Kathy Zengolewicz

How do you find a reliable babysitter? How do you know if that sitter is the right person to sit with your children? This is a dilemma that most parents face at one time or another, so I’d like to give you a few tips that may be helpful.

You need to find someone who is reliable, responsible, patient and levelheaded. Okay, agreed, but where do you find this person?

The first place to look is, obviously, in your own family. Do you have a niece or nephew that you trust and who needs to make a few dollars? If so, that’s great, problem solved.

But what if that is not the case and you need to depend on a stranger?  Well, the first thing you need to do is assess the situation. How old is the child or children? How much care are they going to need? A younger child is going to be of more concern. Older children can at least let you know if something is wrong. So, you need to find someone that you trust and that can be tough.

Should age or maturity be a factor in choosing your babysitter? I would think that maturity would trump age. I know 12 year olds that are more mature than some 30 year olds.

Finding the right babysitter will take some research.  Going beyond family, check into your network of friends. Some may have teenagers willing to sit for you for a price. Also, check out you local senior citizen center. They may be willing to sit for you if the children will be in bed or at least prepared for bed.

One more place to search would be your neighborhood daycare center. They may have some workers who need to make a little extra money and are willing to sit for kids in the neighborhood.

No matter which way you go, you will be apprehensive about the care your children receive until you get more accustomed to their care providers. So, I suggest that you take the time to get to know them.

Take care. I’ll talk to you soon!

Post from: Keeping the Castle

Kathy Zengolewicz

I love to listen to music and dance, well it’s what I call dancing, while I dust and straighten up. I am sure that you have mismatched socks around the house so put on aside for dusting. Spray the sock with furniture polish, put it on like a mitten and dust your lamp tables, chair and table legs, knick knacks, etc. When dusting always dust from the top down.

Use a bucket of bleach water (but be very careful, you don’t want a spill) and a clean cloth, or Clorox disinfecting wipes for cleaning down you light switch plates, phones, door jambs, etc. In winter months it’s especially necessary to wipe your door knobs to rid them of virus and flu germs.

Save the vacuuming for last. Using a handheld vacuum for the chair and sofa cushions is a lot easier than dragging the larger vacuum around. Handheld vacuums are great for picking up crumbs and dust in between cleanings. Some housekeepers vacuum multiple times during the week, especially if there is a pet in the house, but once or twice a week should be enough in most circumstances.

Keep the clutter to a minimum on the coffee table, keep books and magazines in a neat pile. Fold afghans or sofa throws when you finish with them and give any pillows a quick fluff. Throw out old newspapers and put video equipment away after playing. If you do these things daily, you home will never be in a state of disarray.

Finally, make sure to have a good sturdy door mat for wiping your feet. The mats made of artificial grass do the best jobs of getting debris from shoes so you track less dirt inside.

Take care. I’ll talk to you soon!

Post from: Keeping the Castle

sxc.hu

When you use scouring soap pads like Brillo or SOS, if you’re like me you never seem use the entire pad and it sits on your sink and rusts. From now on when you buy soap pads cut them in half and use half at a time. It keeps your sink cleaner and your soap pads last twice as long.

Here’s a great tip for removing blood from fabric. Take a little bit of milk in a saucer and an old toothbrush. Pour a little milk on the stain and brush with the toothbrush. Rinse in cold water and launder as usual. All of the blood will be gone.

Do you have a lot of artificial plants at home that get very dusty? Try this: spray the leaves of the plant with hair spray. That will keep the dust from accumulating.

Here is a tip to save you time, especially if you have a two or three story home. When emptying waste baskets in your bathroom, bedroom or family room, before putting the clean bag in the basket, put in a few extra bags and a fabric softener sheet. That will save you time and keep your baskets fresh. If you don’t like using fabric softener sheets then take a man’s old white handkerchief and put a little bit of lemon, almond or vanilla extract on it and place that in your basket to keep it fresh smelling.

Have a coffee bean grinder? A great way to clean that is to grind some rice in it. The rice will make it fresh and clean.

When you store left over spaghetti sauce in a plastic bowl it is hard to get that stain out. Try making a paste of cream of tartar and water. It takes a little bit of elbow grease, but it will remove the stain.

I’ll have more household tips for you in the coming weeks.

Take care. I’ll talk to you soon!

Post from: Keeping the Castle

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.

Post from: Keeping the Castle

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!

Post from: Keeping the Castle

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.

Post from: Keeping the Castle

* Find out how to make your own baking powder, brown sugar, coffee creamer, non-stick vegetable spray, sour cream, and potato chips over at Your Coupon Buddy.

* Creative ideas for making your own soap, stickers, finger paint, sidewalk chalk, also at Your Coupon Buddy.

* I love this collection of unique and creative sofa designs featured at Freshome.

* Here’s an easy recipe for Penne with Chicken, Spinach and Tomatoes with Balsamic Vinaigrette at Making a House a Home.

* Get your kids to help you clean up their clutter with this tip from Declutter It.

Post from: Keeping the Castle

There have been reminders going my way about the coming school year: back-to-school sales, which I’ve been taking advantage of, as you should; my son’s list of things to bring to the first day of class. Everything he needs would fit nicely in a backpack. Not so for the college student, especially one who will live away from home for the first time.

To help you along, here’s a list of basic essentials:

For your comfort:
bedsheets (at least 2 sets, one to use and one to launder)
pillows
blankets
bed risers (to increase under-bed storage)
mattress pad/cover
alarm clock
fan
night light
pajamas
storage containers

For your nourishment:
silverware
cups/glasses/mugs
plates/bowls
dishwashing liquid
microwave
paper towels
mini-fridge
breakfast food
snacks
water bottle
juice
energy drinks
quick meals
(If you are able to cook, you’ll also need cooking utensils and cookware.)

For cleaning and laundry:
laundry detergent
fabric softener
hamper
vaccum
dusting supplies
iron
ironing board
trash bags
disinfecting wipes
paper towels
multipurpose cleaner

For your hygiene:
towels
washcloths
shower caddy
shower shoes
toothbrush
toothpaste
mouthwash
soap/body wash
shampoo and conditioner
deodorant

For your health:
pain reliever
allergy relief
cold/sinus relief
bandages
antibacterial ointment
contact lens solution/eyeglass cleaner

For studying:
desk lamp
calendar/planner
pencils/pens
notebooks/binder
notebook paper/filler
calculator
desk organizer
highlighters
dictionary
tape
stapler and staples
three-hole punch
backpack
surge protector
computer and accessories

For your social life:
cell phone and charger
digital camera
memory cards
batteries
address book

adapted from Sam’s Club newsletter; Creative Commons image by Conor Lawless on Flickr

Post from: Keeping the Castle

I picked the winning comment using random.org. And the number that was picked was:

#85! Congratulations to Patti!

Patti
Jul 30, 2008 at 6:26 pm

This magazine is wonderful. I’ve picked it up a few times, but don’t subscribe! Thanks for the chance!

I hope you enjoy this magazine as much as I do. I will send you an email about the details.

Post from: Keeping the Castle

* 101 green changes to save some green (written for small business owners, but totally applicable to the home) at Greener Assets

* No-bake Mango Griddle Scones from Baking Delights

* Turn old uniforms into a cool diaper bag, at Craftster (thanks to Tangled Thread!)

* 30 ways to use baskets for storage at Declutter It

Post from: Keeping the Castle