Freebies!!!

These are all the FREE items (after rebates) I got from Staples today!!!

• 2 reams of paper
• 2 packs mailing labels (can use these for a variety of things)
• 2 packs photo paper
• 1 12-pack sticky notes
• 1 5-pack pens

Missing

For some reason, I'm really missing times spent visiting my grandma as a child .  I can't adequately explain it.  We've always lived quite a distance from her and I always wondered what it might have been like to have grown up in her small town.  There, the woods are thick.  Land is not near as developed as it is here.  It's quiet.  It's peaceful.  It smells good.  It's true country living.  A breath of fresh air.  To walk the land wondering if anyone else stepped foot on that exact spot.  Yes, I grew up in the country.  But not like the country at my grandma's.  Her house was nested among many wooded acres, and paths that led to the next house which belonged to my Aunt Jane.  The chicken coupe and garden were among my favorite places to explore.  The room we stayed in belonged to my grandpa, along with the bed in which we slept.  If I close my eyes, I can still smell the scent of that house.  I can feel the floor beneath my feet.  In the winter, the only source of heat came from the wood stove which smelled like a campfire in the deep woods.  Oh how I miss that place.  The adventures with my cousins.  The sound and smell of my grandma cooking.  The wonder of what was inside the old trunk in the family room.  And the decision over which rocker I would sit in.  These things comforted me.  And tonight, for some reason, I'm missing them more than usual. 

Maybe it's the simplicity that I miss.  We had more time for adventure.  More time to dream.  Just... more time.  Things are often too busy today.  We have too many TV's; too many electronics.  My grandma had one TV and it was in the basement.  It was peaceful, even with many visitors.  Hearing family stories was much more interesting, espeically with the southern accent of those who told them. 

I miss these days.  I miss my grandma's old house.  I miss walking through the woods.  I miss my grandpa, even though I knew him for only a short 12 years.  I miss my grandma, although still living, I don't see her enough.  She is 99.  Wow.  Ninety-nine.  I've always looked up to her.  And I'll always love her.
 

Leftover Paint

I figured out what to do with all these plastic peanut butter jars!  Yes, I save most of them because with their wide mouth, they are nice to store left-over food.  But honestly, how many do I possibly need?

We have a number of gallon size paint cans that have just a little paint left in them and they are sucking up valuable space on our shelf in the basement.  So, guess what?  Yep!  I'm going to transfer the paint into the jars.  Of course, I will not forget to label the jars with the type of paint it is and the room(s) I used it in.

What else can we use those nice jars for?

Cleaning Lampshades

Two of the best ways I've found to dust lampshades are to:

1. Use your vacuum hose, or
2. Use a sticky tape lint roller (my new preferred method).

These things also work well for a quick cleaning of curtains, decorative placemats or table runners, and furniture.  Yes, your furniture gets dusty even when it's sat on every single day! 

Happy Cleaning!

Cleaning with Vinegar

No more commercial cleaners for me!  In fact, I needed a spray bottle to put my 50/50 mix of vinegar and water.  So I searched through my cleaning products and found one that was full of some other type of cleaner.  I smelled it and decided that this bottle would become the new home for my vinegar mixture.  I poured the other stuff down the drain and nearly gagged as it went, thinking I should have worn a mask!  The smell was so strong, surely that can't be healthy; especially with an asthmatic in the house.

I originally wanted the vinegar mixture to get rid of ants.  Yes, ants!  It kills them and removes their scent trail so that others can't find their way.  Who knew?  After I sprayed the ants and the area where I suspected their entry, I noticed a few stains on my carpet.  I used to be devoted to Spot Shot for those "tough" stains.  Let's be honest.  I really don't know how tough they really  were because I never tried to clean them with anything else.  Well, today, I used the vinegar mixture and voila!  Clean carpet once again!

Vinegar is safe to use on wood floors too.  Just be sure to use white vinegar and I like to keep mine mixed 50/50 with water.  Some use straight vinegar, but the scent is too strong for me and the mixture does the job just as well.

Realizing that vinegar is an age-old, all-purpose cleaner, I'm happy to have come to my senses to realize that commercial cleaners are harmful to pets and humans and release toxins into the atmosphere.  Of course, many of them say they are "safe" but I've learned that their definition of safe differs from mine.  You see, organizations are allowed to say that something is safe as long as the percentage of toxins is low enough to meat their standards.

To sum it all up, I'm thrilled with my vinegar spray bottle and plan to use it for many purposes, including cleaning my floors, countertops, sinks.... even for killing ants!

Webkinz Tags

How do you keep from losing or accidentally throwing away these little Webkinz tags?  The best solution I found (photo to come) is to put them in a binder.  I happened to already have some plastic trading card binder sheets and we just slip the tags right into the pockets.  Two will fit into each pocket easily so that you can easily see the type of Webkin it's for.

I tagged one sheet for each child.  If you want to take it a step further, you can create a sheet for tags that have not yet been entered on-line.  If you're like me, I try to hold the kids off as long as possible since a new pet must be entered within a year to maintain the account.

We also put other tags and certificates in this binder - for special dolls like Cabbage Patch and American Girl.  It really helps to keep this stuff organized and protected!

New Buffet

After spending too much time in search for a cabinet or buffet, we finally settled on this one. Yes, it's from Ikea! I promise, I do not work for this company! They just have affordable items that fit well in our house.
This wall in our kitchen has been an eye sore for quite some time. I'm glad to finally have something there that looks nice and is functional. And it costs way less than adding more cabinetry!