Thrifty Thursday - Make cleaning easier

I don't usually get excited about a cleaning product but sometimes I find something really useful and I'm glad to share the info with you.   So, bear with me...

A few months ago, I needed to find a product to remove some floor adhesive residue and Home Depot carried a product called Krud Kutter that looked promising.  It is non-toxic, biodegradable, doesn't have nasty fumes and claims to cut grease, grime, oil, tar and wax.  I thought it might work on my floor.  Well, it didn't work to dissolve the adhesive and I thought I was stuck with a gallon of worthless concentrated cleaner.  Being the frugal person I am, I couldn't throw it away.

Fast forward to the beginning of January.  I got ready to do a deep cleaning on my kitchen cabinets and decided to give the Krud Kutter another chance.  I diluted it and squirted it on a cabinet.  To my amazement, the dirt and grease and grime immediately started dissolving and I just wiped it up.  It was that easy.  The dreaded chore was completed with very little effort.  Now that's my idea of cleaning  :)  A gallon goes a long way too.  I am now a fan.  And to think that I found it quite by accident.  Not bad!


P.S.  I'm not getting paid to endorse any product.
 

What's cooking? Wednesday - Comfort Vanilla Pudding

Sometimes on a cold winter night, you just feel like something warm and comforting.  This pudding is so easy to make, takes just a few ingredients and is a great comfort food.  I'm going to give two versions of this recipe...one using regular milk and one using non-fat dry milk.

Microwave Vanilla Pudding (using regular milk)

3 c.  milk
4 T. cornstarch
1/2 c. sugar
2 t. vanilla

Pour milk in large microwavable bowl.  Mix the sugar and cornstarch together and stir into the milk (a wire whisk works well for this).  Microwave on high for 2 minutes, stir.  Return to microwave and do the same thing...high for 2 minutes and stir.   One more time for a total of about 6 minutes total (might be 7 minutes, depending on individual microwave).  Pudding should be thick at the end of cooking.  Stir in vanilla.  Let cool for at least 1/2 hour.  Eat warm or refrigerate and eat cold.  I like it best warm.

Microwave Vanilla Pudding (using non-fat dry milk)...the way I usually make it

3/4 c. non-fat dry milk powder
3 c. warm water
4 T. cornstarch
1/2 c. sugar
2 t. vanilla

Put all the ingredients (except vanilla) into blender.  Blend for about 30 seconds.  Pour into large microwavable bowl and continue with the directions above.  If you have non-fat dry milk powder and don't like the taste, this is a good way to use it.  :)

You can top with chocolate syrup or chocolate chips or fruit or whatever else sounds good.  You can also use brown sugar instead of white sugar and have butterscotch pudding.  Or add a tablespoon or two of cocoa powder and make chocolate pudding.  You get the idea...

Tidy Tuesday - A fresh look

Mason jars to the rescue!

Sometimes, I just feel like changing things around so yesterday I tackled my spice shelves.  They looked haphazard and I wanted a more unified look for them.

Even though I don't have unlimited money to buy matching containers, I do have unlimited canning jars leftover from the days when I would can up to 1,000 jars of fruit and veggies each year.  At least a few of them can be put to good use  :)















I wanted to buy the storage lids (NOT the lids used for canning) that fit the jars but it isn't exactly canning season so it took me a while to find them but I eventually did at Walmart.  They also had labels so I splurged and bought those too.

Then it was only a matter of cleaning the jars, labeling them and transferring the contents of the old grubby containers to my new shiny glass jars.  I think they turned out quite nice!

Teaching gentleness

Four year old Chuck was quietly playing with Legos when his one year old sister, Ellie, toddled up and grabbed some Legos.  Chuck just shoved her away, causing her to lose her balance and fall on her face and start crying.  Let's look at what happened.

First, Chuck was playing nicely by himself.
Second, Ellie isn't old enough to understand that she was interfering with Chuck's play.
Third,  Chuck's response to Ellie was not intentional.

When dealing with young siblings, you have to consider both the older one's immaturity and the younger one's safety.  Chuck understandably didn't want anyone messing with his Lego creation.  Ellie understandably was interested in the bright colorful bricks.  Because Ellie is so young, her safety comes first.  While it's impossible to hover over a one year old constantly (and you wouldn't want to do it anyway), you have to ensure that she is in a safe place.  Sometimes that means that you put her in her crib if you can't give her your total attention.  Sometimes, that means you have to set your older child up in a different room to play uninterrupted.

At the same time a four year old is not too young to be taught to be gentle with smaller children.  Encourage caring and gentleness by your own example.  Look for times when he IS gentle and praise his efforts.  Have him practice with a baby doll or stuffed animal.  Be mindful of the types of movies, books and video games he is exposed to and cut back on those that are primarily violent.  Let him know firmly that pushing, shoving, or any other destructive action towards another person (regardless of age) is unacceptable. 

Chuck is usually gentle with Ellie but he does need to understand that he could hurt her if he's not careful.  And Ellie will soon be old enough to teach that she needs to be nice to Chuck too.  Lay the foundation now to have a more peaceful family later.

Taking care of you

Life is so busy, raising kids, taking care of house and spouse, and all the other outside commitments we take on that it's easy to forget about one of the most important obligations we have...that of keeping ourselves healthy.  Sure, we try to eat well and exercise (chasing after kids counts!) but how about the other things, like annual physicals?  Ugh!  Nobody wakes up on a beautiful sunny day and says, "Wow!  It's so nice out, I think I'll schedule my mammogram!"  And really now, the names of some of the procedures...for example, pap smear...yuck!  Can't they change the name to something a lot less disgusting sounding?

Anyway, if you are regularly having babies, you probably get those annual exams because you see your doctor fairly often.  For the rest of us (those whose babies are spaced far apart or who are finished with having babies), this dreaded chore takes will-power to schedule.

One way to accomplish this is to schedule your appointment around the time of your birthday.  After all, everyone has a birthday every year  :)  Call it your birthday present to yourself.  Yeah, sure.  But taking care of your body really is a gift you can give to yourself. 

So, if your birthday is in April or September, just file away this information.  If your birthday is in January or February, it's time to schedule an appointment with your doctor.  Have fun  :)

Thrifty Thursday - Out with the old, in with the new

January usually means getting my finances in order.  My college-age kids want to get their FAFSA applications (financial aid) submitted to their schools early, taxes need to be completed, and last year's bills and receipts need to be put away to make room for this year's financial papers.

So, yesterday I worked on my filing system.  One thing I learned years ago was to keep my files simple.  The more complicated they are, the less I use them.  Why make things harder than they need to be?  I also don't worry about making fancy labels or decorating my files to be Pinterest worthy  :)  They're going to be shut up in a drawer.  Functional is fine with me.

So, I start January with labeling new file folders for the new year's receipts.  I will keep 2012's around until I complete taxes for last year but I don't want to mix up 2012 with 2013.  Each category of folder is fairly broad.  The Automotive folder holds receipts for repairs and maintenance.  The Utilities folder holds receipts for electric, heat, garbage, phone and cable.  Other categories are Contributions, Bank, Insurance, Investments, Medical/Dental, Business, Home Improvement, and Education.  I also keep ongoing file folders for important medical information, past tax returns, equipment manuals (staple the original sales receipt to the front of each manual), and insurance policies.

One thing that is fairly common is to keep too many receipts.  In general, you only need to keep receipts and records that you will need for preparing taxes.  For most of us, that means you don't have to keep grocery receipts, gas receipts, receipts for household items and clothing...unless any of these are part of your work or business.

I'm not an accountant or professional financial planner so if you need specific information or you have unique situations, talk with a professional or read up on the subject.  But everyone, regardless of situation,  needs to take some time in January to get their financial paperwork set up for the new year.  Better earlier than later!

Today is the first blank page...

A friend posted the following quote on Facebook this morning and it was so good that I decided to base today's post on it.  (Thanks Amie!)

"Today is the first blank page of a 365 page book.  Write a good one."  author unknown

Isn't that profound?  What kind of book is your life going to be this year?  Will it be an adventure?, a romance?, a drama? a comedy?  I hope you plan for a happy ending  :)  Books aren't any fun when they end badly.  You don't want a blank book either!

If you start out with a plan or a goal or several goals, you can greatly influence how your book will end at the end of 2013.  Writers call this an outline - a roadmap for the upcoming story.  Do you want to have a better relationship with your spouse or your kids?  Do you want to fix healthier meals?  Do you want to be more organized?  Have a goal, make a plan and get started.  There's no better day to begin than today.

Good luck writing the best book of your life this year!  I think I want mine to be an adventure comedy   :)