Keeping the Castle

Hosting Overnight Guests

Kathy Zengolewicz — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:23:55 +0000

It’s that time of year when some of us have family and close friends visit for the holidays. Most of my family lives within an hours drive, but we do have a few relatives who live out of state and spend the night when they do visit.

sxc.hu

Don’t be stressed out at the thought of hosting family or friends overnight. I have a few tips to help you make your guests feel right at home.

Make sure to air out your guestroom a few days before. When I say air out I mean just that. Open the windows slightly to let the fresh air circulate in the room. You don’t have to leave it open all day, just about an hour and close the bedroom door so that there won’t be a draft in the remainder of the house.

Make up the bed with fresh linens. Put a medium sized basket in the room with a few essentials. You don’t need anything fancy just some toothpaste, new toothbrushes, soap, hand and body lotion, shampoo and conditioner. Leave a couple bottles of water, with drinking glasses, on the bedside or night table. You never know when you may need it and I’m sure your guests do not want to be roaming you home in the middle of the night to find water.

Also, place clean towels and wash clothes for each guest in the room. It’s nice to leave a book or magazine there, too in case they’re a little restless and can’t sleep. Some people sleep poorly when they’re not in their own bed.

Another great idea is to put some fresh flowers on a table or bureau. It adds a nice touch and is relatively inexpensive. Making your guests feel comfortable, whether they are family or friends, will help to make their visit more memorable.

Take care. I’ll talk to you soon!

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Dealing with Household Odors

Kathy Zengolewicz — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:14:44 +0000

When someone visits your home the first thing they will notice is how it smells. Like I said before I am a sniffer. I sniff everything from a glass, before I drink from it, to the family room to make sure there are no unflattering, lingering scents. There are times when my house picks up the scents of my cooking and I don’t readily notice. So I make it a point to deodorize after cleaning.

sxc.hu

There are plenty of commercial product on the market to extinguish offensive smells, but I would rather use ordinary everyday solutions.

If you have an offensive smell in your house you will need to first find out where it is coming from before you can dispel it. Lots of times that is easy to do, especially when the odors come from cooking. The worst cooking smells come from broccoli, cabbage and fish. If you set a small bowl of regular vinegar on your kitchen counter it will absorb those odors. I have a cooktop range so I place the bowl of vinegar close to the range top.

Make sure that your garbage is emptied daily. Rotting garbage is one of the worse smells. Clean your trash can regularly with a strong detergent and rinse. After drying place a sprinkling of baking soda in the bottom, before putting in a bag, to keep it stench free.

To keep your kitchen cabinet smelling fresh, place a couple of vanilla extract soaked cotton balls in a sachet bag and place in the back of the cabinet. I also place a sachet bag in my freezer. Don’t like the smell of the vanilla, then use lemon, orange or peppermint extract. It will keep your cupboard fresh for weeks.

Take care. I’ll talk to you soon!

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Time Saving Tips

Kathy Zengolewicz — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:44:08 +0000

There never seems to be enough time in a day for me and I’m sure it is the same for you. I came to the conclusion recently that I needed to set up a time schedule for myself and it really helps. We all need to make the most of our available time in a way that is constructive.

sxc.hu

Here are a few tips to help you spend your time wisely.

Create a schedule and stick to it. It will be hard to do at first, but will become easier; make it a habit.

Prioritize chores and activities daily. Do the most pressing job first and get it out of the way. Then you won’t seem so bogged down.

Concentrate on one project at a time. Don’t start a second chore until the first one is completed. Establish a routine, do specific chores on designated days and don’t falter from that practice. Once it becomes a routine, you will breeze right through it.

Get your children to help out. If your kids are a little older, delegate explicit duties to each of them. Even if they are six or seven they can dust and empty the small waste baskets in the bathroom, laundry room and family room. Helping will make them feel grown up and they probably won’t complain right away, so enjoy that while it lasts.

Don’t waste any of your time. If there is one thing that I do faithfully it is to try to keep myself on my schedule. If you have a doctor’s or dentist appointment, while waiting make up your grocery list or balance your checkbook. Keep paper and pencil in your purse and when you have a free minute you can always set up your schedule for tomorrow.

I hope these tips have been helpful.

Take Care. I’ll talk to you soon.

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Organize Your Work Space

Kathy Zengolewicz — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:29:27 +0000

Keeping your work space organized will help you to keep your work flowing. It doesn’t have to be a work space, it can be the place you go to do sewing, crafting or any hobby. If you have a blank wall in your laundry room you can use a pegboard. It will keep all of your supplies intact.

Image: Kathy Zengolewicz

Place a small table under the pegboard to hold a couple of baskets. I save any gift bags or bows that I receive, that look nice, and re-use them for gifts that I give to others. You can use the baskets to store gift bags and bows.

Group all of your like objects together. For example I group my scissors together with my hole punches. Use hooks to hang your scissors, punches and small items like rolls of ribbon and tape. To store your rolls of wrapping paper, stand them upright on the table, against the pegboard, and attach a small bungee cord to hold them together. Don’t make the cord too tight or it may rip your gift wrap.

You can attach a small black mailbox to hold things like a glue gun and extra glue sticks. I you have the kind of mailbox that has a newspaper holder on the bottom to store my craft paper.

If you keep the table top free of clutter, when you are working on a project you will have plenty of room for your tape, scissors, glue, craft paper, etc. It is much easier to complete a project when you and your work area are organized.

Take care. I’ll talk to you soon!

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Kitchen Sink Sparkle

Kathy Zengolewicz — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 16:53:00 +0000

If there is one thing that really bothers me its a smell, dingy looking sink. I can always tell when my garbage disposal needs to be cleaned, the nasty smell kits me right between the eyes. I am what is known as a sniffer. I sniff everything and can detect even the slightest odors. If it doesn’t smell clean then, in my opinion, it is not clean. I have tried a lot of things to clean and deodorize my garbage disposal, but I wasn’t satisfied. I could always detect a slight odor even after cleaning.

Image: sxc.hu

I just found what seems to work best. I made a tray of vinegar ice cubes. Fill up the ice cube tray with vinegar and a tiny bit of water. When frozen, push them down into your garbage disposal and turn it and the water on. When the ice has been crushed and melted throw in a couple of lime and lemon peels to give it a fresh scent.

The next step is your sink. I have a stainless steel sink and it always looks dirty to me. Again, I have tried everything on the market to clean it and I was still not satisfied. I have a cure for this. Clean your sink as usual with regular cleaner. Rinse all of the cleaning residue off and take some white vinegar on a clean cloth and wipe the entire sink. You will be amazed at the results. You will have a fresh smelling, clean and sparkling sink.

Take care. I’ll talk to you soon.

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October Highlights at Keeping the Castle

Karen Weideman — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 02:53:56 +0000

It’s the end of another month and so once again I have put together a list of this month’s articles for easy access. I tried putting them into categories, but some of the categories overlapped a little. I hope this helps to find what you need or missed this month.

Food, Cooking, and Holidays:
Cooking with a Little This and That
10 Ways to Eat More Fruits and Vegetables
Your Last Minute Stop for Halloween Ideas
17 Halloween Cupcake Ideas
20 Pumpkin Inspired Recipes
Tips for Hosting Thanksgiving Dinner
30 Fall Inspired Desserts and Treats

Organization and Declutering:
Do You Have an All or Nothing Attitude
Tips to Get Your Organization Started
Simplify Your Life: Do Not Call Registry

Homemaking and Housekeeping:
Ideas for Repurposing Old Dresser Drawers
Tips for Completing Dreaded Chores
10 Ways to Save on Your Winter Energy Bill
How to Keep Your Carpet Smelling Fresh
Recycling Containers for Your Home
10 Easy Ways to Save Water
What’s in Your Washing Machine?
An Exploration of Laundry Myths
Lenox Bloom Dinnerware Review

Other:
A Farewell
Wordy Wednesday: My Trip to New York
Links I’m Enjoying
5 Tips for Grocery Store Baggers
I’m Headed to New York City!

As I mentioned earlier, this will be my last post at Keeping the Castle. It’s been a pleasure. You can continue to find me at Thrifty Mommy and on Twitter.

image used with permission of Linette G

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Cooking with a Little This and That

Karen Weideman — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 05:04:58 +0000

Many times when I go to a party, potluck or some other function, I end up finding a great new dish that I’d like to make myself. When I complement the person, they say, “Oh, it’s really easy. You just need a little broccoli, some onions, a little this, and a little of that.” It’s so frustrating because you can’t repeat the dish without the recipe.

Then Wednesday I made a sausage and spinach quiche. Wouldn’t you know it, someone asked me what was in it. I think I said something like, “Uhhhhh, some sausage, eggs, spinach, cheese, uhhhh. Hmmm. Let me think.” Honestly, I have no clue the amounts of each thing in the quiche. I just kept adding more eggs, milk, seasonings, until I thought it looked right. Recently, I’ve been experimenting with making my own caramel macchiatos. I have it just about right. They are so good. Now my friends are asking me for the recipe. Once again, I am not sure of the amounts. I realize I am becoming one of those frustrating people that can’t tell you a recipe.

Are you a no recipe kind of cook?

image (c) Karen Weideman

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A Farewell

Karen Weideman — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:09:16 +0000

During the past few weeks, I have given a lot of thought to this post. I’ve wondered what I would say and how I would say it. For once, I am at a loss for words. So I’ll just come out and say it . . . this is my last month at Keeping the Castle.

I have been writing for Keeping the Castle since December 2008. During this time, I have had a great time sharing recipes, homemaking and housekeeping tips, organization troubles and solutions, holiday ideas, ways to save money, and so much more. This blog has allowed me to dig deep to remember homemaking tips that were taught and modeled to me by my mother. Sometimes we just find ourselves going through the motions and not realizing or remembering why we do the things that we do. Many posts at Keeping the Castle were inspired by fond memories and several times I was able to call my mom and say, “You remember when . . . ” or “I’m writing about . . .”.

It’s sad to tell you all “goodbye” but it does come easier knowing that I can still be reached. You can still find me at another b5 site, Thrifty Mommy. I’ve been writing money saving tips there for over three years. You can also find me on twitter; I’m @thriftymommy. I hope to find more time now to spend on my preschool/kindergarten site, Little Fun; Little Learning (which desperately needs a makeover).

Stay tuned. I still have two posts left before the end of the month!

image from clix at sxc.hu

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Tips to Get Your Organization Started

Karen Weideman — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 04:27:55 +0000

Some people have an all or nothing attitude. They feel that if their house can’t be perfectly clean and organized, then there’s no sense in trying. Rather than taking the clutter one pile at a time, they let it pile up and overwhelm them. As promised, here are some tips for tackling the clutter.

1. Commit to 15 minutes. Set the timer for 15 minutes and commit to work for that amount of time. Give yourself permission to stop working when the timer buzzes. This will help get you started and the time you’re working doesn’t seem so overwhelming. This way you can conquer the clutter one small pile at a time. And it’s amazing the amount of work that you can get done when you diligently work with no distractions.

2. Make a compromise. Set realistic expectations for how you want your house to look. For me, I try to keep the common areas fairly clean. Each day I *try* to put away the things in the main areas of the house. It makes me feel like things are under control, even though there’s five loads of laundry waiting.

3. Get the whole family involved. Set the timer and have everyone work together for 10-15 minutes. Encourage teamwork, working as a family, responsibility, and end results.

What tips do you have for getting organized?

image (c) Karen Weideman

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Your Last Minute Stop for Halloween Ideas

Karen Weideman — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:31:04 +0000

I’ve been pondering this whole Halloween thing for weeks now. I’ve done a tad bit of preparation, but nothing like I needed to. I know the kids will be off from school the rest of the week and that will give me some time to finalize everything. If you’ve procrastinated like me, you’ll appreciate these last minute Halloween ideas. If not, then bookmark it for next year.

Bridget at Bake at 350 gives step-by-step instructions for making these cute spiderweb cookies. You’ll also want to know how to make her perfectly black icing for the spiderweb cookies and other Halloween treats.

Thrifty Mommy is always interested in saving money. Check out 33 do-it-yourself costume ideas, ways to save money on Halloween candy, tips for taking Halloween photos, 10 ways to save on Halloween part 1, part 2, and part 3. Also, don’t forget to take advantage of after-Halloween sales on candy and costumes.

If you’re concerned about handing out so much candy this you might want to check out these Halloween candy alternatives from Boston Mamas.

Linette at Play Library has some great Halloween ideas. I’m glad she posted these 10 easy homemade costume ideas. My son was wanting to be a ninja but I was determined not to pay $20 for a costume. There is an idea for a homemade ninja costume that uses everyday items. You should also check out 5 favorite Halloween books for young kids, treat ideas for the school Halloween party, 10 fun Halloween papercraft ideas for kids, and Kids Halloween – Painting Pumpkins.

Kids Birthday Fun has a round-up of cute ideas for a ghostly Halloween party.

Little Fun; Little Learning has an easy pumpkin song you can teach your kids. You can also let your child fingerpaint or easel paint a pumpkin or make a Christian pumpkin carving. There are also several fall-themed ideas.

And from your very own Keeping the Castle – 17 Halloween cupcake ideas, 20 pumpkin inspired recipes, the coolest pumpkin carving designs on the web, pumpkin-carving ideas from Martha Stewart, and pumpkin faces.

Katelyn Thomas has haunted house tips, Halloween decoration ideas, and tips for making a Halloween emergency kit.

Noreen at Hankering for Yarn shows us some gorgeous masks created with yarn and an upcycled mask trimmed with spool knitting. Also, how to make a pumpkin pincushion and Halloween dolls to weave on a potholder loom.

While it’s probably too late to order a costume, maybe these Halloween tutu ideas will give you ideas for making your own or using one that you already have.

Are there any holidays that you don’t celebrate? Mary Emma offers some tips for parents.

Which links did you enjoy?

image from Kids Birthday Fun

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