Two Cents' Worth

Dusty Laundry Machines

Are you among the remaining 'hold outs' that like to waste large amounts of water and electricity cleaning their laundry? (aka - a top load washer/dryer owner) 

 Well I am.... 

and I have noticed over my years of laundering that the machines can get pretty dusty on their exposed surfaces. *now this never occured to me before now - not sure why as it makes total sense AND you all probably do this already* but I figured out an easy way to keep the machines clean without making it an 'extra' chore on your to-do list.

I like to seperate all my towels/dish cloths/rags from our clothing.  I probably do one load of these a week (maybe 2).  Each time I wash them I start the washer to put the load in, turn it on warm water (cause who likes to touch freezing cold water) and grab a clean rag.  I use the running water in the washer and my rag to wipe down both machines before I put the load of laundry in.  You can also add the soap and rinse the rag in the soapy water to clean off the machines.

That's it (brilliant I know)

Use the filling washer as a tap to clean up the machines..... maybe I only have to do this because I have no sink in my laundry room (wow that would be AMAZING).

so there is your little tip on Wednesday,

take it for what it's worth

Day 12

a song played at our wedding

Paul Brandt - On the inside

Day 11

Recent picture of me

This photo was taken last month with my oldest daughter Hailey!  This picture is SO Hailey.  Anyone else have a little drama queen at their house?

Organize It Mondays - Drawers

Drawers

Do you have a drawer in your kitchen that collects papers and other miscellaneous items?  Typically near the phone?  Isn't it always in need of a little organization?

Does it look like this?

Usually this drawer contains recipts (many), recent birthday/celebration cards, confiscated toys, reward stickers/tatoos, frequently used office supplies (tape, scissors, sharpies, page markers), menu plans, health benefit reimbursement forms, small tools and I am sure more. *actually I am pretty impressed I got all of that in there*

Needless to say... it was a problem.  The drawer was no longer effective as it was overfull.  I couldn't find anything in it without other items falling all over the floor.

So I pulled everything out and sorted the items into piles.  I put away all the items that didn't belong in there, sorted through recipts (garbage and important ones to keep) and collected all of Haileys stickers, tatoos and trinkets and put them in a ziploc bag (used for potty training).  I also added in a small (childrens) shoe box to house future recipts, piled the papers together and collected the tools at the back.

For now this is a temporary fix as I am working on an organizer for our phone nook that will take some of these items.

I am happy to have it useful again and be able to find what I am looking for without having items spill out onto the floor.

I challenge you this week to find a drawer somewhere in your house that needs some organization help and clean it up.  It is a small task that will be easy to accomplish.  

Good luck.

Two Year Old Problem Fixed! (No, it's not Hailey)

Almost all of the problems that we have had with our home since we bought it have had to do with plumbing.  It stems from the fact that our house sat completely "dry" for more than ten months when the previous owner vacated to a new job out of town and the market was in free-fall.  He had a guaranteed sale price through his employer so we ended up actually buying a house from Husky Oil Ltd.  Sort of a strange one I know but even more interesting is when we first viewed the home all the toilets had antifreeze in them and all water was shut off.  When they turned the water back on there were a lot of minor sealant issues with taps and drains, etc.

Old nasty pipe that was painted to "hide" it from the blue wall

This problem we didn't notice right away but the pipe was cracked at the fitting right at the concrete floor in the basement.  I jury-rigged a temporary fix which finally failed a few weeks back and a proper repair was required as our hope this winter is for brand new carpet in the basement and we don't want that getting flooded out. I borrowed a Hilti (jackhammer) from work and made quick work of the concrete to expose the good pipe about a foot back from the fitting.

This is the nice hole I made

New 45's and cleanout

New pipe went in pretty smoothly, I've never done ABS pipe before but I did watch a lot of PVC go together when I used to install sprinkler systems. I figured it couldn't be all that much different and started piecing it together. The hardest part was actually making the cut on the old pipe in between the floor joist because the only saw that would fit in the tiny space was my keyhole drywall saw which was NOT the right tool for the job.

She's not a Laycock anymore but...

Once the pipe was back together and a batch of concrete was mixed up it was time to etch our initials in our first home.  It will soon be covered but we will know that it's there forever. And the unsightly pipe that remained outside of the finished drywall you ask.  Well, took care of that with a snappy little box made completely out of MDF trim pieces and small L brackets.  It's removable too so that if we ever have to get at the cleanout nothing will have to be demolished.

Trim and corners still to come after white paint on the walls

Now all the craft room needs is a fresh coat of paint, the carpet and some new storage and Jen will hopefully be enjoying a brand new room for all her sewing and stuff by January. Hope you like it honey!

Day 10

A photo of me from over 10 yrs ago

looking.....looking.....looking.... nadda.  The farthest back picture I have on my computer is from 2006, when Ian and I were engaged... oh wait.  I foud one... here it is

This is a family photo with my Mom's side of the family back around 1989 when I was 7 yrs old.  I  am the blonde in the SICK (good sick ;) red collared dress in front beside my cute little sister.

Day 9

A photo I have taken

Disclaimer:  I am NO photographer - this picture is blury but I love it because it captured such a special moment.

These are my two daughters (yes they are bald, but they are GIRLS, not boys ;)  This was within days of baby Q's birth and big sister H was so smitten with her little sister.  I have a video from this same moment and it is so cute what H says.

I love seeing them together.... especially seeing how much Q loves her big sister.  She watches her all day and laughs at everything she does.