Ever have a wet Cell Phone?

Tech TLC

Have you or any of your kids dropped your cell phone in water? Mine ended up in the pool this summer.

Try this:

Don't try to turn it on. Remove the battery and seal both it and the device in tupperwareg witha silica gel pac (found in a new purse, or in a new shoe box, or even in a bag of beef jerky). Put the lid on and wait a day for the gel to absorb the liquid before reassembling it and turning it on.

Homemade Laundry Detergent

I came across this blog that has a recipe for homemade laundry detergent. You can make it for around $6.00. Plus the supplies last around 2 years. Saving tons of money. Click here for the recipe.

The night before I had Marie, we were out running errands and decided to stop at Chili's for dinner (I believe it was the dinner of chips & salsa, and molten lava cake - no entree - that put me into labor. But that's beside the point).

As is usually the case, Kyle begged for a kids meal, and with it came one of those fabulous mini-packs of crayons designed to keep kids (and their parents) from going crazy waiting for their food.Well, in the craziness that the rest of that evening brought, those crayons were left in the car. Not in the package. In the 110 degree summer heat. You get the idea.

A couple of days later, when we were all finally home and I had stored up enough energy to unpack the car, I had a big pile of melted, red wax on the carpet to greet me. And a few spots on the seat. It actually made me a little sick, and I had no idea what to do. So, I did what I do best - I ignored it and hoped it would go away.Fast forward a few more months - three to be exact. The spots were surprisingly (???) still there and I decided I'd better do something about it.

I surfed the internet to see what my options were:

1. Freeze it with an ice cube and chip it off with a dull knife. Hardly made a dent.

2. Place a brown paper bag over it and iron it off. I knew that iron would turn my synthetic carpet into an bigger pile of melted plastic.

And then I came upon this beautiful, wonderful, strange tip: WD-40.And I thought to myself, "This couldn't possibly work."Well, I was wrong. It worked like a charm. It practically melted off the carpet. And the seat. Not a trace left. It's a miracle worker, and I think I'm in love. In fact, I think WD-40 just may be my new best friend.I can't wait to see what other tricks it has up its sleeve.

Thanks Ruth. I stole this from your blog. Wanted to share the GREAT news with everyone.

Where's your toothbrush been

For something that goes in my mouth everyday, you’d think I’d be more eager to have it super clean and sanitary. I tend to put my toothbrush back in it’s little white basket when I am done, not really thinking about germs. Simply gather all the toothbrushes in your house, then add them to the next dish washing cycle. Viola! The hot water will have killed all those bad germy bugs. Those toothbrushes have no excuse and can always use the cleaning. Especially my children’s toothbrushes. I suggest you try this little tip for cleaning your toothbrush. Your mouth will thank you.

Tip from Julie

To keep the microwave clean you can purchase a cover for your food. Its plastic and super cheap. You can usually find it for $1 or $2 at CVS or Rite Aid. I love mine and it keeps my microwave sparkling! *I love the bowl of water idea* thanks :)

Thanks Julie. Check our her site. She finds good ideas with coupons. She's an expert. I wanna learn.

Helpful house hold tips

For a hard to clean microwave

Put a bowl of water in the mircowave for a couple of minutes... until the window gets nice and steamy. Remove the bowl and you'll find that all the bits of who knows what will come off with a quick wipe of a washcloth.

(I tried this one and worked fabulous)

For a clean wooden cuttingboard

1 tablespoon of baking soda

1 tablespoon of salt

1 tablespoon of water

Mix together

scrub and wash clean with warm water.

Got gas?

add a pinch of baking soda to baked beans or chili as they are cooking and it will significally reduce their gas producing properties.

Homemade air freshener

fill a saucepan half full of...

water, cinnamon sticks, orange peels and some cloves

add water as it evaporates.

(my mom always does this and the house smells good)