Thursday, September 6, 2007
RECOVER FURNITURE .. ME?!By Roxanna WardMy Mother-In-Law gave us a dinginroom set. You've seen the kind.Retro 50's soda shop set. Lots of chrome and vinyl. In it's prime,I'm sure it was the cream of the crop. However, manyyears of use andmisuse had left it less than appealing. It was covered in greenvinly. THe vinyl had torn in some places and in an effort to keepthe kids from picking the possibly toxic stuffing out and eating it,I covered the holes with duct tape. Duct tape, the fix it all. Oratleast the fix it until someday.We'll, my someday had come. It was ll I could take. I was sittingat the computer when our yongest brought me another piece ofsomething from underneath one of the chairs. YUCK. No more tape, Iwas on a mission.I set off to buy the material to recover the chairs. I can do this.My first step was to get backup. WIth my sister and mother along forsupport and their vast knowledge, I set off for an upholsterywarehouse in a not so great part of town. Parked the van, locked thedoors and entered the warehouse. On the warehouse door the signread "Please do not leave vlauables in your vehicle". I rememberedmy chairs and thought this is worth it! We oohed and awwwed overdozens of beautiful fabric before we finally saw a sign directing usout back to the half price warehouse. Finally we found themotherload of deals. What a super thrill for a cheepskate .. um Imean frugal gal like myself. I finally settled on a fabric, made mypurchase and headed home.The first step in my journey had already taken place. Now for theactual work. I had to strip one of the chairs of all exhistingfabric and make a pattern for the others. Doing this was the easypart. I then made one cover as an example. I did not initally likethe way I made it, so I revised it as I made each one. I had a totalof siz chairs to recover. The bottoms of the chairs were the easiestpart. I simply had to pull tight and staple to the underneath. ThenI used an old cereal box front and cut it the size of the bottom andstapled to hide the loose fabric and staples.All in all it only took me a few weeks. I had the privilage of doingthis around all my normal daily chores. And my toddler helped too.I learned that I can do just about anything cheaper than I can buyit. I saved money. I have a custom look to my diningroom (withmatching curtains and accessories). And I learned that my MIL wasnot very well appreciated by her family either. Afterall, they didnot take care of her recovering job well enough ... I found dirtunder one of the chair covers!Roxanna Ward, Community leader and staff writer forhttp://www.BabyUniversity.com, lives in Georgia with her husband andher three children. As a published freelance writer the focus of herwriting is concentrated on sharing household tips, her experiencewith her frugal lifestyle as well as the phenomenal process ofbreastfeeding, child rearing related issues and romanticrelationships. She is also currently the Editor of three newsletters:What's New at BabyU?, Intimate Encounters and At Home with BabyUniversity. Roxanna can be contacted at Roxanna30135@...
Clean Up On the Go! Ten Tips to Deal with Messy Meltdowns.
Clean Up On the Go! Ten Tips to Deal with Messy Meltdowns.by Colleen LangenfeldCopyright (c) 2003- It's vacation time! The car is packed. You'reon the road. Johnnie accidentally bumps his armand his soda falls on top of sister Suzi, trappedin the seat beside him. She screeches and yourhusband crouches lower behind the wheel whileglaring at you to 'make them stop.'- The plane has just taken off. Your family hasbeen waiting for this vacation all year! Ten minutesinto the flight the baby starts crying...diaperchange time! There's very little room to change herand you end up as messy as she is. Are you going tosmell like a dirty diaper for the rest of the flight?Sound familiar? Or just something you want to avoid?While you can't stop messes from happening, you cantake the sting (or stink!) out of them and keep themfrom ruining your family's plans.The key? Be prepared!1. Of course, you have packed extra clothes for thebaby/toddler. What about you? Roll up and pack onelight-weight loose fitting neutral-colored shirtthat could work in a pinch for anyone in the familyover the age of five. It will carry you throughuntil you can get to your luggage.2. Always, always, always carry two or three plasticbags for soiled items. These can also be used as apair of disposable gloves or a seat cover, ifnecessary.3. In your car, keep a roll of paper towels. In yourpurse or bag, a supply of wet wipes. Replaceimmediately when used!4. Go disposable when traveling. Bibs, diapers, cupsand utensils. What you can throw away you don't haveto figure out how to clean. And you'll always have afresh one to start again.5. As long as everyone in the family can tolerate it,pack a lotion with a pleasing scent and use liberally.It will help cover up the little smells that hang onin enclosed spaces.6. Carry a water bottle. Besides drinking, aspot of water can clean hands, faces, and stains ina pinch and it will dry naturally.7. Check your gear. Sippy cup leaking? Toss it beforethe trip begins. Make sure cup holders arefunctioning (and used properly). Everyone needs anapkin or paper towel and must know how to use it!8. Take only non-messy food and drink on trips. Thereare a lot of 'treats' out there these days. Choosewisely and everyone will stay happier. (Beware of theboxed drinks with straws. When squeezed, the liquidtravels right up the straw and flies into the air!)9. Don't ask more out of family members than they canhandle. If jostling a fast food meal in the carinevitably leads to spills and tears, forget thedrive-thru and eat inside the restaurant instead.10. Don't forget to pack your patience. Crying overspilled milk is truly sweating the small stuff. Laugha little, encourage everyone to pitch in and help,and be ready with an easy distraction to get peopleback on track again.=========================Colleen Langenfeld delivers deals, tips andcreative resources to working moms who wantthe most out of their homes, families andcareers at http://www.paintedgold.com . Signup for our fr*ee newsletter and get anonline Creativity Toolkit as our gift to you!
Your time is important!
YOUR TIME IS IMPORTANT~By Roxanna Ward~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~My to do list is longer than my kids spelling list. I find that overhalf of my to do items must be done immediately. The other half ofmy chores need to be done in order to keep myself from having morework later. So time management is always a challange for me.The kitchen is one of those chores that has to be done immediately.Afterall, if you do not clean up after breakfast, you have to weedthrough th emess to fix the next meal. Which in turn creates morework for you. The more work you have the less time for soap operasand bon bons!In my quest for more bon bons, I've come up with some shortcuts tokitchen clean ups. Many times you can use the "do as you go"approach to cleaning. If you take certain steps as you go, clean upwill be easier. Hopefully you'll find my short cuts helpful too.When mixing foods, use a larger bowl than is needed. This will giveyou plenty of room for splatters to stay inside the bowl and off yourwalls. If a larger bowl is not available, simply cut a hole in thecenter of a paper plate and stick the beaters through the holes.Splatters will be kept inside by the plate.Cleaning grease splatters must be my least favorite chore. It ratesup there with the toilet. You can help keep the grease in the panwhen frying by placing a colander upside down over the pan. THe aircan get in to cook the food, and the grease will stay insideunderneath the colander. Turn a cookie sheet upside down over theburners not in use. Lets face it, I'd rather clean a cookie sheetthan scrub three additional burners. That's what dishwashers arefor. You can also buy a decorative burner cover. Most dollar storessell these in sets of four. Thay too are easy to toss into thedishwasher. Aluminum foil works great also, but the cost is greaterin the long run.Before you start cooking, grab a paper towel to place your spoon on.If you use a spoon rest, you'll have to wash it. Remember your goalis to have more time for bon bons. You can use the same paper towelor napkin for the entire day. Toss it into the garbage after dinnerand your counter will be clean. Great thing about this tip, is thatis costs only pennies a week.If you have to spray a pan wth a non stick cooking spray, place thepan inside the sink first. The sticky spray residue will be in thesink and not on the counter. Or skip the spray and line the pan withaluminum foil. Once again the aluminum foil with more costly in thelong run. Even more so if you make your own spray. But theconvience of throwing away the mess may be worth the cost to you.Your time is worth money also. Make sure to spray your pets foodbowl before placing food into it also. Makes for a easy clean up ofthe pets bowl.Last but not least, always make sure to use the vent above yourstovetop when cooking. Even if you don't see the grease, it isthere. This helps prevent the thick sticky film that always follow ameal.Now that you are equiped with these time saving cleaning tips, getback to your soap operas and bon bons. Afterall, that is all we doanyway right!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Roxanna Ward, Community leader and staff writer forhttp://www.BabyUniversity.com, lives in Georgia with her husband andher three children. As a published freelance writer the focus of herwriting is concentrated on sharing household tips, her experiencewith her frugal lifestyle as well as the phenomenal process ofbreastfeeding, child rearing related issues and romanticrelationships. She is also currently the Editor of three newsletters:What's New at BabyU?, Intimate Encounters and At Home with BabyUniversity. Roxanna can be contacted at Roxanna30135@...
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