Of Bits and Bobs, Bacteria and Bugs

The weather will do it to us all...make us forget things, cause us to feel like we are moving through jelly.  Some of us lose our appetite or drink more.  When the weather and the time change the environment seems to work together

Soon it will be far too hot to leave the blinds and windows open; for now it will be good to reread this blog article:

WINTER CHALLENGES

Whether it is a pair of socks you've thrown under your bed or a favourite pair of shoes, now is the time to keep things off the floor and things from leaning against walls.  If you notice paint peeling from the wall (such as near the stairway) or discolouration of a wall (usually the lower part) please let me know.

Now I want to begin by praising and thanking everyone for keeping the dishes washed up.  You have no idea how thoughtful this is.  I do not remember the last time I came downstairs to make my breakfast to find dishes all over the place.  So perhaps I can push the envelope a bit more, because I am still having to do a lot of follow-up behind you guys that you likely don't even notice.   These are easy things and small actions.

Sponges and Dish Cloths

One thing I have noticed is sponges and dishcloths being left soaking wet in or on the sink.  The one on the handle is typically left with the head down in the little basket on the small side sink.  Recently someone thoughtfully put some dish washing soap in this wonderful tool we all use, which was great. 

However, it needs to stay upright so the soap doesn't just seep out through the sponge and down the drain.  This sponge and the other sponge that is used needs to be able to dry out.  So many times the sponges smell so bad that they just have to be thrown out when they are still quite new. 

So the sponge on the handle must be upright, so it can dry out and conserve dish washing liquid and that the other sponge is washed out well, squeezed well so as much moisture as is practical to get out of it is squeezed out.

Why is this, you ask?  Sponges and dish cloths can become easy breeding places for bacteria (that's what makes them smell) when:

·        they are not well washed out (leftover food bits are food for bacteria to grow on)

·        they are left soggy in the sink

·        for dishcloths - when they are bunched up and left soggy on the side of the sink

·        even when they are soaked with soap, bacterial will begin to grow in the sponge (and the dishcloth)

NOTE:  (A dish cloth is typically more free from bacterial growth, because bacteria must have moisture to grow and the cloth dries out faster than a sponge if we remember to drape it over the just washed dishes, for instance)

Some information on sponges to watch:

She is a bit wacky, but her message is helpful.

This is why I prop the sponge up in the window each day and set the one on the handle up in the little indentation in the basket in the sink.  It really will help when the sun hits it and helps dry it out.

The sponge itself needs to be cared for.  The scraping side is made of plastic and if you have a hot pan you want to rush and wash, please resist this temptation because it melts the scraping material and is why the sponge head has to be so often replaced.  It also lets the sponge hold more food bits. 

Bend and Snap

As the oldest person in the house, I am growing prideful that I am also the one person who seems consistently able to bend down and pick things up off the floor.  Yes, I should not share this as I am the one who benefits, but actually it would be better if you tried this exercise too.

So next time you are in the kitchen and drop something on the floor, please bend down and take a moment to pick it up.  If it is something messy, there are paper towels nearby and spray cleaner or Windex (which is a good all-round cleaner) to clean it up with. 

If you just pick up the item dropped, it may leave grease or other yuk on the floor that someone (probably me) could slip on or worst of all that a cockroach could identify as dinner!

Critter Alert

While it is raining so hard it is an ideal time for little critters (and some that look big because they are so gross) such as cockroaches and spiders, perhaps even a mouse (although they would be wise to go next door with sweet Mandarin the cat to contend with now) to seek shelter inside, especially if meals are so easily sourced. 

This means some attention is appreciated on the bench tops, too and the stove after you are finished cooking (today I had to take the stove apart because so much food was spilled into one of the elements that it would barely light. 

If you would like me to show you how to clean the stove properly, please ask me...I love teaching new processes!

Again, the spray cleaner or Windex is a great way to finish up in the stove and back splash. 

Table Too

Oh and take a moment to wipe down the table cloth where you ate as leaving crumbs or just brushing them off onto the floor is again...an advertisement to critters to come and get it!

All in all these are observations and not criticisms.  It has been so much worse in the past and each of you are a joy to have here.  Whenever possible I will take care of these little items because I know you have time pressures and need a break.  However, when I have a project, I get tired too.

Thanks again!

14 Ways To Save Money This Winter

In a shared house, there are many challenges.  In the winter we may enjoy hot chocolates, lamb roasts and cosy nights at home.  Unfortunately, it’s also the time of the year when power bills surge to their highest as we all battle to keep warm.  Here are 14 practical tips and tricks we can use to help minimise these extra costs:  

1. Heating – Almost 40% of household energy use relates to heating during winter. Buy the most efficient heater you can afford and only heat the rooms you are in when you are in them. Keep the thermostat at 18-20C. Be careful you don’t overheat your room. Every degree above that you program your heater adds about 10 % to the heating costs.

2. Program your heater – Use your heater economically. Set it to switch on 20 minutes before you wake up then turn it off 20 minutes before you leave the house or go to bed. Use an electric blanket to warm your bed and then turn it off before you go to sleep.  (Sleeping with an electric blanket can sap your energy, by the way.)

3. Size matters – Think about the size of the appliances for areas of the home you want to heat up. Small energy-efficient heaters are sufficient for bathrooms to save warming up the whole house instead.

4. Cut down your showers - Hot water accounts for around a third of the average household’s energy use. Resist the temptation for longer showers this winter. The average shower is eight minutes…consider cutting that in half. All our showers have been fitted with water-efficient shower heads.  This cuts the amount of water flowing from the shower head to as little as 7 litres per minute compared to an unrated shower head which can use up to 25 litres of water per minute – a 72% reduction on hot water usage.

5. Cuppa Time - Don’t make your kettle work harder than it needs to – If you are making a cup of tea or boiling water for a hot water bottle, make sure you only put as much water as you need in the kettle each time you boil it, rather than filling it all the way up to the top. It costs more to boil a full kettle than to run a ceiling fan for an hour.

6. Heater Switch - Don’t forget the ‘off’ button - Remember to turn your heating off before you leave the house in the morning.

7. Use the oven! - Leave the oven open after you bake – let the warm air circulate around the room!

8. Put your ceiling fan into winter mode – Many ceiling fans have a switch (above the blades) which will allow you to change between summer and winter mode. If you put the fan into winter mode, it will reverse the movement of the blades and force the warm air that is trapped at the ceiling, down into the room to cycle with the cool air. This will warm up your room in winter. For the best effect, keep your fan on low speed.

9. Don’t block the sunshine – If you have pot plants on your window sill, now is the time to move them elsewhere. Maximise the sunlight coming into your home and remove any blockages that may be in the way.

10. Use your curtains - Let in the sun during the day (particularly on north-facing windows) and close them at night to seal any draughts around windows or doors.

11. Let it vent! – Make sure any heating vents are kept clear and that any rugs or furniture that are in the way are moved, to ensure heat is circulated around the room as efficiently as possible.

12. Get dusting – Make sure you regularly dust or vacuum your radiators and vents to stop dust from accumulating. Dust can keep the heat from getting into the rooms where you need it.

13. Seal up any holes in walls or foundations - Any cracks or holes will allow precious heat to escape. Use weather stripper for doors and windows and gap filler for cracks in the wall.  Let me know if you feel a draft somewhere and we can get it fixed.

14. Smarter laundry - Wash clothes in cold water and wash only full loads. Hot water will inflate your bill further and doesn’t contribute any significant benefits versus cold water washes.

Enjoy the Pool !

The History of billiards is long and very rich.  The game’s been played by kings and commoners, presidents, mental patients, ladies, gentlemen and hustlers alike.  It evolved from a lawn game similar to the croquet played some-time during the 15th century in Northern Europe and probably in France.  

Play moved indoors to a wooden table with green cloth to simulate grass, and a simple border was placed around the edges. The balls were shoved, rather than struck, with wooden sticks called "maces." The term "billiard" is derived from French, either from the word "billart", one of the wooden sticks, or "bille", a ball.

Most of our information about early billiards comes from accounts of playing by royalty and other nobles. It has been know as the "Noble Game of Billiards" since the early 1800’s but there is evidence that people from all walks of life played the game since its inception. In 1600, the game was familiar enough to the public that Shakespeare mentioned it in Antony and Cleopatra. Seventy-five years later, the first book of billiards rules remarked of England that there were few "few Tones of note therein which hath not a publick Billiard-Table."

The Equipment

The cue stick was developed in the late 1600’s. When the ball lay near a rail, the mace was very inconvenient to use because of its large head. In such a case, the players would turn the mace around and use its handle to strike the ball. The handle was called a "queue" meaning "tail" from which we get the word "cue." For a long time only men were allowed to use the cue; women were forced to use the mace because it was felt they were more likely to rip the cloth with the shaper cue.

Tables originally had flat walls for rails and their only function was to keep the balls from falling off. They resembled river banks and even used to be called "banks". Players discovered that balls could bounce off the rails and began deliberately aiming at them. Thus a "bank shot" is one in which a ball is made to rebound from a cushion as part of the shot.

Billiard equipment improved rapidly in England after 1800, largely because of the Industrial Revolution. Chalk was used to increase friction between the ball and the cue stick even before cues had tips. The leather cue tip, with which a player can apply side-spin to the ball, was perfected by 1823. Visitors from England showed Americans how use spin, which explains why it is called "English" in the United States but nowhere else. (The British themselves refer to it as "side".)

The two-piece cue arrived in 1829. Slate became popular as a material for table beds around 1835. Goodyear discovered vulcanization of rubber in 1839 and by 1845 it was used to make billiard cushions. A two-to-one ratio of length to width became standard in the 18th century. Before then, there were no fixed table dimensions. By 1850, the billiard table had essentially evolved into its current form.

English Billards

The dominant billiard game in Britain from about 1770 until the 1920’s was English Billiards, played with three balls and six pockets on a large rectangular table. The British billiard tradition is carried on today primarily through the game of snooker, a complex and colorful game combining offensive and defensive aspects and played on the same equipment as English Billiards but with 22 balls instead of three. The British appetite for snooker is approached only by the American passion for baseball; it is possible to see a snooker competition every day in Britain.

The dominant American billiard game until the 1870’s was American Four-Ball Billiards, usually played on a large (11 or 12-foot), four-pocket table with four balls - two white and two red. It was a direct extension English Billiards. Points were scored by pocketing balls, scratching the cue ball, or by making caroms on two or three balls.

A "carom" is the act of hitting two object balls with the cue ball in one stroke. With many balls, there were many different ways of scoring and it was possible to make up to 13 pints on a single shot. American Four-Ball produced two offspring, both of which surpassed it in popularity by the 1870’s. One, simple caroms played with three balls on a pocketless table, is something known as "Straight rail", the forerunner of all carom games. The other popular game was American Fifteen-Ball Pool, the predecessor of modern pocket billiards.

What Does Pool Mean?

The word "pool" means a collective bet, or ante. Many non-billiard games, such as poker, involve a pool but it was to pocket billiards that the name became attached. The term "poolroom" now means a place where pool is played, but in the 19th century a poolroom was a betting parlor for horse racing. Pool tables were installed so patrons could pass time between races. The two became connected in the public mind, but the unsavory connotation of "poolroom" came from the betting that took place there, not from billiards.

Fifteen-Ball Pool was played with 15 object balls, numbered 1 through 15. For sinking a ball, the player received a number of points equal to the value of the ball. The sum of the ball values in a rack is 120, so the first player who received more than half the total, or 61, was the winner.

This game, also called "61-Pool" was used in the first American championship pool tournament held in 1878 and won by Cyrille Dion, a Canadian. In 1888, it was thought more fair to count the number of balls pocketed by a player and not their numerical value. Thus, Continuous Pool replaced Fifteen-Ball Pool as the championship game. The player who sank the last ball of a rack would break the next rack and his point total would be kept "continuously" from one rack to the next.

Eight-Ball was invented shortly after 1900; Straight Pool followed in 1910. Nine-Ball seems to have developed around 1920.

While the term "billiards" refers to all games played on a billiard table, with or without pockets, some people take billiards to mean carom games only and use pool for pocket games. Through the 1930’s, both pool and billiards, particularly three-cushion billiards, shared the spotlight.

From 1878 until 1956, pool and billiard championship tournaments were held almost annually, with one-on-one challenge matches filling the remaining months. At times, including during the Civil War, billiard results received wider coverage than war news. Players were so renowned that cigarette cards were issued featuring them.

Pool went to war several times as a popular recreation for the troops. Professional players toured military posts giving exhibitions; some even worked in the defense Industry. But the game had more trouble emerging from World War II than it had getting into it. Returning soldiers were in a mood to buy houses and build careers, and the charm of an afternoon spent at the pool table was a thing of the past. Room after room closed quietly and by the end of the 1950’s it looked as though the game might pass into oblivion.

The Hustler

Billiards was revived by two electrifying events, one in 1961, the other in 1986. The first was the release of the movie, "The Hustler". The black-and-white film depicted the dark life of a pool hustler with Paul Newman in the title role. New rooms opened all over the country and for the remainder of the 60’s pool flourished until social concerns, the Vietnam War, and a desire for outdoor coeducational activities led to a decline in billiard interest.

In 1986, "The Color of Money", the sequel to "The Hustler" with Paul Newman in the same role and Tom Cruise as an up-and-coming professional, brought the excitement of pool to a new generation. The result was the opening of "upscale" rooms catering to people whose senses would have been offended by the old rooms if they had ever seen them. This trend began slowly in 1987 and has since surged.

In the 1920’s, the poolroom was an environment in which men gathered to loiter, smoke, fight, bet, and play. The rooms of today bear no resemblance to those of the earlier times. Until very recently, billiards was completely dominated by men. The atmosphere of the poolroom was very forbidding and women had trouble being accepted there. Nonetheless, women have been enthusiastic players since the game was brought up from the ground in the 15th century.

For over 200 hundred years, women of fashion have played the game. In the past, it was very difficult for a woman to develop billiard skills because male players, her family, and friends usually did not support her efforts and it was not easy to find experienced female instructors or coaches. As these situations have changed, and continue to change, we can expect women to equal men in ability and take the game to new heights.

Challenges of Sharing

Perhaps it is the weather!  Yesterday, I discovered the washing machine was broken.  But today was especially interesting.  I made a call to a friend who I have been waiting to see since the holidays and afterward went down stairs to organise their gifts.  And what do you think I found?  Someone had opened the big box of chocolates that was a gift for them.  

At first I thought I was seeing things.  Then I took off the cover and saw that the seal of the inside wrapping was still there.  I thought how strange that I had thought there was cellophane around the box. 

I replaced the cover again and then thought, “Wait a minute,”...and went back to check and yes, many of the chocolates that were individually sealed into plastic were pressed out and enjoyed.  I can’t believe anyone would do that! 

I looked around the table to see if somehow I had left an “eat me” sign on the box of chocolates.  No, no sign anywhere....just eaten chocolates.  No one asked.  No one even said thank you for the chocolates.  They are just gone!  They were a gift to me and were saved to be given to this family with children.

Washing Machine

Last night Adam called me after he saw the broken washing machine asking what had happened.  I told him I did not have a clue..I had discovered it early in the day and was really surprised and disappointed, not so much for the fact that it was broken and would need to now be repaired or replaced, but that someone would break something and not take responsibility for it.

As I struggled to fall asleep last night I thought of all the things that have been broken or destroyed or used without so much as a “would you mind if I borrowed something” question (and with nothing being replaced...just quietly swept under the carpet hoping I would never say anything or even discover these things).   Yentl and Jacqueline recently took initiative to see some things needed replacing and bought a few items for the house which was very thoughtful. 

Privacy, Pride, Peace and Possessions

Since I opened my home I have sacrificed my privacy, peace, my pride and many possessions in the spirit of trying to be kind and supportive to those who live here.  When Hunter left, the damages he left were significant, including the loss of irreplaceable personal items caught in the “jelly-wrestling flood” and having to have his room completely re-plastered and painted (thank you Adam for the cost-effective tradesman to accomplish this). 

Additionally, I have had to replace:

·         The vacuum cleaner twice

·         Three lovely ceramic lamps I liked and had for 20 years with not so much as a scratch on them

·         The toaster twice

·         The microwave

·         Many drinking, wine and Champagne glasses (Recently I was surprised to pull my hand from the plastic bag bin (that I was clearing out to take to the rubbish bin) with a huge cut from a broken and hidden Champagne glass.  I purchased a set of ten Champaigne and ten wine glasses about a year ago and see fewer than half of each are left -- even the new glasses provided by Jacqueline and Yentl I’m finding broken and hidden in the rubbish bins)

·         Linens – pillows, sheets, doonas and towels (Recently, I found a newly purchased cream Sheridan sheet that looked like it had been used to wipe up some spill and then hidden away.  It was thrown out before I could ask about it)

·         Cutlery - when I bought the new glasses I also bought new cutlery (The can opener survives but is broken so badly I am surprised anyone can still use it)

People have used many things with freedom.  Yet this freedom does not seem to be recognised, let alone appreciated.  I hate the idea of nagging...even asking is difficult for me.  I anticipated sharing a home would mean sharing responsibilities without rosters or "to do" lists and inspecting duties. 

I even wrote a blog to help anyone who was not certain of good ways to wash dishes and do the laundry without wasting electricity (the most costly of our utilities), gas (for heating up the water), water and cleaning products.

Free?

This was never meant to be a hostel.  A hostel would not freely provide the extra household items that are used by all, yet are additional expenses I have inherited, including:

·         Paper towels (which are used so freely we easily go through a roll or more in a week)

·         Toilet paper (anytime someone stays upstairs especially.  Until recently, I put rolls of paper in the downstairs bathrooms when needed, especially in the back bathroom, as it is also used by guests or workmen).

·         Dish soap (using more soap is not the key to washing dishes.  We average using half a litre a week (even watered down this is amazingly excessive.  Yet, the dishes are not always clean and I re-wash them rather than put dirty dishes in the cupboards and drawers!  The secret to washing the dishes to be clean and safe resides in other articles of this blog).

·         Dish cloths – Handi wipes (are thrown out rather than rinsed out – perhaps it seems easier, especially when we run out of paper towels)

·         Sponges and scrubbers (you know they last longer if you do not run the sharp blade of knives into the sponge or use them on hot items)

·         Laundry power (we seem to have many non-residents who treat this like a local Laundromat, with little thought of the wear and tear on the appliances, the extra water, electricity, laundry products and gas this takes)

·         Laundry additives and softners

·         Garbage bags (Appear to be used for many things other than just garbage.  They are often thrown out with almost nothing in them.  I know this because I am the one who consistently re-sorts the bins.  The recycle big is regularly filled with garbage and plastic bags that have to be pulled out and thrown into the garbage bin (this is one of my most unfavourite projects.  Many things are just tossed into the garbage bin without being in tied plastic bags.)

·         Hand soap             Teabags

·         Mayonnaise           Ketchup

·         Mustard                 Tuna fish

·         Sugar                     Batteries

·         Cooking oil            Light bulbs (thank you Brett for some of these)

·         Salad dressing        Various Spices

·         Flour                    

Any Suggestions?

Anyway, you may not have had time to read all this as everyone is so busy...funny, so am I.  Do not get me wrong...I do not mind sharing anything...just sometimes a bit of thoughtfulness for these efforts would be appreciated and replacing what you damage or at least admitting you are responsible would also be appreciated.  Sharing is about caring and ensuring the load is carried by all. 

Maybe this is sort of a “half-way house” between being a youth and being an adult.  I do not know.  Yet, I am growing discouraged by these ongoing challenges and wonder if anyone has suggestions as to how we could become a bit more considerate of each other and the "generosity of the house".  Please put your suggestions in the comments section of this blog or send me an email.  I’m feeling a bit tired right now.

Kitchen Kritters

Kitchens need to be considered because when they aren’t then there are consequences...and they are not fun ones.  They include fires, fumes, cockroaches and various fluffy creatures, including moulds and bacteria.

So I thought it might be a good time to consider the kitchen of our shared home. 

Starting with the bins, probably the important thing to remember there is that they need to go our weekly (even when Adam is not here on every Monday night before everyone goes to bed) and in the house, the rubbish and garbage and recycles need to be sorted as per the other article you will see earlier.  If everyone helps it is easy.

Bugs and furry things love moisture and they thrive where there is both moisture AND food.  So case in point, the dishes need to be done and the benches cleaned BEFORE you go to bed. 

 For those who were not here during the Hunter escapades, you will not appreciate how many cockroaches or mice can find the joy of the abundance of food scraps on the bench tops, in the dirty dishes left on the benches or sink or on the dirty stove or when someone inadvertently misses putting garbage in the bins. 

 Settling in for Winter

It is the season critters want to be inside to keep warm (for eggs and raising litters).  Once they get a foothold it is not easy, especially at this season, to discourage them until their nightmare plays across your mind several times.  So please tidy up the kitchen when you go for lights out, this includes:

·         Washing your dishes properly and putting them in the dish drain (see below)

·         Wiping off all the bench tops, so there is nothing for critters to feast on

·         Wiping off the splash backs (behind the stove where things splash when you cook) – Windex Window cleaner with ammonia is the best for this and is stored under the sink.  If there is a heap of stuff on the surfaces, try paper towels to wipe the stuff away.

·         If you spill something on the stove while you are cooking, please wipe it up.  I have to give five stars to the Swedish women whose attitude is whoever uses the stove should clean the stove (this goes for the oven and microwave too)

·         Be sure you have not left a feast of stuff in the sink or dishwasher (see below)

·         If you put food away in the cupboards, please close the boxes or bags or put a lid on it.

·         There are some extra plastic and glass storage containers and Ziplock bags it the cupboard above where the toaster is.

·         If you are throwing garbage in the garbage container, please note it has a lid and is sprayed regularly to discourage overnight foraging and that there is a lid on it that should close off any access by critters.  However, if there is heaps of garbage the solution is that either someone has put recycles in the garbage or someone (like who is trying to add something extra to the garbage bin) should carefully take out the full bag and tie it carefully and put in the bin outside, making sure that lid also closes.

If everyone can help with this it will be super.

Washing Dishes !

I have started an article about this a few times, but always imagine everyone already knows how to do dishes...but it is apparent that some still do not know how to wash dishes so everyone in the household is safe from left over bacteria.

I have been just RE-washing the dishes in the dish drain and dish washer, that are dirty, before putting them away, but perhaps we could just learn a better way to wash them in the first place.

Dishwashing Tips:

·         If you only have one or two dishes, fill the dish itself with HOT water and put about a teaspoon of dishwashing liquid into it and wash it right then and there. 

·         Do not let dishes sit overnight, see article on Kitchen Kritters please.

·         Also, more dishwashing soap does not wash the dishes easier or cleaner, it just uses more dishwashing soap (which also adds to our polluting of our water system, so use sufficient amounts.  But really, we use so much soap in the kitchen!

·         Use the Chux Wipe that is there and not the sponge with the handle. 

·         The sponge with the handle is fine for flat surfaces, but is not working when something like cutlery and sharp knives or pots and pans are being washed. 

·         Plus, the sponge is not working well washing the BACKS of plates, bowls and handles of cutlery, which carries heaps of bacteria in the grease that is left there.

·         The sponge on the handle is being filled with soap (and hopefully a little soap and the rest water) and after using, is most frequently found sponge end down in the sink, where the sponge is seeping out the soap.

·         Because the sponge is not stored properly after being used (in the little sink, head end up) it is not drying out and bacteria is growing at a rapid rate in it ( hence the yucky spell in the sponge).

·         The Chux wipe also needs to be fished out of the sink, squeezed of excess water and placed over the dishes to prevent things from landing on the clean dishes in the dish drain.

If you have heaps of dishes, and intend to wash them by hand, goodonya.  Here is the way to do it:

·         Be sure to remove all the garbage from the dishes into the garbage bin (not beside or in front please)

·         Fill a large pan or the sink (the plug is in the window) with HOT water and squeeze in a tablespoon of dish soap, or more, depending on how greasy the dishes are.

·         Separate the dishes by how “intimate” the piece is with your mouth.  Example:  A fork goes into your mouth, where a pan is used to cook the food but you do not typically lick the pan (unless it is chocolate frosting, of course).  So you wash the cutlery first, the glasses second, the plates next, the pots and pans and boards last.

·         Rinse the dishes in HOT water to remove the soap (which if left on can cause diarrhoea and abdominal upset)

·         Arrange the washed and rinsed dishes in the dish drain so it does not tip over and so air can circulate around all the surfaces

·         For bacteria, mould (or Kritters) to grow and multiply they need fuel (food or something to grow on, such as the surface of a sponge) and moisture. 

·         Bacteria and mold die when they dry out.

·         Rinse out the sink to ensure there are no food bits left there

·         Ring out the Chux dish washer and arrange it over the dishes so it drys out and protects the dishes.

Dishwasher

Sorting the Dishes

If you have heaps of dishes the dishwasher can be a time saver, but it takes a good deal of work too.  There are many items that cannot be put in the dishwasher, such as:

·         Plastic containers such as left over or take away food comes in

·         Wooden spoons or other implements/utensils

·         The sharp knives, which are already starting to rust as they have been put in the dishwasher inadvertently already.

·         Large items many times do not fit because they stop the arms inside the dishwasher from turning.

Preparing the Dishes

The dishes DO have to be thoroughly scraped and rinsed to remove food particles as there is no garbage disposal in the dishwasher.

Pots and pans do not usually get clean and I have to scrub them out after the dishes are done, because they need to be cleaned out first. 

Loading the Dishwasher

After they are rinsed, either leave them on the bench top or put them in the dishwasher: 

·         Glasses on the top shelf on the sides

·         Small bowls and large utensils on the top shelf

·         Large plates in the north east quadrant

·         Small plates in the south east quadrant

·         More large plates or pots and pans in the north west quadrant

·         Larger bowls in the south west quadrant

 I hope this has helped you have a more organised and successful approach to not eating out or ordering pizza in!

Little Tips to Help Save Headaches (Especially me)

Little Tips To Save Everyone (especially me) Headache

 Laundry

·         Please do not overfill or under fill the washer or dryer, about two thirds the way full is maximum for the washer (which has about a double capacity over the dryer (so the washing may need to be split into two batches when you dry it)

·         Arrange the clothes evenly in the tub rather than stuff everything on one side

·         The middle cup inside is for fabric softener only not for detergent or additives

·         You typically only need laundry detergent and the softener.  For deeply soiled or where there are odors you would do well to use the additive.

·         There are only THREE buttons you need to use

o   Power on

o   Water level is to automatic

o   Water temperature is COLD – ALL COLD (we use washing detergent that makes up for using hot water very well)

o   Then just hit start or power on

o   Be sure to close the lid too before you wander off

·         About wandering off...we have enough people in the house doing laundry, that if you wander off, be prepared to find your clean clothes piled outside the washer as the next load is washed

Dryer

The dryer is about as basic as it can be, yet if we use it well, it will last a long time.  So here is how:

·         Open the door

·         Check the lint filter (see below)*

·         Put in clothes to HALF fill the cylinder inside

·         Close the door

·         Push in the button on the door

·         Turn the timer to the amount of time you think necessary and it should start

·         If you are not there when your clothes are finished they may be found, as the washing above, outside the dryer while the next person dries their clothes

Extra Bits:

·         Be sure not to pile anything in front of the air vent of the dryer when it is on

·         Be sure to keep the door open while it is running (unless it is quite cold outside (in which case you need to either open the windows (both of them some) and or put on the fan to draw the moisture outside.

·         If it is cold outside and you leave the windows closed and just put on the fan, please leave the door to the dining room open, as moist air is easier and more efficient to warm than dry air

·         If you keep the outside door open, then be sure you lock the inside door when you are not there to watch it.

 * The LINT filter.

The lint filter must be attended to with EACH load.  How?

·         You take the lint filter out of the slot it resides in when you open the door (at the bottom there)

·         You open it carefully (if it breaks while you are cleaning it, you must replace it before the next person needs to dry clothes)

·         You carefully gather the lint into a little wad and you throw it in the bin, not outside the door.  I wonder who you think has to pick it up and put it in the bin when it is all over the back patio? 

·         /me wonders if some may think she is the one person in the household who loves bending down and chasing and gathering the little balls of lint

It is a blessing to me when someone sweeps the floor, but not when they sweep the dirt out the back door, because as with the lint (see above), I have to go out and gather it and put it in the bin.  We have a dust pan and brush to make that a simple task for anyone.

Last Thoughts

When you use the vacuum cleaner, remember that it is not made to pick up sharp or large objects.  It is also meant to be emptied by someone other than me.  If you are so motivated, I will happily show you how easy it is to empty the vacuum cleaner.

I just bought a floor steamer that has a heap of attachments.  If anyone is so motivated to steam a floor or two, let me know.

Finally, I just bought a new microwave for the house.  You don’t need to slam the door (any more than you need to slam the cupboard doors and the refrigerator doors either) and if you are going to use it would you please read the directions if you are intending to cook something a bit complicated.

If you spill food inside the microwave or it spatters all over the place (just put a paper towel over the food and it will not spatter, btw) you need to wipe it up...it is not automatic cleaning, unfortunately.   Sort of like the stove and oven, if you get my meaning.

Thank you for your help with all this.