Day 130: Bread ties - who knew??!

Plastic things.  You know, the ones you find on bread bags?  Some people call them "bread ties;" most people call them annoying!  Every time you take one off to get a slice of bread, it disappears, and you end up just twisting the end of the bread bag and tucking it in on itself instead!  I'm sure we have all misplaced many of these plastic bread ties or have just thrown them in the trash without a second thought.  Until now....

Anyone else ever get mad at the tape roll (and at whoever used it last without folding a piece down)?  Sometimes you turn that sticky roll over and over and over again for who knows how long, not able to locate that darn end.  And when you finally do find the end, you can't get the tape to unstick from itself, or the tape rips off into little shreds, and you end up wasting about 2 feet in the struggle!

Well... think back to the aforementioned bread ties.  Yep; those little plastic annoyances can become useful tools... in a whole new way!  Ready for this little tip from the neat freak cheat sheet? Just stick one of these bread ties (or two, if the tape is wide) on the end of the tape roll, and you have an automatic saver... and an instant starter for next time!

BRILLIANT!

Now, THAT's neat!

Day 129: Jewelry Jumble... no more!

You may remember a while back when I posted about a truly unusual - and VERY neat - little black dress.... a little black dress that's actually an organizer for jewelry! Well... I couldn't resist this adorable doo-dad.  I put it on my "wish list," and my wonderful hubby bought it for my birthday!

Following is the saga of getting all my jewelry - and the jumbled, annoying heap of boxes and bags it had become - into tip-top shape and ready for my new, little black dress!

First and foremost, here is the jewelry holder I was using.  I was on the right track, with a convenient, hanging organizer on the back of my closet door... BUT this two-sided, pocket-loaded item did not have specific places for bracelets or necklaces.  So, most of those bulkier items stayed in their boxes... and ended up in my sweater organizer!

I don't have a jewelry box, so the sweater organizer was the next best place.  Everything was together... but everything was a mess.  Any time I got any new jewelry, I just piled it on top of the other stuff!  So, it looked like THIS!. :(

The next step was to take everything out of the sweater organizer and spread it out on the bed.  Here is the mass of boxes and bags.  Goodness!  What a disaster!  (And quite an embarrassment for a neat freak!) There was stuff in there that I hadn't seen in years... it was just too buried underneath all the other jewelry boxes!

I sorted through everything and tried to put items in places where they would be convenient and neat and where they would make sense to me... with "popular" earrings and necklaces near the top and less-often-used or larger items near the bottom. 

I worked this method the same way on the flip side of the dress for all my necklaces and bracelets, and I tried to keep sets close together, as well!  Everything looks super cute and super organized now!  I just need to put it in my closet.  (BTW: I did keep the other organizer with some other jewelry items in it; I just placed the organizer behind my clothes instead of on the door!)


I only had a few boxes and random items left over from the massive clean-up, and those went back into the sweater organizer.  And one important item I kept here, mostly for convenience, is my watch.  You can see it there on the bottom left.  I wear it every day, and it was just easier to have it here!  I can slip it on while I gaze at my lovely, little black dress of bobbles and bangles! ;)



Now, THAT's neat!

Day 128: Beautiful, neat fridge

Ok... so I have talked about cleaning BEHIND and UNDER the refrigerator before, but beyond throwing away anything green or growing, I have not addressed cleaning INSIDE it.  Of course, as a neat freak, I am always cleaning up crumbs and spills with cleaning wipes.  But, this time around, I decided to remove EVERYTHING... and get this darn ice box in order!

You can see in this photo that the spills and stains weren't terrible... but they were still there!  Gross!  And these goops and blobs, of course, can cause your fridge to smell a little funky.  (I'm just glad I decided to do this before grocery shopping!  The fridge was already a bit packed, and there was food spread out all over my kitchen counters!)  Once all the food items were out, I removed all the trays and drawers, washed them and wiped them down with cleaning wipes.  Ah, fresh, lemony clean!

OK.... I'll admit it.  I sort of had ulterior motives with this whole fridge clean-out thing! About a month ago, I spotted yet another neat product that I knew I had to try: Fridge Coasters.   What the heck is a fridge coaster, you may ask?  Well, simply put, it's a decorative, absorbent cardboard-thick liner that goes in your refrigerator!  There are super-cute patterns and colors (gray, blue, pink and yellow) and different sizes for different needs, but I knew I wanted gray and a mix of patterns.  (Hey all these patterns are so IN right now!) I was extremely fortunate to receive a "fridge pack" from Fridge Coasters.... BUT, my hubby knew I had been talking about these handy things, and he gave me a "fridge pack" as a birthday present!  YAY!  TWO whole fridge packs were just enough for me to cover every space!  All I did was line up the coaster with my shelves and drawers and figure out how to size them.  I removed some perforated pieces, and I cut down some others.  It's super easy.  No real thinking involved! :)

These photos show how incredibly cute -and neat - my super-clean refrigerator door turned out, with my gray fridge coasters dressing up a once all-white, dull bunch of bins, and how dapper and tidy the drawers and shelves look!  I love it... almost enough to NOT return the food....  Hmmmmmm.

Since a refrigerator with no food makes no sense, I went ahead and reloaded my food items (sans a few expired or unneeded things), and now we can enjoy a clean, organized fridge that stores food... in style!

Now, THAT's neat!

NOTE: Fridge Coasters supplied me with one pack of "fridge coasters," but they did not pay me to say any of the above.  Those are all my thoughts!

Day 127: Clever Travel Tool

 

Photo from breaboutique

 

Photo from hannahsbowtique

SO.... I spotted this clever, little washcloth/towel wrap on Etsy the other day, and I wished I had seen it just a little bit sooner, so I could have used this ingenious little tool on a recent trip!

These tidy, terry travel pouches are just SO darn neat! I usually just store hair products, tooth brushes and other like items in a 1-gallon ziplock bag; but they almost ALWAYS end up soggy, sticky and gross.  Well, this soft pocket-thing is perfect for packing all those "messies, leakies and drippies" for any occasion away from home.  Best of all: after using this wrap, just toss it in the wash when you return home, and it will clean up nicely and be fresh and ready for your next trip.

If you're handy with a sewing machine, just get a large washcloth or a hand towel, fold one edge up a bit, and sew in some different sized pockets.  If you're not into sewing, don't have a sewing machine or just don't have the time or energy to figure it out, then look up "travel towels" on Etsy (or click the photos, above, for these fun styles)!

Now, THAT's neat!

Day 126: Clever Scent Spot

Do you want your bathroom to smell lovely, without burning out all of your candles or using up air fresheners?  (Don't get me wrong, I LOVE using lovely-scented everythings in our WCs, but sometimes I am not there to refresh, plug in, spray or light!)  Well, here is a clever, little tip, straight from the "Neat Freak Cheat Sheet."  Just put those scented oils to use!

Every time you load up a new roll of toilet paper (and you know it will be you, since apparently no one else in the house knows how to reload those oh-so-complicated TP tubes!), add a drop or two of your favorite scents.  Every time someone spins the roll, the scent will be released!  Simple, right! ;)

Now, THAT's neat!

Day 125: Washing the Dish Washer

We’ve broached the topic of washing the washing machine, which I never in all my life thought would be necessary.  So, of course, another device that doesn’t seem to need cleaning would be – the dishwasher.  I mean, it’s running all the time, cleaning dishes, so you’d think it would remain sparkling, sanitized and perfect.  Right!?!?  I suppose if we ran on that theory, then the shower and the tub would never need cleaning, either.  Yuck.  So, if your dishwasher looks or smells a little funky, just give these three simple steps a try!  You can get a cleaner, gunk-free dishwasher, and you may improve the overall life of this much-needed kitchen appliance, too!

FIRST: Remove the bottom rack and examine the drain area; make sure there are no nasty food bits or random chunks of stuff that could block the drain, cause damage to the pump or even scratch your dishes!  When I unscrewed the dishwasher spray arm (white thing in my hand) from the bottom of our dishwasher, I found a small, sharp (very clean) pairing knife lodged by the pump/motor (gray thing).  That's probably not a good thing... ;)

SECOND: Place a dishwasher-safe cup filled with plain white vinegar on the top rack of the dishwasher. Using the hottest water available, run the dishwasher through a cycle. (Except for the cup of vinegar, the dishwasher will be empty.) The vinegar will help sanitize your dishwasher and will help remove any musty odors.
 

THIRD: When the cycle is complete, sprinkle a cupful of baking soda around the bottom of your dishwasher, and run it through a short but complete cycle using the hottest water. The baking soda will help freshen the smell of your dishwasher and will brighten up the look of the inside of the appliance by removing stains.

Now you can use your dishwasher again, as normal... but hopefully it's much cleaner... and safer!

Now, THAT's neat!

Day 124: Overpower the power cords

Country Living magazine posted a super-neat idea for wrangling up all those tangly, high-tech charging cords from cell phones, MP3 players, PDAs, cameras, etc.... while repurposing a low-tech shoe box!  And I just had to share this with all of you!  (And now I am on a hunt for extra-large eyelits... and you will soon see why!)

Just so you know, I am kind of torn when it comes to shoe boxes.  On one hand, they are nice places for shoes to go when they are not on someone's feet, but shoe boxes can take up a lot of room, and, let's face it, how often are the people in your home putting shoes back in their shoe boxes after or between uses!?!?   That's why shoe boxes most often end up in the recycling bin at our house, unless my daughter has some creative craft project in mind or we need to make a diorama! :)

At any rate, we all know how much more "plugged in" we all are nowadays. And if you don't have a handy gadget like this for multiple USB ports and regular plugs, then those cords can easily become a bit of a nightmare!

Where do you plug them in?  How do you store them?  How do you keep them from taking over a kitchen counter, nightstand or desk?  Well, that little, white Belkin hub in the outlet in our kitchen certainly helps with the first question.  But here are steps to create an awesome (and lovely) cord storage/organizer and tackle those other important questions!

STEP 1: Find and empty out a clean, sturdy shoebox. Measure and cut wallpaper, heavy-duty wrapping paper, scrapbook paper or decorative fabric to the dimensions, wrapping the top and bottom pieces separately. Secure the material or paper with spray adhesive. (You can also use Mod Podge or other glues, but spray adhesive is AWESOME for projects like this!)

STEP 2: On one side of the box, measure and mark placements for four, evenly spaced eyelet holes. Make the first hole about 3 inches in from the box's edge. Cut eyelet holes with an X-Acto knife. Repeat on the other side, aligning the holes so the cords can cross through the box.

STEP 3: Purchase an extra-large eyelet kit from a hardware store, and fit the pieces using the manufacturer's directions as a guide.

STEP 4: Plug in your cords, feed the wires through both sets of holes and close the lid; recharge your gadgets.

{{{{SAFETY TIP: Keep electrical devices such as plugs and power strips outside the shoebox, to avoid risk of heating up or fire}}}} 

Now, go to it!  You have the power to overpower the power cords in your household! ;)

Now, THAT's neat!