Laundry Signals

Hi Mamas. I have some sad news. My dryer caught emphysema and died a couple weeks ago. It was painful for all of us, especially when my children had to hall loads of clean wet laundry around the corner to their cousins house to borrow their healthy dryer. Those three days were long ones. But it's okay, no condolences needed, we're over it now.

Why the callous attitude, you say? Well this new dryer has revolutionized my life, and I'll tell you why.

First let me introduce you to the beast. Let's call him Sal. As you can see Sal has is a lovely shade of...tan. So pretty, right? He's not much to look at for sure, but he does work!

Sal came to us from the garage of some wonderful friends who live a couple blocks from us. Sal was peacefully waiting for a new family to take him home and put him back to work. Our friends picked Sal up at the Sal-vation Army thrift store for about ten bucks sometime in the mid 90's (make note of the red Salvation Army sticker Sal still wears). Where Sal was prior to that no one knows.

 

Sal has worked hard for many a year, and after his rest in our friends garage, he was ready to get back to work drying our jeans and socks and sheets and softball uniforms. Sal's barrel is smaller than my old machine and this was quite a bummer of a realization when I discovered we'd have to wash smaller loads in order for them to dry in one load. Grateful to not have to tote laundry somewhere else or make a hasty purchase I wondered how I'd stay on top of all the laundry my household generates.

On the plus side, Sal was state of the art back in his prime. Made by General Electric, Sal is a Five Cycle Dryer with Automatic Dryer Control - Extra Care and Signal. Did you catch that? Signal. Translation. LOUD BUZZ noise at the end of the cycle. Now this isn't a new feature to me. My old dryer also had an alarm. It was an awful sound and like most of you, it was turned off. And here's where Sal has changed my life. Sal's signal can not be turned off until you open the door of the dryer!

At first, I was not thrilled about this new sound merging into our lives. I can no longer throw another load in before bed, because the signal will wake the household. This was really going to cramp my style! But Sal just isn't the cramp-your-style-kind.

I had always thought I was pretty on top of my dyer cycles. I listened for that low rumble sound with the clicks and clinks of the clothes spinning in the dyer and when it had stopped I'd change over a load. Efficient, right? Wrong! I have discovered with Sal's immediate and quite alarming signal, I change over more laundry in a day. So much so, I haven't had dirty laundry in the two weeks since Sal was installed in my laundry room. I find myself searching for towels and changing sheets much more often than previously, simply because I have an empty washer and dryer.

And there you have it. Laundry revolutionized. So today, on this sunny Wednesday, I challenge you to TURN ON the dryer signal. If your dryer is too far away to hear it, use a kitchen timer. Seriously. It will change your life. At least your laundry cycles!

Cooking Tips

1. Freeze your meat in marinade in a freezer bag. Saves one step when you pull the meat out to to thaw!

2. Trader Joes is your secret weapon. {Seriously, we could do a WHOLE other post on just Trader Joe's...hmmm...maybe I will!}

3. Don't use taco or ranch seasoning packets - they all contain MSG {which is a no no!} Instead make your own, keep it in a jar and use as needed. {Here's a launching spot if you want to try this - I've made my own taco & chili seasoning for over two years now! All Recipes Taco Seasoning I}

4. Put your avocado in the fridge to stop {or slow down} the ripening process.

5. Try cooking beans {black or pinto) in the crockpot, then freeze in ziplocks to use later. Blend to make refried style! {I have not yet done this, but its on my list, tutorial anyone?}

6. Put a layer of sour cream on your quacamole in the fridge to stop the browning. {Someone was hankering for some mexican food when we wrote these lists!}

7. Save water from boiled chicken for cooking rice. {This gives the rice a little yummy seasoning!}

8. Use a tea infuser for dusting cupcakes with powdered sugar.

9. Basic White Sauce: saute 1 tbsp flour with 1 tbsp butter, then add 1 c. milk. From here you can add other spices, cheese, wine or whatever flavor you like. {To make it a little creamier, use heavy whipping cream - Pioneer woman style!}

10. Ready to eat that avocado from #4 now, to ripen it or other fruit place in a brown paper bag on the counter. {For more avacado tips, read this article.}

11. Put parmesan cheese wedges in with your cheddar to keep them moist.

12. Tomatoes will last longer if you store them on the counter instead of the fridge.

13. Want to make your mac & cheese a little more fancy or save a little time? Add some frozen pea's or carrots into the boiling water for the mac noodles.

14. Home Made Red Enchillada Sauce: Purchase a bag of dried chile (California or New Mexico pods). Remove the stems and seeds and put dried chiles in the blender with 2-3 cloves of garlic and about 3 tbsp of chicken bouillon. Slowly add boiling hot water and blend. (Blender should be full) You can add a little powder masa to thicken. {Now that sounds delicious!}

15. Apples and pears turning brown after cutting? Just put a little 7-up on them!

16. To prevent boiling over, place a wooden spoon across your pan. {This totally works!}

Your Tips! Starting with Cleaning...

So over the next couple of weeks I'll be posting your tips on Cleaning, Cooking, Organizing and Saving Money. We collected these this morning at our GUM meeting and I'm compiling them here for you - feel free to send me more and I'll add em in before I publish!

I'm starting with Cleaning Tips - because well, that's where *I* need the most tips! {Can I get an amen out there?}

1. Got dog slobber on your sliding glass or (if you're like me) car windows? Use KABOOM shower tub & tile cleaner to get the slobber off. {Evidently soap scum is similar to dog slobber!}

2. Clean the bathroom when the kids are in the bathtub. {What a great multi-tasking idea!}

3. Clean your floors with a a simple solution of vinegar and water. {Check out this blog for more Vinegar cleaning tips: 101 Uses for White Distilled Vinegar}

4. Tea Tree Oil - its great for blemishes, fungus, small cuts, cleaning and its natural! {Just a dab 'il do ya! Visit your local health food store to pick yourself up some oil from the tea tree!}

5. Mr. Clean Magic Erasers. {Enough Said!}

6. Use cleaning gloves and save your hands from those harsh chemicals. {Keeps your hands in holding shape and who doesn't need a little more hand holding?}

7. Oxi powder cleans cloth diapers {Amen sista! Considering cloth read my rants on it here: JKOsborn}

8. Dryer sheets will removed deodorant marks on cloths. {FOR REAL? I'll be putting this to the test the next time this happens to me!}

9. Faded jeans making you blue? Mrs. Stewarts Blueing liquid (MSB) - keeps your whites from getting yellow and your jeans from fading. {I had to look this stuff up. Apparently according to their website, "Not only does it whiten whites, it also brightens colors and does so without harsh chemicals, prolonging the life of any garment." Amazing right? OR try re-dying your jeans at home in your washing machine. Tutorial found here!}

10. Wood furniture looking a little drab? Just polish it with a little vaseline! {Read here for more uses for first aid, beauty and the entire household!}

11. Baking Soda - clean your dishes, clean almost anything, really! {Check out these tips for cleaning with Baking Soda!}

12. Don't leave your husband to watch the kids for more than 2 hours!

Okay, so maybe that last one isn't {or is} true in your house, but let's remember the spirit of his help and the stage of life we're at. Raising kids is messy! Hopefully you'll be able to implement or try a couple of these tips and find your cleaning duties getting a little more manageable. I sure hope so.

Next blog post: COOKING TIPS!