Awesome update #3

 Aren't these canisters cute?!  I used oatmeal containers and covered them with scrapbook paper and clear contact paper.  I use them every single day!  you can't see very well but the labels say things like flour, sugar, chocolate chips, rice, etc... I first made them when we didn't have a whole lot of cupboard space in our duplex and I still use them today in our house to free up space for my kitchen gadget obsession, another story for another day.

Well one day I got fancy!  I made a set of 4 of these for my sister for Christmas.  I LOVE them!! I wish I'd gotten a pic of the whole set.  They were so cute I almost didn't send them to here...but then again NOTHING in my house is zebra stripped :)

Wrapping paper and clear contact paper is even easier than scrapbook paper! I spray painted the lids with two coats of spray paint.  Add a cute little ribbon for some flare and you're good to go.  I have all the stuff to do a bunch for my kitchen and it's even cut and ready to go I just have to DO IT...one day...

These aren't just for kitchens, you can use them all over the house.

• They are great for keeping hair accessories together in the bathroom.  Headbands even fit great around the outside.
• Toilet Paper rolls fit great in them
• keep little sets of kids toys together (I probably wouldn't use my fancy ones for this but my kids keep army guys, angry bird games, and my daughters little dolls and accessories in them in their rooms.

The possibilities are endless...what would you put in them?

Updated Sanity Saver #2

Oh how I loved this friend!  But unfortunately the pads got too expensive so I replaced them with just using a cleaning rag and spray cleaner.  It worked fine but I still hated to mop....until.....

I found this baby!!!

I got mine for like $15 and oh baby do I LOVE it!  I have mopped at least once a week since I got it (which I'm grossed out to admit it but that's a big deal!) and it just makes life so much simpler.  

BUT there's a catch....DON'T BUY THE REFILL BOTTLES!   To me they are a waste of money.  I like the scent of the swiffer wet jet sprays but they left some kind of soapy gummy residue on my tile floors.  So what's the point of having this?  Aha!  Here's the beauty, refill it yourself! 

To get the lid off:

1. Boil about 2 cups of water in a small sauce pan on the stove.
2. Dip the bottle into the water so it is just covering the white lid for about 30 seconds or so.  This will soften the plastic and allow to you to work with it.
3. Using a dishcloth or hot pad to protect your hands unscrew the lid.  It's like magic!  From now on you will be able to screw on and unscrew any time you like with out boiling the water again.  

What to fill it with:

• You can use any floor cleaner you prefer like pine-sol, just make sure you mix according to the directions.
• I prefer to keep it simple. I use equal parts of warm water and white vinegar and a couple drops of essential oil (this week I'm using lemon grass).  
• I will be buying another refill bottle to use my wood floor cleaner on.  The water and vinegar mix works fine but it doesn't leave the shine like I like from the Zepp from Home Depot.

Viola!  No gummy residue, clean and sparkly floors, and no bending over and working with a nasty mop bucket.  Instead of buying the pads I just found a rag that would cling to the velcro strip on the bottom, wet it with water, and off we go.

Beware: you do have to buy batteries before you can use the spray part, I didn't know that and I was very sad. :(

New and Improved Sanity Savers!

Hi Folks!  Remember me?  I came upon my long lost blog the other day and realized how badly I actually need this blog to save my sanity!  After reading the posts from 3 years ago it brought back lots of memories, some good, some kinda painful (ahem my cookie dough addiction...I'm over that addiction now thank goodness!).  I realized that I have come a long way since my last posts, thank you PINTEREST!  So here's some updates:

Improvement #1:

 Remember this friend?  Well guess what else you can do with it?!?  Did you know that if you fill it with equal parts white vinegar and liquid dish soap you can keep it in your shower and use it as a daily shower cleaner?!  How awesome is that?  I'm a big fan of cleaning the shower when I'm already in there...just makes sense!

Also, we found that when using it to wash dishes the concentrated dawn dish soap was too thick to get onto the sponge and it just wasn't working well.  So I dilute it with about a tablespoon or so of white vinegar and it comes out nicely and kicks up the cleaning power as well.


It's good to be back!!!  Come back often or just enter your email address on the side and you'll be updated every time I blog.

Keep it simple :)