In The Shelter

Hi! I'm here with more unsolicited advice. This time I'm focusing on inclement weather preparedness. After spending some time in 'the hole' this past weekend (I live in Oklahoma), I thought I would share some advice for taking shelter. I am NOT a professional on this, but 42 years of living in Oklahoma has taught me a thing or two. 

Inside our shelter. The wall decor is as follows: Twister movie poster, Gary England, and The Wizard of Oz movie poster. You've gotta have a sense of humor about this stuff! 

My advice is as follows:

1. Wear helmets, especially if you are sheltering indoors. It doesn't matter what kind, but you need to protect your head!

2. Wear clothing that covers your body and protects your feet. Assume that the worst can happen and be prepared to step out onto broken boards, nails, glass, etc. 

3. Have a "Go Bag". Ours has a change of clothing for the entire family that meets the criteria above, bottles of water, meal bars in a ziplock bag, and back up chargers for tech. We also keep an external hard drive that is kept current on everything on our computers and in the cloud so that we will not lose any information. My husband also scanned and kept every single photo we have that was taken before we owned digital cameras. You should also include a First Aid kit. We keep one in our shelter along with batteries, extra lights, and leather gloves. If you don't have a shelter you should probably add these items to your Go Bag.

4. Put a bucket in your shelter. This part is a little gross, but necessary. If you get stuck for a long time under rubble, eventually you'll have to use the bathroom. 

5. Register your shelter with the local Emergency Management. If the worst happens they can find you immediately rather than wasting valuable time searching through everything. 

6. If you have young children, put ID bracelets on them. These do not need to be fancy but if something awful happens and you get separated from one another or you are unable to communicate with rescue teams, your child should have their name, your names, address, phone, blood type, and any health conditions or allergies available for identification and treatment. 

7. Keep a radio with you with batteries. If you lose all power and back up power to technology you can go old school and use the radio to know what is going on. 

8. Last, keep your shelter clean! No one wants to sit with creepy crawlers. Ewww. Seriously. So Gross. It doesn't take much to keep it tidy and when you clean it gives you an opportunity to check all of the moving parts and make sure that everything works correctly. 

So there you have it. My unofficial guide to storm prep. If that doesn't brighten up your day I don't know what will. Seriously, I plan on a more lighthearted subject for my next post. Carry on and remember it's just stuff. People cannot be replaced. 

Quick Tip - The Almond Stick

Since I'm full of unsolicited advice when it comes to cleaning, I thought I'd give you a quick tip for wood scratches in your home. Enter my sweet baby dogs - Ella, a 15 pound mini schnauzer and Beaux, a 100 pound Great Dane puppy. Ella & Beaux live indoors and out. When we are gone or at night, they stay in our game room. Sometimes they are unhappy with this arrangement and let us know by scratching on the door. It looks like this:

This look is not acceptable to me, but there is really not a way to permanently erase these scratches since they will make more. Hello, Almond Stick! If you don't have one, you NEED one! It covers everything and lasts a good 60 days or so before you need to reapply. 

My Hero. 💗

I literally spent less than 1 minute rubbing the stick on the door.

Ta-da! The scratches are gone! Ok, maybe they are still there but you can't see them! Fun fact - this product was created, developed, and is made in Illinos. Yay for US manufacturing. You can buy them from local retailers or online: 

http://almondsticks.com/almond_004.htm

I hope this is helpful and that you all have a great day! 

A little before/after fun:

Bathroom Cleaning Essentials, DIY

Hi again! It's a rainy day outside today and I have no excuses not to deep clean my bathrooms. I have many tips on bathroom cleaning, but for starters I would like to introduce you to three of my favorite DIY Bathroom Cleaners. 

 

Glass Cleaner

This is by far the BEST DIY Glass Cleaner. Forget the Vinegar. Use Alcohol! For this cleaner you will need:

32 Ounce Spray Bottle

4 Ounces Rubbing Alcohol

1 Ounce Lemon Ammonia

1 Drop Clothing Detergent

2-4 Drops Lemongrass Essential Oil

Water

Measure all ingredients except water and add to a clean, empty 32 Ounce Spray Bottle. Some DIYers have beautiful bottles and labels. Feel free to make those if that makes you happy. Clean makes me happy and I'm not fussy about the bottles so forgive me if mine are not pretty! 

Add Water to the Bottle to the 32 Ounce Fill Line. I should add here that the lemon scents are not necessary. If you prefer a different scent use regular ammonia and the essential oil of your choice. I do recommend scenting most of your cleaners with the same scent so your house has one over-all 'clean' smell. Having said that, I plan to break those rules with the next two cleaners. 

Cap it, give it a gentle shake and you are done! This cleaner takes a tad bit longer to dry than store bought but it is streak free, fabulous and frugal! I keep the ingredients on hand for re-fills when needed. 

Anti-Mold Spray

Ah, the shower. My favorite place to be in the bathroom and the hardest to keep clean. First and foremost, I recommend buying a squeegee and using it on the walls and floor every time you shower. Trust me, those few moments spent before you step out to dry off will save you loads of elbow grease in the future. If your shower is like mine, no matter how often you clean it may be prone to mold/mildew in the grout where the walls meet the floor. Enter the Anti-Mold cleaner. This can be used anywhere in the home, but I like to use it a couple of times a week in my shower to prevent any grossness. To DIY this cleaner you will need:

32 Ounce Spray Bottle

16 Ounces Cleaning Vinegar

100 Drops Tea Tree Oil

Water

 

Combine the first two ingredients in the bottle or in a measuring cup. I'm using my handy-dandy funnel from The Pampered Chef for this task. You can get your own set from my friend Melissa - you'll use them for everything! 

http://www.pamperedchef.com/pws/melissawedman/shop/Cook%27s+Tools/Flexible+Funnels/1746

Add water to the 32 Ounce Fill Line, cap it and shake gently before each use. Spray directly on the areas effected and leave it. The scent is strong, but it will dissipate after a few hours. Personally, I think Tea Tree oil smells like a spa, so the scent doesn't bother me. On that note - this is not a recipe that you can substitute the oil for another scent. The Tea Tree Oil is an active ingredient that works with the vinegar to clean and sanitize.

Before-You-Go Spray

We all go, we might as well make the bathroom smell better when we do! Spray this directly into the bowl before you go to the bathroom to eliminate bathroom odors before they start. If you have a guest bath this might be the time to splurge on a pretty glass bottle and print a label with instructions. This bottle is for my personal bathroom so it's a simple plastic 3 ounce bottle that I found in the travel toiletries section of my local big box store. To make this spray you will need:

1 Teaspoon Rubbing Alcohol

40 Drops of Essential or Soapmaking Oil

Water

Combine all ingredients into the bottle. You will need to shake this before every use. I used a cinnamon Soapmaking oil but you can use anything you like. I've thought about getting creative and combining oils for a blended scent. I love this one because it is so affordable and I don't have to find the leading brand somewhere in a boutique. 

So here they are - all together and ready to conquer my bathroom alongside my DIY Multi-Purpose Cleaner (see my previous posts) and Carpet Cleaner turned tile brightener (to be featured in a future post!). Happy Cleaning!

Custom Rainboots DIY - only $35!

I love rainboots, but the prices have gotten higher while the quality has gotten worse. What's a girl to do? Make her own! 

1. Buy a pair of GOOD boots. I bought mine at Tractor Supply for $25. They are solid, very comfortable and supportive and they will be long lasting.

2. Get rid of the logo on the boots. I used a cotton ball and nail polish remover.

Be patient, it takes a bit to get it all off.

3. Buy a great set of Vinyl Monograms or images. I got mine from V is for Vinyl on Etsy. They were $10 with shipping for the size I chose.

4. Apply the monogram! Clean the area with alcohol and allow to dry. Use a spacer to create equal distance on each of the boots. My daughter applied while I held the boot steady. Use pressure and a straight edge to properly adhere the vinyl. We also pressed the vinyl with our fingers after we peeled off the paper.

Our spacer.

A second set of hand really helps!

And Now - you are done!! Gorgeous, practical and affordable!

Navy blue with white monogram. The trim is red. Classic cuteness!

UPDATE!!!!! I recommend that you stuff the boot with a towel to hold it in the shape it will be when being worn while you attach the monogram. I had a small issue with the little curls on my monogram peeling off once the boot was on. I was able to fix this easily, but I now know that I should have stuffed the boot instead of having it flat. 

With all of the rain this year I've already worn mine many times and I receive lots of compliments!!!!

Let me tell you about my best friend...

I thought I would share with you my BEST friend. My best friend in house cleaning, that is. Adapted from one of my favorite blogs, Rob(i)nson http://littlemsrobinson.blogspot.com/2012/03/homemade-cleaning.html?m=1

This amazing multipurpose cleaner is better and more cost effective than any store purchased brand. I love knowing what is in it and being sure that it is both cleaning and sanitizing surfaces in my house. Even if you are not a DIY cleanser type, you should try this. It will make you a believer! 

DIY Multi-Purpose Cleaner

5 Ounces Rubbing Alcohol

4 Ounces White Cleaning Vinegar

1 tsp or so of Liquid Laundry Detergent 

1 tsp or so of Lemon Ammonia

2-4 Drops of Lemon or Lemongrass Essential Oil

Water

Empty Spray Bottle (I bought mine at Walmart)

Combine the first five ingredients into the spray bottle. Fill the remaining space with water and gently shake or swirl to combine. That's it! I prefer to use the lemon scented ammonia and a lemon grass scented essential oil because I love the clean scent of lemons. You can adjust to your liking. If you are wondering why my cleanser is blue, it's because my liquid laundry detergent is blue and it gives the water the pretty blue tint. 

I hope you love this as much as I do!!

Hello There.

I suppose I should introduce myself before I get started on my blogging adventure. 

Although I can be a serious planner, most of my life is just taking things one day at a time and handling things as they come at me. In other words, I'm Flying by the Seat of my Pants.

Job Title: Chief Procrastinator and Mojito Maker. Duties include Mom stuff, House Stuff, Dog Stuff, Errand Stuff, Cooking Stuff, Friends Stuff, and Lots of Other Stuff.

Likes: Beaches, Sunshine, & Sailing, Traveling, Awesome Bar Soaps, Spending time with my Framily and my Family, Carnations, Mini Schnauzers and Great Danes, Jordan Almonds, Fabulous Shoes, Great Hotel Rooms and Toiletries, Shopping in Boutiques, Tacky Yard Flamingos, a good Curly Hair Day, Naps, Air Popped Popcorn, Christmas, Ice Cream, Books, Dancing in the Kitchen, Singing in the Car, Laughter, and Clothes that feel like Pajamas but look cute. 

Dislikes: Cold Weather, Running out of Popcorn, Jordan Almonds, or a great bar of Soap, Illness, Sad Movies, Itchy Tags on Clothing, and anything that makes my Friends sad.

I started this blog as a way to collect ideas, articles, DIY, tips, recipes and the like that interest me. Hopefully some of you will like them, too.