Ewwwwwwwwww.

If this article doesn’t jump start my spring cleaning, I don’t know what will.  Read about the 5 Places Dirtier Than Your Toilet Seat.

Tip Jar: Another (Albeit Strange) Way to Clean Your Toilet

Just seen on Apartment Therapy: Clean Your Toilet with Kool-Aid. I can’t wait to hear what Mama Judd thinks of this!

Tip Jar: Perk Up Your Stocking Display

All month I had sad, lifeless stockings hanging from the mantel.  (Hey! We finally have a mantel!)

Before

Enter Grandma Judd’s wisdom:  Stuff each stocking with a crunched-up piece of newspaper (or two) to make the stocking hang better.

After

How do you hang your stockings?

Tip Jar: Storing Laundry Projects

Do you know those sticky drips that run down the side of  the laundry detergent bottles?  They really irk me.

My solution?

I purchase plastic saucers meant to catch extra water from your indoor plants.  They keep those sticky drips off your washer and dryer.

Many of you have suggested excellent tips for the tip jar but I haven’t seen one! Send them my way!

Tip Jar: Keep Your Duvet in Place

The Tipster has oodles of tips coming your way but this one is all my own!

It took me a long time to convince Doug that a duvet cover was a good idea. He had a valid concern:  the duvet would get all jumbled up inside that cover. But I gave these handy little gadgets a try and they really quieted his bantering! (At least regarding duvet covers.)

Want to anchor that duvet in place?  First, pick up a set of these duvet clips at Target or Bed, Bath and Beyond.

Second, flip your duvet cover inside out and spread your duvet on top of it.

Third, slip both corners inside the teeth of the clip and clamp the clip closed.

It should look like this:

Last, flip both right side in again.

I’ve found that these clips work great. In fact, they’re even Doug-approved!

Anyone else use these?  Or is a good shake enough to even out your duvet cover?

Tip Jar: Housework Playlist

Our Tipster is on vacation this week, which is fine by me because I want full credit for today’s tip for the Tip Jar.  

Do you need motivation to get moving on your household chores this weekend? If you’re like me, you need a “Housework Playlist.”  I love to sing and I love to dance (although I have no business doing either) so songs about dancing are all it takes for me to get up and shake my thang while I’m cleaning that toilet. 

 

Image found here.  

My all time dream in life is to dance on a lit-up floor like this . . .  

Singing and dancing really helps me get my chores done, even if it takes a little longer than necessary since I’m moonwalking down the hallway.  Download these songs that will encourage you to shake it next time you need some cleaning motivation! 

Baby Got Back, Sir Mix-a-Lot 

Shake it, shake it, shake that healthy butt. Baby got back! 

Can’t Stop, Ozomatli 

You can’t stop, this love, Shake it, Shake it, Shake, Shake it, Shake it 

Shake it, Michael Franti (Holla to Ms. Gee for introducing me to my favorite new band . . . ) 

Shake it, shake it, shake it, like a tambourine 

Shake Your Body, Michael Jackson 

Let’s dance, let’s shout, Shake you body down to the ground 

 Hey Ya, Outkast 

You got to, shake it, shh shake it, shake it, got to shake it
(Shake it Suga’) shake it like a Poloroid Picture 

 Shake it, Metro Station 

Now if she moves like this, will you move it like that, Come on, Shake, Shake, Shake, Shake, uh shake it 

Shake, Shake, Shake,  KC & The Sunshine Band 

Oh, shake shake shake, shake shake shake,
Shake your booty! Shake your booty. 

Twist and Shout, The Beatles 

Well, shake it up, baby, now, (shake it up, baby) 

 Shake Your Grove Thing, Peaches and Herb 

Shake your groove thing, shake your groove thing, yeah, yeah
Show ‘em how we do it now 

Shake it Up, The Cars 

Shake it up, oo-oo
Shake it up, yeah yeah
Shake it up, oo-oo
Shake it up 

How do you get motivation to clean the house? 

Don’t forget to send me your tips!

Tip Jar: Clean Your Toothbrushes

Today our anonymous tipster shares a clever tip to keep our toothbrushes in tip-top condition until replacement time.

Image found here.

If you’re like me, your family’s toothbrushes start looking pretty gross from toothpaste buildup.  When you run your dishwasher this weekend, throw them in.  Get crazy and throw your toothbrush holder in there as well.  They’ll come out squeaky clean.  And so will your teeth.

What else do you put in the dishwasher?  Is our anonymous tipster really anonymous?

Savor the Summer: Another Fresh Flower Arrangement

Our house is under construction.  Where there once was a dated fireplace there now stands a bunch of drywall and screws . . . but soon there will be a sleek new mantel and tile surround.  Stay tuned for the big details!

With furniture stuffed against the walls and with wires strewn about, I am craving a sense of normalcy.  Maybe it just looks silly amidst such chaos,  but I’m trying to savor summer as long as possible by bringing in fresh flowers on the cheap.

As I told you here, I use single bud vases that provide total support for a stem or two of a pretty flower.  And as I told you here, I had a great time at the antique mall.  I showed you a lot of pretty goods but not the one item I bought:

I’m totally diggin’ milk glass these days and this wine decanter caught my eye immediately.  The price tag? $12.  Sold! It wasn’t until I got home that I realized it would be perfect for a single-bud bouquet.

Look at these pretty buds! When I think about how the new fireplace is still under construction, I look at this exotic flower and pretend I’m on an island somewhere where people don’t need fireplaces.

Has anyone tried my single-bud vase tip? I’ll have more flower displays to reveal soon.  In fact, I just got word that a fancy-schmancy corporate building downtown totally subscribes to my theory.  I’ll be sneaking in soon for pictures!

Tip Jar: Best Way to Pre-Treat Laundry

Your regular ole’ pre-treatment regimen leaving stains instead of obliterating them? Our mystery tipster knows what’s missing….

Two words: Fels Naptha.

Image found here.

Stain removing is easy with fels naptha.  Buy the bar on the laundry aisle.  Spray your clothing with your ordinary ole stain remover – Shout, Spray-n-Wash, whatever floats your boat.  Then rub the bar on the stained area.  (The woman on the Fels Naptha website merely wets the bar in water before scrubbing but, naturally, our Tipster goes above and beyond.) Scrub the area with a clean nail brush and wash.

Celebrate your clean clothes!

Image here.

Our Tipster has even more Fels Naptha fun in the works.  Stay tuned for homemade laundry detergent that uses – you guessed it! – Fels Naptha.

How do you treat stains? And more importantly, who needs the most stain treatment in your household? I hate to say it but I need about 75 percent and Doug uses only about 25 percent.  Why do I keep buying white shirts?

Easy Fresh Flowers at Home

Fresh flowers are an easy way to lift spirits and brighten your space.  But, honestly, who uses fresh flowers these days?  The only fresh flower arrangements I see in the media are by the Martha Stewart types who produce arrangements like these:

Images here.

Who are these people?

But there are times that I would like to cut something out of our yard or pick up a bouquet and display it indoors. As I began planning parties, I found I could stick tall things in single bud vases. Why couldn’t I do the same with one tall flower?

I realize that this isn’t a particularly novel break through.  But it rocked my world when I realized I could use fresh flowers without the fuss. Perhaps some of you haven’t walked this way either.  For those of you like me,  I’m here to help.

Especially helpful to me this summer have been three short vases I picked up at Ikea for $2.99 each.  They are featured in the summer section and were perfect for some ideas I had for party decor.

Available at Ikea here.

I picked up a $3.99 bouquet of interesting flowers at Harmons and cut them down to a good height.  Fascinating flowers, really – they felt like tissue paper and sprouted yellow buds for several days.  As an added bonus, they lasted about 3 weeks! Any idea what they are?

I had so many left over that I tried to be a Martha type and put them in another small Ikea vase.  I cut them all the same size in hopes they would stand up on their own.  It wasn’t a complete success but it wasn’t a complete failure either.

Since I started the single-bud-vase revolution in our house, I’ve been noticing oodles of vases for sale that may help us non-Marthas construct our indoor “bouquets.”  Look at these lovelies:

Image location lost, my apologies.

Available here.

Available here.

They’re stunning, of course, but for now I’m sticking with my cheap-o Ikea decor.

Okay, in all honesty, does anyone use fresh flowers?

here