From cbs2chicago.com:

David Burke’s flavor sprays ($5.95; 888-779-7177; www.flavor-spray.com) — all zero-calorie, nonfat and cholesterol free — let you savor your favorite “bad” foods without the guilt. Just choose the flavor you’ve been yearning for (there are about 30 varieties) and spritz it onto a healthy food.

In a Good Housekeeping Institute test of three sprays, two were a hit. Volunteers liked how the Birthday Cake flavor lightly sweetened a bland rice cake. The Bacon version, tasted on a hard-boiled egg, earned even higher praise. But you might stay away from the Ranch flavor — this spray got a thumbs-down for its pungent odor.

Post from: Keeping the Castle

I have one file, called TAXES, that I keep in the desk drawer, and I throw everything in it that I think will be useful for my taxes next year, but Sarah, the houskeeping guide at About.com, suggests these files for a good tax preparation filing system:

• Income- Include pay stubs, W-2s, 1099s, interest statements, and dividend statements.
• Medical- File receipts for medical expenses, and health insurance out-of-pocket expenses.
• Donations-Include receipts for both cash and non-cash donations.
• Real Estate- File interest statements from mortgage, tax assesments.
• Child Care- This file is for child care payment receipts.
• Tax Correspondences-Include any important letters from the IRS or your state revenue service.
• Student Loans – File statements of loan interest paid.
• Misc. Receipts-Add any receipts that might be needed for deductions.
• Payments- Include any records of advance payments.
• Old Tax Papers- File by year your old tax returns.

At a minimum, do what I do and keep one file for everything, if you are an overachiever in the organizational department, Sarah’s suggestions might just work for you. At any rate, this is a good reminder of what needs to be kept handy for next year, so start now so you won’t be scrambling next April, ok?

Post from: Keeping the Castle

I bring a bathing suit, a couple of T-shirts and one pair of boxer shorts for each day (fewer if the house has a laundry room). She brings 11 pairs of shoes, 14 different outfits and enough earrings to open up a pawn shop. If our house burned down while we were gone, she could comfortably start a new life just on the contents of her bag.

After throwing my yearly pointless fit, I pack every square inch of the Boodle, working toward that magic point where it just barely closes but isn’t so packed that it’s impossible to latch. Anything that can’t fit in the Boodle goes under people’s feet or packed behind their heads. Our twin daughters, who sit in the far back, get it the worst. Sometimes they’re packed so tightly with groceries and beach toys that they have to sit up straight, their hands in their laps, unable to turn their heads unless they want to start an avalanche of cereal boxes.

The girls groan, but I tell them to knock it off, as they can use the stuff as pillows when they fall asleep. When I said this last week, one daughter scowled at me and knocked her knuckles against a six-pack of beer, the metal ringing across the car.

“Gee thanks,” she said. “Pleasant dreams!”

Read the rest of Peter’s article – it is a hoot, and even though we just pack the back half of our Suburban to the hilt as an alternative, I empathize with each line of his tale. Funny stuff!

Post from: Keeping the Castle

I have a new obsession – and I am not going to be happy until it is mine! I was really tempted by the Roomba, the robotic vacuum I am sure you have heard about by now – but iRobot has now released the Scooba – the robotic mop! Now THIS, I can USE.

Check out this video from GoRobotics.net:

Here is the listing on Amazon.com, there are a lot of good testimonials to read here – let’s just say they did NOT discourage me: Scooba Floor Washing Robot

The list price of the Scooba is $399, but it is available many places (including Amazon) for $299, and I saw it at Sams Club over the weekend for the same price. It is safe to use on all hard floors except UNsealed wood. The one potential downside is that you must use their cleaning solution for it to work (something about the electrolytes), but I have found on the internet a vinegar and water recipe that supposedly works.

Everyone get your mother one of these for Mother’s Day – this is one of those “appliance” type things that is OK to give for a gift (hint hint)!!

Post from: Keeping the Castle

1. All this time you’ve just been putting Bounce in the dryer! It
will chase ants away when you lay a sheet near them. It also repels
mice.
2. Spread sheets around foundation areas, or in trailers, or cars
that are sitting and it keeps mice from entering your vehicle.
3. It takes the odor out of books and p hoto albums that don’t get
opened too often.
4. It repels mosquitoes. Tie a sheet of Bounce through a belt loop
when outdoors during mosquito season.
5. Eliminate static electricity from your television (or computer)
screen.
6. Since Bounce is designed to help eliminate static cling, wipe
your television screen with a used sheet of Bounce to keep dust from
resettling.
7. Dissolve soap scum from shower doors. Clean with a sheet of
Bounce.
8. To freshen the air in your home – Place an individual sheet of
Bounce in a drawer or hang in the closet.
9. Put Bounce sheet in vacuum cleaner.
10. Prevent thread from tangling. Run a threaded needle through a
sheet of Bounce before beginning to sew.
11. Prevent musty suitcases. Place an individual sheet of Bounce
inside empty luggage before storing.
12. To freshen the air in your car – Place a sheet of Bounce
under the front seat.
13. Clean baked-on foods from a cooking pan. Put a sheet in a pan,
fill with water, let sit overnight, and sponge clean. The anti-static
agent apparently weakens the bond between the food and the pan.
14. Eliminate odors in wastebaskets. Place a sheet of Bounce at
the bottom of the wastebasket.
15. Collect cat hair. Rubbing the area with a sheet of Bounce will
magnetically attract all the loose hairs.
16. Eliminate static electricity from Venetian blinds. Wipe the
blinds with a sheet of Bounce to prevent dust from resettling.
17. Wipe up sawdust from drilling or sand papering. A used sheet
of Bounce will collect sawdust like a tack cloth.
18. Eliminate odors in dirty laundry. Place an individual sheet of
Bounce at the bottom of a laundry bag or hamper.
19. Deodorize shoes or sneakers. Place a sheet of Bounce in your
shoes or sneakers overnight.
20. Golfers put a Bounce sheet in their back pocket to keep the bees
away.
21. Put a Bounce sheet in your sleeping bag and tent before
folding and storing them. It will keep them smelling fresh.

Post from: Keeping the Castle

I told my 8 yr old son a couple of days ago that we didn’t have a microwave when I was his age – he assumed that meant that we didn’t have popcorn  OR leftovers “way back when” either.  *Sigh*  That makes me feel a little old, and makes me sure that I need to show him the old fashioned way of making popcorn.  It is hard to beat the convenience of a good microwave, thats for sure.  Good Housekeeping recently did their infamous testing on some new microwave ovens:

Putting Microwaves To The Test

A plate of cold leftovers was used to test for evenness of heating. The LG 1240 ($179.00) was the top performer, and was also the easiest to use. It has a built-in six-cup coffeemaker with a programmable timer, and some very advanced technology.

Marjorie Cubisino, Good Housekeeping Institute: “It has a sensor that detects the steam given off by the food, and then automatically calculates the remaining cooking time.”

The inexpensive Sharp R-230KW ($ 59.99) is an excellent space saver that’s big on performance.

Marjorie Cubisino, Good Housekeeping Institute: “It was the best of all the small-sized microwave ovens we tested. It’s under one-cubic-feet capacity. It cooked food evenly and popcorn came out perfectly.”

The Good Housekeeping Institute calls this Panasonic NN-T995SF ($199.95) a family favorite. It’s big enough to fit a full-size lasagna dish, and so powerful it can cook an entire meatloaf in just 10 minutes.

How cool does that LG microwave sound?  Microwave, coffee maker – now if LG would build all of that into a refrigerator door, I could get rid of all manner of junk on my countertops.  Maybe someday.

Post from: Keeping the Castle

From IBNLive :

The Independent Daily reported that “though women are making advancing economically at a frentic pace, one thing that gives them the ultimate sense of empowerment is to go around the house with a vaccum cleaner – followed by some vigourous cleaning and dusting”The study also calculated that the average woman spends nine years, two months and 25 days of her waking life cleaning and tidying.

However, before all the lazy men out there are elated by this bit of news, there is a flip side to the coin.

These women also prefer housekeeping to making love.

Let me count the ways I disagree with this (they obviously didn’t survey me).  There is nothing empowering to me about housekeeping – it is something I do because I love my family and want the best for them.  At the very highest point, it is satisfying, but never empowering to me, at its lowest point it is a frustrating drudgery.  And let me just say, I heartily reject the last statement.  Heartily!

What do you think??

Post from: Keeping the Castle

It’s important to use acid-free cardboard boxes and tissue. By just lightly folding and wrapping in tissue, you can help avoid creases and discoloration.

It’s okay to use clear plastic containers too, as long as the lids are snug.

Never starch clothes before putting them in storage because starch is like a food to some insects, and they’ll chew right through cotton to get to it. [...]

Never put them away in the thin plastic dry cleaning bags. Those bags can break down and ultimately damage your fabrics.”

Closets in the main part of your house are the best storage spots. Basements or attics are more likely areas to attract moths or mildew.

Hangers can often leave marks on your garments if they’re in storage over an extended period of time.

Good Housekeeping suggests wrapping quilt filling or muslin around the bars of pants hangers and underneath the clips of skirt hangers.

She also states that the most important thing to do is to be sure your clothes are freshly cleaned prior to storage, because stains will set and get even uglier in storage. Also, remember that furs will lose their fur in the summer (shed), and must be properly protected in the warm summer months (placed in cold storage).

Post from: Keeping the Castle

One of the things that really motivates me is reading about people who love housekeeping though, and one of those many people is a charming kickback from the 1950’s – sort of – Brini Maxwell.

Well, let’s just say Brini isn’t your typical housekeeper, but what “she” does, she does with charm and grace and lots of humor.   She has a fantastic and bright and beautiful web site and Brini podcasts short blurbs each Friday at 5pm eastern time in the U.S. that are great fun to listen to, and at 5 minutes long, it is a quick motivation that is full of great housekeeping tips, so be sure and check out “her” latest edition this afternoon!

Post from: Keeping the Castle

Just a bit about me for my first post here – I am a stay at home mother of 2 school aged children and “keeping the castle” has always been a major battle for me.  I am one of those folks who goes back and forth between being highly motivated and highly frustrated at cleaning.  I love home projects, but hate the day-to-day grind of maintenance, and this carries over into everything I do around the house – from cleaning to gardening to even cooking dinners.   I will probably spend a good bit of time while I am here talking about things that help me along the way – products that make housekeeping easier for me, things that motivate me and things I would like to try.
I have family in from out of town this week, so am just trying to maintain, but will get back to work in full force next week, so bear with me for a few more days, and we will get Keeping the Castle back in fighting shape ASAP.  Again, congratulations Maricar, I am so glad everything went well and everyone is healthy and well!

Post from: Keeping the Castle