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.
I just found what …read more

Lenox has just come out with a brand new casual dinnerware collection.  Lenox Bloom is just hitting stores. 
 
Lenox Bloom is available in three neutral colors – Oyster, Sand, and Slate.  The neutral, solid colors bring out the blossoms that define the floral pattern.  The tone-on-tone floral graphic highlights the Bloom collection accent plate and mug.
Lenox’s Bloom is made of stone and it is dishwasher and microwave safe.  This allows you to have a beautiful, simplistic look every day that’s easy to clean.  The Bloom pattern is also sleek and elegant enough to use for a dinner party.
The Bloom dinnerware is …read more

Kitchens tend to be a dumping ground for everything.  We walk in the door and drop our keys, purse, mail, and shopping bags on the counter.  We put away the groceries and somewhere in our subconsciousness find it ok to leave the mail there.  Next thing we know, we have a few little items scattered throughout the room.  

I am guilty of disorganization in my kitchen.  I am trying to get better though.  Here are a few kitchen organizing tips.
1)  Put things away when you’re done using them.  If we did this with everything our lives would be so much cleaner …read more

It seemed that no matter how careful I was while cooking, I still had issues with food and grease getting stuck to my stove top.  I would wipe the stove, let the hot wash rag sit on the stains, add dishwashing liquid, and some other cleaners, but I could not get it cleaned properly.  After complaining to my mom about the stuck on grease and food on my stove top, she suggested that I try Fantastik cleaner.

This is a picture of my stove top with the burners removed. Although this picture does not show all of the mess, you can …read more

You may be looking at the title of this post and be wondering what in the world is sharing prepared foods.  I’ll share a little story of how this worked for me.

Several years ago before I had children, I had a very close friend.  We did almost everything together.  We were both married without children and we shared similar interest and faith.  We went to church together, shopped for clothes and groceries, clipped coupons for one another, watched movies, went out to eat, and hung out together.  
My friend and I also did a lot of cooking.  Sometimes my husband and …read more

About seven years ago, I bought my first Rada knife. I’d seen them before and heard good things about them and someone was selling them as part of a fundraiser. I bought the tomato pairing knife and have been hooked since then. These knives are inexpensive, long lasting, and provide such a smooth cut. 

My husband and I enjoyed our first knife so much that we found it was always dirty.  Last year, I found someone else that was doing a Rada fundraiser.  We ordered another knife, the knife sharpener, cutting board, and chopper. 
My husband frequently sharpens our Rada knives.  I have never found …read more

I have this issue with mopping my bathroom floors.  I don’t like to use a mop because it seems like the floors don’t get as clean as I like them.  When I hand mop the floor, I see all kinds of dirt and hair that the broom and mop did not get.  I also see the dust on the cabinets, baseboards, and such and I end up wiping those down too.  The problem is, I don’t hand clean my floor as often as I should because it takes so much longer.  Basically, my preference for cleanliness is getting in the way of …read more

My husband was really wanting a new blender to make smoothies and milkshakes.  We had priced some blenders, processors, and machines and I had decided I was not paying $299 for a machine.  We decided to give the Hamilton Beach Wave Station Express Dispensing Blender a try and have not been disappointed.

Here’s a few things we like about this blender:

The price – under $20!
chops the ice and leaves no chunks
liquid dispenser
does not leak
easy cleaning – pieces come apart

The one thing I don’t care for is that the height of the dispenser.  I would like to put taller glasses up under …read more

GE is having a sale on their stainless steel appliances.  You can buy select GE Stainless Steel Appliances for the same price as their regular appliances until July 6, 2009 at participating retailers.  For a limited time, select stainless steel appliances are the same price as white, black, or bisque.  It’s like getting an upgrade for free!
To celebrate the sale, GE has created a funny “Strong as Steel” video.  The exercise routine in the video uses GE kitchen appliances as workout equipment and features The Biggest Loser’s Alison Sweeney.

GE is also giving away a dream vacation.  Visit the GE website for …read more

A few weeks ago, I mentioned the “must-have” dishwashing brush.  There is another item in my kitchen that I feel is absolutely necessary.  This must-have item is a pair of kitchen shears.

My first set of kitchen knives was a very cheap set, but it came with kitchen shears. It didn’t take me long to become a fan.   This was many years ago and since then I have replaced my cheap pair with a pair of Chicago Cutlery kitchen shears, such as the ones shown above.  They can be purchased fairly inexpensively.  The ones here are on sale at Kohl’s for …read more