Dabbling Divas

Archive for May, 2008

We all have items around our house that we just hate to get rid of, but they are just taking up space or we found something at a yard sale that was really neat, but we just didn’t know what to do with it.

Just because it was made for one function doesn’t mean we can’t use it for another. A couple of years ago, I was garage saleing and found some fiberglass stepping stones. There were 12 of them for $2. I took them home, washed them off and hung them on a wall in my living room. They were just what I needed to fill a large space.

These stained glass windows are just old wood windows that have been painted with stained glass paint. They look great hanging on a porch or even inside in front of another window.

I have even seen tables made with old wood windows as a top.

Old forks can be hung on a wall and used to hold recipes or notes in the tines. Old drawer pulls can be attached to walls to hold keys or eyeglasses.

So, the next time you see an item that is free or cheap, don’t just pass on by. Use your imagination and think of a new use for it. Not only is it thrifty, it’s a lot of fun.

Are you a recycling genius? Tell us all about it on the message board.

People are by nature social creatures for whom touching is necessary to our well-being. Holding a baby will lower your blood pressure. Hugging your spouse or child will reduce the stress hormones in your body. Stroking a pet, especially cats, has similar results.

Reader’s Digest recently published an article on massage for pain relief. They commented on the fact that massage is not just for aching muscles. Studies have shown it will help with chronic pain, mood disorders like anxiety and depression, and can even help with ADHD in kids.

Massage improves circulation, increases seratonin levels in the brain, reduces stress and improves our self-image. If you are shy or on a tight budget trade massages with a good friend or your significant other. The important thing is the touching – the connecting with another human being, not the skill involved. Slow gentle circles with a flat hand on someone’s back (with or without a shirt) are very soothing. Think about the way you quiet a baby. It is so much more than spoiling to hold and shush a crying child, it is connecting and making them feel safe. It works for all of us.

So the next time you feel blah get a massage or give one – it’s not just for pampering anymore.

How do you feel about touching and being touched? Comment on the message board.

Let’s face it, some of us are natural born cleaners and others aren’t.  You know you aren’t a great housekeeper if, you see one of those shows on TV about the people who have flithy houses or are pack-rats to where it like overtakes their lives and you say, “Thank God someone has a messier house than me!”

So, to find a happy place for us slackers, here are a few cleaning tips to squeak by.

For bathrooms, make it fast and easy use some paper towels, and an all in one cleaner like, Fantastic Oxy, it does all the surfaces including the mirrors.

Go on a clutter diet, trust me it’s easier to get rid of clutter than it is the cottage cheese on your thighs!  I like the ten a day approach.  Pick a room and find ten things to toss and ten things to donate.  Ah, just be sure to haul that box to the donation center or call them, they’ll come pick it up.

Clear out your entry way and get an air freshener or a nice smelling dried flower arrangement.  Making your entry nice will better set your mood when you come in your house and if you have that unexpected knock on the door, you can feel ok about opening the door. 

Enlist your children, you know those people that live in the house that swear, “I didn’t do that, that’s not my mess”.  Yes, you know them, usually short and sticky, I have five of them.  When all of you work together, it can get done very quickly and it teaches them team work.  Ok, maybe I’m just telling myself that to make it sound better.  It does make it go faster though even if it teaches them absolutely nothing.

For more cleaning tips and tricks I also love this website:  Happy Slob – Housecleaning with a Sense of Humor.

Have any good tips?  Please leave a comment or discuss it on our message board.