A bit of organizing can save your electronics from disaster

You know those carrying cases that come with your electronic devices?  I'm sure you know what I mean - the pesky little things that with constant use of your camera, cell phone, e-reader, ipad, etc, get tossed into your desk drawer because sometimes it's just easier to carry in your pocket or tote.  Take my advice, take a moment to pack all your devices back into them before you make a road trip.  This is a tip that I learned the hard way - an expensive way.

I hurriedly stuffed all my electronics into a large tote before we left for vacation last week - not thinking to bring all my protective pouches and cases with me.  On one of our daily excursions down to the beach with our towels, sunscreen etc, I quickly tucked the spray-on sunscreen with the cap on down into my small waterproof bag that I carry my cameras in.  In it were my faithful companions, my Fujifilm FinePix HS20 16MP Digital Camera and my little FlipVideo camcorder.  I sat under the umbrella most of the morning and the grandchildren were out and about so I used neither the suncreen nor the cameras.  That evening when I unloaded my bags, I discovered that the cap had come off the sunscreen and that somehow the aerosol can was defective because it had leaked about an inch of liquidy gooey stuff in the bottom of my bag.  Aack!  I quickly took may cameras out - the Flip was virtually floating in the liquid.  I dried them out the best I could - took the batteries out and wiped them down with a damp cloth.  After they dried, I put the batteries back in.  The Flip was in working condition, although the USB connector on it no longer "flipped" - I had to manually flip it out - and the screen was damaged, but it actually recorded.  It's the cheaper of the two and of course, the only one I have insurance on.  The Fugi was not so lucky.  It's ruined.  Luckily, my daughter has her smartphone camera, so we were able to capture a few memories.

If only I had taken the time to pack the cases - I'm sure the Fugi would have been fine because it's a thick padded case - the Flip only has a sleeve so it wouldn't have helped much.  And speaking of organization - liquids and electronics don't mix - so my normal haphazzard method of doing things, cost me dearly.  If I had stuck either the cameras or the sunscreen into zip-lock baggies, I would not have had this problem.  It will cost me about $400 to replace the camera with a used one that I found on Ebay.

One extra tip - take along q-tips and alcohol wipes for your electronics.  I'm sure that without the q-tips I had in my first aid kit, I would not have been able to save the Flip - it reached down into little crevices that I could not dry otherwise.  The alcohol wipes helped with the sticky mess and have also come in handy on my laptop keyboard - beware though, alcohol is not recommended for your screens - use a microfiber or lens cleaning cloth for those.

I wanted to share my folly with others so that maybe it will keep someone else from making the same mistake I did.  Pack wisely and take those little cases along with you wherever you go.  They give them to you for a purpose, don't they?

Dishwasher Blues

I'm on vacation this week, so being away, my organizational duties have come to a screeching halt.    This is one I wrote a week or so ago,
Here's a tiny tip that may make your life a little easier.  Unloading the dishwasher is one of my least favorite chores.  I don't mind loading it, but I always forget to unload it until it needs loading again.  It's time consuming and having to unload it makes for a slow clean-up time.  Well, I've found that even your dishwasher needs organization.  To speed up the unloading process, start separating your flatware into sections when you're loading it.  Then when it's time to unload - voila!  The flatware is ready to pick up by the handfuls and put in your flatware tray. 

dinner forks and tablespoons

salad forks, teaspoons and knives

Just pick up they basket, put it above your flatware drawer and only takes a jiffy to unload!

Sometimes the simple little tasks can make a difference.

Are you ready for the Pantry Challenge? Hey, I found my beef broth!

Have you ever got ready to make a meal and can't find the ingredient you're looking for.  I recently needed beef broth for a recipe and knew I had recently bought some in those boxy looking packages they come in now.  I never did find it so I changed dinner plans in mid-stream.  I hate it when that happens!  I was so inspired this morning when I woke up to a sparkling sink and kitchen so I just went full steam ahead and started tackling other kitchen projects. 

This old house had no cabinets when we moved in 15 years ago, so we had some custom made, but our kitchen is so chopped up it was hard to fit cabinets in.  My kitchen has five doors and a fireplace.  Five doors!  One door leads outside, two of them lead to the dining room and hallway, one to the laundry room.  The last one is to a little closet of sorts that I keep large pots & pans, my mixer, Turkey cooker, extra sets of glasses and dishes - most of which we could do without but choose to keep (which may be in a future organization tip).  I've rambled enough so back to the subject.  My cabinets have no room for food items so a few years ago we bought a little cabinet that I've dubbed the pantry. 

Not big, but it hold lots of food.

This morning when I opened the pantry door to get the packets of sweetener for hubby's coffee, this is what I saw, so I decided it was time for a clean sweep. 

No wonder I couldn't find the beef broth last week!

• The first thing I did was empty everything out and line the shelves.   I would suggest you do the same.  It's much easier to sort if you've got it all emptied on a good work surface.  I used my kitchen table since it was right there beside the pantry.

• Next, I assessed each item:  I'm an impulsive buyer and don't even realize I have accumulated so many items.  If you don't think you'll use it, you need to get rid of it.  I made a box today to take to a Food Pantry in a nearby town.
• Keep like items together
  Of the items you're going to keep, organize like items together in the same pile.  That way, it will be easier to find what you're looking for.  For example:
  
  • Canned vegetables and beans
  • Pasta and rice
  • Flour, cornmeal, cake mixes
  • Canned meats
  • Canned fruits
  • Soups
  • Condiments, jellies, peanut butter
  
  After I put everything back in, it looked much better.
  

  

  Canned things on top - I love it when cans stack neatly.  They should require can manufacturers to make them like that!

  

  Crackers, baking mixes, pastas, etc. on bottom.

  Since I was on a roll in the kitchen, I took time to sort my cook book shelves and straighten up my mantle.  As you can tell, I collect vintage roosters and hens!  Take a look......
  
  

  

  Some of my collection on top of the cabinets

  

  A hen and chicks painting dated 1904

  

  Fireplace with an Eastlake firescreen in front of it and more vintage stuff on the mantle.  You can tell I'm a vintage junkie!  The old kitchen clock in the middle belonged to my grandfather who was born in 1877.  The clock is over 100 years old.

  

  

  Fresh flowers brighten things up!

  

  Even the cookbook shelves are decorated with vintage chicken paraphernalia

  Are you ready to take the Pantry Challenge?  Give it a go - it's liberating!

This little sink of mine - I'm gonna' let it shine

My daughter recently told me about a tip she had heard that if you keep your sink shined, it will lead you to keep other things in your kitchen clean also.  I thought I would give it a try today.  I have a white porcelain sink and if you do a lot of cooking in your kitchen, you know that porcelain sinks get a little surface scratching from pots and pans; however they do shine up pretty nicely if you use dish detergent and bleach.

Today, mine was a little grubby, so I cleaned it thoroughly with soap and water and let a little water/bleach bath sit in it for a while.  Then I dried it and it looked so nice, I just had to go on with my countertop doing the same thing - which led me to move, clean up and shine my rooster canisters.  They were so spiffy looking that I moved my toaster oven (umm - when did I last move my toaster oven) - and it surely needed a cleanup - inside and out and underneath.  Wow!  That toaster oven just shines!!  Next, on to my coffee maker.  I had just recently cleaned out my Pampered Chef cooking utensil carrousel, so it was fine.  This was all looking great so I moved on to the stovetop, oven and finally the dishwasher door.  And don't forget the center island!  My center island where I store pots and pans is made of 100 plus year old heart pine beadboard that came out of the old house behind us.   It's small, but I love it!  A little Murphy's Oil gave it a sparkle. 

Before I knew it, I had my whole kitchen clean - and just because I started shining my sink!  You know how marriage counselors tell you not to go to bed angry with your spouse?  Why not "don't go to bed without shining your sink?"  It will make you happy when you get up in the morning to a clean sink.

Before picture - cluttered and needing a good cleanup!

Much better!

Spic and span

You can see your reflection in that countertop!

The rooster canisters got a good washing!

And there's that sink - shiny as can be.

Have a tomato!

Now, it's your turn!

Defrosting the freezer - ugh

Our small upright freezer in the laundry room is not the self-defrosting kind.  This one has been around a long time and has served it's purpose well.  (I must say nice things about it or it will clonk out tomorrow, you know).  After a month or so of scraping ice off each package I took out of the freezer, I decided it was time to tackle the job.

I unplugged the freezer, took everything out and put in three coolers.  I discarded the out of date items but left a few burger packs out to fry up for Fox, our doggie.  He doesn't mind a little freezer burn and he has no idea it's been in the freezer hiding behind the frozen pizzas since December 2009.

Next came the defrosting part.  I have used a hairdryer in the past but that's tedious having to stand there chipping away, so I pulled out an electric heater from winter storage and plugged it in while putting large pans and trays on the racks and in the bottom to catch the melting ice.  I came back about 45 minutes later and used a spatula to scrape the remaining ice - very easy to get off.  Then thoroughly drying the inside of the freezer with a towel, I plugged it back in.  Things we use most frequently went on the top rack.  Here was the end result:

We've been eating all winter on that wonderful frozen shrimp that we bought off of a shrimp boat last fall ( containers in the middle of the top shelf).  Also frozen baggies of flounder and black bass we caught on my brother-in-law's boat is on the left.  Peaches frozen last August that were hidden behind a large pizza box from a school fundraiser.

I don't have a lot left in there, but at least I can find what I want.  One of the best end results was that I found some frozen blackberries from last summer's harvest and I made a fabulous two crust blackberry pie.

You can tell it was good - it's half gone!

  See - there's little added perks from getting organized!  So now, go clean out your freezer!  Have a great day.

Organization - tips on packing for vacations...

Today's a quick post and one that doesn't have a lot to do with housekeeping, but it does fall under the category of organization which is what this blog is really all about.  It's a tip on packing for vacation.  This wouldn't work for hotel vacations, but it's the perfect option for week long vacations for a car trip to a beach or mountain cottage.

Why pack suitcases when one or more laundry baskets will do the trick?  Buy laundry baskets - one for each person in your family.  Inexpensive ones are best because they're flexible - and be sure to get them all the same size so they'll stack easily in the back of your car.

In our part of the world, beach house rentals don't come furnished with linens included, but they do have washer's and dryers which makes it nice not having to pack so many clothes.    Assign each person a different color laundry basket so they can pack their own sheets, towels, clothing and accessories.  An added bonus is that they wrinkle less in a laundry basket than in a suitcase - just hang them quickly when you get to your destination.

The great thing is that you'll have a laundry basket available instead of wondering where to put your dirty clothes each day - very convenient for doing laundry each day while you're there.  Hopefully, you'll find the time to do your laundry before you leave to come back home so that when you get back home, all you'll have to do is pack everything back in it's place.   On weekend trips, we don't do laundry while we're there, but the basket is convenient for hauling back our dirty clothes - ready to go straight to the laundry room when we arrive back home.

Below are some photos that I took while packing for our weekend trip on Thursday.

Sheets & towels on the bottom followed by hubby's clothes

Next, my clothes and pj's

Oops - forgot my beach towel and a few more small linens

It's nice to take a bath rug or two

Next the cat.  Umm...Cello, sorry you're not going with us - get out of there!

The laptop, sunscreen, magazine and sunglasses tops it off.  Ready for the beach!

Have a fun and safe trip!  Do you have any packing tips you would like to share?

Chaos is what killed the dinosaurs....

I found a quote about housekeeping today that said "My house is clean enough to be healthy, but dirty enough to be happy".  It's a cute quote, but not one that I agree with.  I love for my house to be clean.  I love for the floors to shine, the furniture to be polished and the kitchen sink to be spic and span.  My house just looks happier that way - and I'm sure most of you feel that way.  I don't have any problems cleaning my house, I just have problems getting it to stay that way.  It's an endless cycle, isn't it.  But, I've found that organization is the key.  If everything has a place, then it's easier to put it there.

One of my main problems is that not everything in my house has a place.  We live in a 1920's bungalow home that was designed for a simpler lifestyle than ours.  A time when women had one good church dress and enough everyday clothes to last until a weekly wash day if you stretched them out a little.  Men had one good suit, and less than a handful of shirts and pants. Both genders usually had one nice pair of shoes and one everyday pair.  A hat or two rounded out the wardrobe and it all fit neatly in one tiny closet.  Closets were just a waste of living space back then.  There are three closets in my house that are about the size of a refrigerator.  One is for my seasonal clothes, one for some of the hubby's clothes and the other is a coat and sweater closet.   We do have a lot of attic knee wall space, but it's hard to get to.  Things get shoved in there and never find their way out.  And there's an attic closet for storing the Christmas tree and decorations - but that's about it.  Shoes are stored in storage boxes under our tall four-poster bed. 

During a renovation back in the 1970's a back porch was turned into a laundry room with a sink, chest freezer, water heater and a washer and dryer.  We recently closed off a small section of the laundry room to make another small closet for off season clothes,  hubby's hunting clothes and his fifty-seven polo shirts.  Yes, you read that right....fifty-seven (57), and that's the short sleeved ones. He buys his own clothes - do you think he's obsessed? Don't tell him I said so.

The obsession doesn't stop there.  We're both collectors.  I collect old pottery, vintage jewelry, vintage Christmas deco, and roosters.  He collects antique fishing stuff - so much that we've got our entire little sun porch themed like an old fishing lodge.  He also collects vintage kitchen items.  We have every size of Wagner Ware and Griswold iron skillets ever made.  And he loves vintage kitchen gadgets - hard to store items - and he never wants to part with them - just like recently when I said, "Let's sell this french fry cutter on Ebay".  "No", he said, "I might need that to make french fries at the next barbeque we have".  We haven't had a barbeque in ten years.  Besides, we don't even eat french fries anymore. 

Our chaos continues with the fact that we also have an Ebay store and a seasonal weekend business at the coast.  There's the problem of where to put things temporarily when we get in new inventory.  It usually starts on the dining room table and slowly makes it's way out.  Our dining table has become a half-way station!  We're trying to phase out the Ebay business and slow down a little on the weekend business simply because of the chaos.

These are the kind of things I'm going to have to work through one step at a time as I go through my journey of creating my own little organized world.  We're going to simplify.  Our bigger collections are going to have to go.  That will be the next project I'll be working on - it's time for a visit to the local Goodwill or Hospice re-sell shop.   Hubby won't even know that the french fry cutter has gone missing - by the time he gets around to doing another barbeque, I can truthfully say I don't know where it is - I probably won't even remember we had one.

***Note:  The title of this blog is a quote by the author, Dean Kootz.