Monday, October 15, 2007

Free Advice

It's pretty hard to get something for nothing these days. But out of the kindness of my heart, I am passing along some free advice in the hopes that just one life may benefit from it in some way.

1. Don't buy packaged taco seasoning. Those packets are what, $1.29 each or something? You probably have all the spices you need already in your pantry, so just add them to a pound of ground beef and save some money.
Taco Seasoning Recipe (I promise, this is easy. You can even leave out some of the spices it calls for and still have great tasting taco meat.)

2. Company coming and you haven't had time to mop the bathroom floor? This happens to me all the time. Especially since I never mop, and I'm always having people over. This works best for moms of small children, since we already have baby wipes sitting around. Grab a baby wipe and run it over the floor. Presto. Looks much cleaner- almost as if you had really mopped. And it takes about 30 seconds.

3. Don't know what to get for your niece/nephew/child/etc for Christmas? You can't go wrong with a $20 gift certificate to Build-A-Bear. Ava got to go there recently and we both discovered that it is the most fun thing in the universe. I thought it was way more expensive than this, but $20 will get the kiddo a bear and one outfit. They get to choose the bear, make the bear, choose from hundreds of outfits, name the bear, and more. It's a fun outing for a kid and the adult that takes them. They have locations all over, so unless the child lives in No-Where-Ville, there's probably one nearby.

4. Until recently, I was completely unaware that there are some very specific rules for proper care of towels. I was breaking most of them. Like, did you know you are not supposed to use fabric softener or dryer sheets when washing towels?? It messes up their absorbency. Also, it's best to remove them from the dryer before they are completely dry. Here's a list of rules that I plan to follow when I get new towels, hopefully this Christmas..hint, hint.

5. This last one isn't really advice, per se. I mostly just want to show off the extremely cute bed set I just got for Nate from Overstock.com. If you don't know about this online site, then now you do. It's a great place to find a good bargain. I got this cute sport bed set (comforter, skirt, sham, and 200 TC sheets) for $34.99. And if you know Nate, then you know how perfect this is for my little sport-loving guy.

What does "per se" mean, anyway?

4 comments:

Elaine said...

I am also hoping for new towels this Christmas (from IKEA). Thanks to you I'll take good care of them! (I've always wondered what I was doing wrong...) I'm still using those monogramed towels you get for high school graduation. Maybe I should get married and upgrade a few other things!

Quad Squad! said...

I actually already knew about not using dryer sheets with towels. My mom doesn't use them. But I do it anyway because I like them to be soft and I've never had a problem with them not absorbing enough.

And, hey, Build-a-Bear! Great idea! That may be what Kinley gets this year! Do boys like Build-a Bear?

Lindsay said...

Yes, I agree with Quad squad - I love the smell of fabric softner and the feel of soft towels. I seem to be pretty dry before I leave the bathroom so I guess I am okay. :) I had heard that before. My step mom is adamant about no dryer sheets or softner on her towels as well.

Kristi said...

Thanks for the tips!