress!

To get rid of a lipstick, marker, pen, ink, pretty much anything stain:

• If the stain is on a piece of fabric or clothing, place a clean, light-colored cloth behind the satin.
• Saturate a clean cloth with isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol)
• BLOT (don't rub!) the stain.
• Frequently change places on your cloths--the color will lift off of the fabric or carpet and onto the cloth, so you want to use a clean place on the cloth to make sure all the color comes off.
• That's it. As the alcohol evaporates, the smell will go away.

To remove a lipgloss stain:

• Because lipgloss is sticky and greasy, rubbing alcohol won't really work.
• Using a credit card, spoon, or something similar, try to scrape off as much of the gloss as possible.
• Using a clean cloth, generously apply toothpaste (yep, toothpaste) to the carpet. I used Arm and Hammer toothpaste since it was white.  I haven't tried a colored toothpaste, but I would use any white kind just because I wouldn't want the toothpaste to leave a stain!
• Now use a damp cloth to work in the paste, and begin to wipe it away.
• Your carpet or fabric will be spot-free and minty fresh!

To remove a chapstick stain:

• Using a credit card, spoon, or something similar, try to scrape off as much of the lip balm as possible.
• Chapstick is mostly wax, so I find it best to apply a wax remover like Goo Gone, Goof off or Un-Do.
• Let it sit for a while
• Wash in hottest water safe for fabric
• Don't dry the clothing until the Chapstick stain is gone...that makes it set in