Doing laundry at home vs. going to the laundromat

I have been doing my laundry at the laundromat for years and I absolutely love it.  Of course, there are pros and cons to everything so here's what I see are pros and cons to doing laundry at home compared to doing laundry at the laundromat:

Laundromat pros:
Get all laundry done at one time
Large size machines for large items
Large dryers for large items
Save on your home electric bill, water bill and possibly gas bill
All loads done in about an hour and a half

Laundromat cons:
Clothes must be hauled to the laundromat
Hopefully others don't leave the machines dirty
Can be crowded

Staying at home laundry pros:
You can do other housework while loads are washing and drying
You can do laundry in your pajamas
You can nap while doing laundry

Staying at home laundry cons:
You run out of clothes if you forget to do laundry
Forgetting the clothes in the washer means you have to wash them again
Forgetting the clothes in the dryer means you have to iron them or dry them again

I have a few tips if you are considering going to a laundromat:
Take something to read, crochet, knit, or kill time in general
Sort the clothes at home before you leave for the laundromat
When you get to the laundromat, choose the machines that are the right size for the load
Start your machine(s) and take a break with your favorite past time
When wash is done go the the dryers and open a few dryers and sort the clothes a second time
When putting clothes in dryer, separate them by things that take less/longer time to dry
The clothes that take less time, just set the least amount of time as possible
The clothes that take longer, set the time accordingly
When the first dryer finishes, you can begin folding while the other clothes are still drying
As you fold the clothes, stack them by person or room where they belong
When you get home put everything away
Don't worry about laundry for another week
Never run out of clothes
Don't forget your clothes at the laundromat

Spicy Shelf purchase to help me organize my kitchen stuff

So I was browsing around Walgreens and came across this item called a Spicy Shelf Patented Spice Rack and Stackable Organizer.  I had never seen it before, but I was drawn to it.  I had to admit that I was a little skeptical so I didn't open it right when I got home.  Instead I watched a couple of YouTube video tutorials.

Even after seeing how easy to use and versatile this product is, I still didn't open it for a while.  I was trying to picture in my head how I would utilize this item in my kitchen cupboard.

First of all, I don't have that many spices, yet.  Secondly, the shelves in my cabinets are not adjustable so I am limited in height.  Also, I have some turntables that I made using a DIY video from Alejandra Costello's video (go to 3:20).  She uses cake pans and marbles from Dollar Tree, but I used electric burner covers and a bottle of 6mm BBs.



I finally opened the box and started moving things around in my cabinet.  In my first rendition, I just used two of the quarter inch extensions and my turntable fit perfectly, but I thought this was a little too tight for my liking.

I added two more extensions and this is what it looked like:

I still felt like this was a little too squashed for my liking so I added a few more extra extensions and scooted it up to the side of the cabinet.

I don't know if you can tell, but the center of the spicy shelf kind of sinks down a little.  I think this is my fault because I had put a full container of bread crumbs on it and I don't think this product is intended to carry something that heavy.  This caused some of the bottles on the side to slide off since the shelf on the right was kind of slanted inward.  I removed the bread crumbs and laid it on its side behind the turntable.

Since the turntable slides on the Dollar Tree shelf liner easily, I can move it from side to side to access the items in the back easily.

The Spicy Shelf had a whole other section that I haven't used yet.  All in all, I like this product and am looking forward to see what else I can use it for.

Kitchen cabinet organization using Rubbermaid storage containers

I am obsessed with Rubbermaid storage containers.  Especially in my kitchen cabinets.  I absolutely love how my cabinets look and I no longer have storage containers on my counters.  Here's a peak:

The tallest containers are made to hold five pounds of flour and the next size holds five pounds of sugar.

I like to bake so I have a variety of flours.  This can be confusing as many of them look a lot alike. I labeled them to distinguish each.  I continued the labeling with the sugars.  I liked how all my labels were lined up along the bottom.
To the left of my sugars and flours, I have legumes.  Black beans, chick peas, pinto beans, split peas, and lentils.  These containers don't have labels since these items are much easier to tell apart.

 The next section has orzo and penne pasta alongside some long grain brown rice.

My cabinet has a bit of a lip on the side so I put the least used item up against this corner.

I prefer the containers that are long and skinny as these utilize the space in the cabinets much more efficiently.  Links below to these items.

Crochet Hook Organization

I have stored my crochet hooks in a pencil box for years.  It's looking a little worn at the edges, but still serves its purpose.

I shopped around and found this little bag which is made to stand up on its own plus it can be placed in a three ring binder.  It has a mesh bottom half so you can see what is inside.

 Inside is a little pocket which is secured by Velcro.  I think I will put some split rings in it.

Here's a link to this item if you are interested in buying it:

Organizing my thoughts, ideas, plans using Evernote and Google Keep

I like using the written or spoken work to help me keep track of things in life. As many people do, I have many facets to my life and I need help keeping things sorted. I am actively using two online tools. One is Evernote and one is Google Keep.

 I have an Evernote notebook shared with my mom and another notebook shared with my sister. My mother's husband did view the notebook and even contributed to it. My sister had to be prompted several times to view it and she never figured out how to contribute to it. I recently acquired an add on which allows me to add web clippings to my notebooks. You can even select how you want the web clipping saved. I absolutely love this feature.

 As for Google Keep, it is very simple and basic. I like how I can color code categories of notes so I know which are related to work, the cabin, my blog, and whatever else. The system automatically groups your color coded notes. Google Keep accepts voice memos and will even convert your voice memo to text and save the original recording. This feature comes in handy when trying to add a note on my phone. It is so much easier just to say what I want rather than trying to type it on the phone.

Give these products a try and let me know which one you like best or if you have another product you prefer.

Linen closet organizing with Dollar Tree baskets and Command hooks

I have a cute little linen closet in my hallway.  It consists of three shelves and three drawers and is built into the wall.  I noticed that there was space between the doors and the shelves when the doors are closed.  I grabbed some little baskets from Dollar Tree and saw that there was enough space between the door and the shelf to fit a basket.  I was excited.

I purchased some command Command Decorating Clips, Clear, 20-Clip hooks and measured out between the slots in the baskets.  Here is what it looks like all assembled:

These baskets were lightweight and sort of angled in toward the bottom so they did not lay horizontally when hanging on the inside of the door.  I ended up just putting some cotton balls between the basket and the door.  You can just see them in the picture above.  Here's what it looks like without the baskets:

Of course, these baskets can't hold anything item that is very heavy, but it does make more use of the space inside the closet.  I have some travel sized toothpastes in one and some travel sized tissues in another.

 








Here is what the finished door looks like:

Organizing my kitchen cabinets

I wanted to share a few things that I have done to help organize my kitchen cabinets.  I watched a video by Home Organizing and got some great ideas from her channel.  Here's a few pictures:

I store these pans vertically which make things easy to find.  I need to buy a second one to put the rest of my cake pans.  Click the link below to see where I bought them.

Here is a larger version of the same vertical storage where I keep my cooling racks, cupcake pans, and a cake pan along with its lid.  Once again the link is below from where I purchased it.

I bought these storage containers which are great!  They are long and thin and are clear.  The container on the far right holds five pounds of sugar.  The second one from the right holds five pounds of flour. Look below for a link to these items.

Something silly I decided to do is put my popcorn in a pitcher.  I make lots of popcorn so it is easy for me to pour the uncooked popcorn into the pan.