Welcome to this week’s Works for Me Wednesday post!

So how do we make our nifty little avatars show up?  

That’s a question I’ve been wondering since I started blogging this past January.  

I wanted to go from this…

to this…

I have a blogger account, so I knew that if I commented on those blogger blogs then my profile pic would show as my avatar.

But how oh how do I get my teenyweeny picture to show up on other blogs comments as well??

Well.  I found the answer.  Finally.

Just go to www.Gravatar.com, sign up for an account.  

The awesome part is they only need your email to sign up.  None of that gimme your name, address, SSN, brother’s aunt’s name, sister’s birthday kinda form fillin’ out!  No personal information is asked for.

 Just your email is needed.  That’s all.

Once you enter your email, a confirmation will be sent to your inbox.  When it arrives, click on the confirmation link.

Then you can upload any picture you want to use as your universal avatar and associate it with the email address you comment with.  You can have a multitude of pictures associated to a multitude of emails.

It’s really easy to add another email to your account….

And just as easy to add new pics…

Then all you need to do is associate a photo with an email address….

…and now on any Gravatar enabled blog, you will see your photo appear beside the comments you leave!

I even made one for Jack-Evan so his photo could easily appear on the author page of the posts done in his voice.  :)  

Cool, no?

So anyway, now you can have your face smiling at everyone you comment to.  And that’s what Works for Me!

 Welcome to this week’s Works for Me Wednesday here at Little Jack’s Corner!

Ok, I’ve been making sweet tea the same way - like my mom - for years now.  The process from start to finish isn’t that long, maybe an hour from bag to fridge, but for a lazy cook like myself I wanted to find a way to shorten even that!

And the other week, I did.  I don’t remember where I actually saw the recipe, but it goes like this:

1. Pour 1 and a half cups of sugar in a gallon pitcher. 
2. Fill said pitcher up with very hot tap water while stirring to dissolve the sugar.
3. Take out 6 regular size tea bags (or 3 family size) and twist the string together.
4. Set the tea bags in the pitcher.
5. Cover pitcher and set in fridge.
6. Get thirsty a few hours later, head to fridge, pour a tall glass and enjoy!

You’ll want to remove and throw away the tea bags a few hours later, but otherwise nothing else needs to be done.  I am amazed at how great this tastes!  It’s just as good, if not better, tasting than my original recipe which was always a chore for me (remember, I’m a lazy cook!).

If you have issues with drinking hot tap water, you can always boil the water first to heat it up, but otherwise the recipe stays the same.

And that’s what Works for Me!

I also did a works for me wednesday at my other blog, www.HomeschoolFever.com in which I told how to convert MS Word documents to PDF documents for free.  Why not head over and check it out?

For this week’s Works for Me Wednesday (hosted by Rocks in My Dryer), I have a pretty short, easy tip. 

You know how those little bedside tables look cluttered with just a hefty radio clock and a lamp?  Sometimes there’s no room left for even a cup of water or some books!  I solved that problem with a simple little plastic paper receptical used in offices.  Just flip over the little “inbox” tray and slide your alarm clock (or stack of books” under it.  The flat surface above can then be used as more flat space to rest cups, reading glasses, a small basket, books or a lamp on.

It works for me. :)  For more handy household tips, check out this week’s Works for Me Wednesday.

…ok, that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but I had to think of some catchy title for this week’s Works for Me Wednesday (hosted by Rocks in My Dryer).

You know how annoying it is to spend hours many minutes typing out a very thought provoking blog comment, post, thread reply, message board post, or some other “fill in this box” space - then you hit send, and *POOF*, all of your wonderful insights suddenly dissappear into the depths of cyberspace, never to be seen again?   Nothing is more frustrating than seeing an ominous “internet explorer cannot display…” page pop up!  You hit the back key or refresh in desparation, hoping your words will reappear.  But they don’t.  And all of the time you spent typing everything out is a waste.  It may be due to a sudden internet outage (dog unpluged your modem, anyone? *raises hand*), or you may have taken so long to respond that you were logged out (”session time out”). 

But what can you do?

I spent years pounding my keys in frustration each time this happened until I learned the neatest little trick a few years back.  In fact, it was so obvious that I pounded my keyboard once more in annoyance that I had never thought of this before.

Anytime you are typing more than a sentence on the web that you will eventually “send” somewhere, you should always perform the following proceedure -

Hit “CTRL + A” to highlight all of your text.

Hit “CTRL + C” to copy the highlighted text.

Then hit send.

Now, if something goes awry, you have a copy of what you just wrote on your computer’s clipboard in case the page cleared the text from the box. :)  In the awful case that something does happen, just return to the blank box, position your cursor and hit “CTRL + V” to paste.  All of the text you just lost magically reappears before your very eyes.  (Ohhhh the wonders of modern technology).

And that’s my little secret to never ever losing what I have typed.

It works for me!

It’s time for Works for Me Wednesday again!

As I sit here looking around my house, here are some things that I know we couldn’t do without. They’re all of the daily life objects that…well…work for me!

For Your Lips

• Blistex - I will absolutely NOT use any other brand on my lips.  My lips get extremely, horribly, and mortifically (HA!  a new word!) dry…dry as the Sahara in Summer.  Blistex comes in a squeezy tube, and it’s creamy white.  It adds terrific moister!  No waxy feel…just wonderful moist lips, period.
• Carmex - got fever blisters?  This medicated salve in a round white and yellow tub works great, and heals those buggars within a day or so.  It’s also great for daily lip soothing
• Lanolin Nipple Cream - ok, don’t laugh, but this provides wonderfully coating THICK moisture for extremely dry, cracked lips.  And it’s safe (hey, babies eat it…if it’s good enough to touch my baby’s lips, it’s good enough for mine.)

For the Kitchen

• Quart and Gallon Freezer Bags - use them to store leftovers of anything.  I never use tupperware.  It’s too bulky!  You can store anything in a freezer bag! (Lay soups down to freeze flat to save room).  Also use them as snack bags to store cut up veggies and fruits for the fridge.
• Labeler - the $19.95 DYNO labeler from Walmart is a God-send.  Use it to label those freezer bag contents (don’t forget to add an expiration date!), label where everything goes in cabinets (for those forgetful husbands) and anything else that strikes your fancy.
• Whistling Tea Pot - nothing says homey than a whistling tea kettle.  Heating up water for tea or hot chocolate is a breeze (you don’t even have to watch the clock).
• Big Bowl for the Fridge - Keep a bowl in the fridge to store snacks.  The bowl, filled with fresh veggie snack bags, will look enticing and encourage you to grab-and-go.
• Electronic Can Opener - I will never, ever, ever break my hand trying to twist a manual can opener again!  This thing is a life saver.
• Small Food Processer - you can get one for about 10 bucks at Big Lots or Walmart.  Use it to make small quantities of baby food, bread crumbs (from the ends of the loaf!) or crush up nuts to use as a topping for cassaroles.

For the Entry Way

• Decorative Mirror - so you don’t end up going out of the house looking like a frazzled, frumpy mom with hair sticking up and pepper in your teeth.
• Key Hanger - this one is a no brainer.  Everyone needs a place to put their keys!  Install hooks on the wall beside the door or get a pre-made key rack.  We have a wooden key-shaped key rack with 3 hooks. 

For the Living Room

• Small, Empty Basket - place it on a side table where tiny bits of clutter tends to collect.  Make it known that small items go strait into the basket.  That way, even if the basket gets full of “junk”, the table still looks neat.  Be sure to clear it out occassionally!
• Reading Basket - store a small wicker basket beside the chair you read in most often.  Books you are currently reading go in there!
• Library Bag - Keep library books in one bag (a nice canvas tote or even a laundry basket will work).  Only remove one at a time.  That way when the books are due, you’ll know where they all are.

For the Bathroom

• Hand Towel Bar Beside the Sink - this one sounds like another no brainer, but I have been in plenty of houses where a hand towel was no where in sight!  Get a silver or wooden dowel type of hanger and just place it on the wall closest to the sink.  Hang up a nice hand towl, and enjoy the convenience.
• Basket for Rags - Need a place to store rags?  We keep ours folded in a cute basket on top of the toilet back.  They’re easy to reach for, handy, and guests don’t have to ask where our rags are.  If you’re worried about them falling forward into the toilet, my mother did it when I was growing up, and I do it at my house now and have only seen a basket of rags fall in the toilet 3 times in 25 years.
• Large Handheld Mirror - Stand with your back to the vanity or sink mirror.  Raise the handheld one to your face and look through it.  You’ll be able to see the back of your head!  Use this when you style your hair or make sure your curls are even.

For the Closet

• Short Shower Stall Rods - Hang them from front to back in small closets to create more storage space!
• Hanging Metal Shoe Rack (on the Door) - Use to hang hats as well as shoes on the inside of your closet door.
• Light - one of those battery touch lights will be just fine.  A lighted closet aids in picking out your clothes, and it really does lift your spirits.

Daggum. 

It’s midnight and I just thought about the fact that it’s already Wednesday….which means I have nothing prepared for this week’s tip on “Works for Me” Wednesday (hosted by Rocks in My Dryer).

But have no fear!  My creative mind has come up with a stroke of genius.

I’ll just send you off to a review I did of my beloved shark steam mop.  When I did the review, the only hard floors I had was linoleum rug.  We have since installed a hard wood laminate floor (light pine color), and I can tell you my opinion of the mop hasn’t changed.  It works as well on our laminate floor as it does on our linoleum!

At $79.95, it might seem a little pricey for an As Seen On TV “mop”, but believe me folks, this thang can C.L.E.A.N. 

It works, I tells ya.  Works mighty well for me.

So here you go…click here to read my review of the Shark Steam Mop..

Enjoy reading, and happy tipping!

(For more helpful tips, head over to Works for Me Wednesdayl)

Welcome to this week’s Works for Me Wednesday tip at Little Jack’s Corner! 

I grew up with small closets… you know, the kind that is about 6 feet wide, 2 feet deep, with one lonely bar hanging about 3/4ths of the way up?

I hated them then, and I still hate them now.  Once upon a time, I declared that when I “got my own place” my closets would be the huge walk in type.

That was before marriage, interest rates, and money management kicked in.

Now I not only have “my own place”, but I have 3 nice smalllll closets to go with it.  So what did I do?  I set about figuring how to maximize my space.  Not only have I effectively organized the (small) closet my husband and I share (and we have a tushy load of clothes), but I have also organized my baby’s closet.  The way I maximize my space allows me not to have to “change out” clothes seasonally - there’s plenty of room to store all of our clothes.

How I Did It

Now, for anyone who has ever had one of these small, wide closets, you should realize that clothes hanging side to side, in the normal fashion, is not the best use of space.  Furthermore, using only one bar when much of our clothing on hang down a few feet is wasting even more space.

The Solution?

Instead of running the long generic bar from one side to the other, install a short bar and run it from front to back.  For most small closets you can do this 4 times.  Two bars will be placed on the right - the first one just below the generic long bar (enough to give hangers clearance) and then another about halfway down.  Then repeat on the left side.

This effectively quadruples the available space for hanging shirts!  Plus you then still have the middle section to hang long dresses on the generic side to side bar.  And since you will now be viewing your shirts from the front (instead of the shoulder edge), you can hang them closer together and just “thumb” through them when you need one.  Needless to say, hanging clothes closer together gives you more room as well.

Bonus - if you don’t need the top shelves of your closet and would rather have hanging space, remove the shelves, install one more long generic side to side bar near the top of the closet and add two more front-to-back bars on each side.  That’s how we have our master closet.

Doing it Cheaply and Prettily

I am a firm believer that organization doesn’t have to cost much if you are able to think outside the box.  I also believe though that in order to keep up the habits of good organization, your storage and closets need to be aesthetically pleasing.

Formerly, I would have my dad, a contract fence installer, install one of his left over fence poles (cut down to size) in the closets for me.  And bam…free storage made easy. 

But it was ugly!  And every time I would peek in my closet, the look of the thick pole would annoy me.  Even painting it didn’t help in my eyes.

I needed a better, more aesthetically way to do it myself - from easy sizing to easy installation.  Finally I discovered the solution!

Shower rods.

Yep.  Shower rods.   And I don’t mean the long rods-that-go-over-the-tub-shower-combo.  At Walmart (and I’m sure at many other places too) you can find short little 20-46 inch expandable / retractable shower tension mounted rods designed to hang curtains over actual shower stalls.  The ones I found come in cream or bright white.  And they only cost $4.96 each.

Perfect!  

I now have 5 shower-turned-closet rods in different areas of my home.  They worked wonders for my son’s closet, especially with all of his cute baby clothes that needed storage.  Plus, when he gets older he’ll be able to reach the lower rods easily!

And if you’re wondering if they can really hold weight, I have one rod in my uber organized front living room closet with all of our heavy winter coats hanging on it.  Just be sure the tension mount is tight enough (it’s just a simple twist and lock type of mechanism).

So there you have it… cheap, easy, and aesthetically pleasing closet organization for kids rooms, parents rooms or any room in the house!

For more great Works for Me Wednesday tips from the blogosphere, head over to Rocks in My Dryer.

I’ve always had a problem with “remembering” to eat leftovers. 

You know, after dinner you plop them in the fridge, say to your husband “Don’t forget that’s in there!” and then happily wade through the next 2 weeks until the rotten smell from decomposted leftovers knocks you over as you open the fridge door.

So, I’ve come up with some tricks that help us remember to eat leftovers!

First, whatever is leftover after dinner gets put into a serving size container immediately after a meal or divvied up into a “tupperware plate”.   I then lable them with my handy-dandy dyno labler (I’m addicted) placing the name of the dish as well as an “Eat By” date (our own expiration date…usually no more than 3 months from that night).  The only thing that goes into the refrigerator is what I KNOW will be eaten.  The rest goes into the freezer immediately.

Example..

Last night we had meatloaf for dinner.

A big meatloaf.

After Kevin and I had enjoyed 3rd’s there was still almost half of the original dish left!

That was enough to make 16 Meatloaf sandwhiches.

Immediately after dinner, I got out the hamburger buns, aluminum foil, shredded cheese, and ketchup.  On each bun I placed a bit of ketchup, meatloaf, and some cheese.  Then I wrapped each sandwhich in its own little aluminum foil pack.

All in all, I made 16 meatloaf sandwhiches.  8 of the were placed in the ‘fridge to use for dinner tomrrow night and the other 8 were divvied up 2 by 2 into quart freezer bags. 

Now anytime we want a quick meal, we pull out the wrap, pop it into the oven and toast for 15 mins or so.

Simple, easy….works for me!

For more great Works for Me Wednesday tips today, head over to Rocks in My Dryer.

I have been sooo off this week!  For one, I thought yesterday morning I had missed this week’s Works for Me Wednesday so I didn’t plan on doing one.  Then last night I spent 30 minutes getting our garbage ready for collection.  And to think, I was so proud of myself for “remembering”!

The bad thing is - yesterday was Tuesday.  Not Wednesday, like I thought…. All. Day. Long.

I got up this morning and noticed Kevin hadn’t taken the garbage out before he left for work (something that never happens).  Then I laughed when I realized my error.   Yep.  The garbage man doesn’t come until Thursday morning. :(  Poor me.

So anyway. 

In my no-longer-confuzzled state, I realized that I still could participate in WFMW (yay!), and began rummaging for some miraculous tip that I could share.

Now, I don’t know about miraculous, but here’s a household tip I “inherited” from my mom.  And, well, it works for me really well.

 There is a type of honey here in the south called “Sue Bee” honey and it comes in the cutest little squeezable plastic bear container.  After the honey is gone, we’ve always kept the little honey bear, washed it out good, and then stored our vinegar in it!  The squeezable bear, with its easy snap top, makes vinegar use very practical!  Just open the little top, dribble some vinegar on your salad or cucumbers, close the top, and WAHLAH! 

Easy, cute, vinegar storage.

The only thing you have to watch out for is that apple cider vinegar is the same color as honey, so you have to pay attention to which bear you grab if you still have another honey-filled bear sitting around.  That’s easily taken care of though if you remove the honey lable and write vinegar on the other bear with a sharpie. 

(We’ve just always been too lazy to do that.) 

For more WFMW household tips, head over to Rocks in My Dryer!

For this week’s Works for Me Wednesday, I’m going to let you in on a little secret.

Promise not to tell?

Ok.  Here it is…

I HATE IRONING!!!

(Shhhhhhhhhh)

Maybe I’m just lazy.  I dunno.  But getting out an ironing board, waiting for a metal iron to heat up, getting frustrated about water stains, trying to figure out the right setting, and standing there pressing garmet after garmet (and sometimes ruining the occassional piece!) just does not appeal to me.  Mom even got me one of those nifty full-size, fold down “door” ironing boards with a pretty cover when I got married.  Let’s just say that it makes for a nice decoration on the back of our bedroom closet door.

However, with that said, I love the ironed look and hate wrinkles almost as bad as I hate ironing!  Needless to say, a hot dryer and a damp cloth was my best ironing friend for years before I was introduced to the miracle of steam ironing.

Most of you have probably seen the infomercial about the Tobi Steam Iron.  I have. (Granted though, I love infomercials because they make me laugh - it’s a guilty pleasure my mom and I have although we never buy anything from TV directly).  Well, the Tobi Steam Iron was one thing I did want though, but because of the price tag, I knew we couldn’t afford it.

FYI, for those of you wondering, a steam iron looks like a small canister vaccuum with a hose attatched.  Water is heated up inside the tank, and then steam fumes out of the end of the hose (from a rectangle looking attatchment with holes).  You then run the steam over a garmet that is hanging up on it’s hanger - and wrinkles easily fall out!

One day, in Walmart, I spotted the Conair Steam Iron for only $30.  I’d wondered if it would work as well as they proclaimed the Tobi would (I’m very skeptical of TV products) - but being the steam hounds that I am and knowing how well steam does work, I decided to try the Conair.

And it worked (and still works) beautifully after owning it for well over a year now!  I’ve successfully ironed Kevin’s thick work jeans, uniform shirts, delicate silks, tshirts, blouses, and more all in one sitting.  There are no confusing “cotton here”, “silk here”, “wool here”, “steam / dry” buttons to worry about (regular iron buttons always annoy me).  One quick button is all you use (the “on / off” button!!).    And it makes everything so wonderfully fast! 

The steam is a lot better for clothing as well as it doesn’t forcefully press down the fibers.  And it never causes that ugly sheen that you get on some clothes after regular ironing!  Silks are no problem either, and so I never worry about damaging a beloved silky night gown.  YET, it’s strong enough to give a nice pressed look to Kev’s thick work uniform in less than 2 minutes.

As much as I love it, there are a  few minor drawbacks I’ve found -

1.) The water tank on the Conair runs out pretty fast if you don’t pay attention.  You’d probably have to refill if you’re doing more than 3 round baskets of adult laundry at one time. 

2.)  You must keep the hose extended and the top part hung up high (on the enclosed door rack) when on as steam will puddle in the hose if you lay it flat.  Steam also sometimes puddles in the hose during ironing.  To fix this, just stretch the hose high over your head, shake, and tug (like you would a vaccuum hose with something caught in the middle).  A puddled hose will leave water spurts on your clothes.  Thankfully, it’s easy to tell when steam is puddled inside because it will start gurgling loud and the steam won’t be spewing out like it should.  Encountering this doesn’t really bother me, but my Aunt (who is in her 50s) didn’t like having to deal with the occassional puddles inside the hose when she borrowed mine.

3.)  It takes as long (or sometimes longer) for the water to turn to steam when you first turn it on as it does for a regular iron to heat up to it’s hottest setting.  In my perfect world, I’d be able to turn it on and steam would magically arise 10 seconds later.  :)  Once the steam gets going though, the speed at which you can iron clothes is MUCH faster than a regular iron!  (Plus they’re already hung up on hangers before you even begin.)

4.) If you require an extremely crisp, starched, tailored look with creases in your pants, the Conair steam iron may not work for you.  It does come with an attatchment that is supposed to let you make those creases in pants, but I never bothered with figuring out how it worked.

…and that’s all the drawbacks I can think of!  Otherwise my little Conair Steam Iron is the perfect little thing to use for all of our ironing needs.  The benefits, in my opinion, and time saved (and the fact that it handles silky delicates AND thick uniforms with super ease) far outweighs any drawback.  I even use it to iron the curtains whilst they’re still hanging on the rods!  I also like the fact that the attatchment you hang clothes on while ironing slips easily on top of any door - and that’s where you hang your steam hose too when in use.   In comparison, the more expensive Tobi Steam Iron utilizes a separate rolling cart , which I think would have just gotten in my way and felt like clutter.  Yay for Conair!

My dryer, who was oft used as a wrinkle remover, thanks me highly.  His workload is forever lightened. 

(For more awesome household and family tips, head over to Works for Me Wednesday, hosted by Rocks In My Dryer!)