Idle Ramblings

On New Year's Eve I was in bed, asleep, by 11pm, and the days following have been similar.  We have gone to the beach a couple times, which is always great, but not exactly newsworthy.  In the absence of any profitable work the first couple weeks, I cleaned the house, a lot, and again, and then, when I got really bored, I cleaned Ryker's room.  He moved to Utah a year ago.  He didn't leave it a terrible mess, just a lot of unwanted junk, clothes, and boxes of random weirdness everywhere.  In the last year we, especially me, have added junk to the pile.  It has become the store room, or transition to Goodwill room, or not quite trash, just yet, room.  It was also the graveyard for all my dead computers and outdated electronics.  The pile of old phones is impressive.  I think we could open an iphone museum.   Before Christmas I thought it was the perfect location to hide gifts in plain sight.  I thought no one but me ever went in there, and if anyone did, the bags and boxes would blend in with the existing stuff and be completely camouflaged.  It seemed like a good plan, but it didn't really work out so well.  Needless to say, Santa did not surprise anyone this year.

Any who.... like I was saying, I finally decided to clean it up.  It would not have even been possible without the help and companionship of Quincie.  It was not the sort of task to tackle alone.  It took us the better part of two days, and it really wasn't that bad, aside from the box of wet books and the fight to the death with a couple of roaches.  Thank goodness for a powerful vacuum with a long extension arm.

I don't enjoy idleness, not on a grand scale, or over any length of time, longer than say, a day, anyway.  I need action, I need to be productive.  Finally last week life got back to the normal swing and the work started to roll back in.  I should have taken the time to write while work was slow, but I didn't. It seems like I am only inspired to write when I am busy. I sat down here tonight to plan the upcoming day and week.  There is so much going on in the next 72 hours I am tired just thinking about it.  Yet, here I sit, writing a blog post....  If I stay up another half hour it will be tomorrow and I can get crackin' on that list!

I have made a few observations lately.  They are random, and not connected in any way to the previous paragraphs, or to each other.

1. If you are tired of feeling fat, stop wearing skinny jeans.  I've tried this, it works. 

2. Ignorance and arrogance are an ugly combination.

3. I am bossy.  I can become a tyrannical dictator in the name of getting things done. 

4. Most of the stuff on TV has no appeal to me.  This goes for most of the movies on Neflix, Hulu, etc. as well. 

5. If you stay in your pajamas until the middle of the afternoon often enough, eventually someone will come to the door, and you will answer it. It's a statistical fact.

6. Winter in Hawaii feels like Spring on the mainland.  The nights are just a little bit chilly and most days break with the promise of rain and sunshine.  It is awesome!

Here is a sunset to enjoy because blog posts without pictures are boring.

Oven Cleaning Without Gloves and Other Adventures

Why is it the day that I have so much to do I am hit with the inspiration to write?  We are moving this week and you know the sort of to do list that means.  Sort, pack, clean, ...  lather, rinse, repeat ..... repeat .... repeat

I like to tackle the hard stuff first.  Yesterday I cleaned up the yard, raked until I had a blister on my left thumb.  Today I cleaned the oven.  I read about half of the directions on the side of the can, which is more that I normally would.  When I got to the part about wearing long rubber gloves I stopped.  I don't have any of those just lying about my house, and I wasn't going to the store.  I sure as heck wasn't going to wait to do this nasty task until another day.  I proceeded without the gloves.  The oven is sparkling, and my hands feel, well, bad.  I've washed them at least 50 times today and I think maybe my skin shrunk.  They feel a little tight.  Like the skin is about a half size too small for the bones and muscles underneath.  I slathered on the peach lotion and about 30 seconds later the only reminder was the fresh peachy smell.  It is already time for more.  I am sensing a theme  - lather, rinse, repeat - emphasis on the repeat.

It is time to say a fond farewell to our beach cottage.  Well, dang near the beach cottage (affectionately referred to as the crap shack on occasion).  It has been 3 years and it has served us well.  Many good memories were made here, milestones reached and goals achieved.  I'm only a tiny bit sad to go.  I am so completely excited about where we are headed!

The packing must resume, so the story telling must wait.

If Wendy Starts to Vacuum

I just had an, "If You Give A Mouse A Cookie", afternoon. If you've never read this cute children's story you should.

Here is the Wendy version of the story -

After vacuuming the floor, I need to empty it. The kitchen trash can was full, of course, so I pulled out the bag, dumped the vacuum cannister contents, and headed out the door. While walking to the trash can, I notice Charlie has flies bothering him, so I spray him with some bug repellent. Charlie hates the bug repellent and tries to rub it off on his carpet. I notice the carpet is dirty and so I start to sweep it. While sweeping the carpet I notice the entire carport is dirty. I decide that the hose is the tool for this job. While walking through the yard to fetch the hose, the flies seem to be coming from the area in the yard Charlie uses as a bathroom. All the piles were picked up earlier, but it still smells bad over there. I get the hose and start spraying down the stink. While standing there with the hose I decide to go ahead and water the rest of the grass on that side of the house. I gradually find myself in the back of the house spraying off the trampoline. Charlie barks, and I remember the carport so I head back to spray it down. Spraying down the steps to the door I look up and notice the exterior of the house is dirty. I spray it off. All the dirty water lands on my washing machine and dryer. Luckily I have it covered with a clear plastic shower curtain. So, I take off the shower curtain, and put it in the washing machine. Not wanting to wash it alone, I throw in a few other items. Ok, back to the carport. It is now wet, and muddy. I pick up the broom again and begin to sweep. I sweep all the gook into the yard and put the broom away. I really need to rake up the big stuff from the carport that is now in the yard. The rake is usually right next to the broom, but is missing. I commence looking for my missing rake. All the while Charlie is looking for a dry place to lie down, but at least the flies are gone. It occurs to me to look in the shed for the rake. I need the key to shed, so I go in the kitchen to get it. There I see the trash can, without a bag, and the vacuum waiting to be put away, and remember what started this crazy afternoon. I found the rake in the shed, but decided to leave it there, and go back to the kitchen and finish what I started. The raking can wait for another day.

I am sure there needs to be a paragraph break or two in that narative, but I if you read it straight through, without a pause, you will have a better feeling of how the experience went for me.

I just looked at my feet. They are pretty dirty from all that playing in the water. I am going to go take a shower. Wonder what adventures await in there ...

No More Smelly Laundry

Ah, Irish Spring clean, scrubbed head to toe, lathered and slathered. You turn off the water and reach through the steam for a soft, fluffy warm towel. "EWWWW! That's not going anywhere near my clean face!" you exclaim. You drop the towel in the hamper and reach for another, but they are all the same. The ones you washed and folded last week smell just as awful as the one your spouse hung to dry this morning. You wash, you dry, you even use fabric softener, but still they stink. How does this happen? More importantly, how to make it stop?

The problem here is mildew (mold). Molds are survivors. They thrive in moist, warm areas, like bathrooms and laundry rooms. Their microscopic spores travel through the air, and can lie dormant for a long time, until the right conditions exist for growth. They are hard to see and even harder to kill. Once introduced into your home, they will spread far and wide. A few spores float in through an open window and find a new home on that damp towel at the bottom of the hamper. A few days later you do your normal load laundry and the spores spread. Before you know it your entire linen closet, and probably your sock drawer, smells terrible.

If you are serious about getting rid of the stink, you need to remove the active mold/mildew and all of the spores. Once the problem is contained, you can then move to prevention.

1. Thoroughly clean your washer with bleach. Start with a spray bottle of bleach diluted 10:1. Spray and scrub in every nook and cranny. If you have a front load washer there are often rubber gaskets or seals to prevent water from leaking out of the door. Clean this area thoroughly. Mold can grow in all the folds and curves that trap water after each cycle. Don't forget the fabric softener dispenser. Take it apart if possible.

2. Run the longest wash cycle, at the highest water level, at the hottest water temperature with a cup of undiluted laundry bleach. Run a second rinse cycle to be sure all of the bleach is removed from the washer.

3. Re wash ALL of your linens. It is important that you wash them all. All the bath towels, sheets, wash cloths, kitchen towels, etc. Forgot some and you may reinfect your nice fresh linen and start the vicious cycle all over again. Start with all the whites. Wash them in the hottest temperature with the normal amount of your favorite soap and the recommended amount of liquid bleach. Remove them from the washer immediately after the cycle is complete. Do NOT hang them to dry. Dry them on the cotton setting, which is usually the highest heat. Dry them until they are completely dry. Wash any of the non-whites the same way, except decrease the amout of liquid bleach to only 2 teaspoons per load and make sure it is thoroughly mixed with the water before adding any fabric to the basin.

Now that you have successfully de-stinkified your linens here are some tips to keep them that way.

1. Keep your bathroom, kitchen and laundry area clean. If the caulking or shower curtain start to show dark spots of mold that are not easily removed with cleaner, replace them. This is where the spores are coming from that are multiplying and stinking up your laundry.

2. Do not store clean linen in the bathroom, or any other area that is regularly moist and warm. If you don't have a linen closet, consider adding a decorative shelf in the hall just outside the bathroom.

3. Make sure your bathroom is very well ventilated with an exhaust fan, a window, or both. Leave the bathroom door open when not in use to increase the air flow and more quickly remove the excess moisture from the air after bathing.

4. Pull the shower curtain so that it can dry. Do not leave it gathered at one end where moisture can accumulate and provide a nice home for some lurking spores.

5. Always hang damp towels to dry immediately after use. Even if you do not plan to use them again, this is important. If the towel is dry when it hits the hamper it will not be a prime host for dormant spores.

6. Wash your clothing frequently. Perspiration and normal soiling can also breed mold and mildew if allowed to sit for too long.

7. Wash kitchen towels separately from bathroom towels and bedroom linens. The germ set is different and cross contamination is not a good thing.

8. Always use the instructions detailed above for washing linens. Adding a couple of teaspoons of liquid chlorine bleach to your wash loads will not significantly fade the fabrics, but will effectively kill any lingering spores and smells. Of course, do not use liquid bleach on any fine fabrics or any items that would be damaged.

9. When your washer is not in use, leave the door open. This will allow the interior to dry. If you have small children or pets, this may not be an option for safety concerns.

Besides the awful smell, mold can be a serious health issue, especially for those with allergies. Spend the time to rid your home of mold, and the prevention only takes a few moments daily. The work will be worth it when you reach for your towel and it smells just as fresh and lovely as you!