The One with Everything that Vinegar Can Do!

When I started this blog, I wanted to focus on one thing - probably scrapbooking. But the web is already saturated with so many blogs about scrapbooking. In fact, the web is saturated with every kind of blog. I decided I'd write about what I know about. I'm a jack of all trades. I'm interested in a lot of things. So today's post is about another 'jack of all trades'. Vinegar.

Vinegar does EVERYTHING! It has some health benefits. It cleans. It protects your garden from pests. You can cook with it. And its CHEAP!

You can find all kinds of uses for it on the internet, but I thought I'd talk about the ones I regularly use it for and the results I have found. I typically only use distilled white vinegar.

Health and Cooking:

• Sunburns - I soak a paper towel in vinegar and lay it on the sunburn for about 5 minutes. It takes the sting out of the burn. I find that it only works for a couple of hours, so you may need to reapply. Of course I am so pale I am translucent, so your mileage may vary.
• Poaching eggs - add a little bit to the water. The egg whites stay better formed.

Cleaning:

• Dishwashing rinse aid - We have hard water and by using vinegar as the rinse aid it is easier on the glasses. I pour in the same amount as I would Jet-Dry or any other name brand. It also prevents spots on the glasses.
• Fabric softener - I used to be a fabric softener junkie. I used the liquid during the rinse cycle and also the fabric softener sheets! I pour the same amount of vinegar in as I would fabric softener and let it run like it normally would. Works just as good as Downey or Snuggle! I buy a whole gallon and it lasts for a long time. You can't even smell the vinegar smell!
• Mopping floors - We have laminate wood floors, so I use vinegar to 'mop' with also! I mix equal parts water and vinegar in a spray bottle and spray it on the floor as I'm 'mopping'. Another Tip! I have an old swiffer that I use. I ran out of sheets for it and thought it was too expensive to buy anymore, so I bought a cheap stack of white washcloths at the Dollar Store and I use those as my 'swiffer sheets'. I just tuck them in the slits and wrap them around and they fit perfectly! I spray a small area of the floor, 'mop' it with my makeshift 'swiffer' and then change out the washcloth when it gets dirty. Then I wash all the washcloths when I am finished. Easy peasy! Plus, I'm reusing instead of throwing sheets away every time I mop. That makes me feel good.
• Coffee maker - I use about 1 cup of vinegar and fill the rest of the carafe up with water. Run it thru the coffee maker. I usually run 2 more pots of clear water to make sure the coffee doesn't get a vinegar taste.
• Mineral deposits on shower heads/faucets - take a plastic bag with about a cup of vinegar and tie it on the shower head so that the head is resting in the vinegar. I leave it overnight and the next morning I can just wipe the mineral deposits right away!

I hope you have found the tips useful. Don't be afraid to give vinegar a try! Its a cheap alternative to a lot of household products!

The One with the Scrapbook Kit Clubs

I started getting a scrapbook kit about 18 months ago when all of my local scrapbook stores closed. The only stores available to me were the big box stores (Michael's, JoAnn, and Walmart) and the selection is quite limited there.

A huge benefit of joining a kit club is often you can get new supplies before the stores do. Since I was without a scrapbook store, I was able to get stuff that would never show up in the big box stores! Plus, it was all put together in a matchy kit! That is one of my downfalls - picking things that match. So now, I get a box o' loveliness on my doorstep every month with matching paper, cardstock, embelishments, even new tools (depends on the kit club you select)! This girl is in love with kit clubs...

A lot of people complain that they get stuff in the clubs they wouldn't usually buy. For me, it is a step out of my box to find a way to use something I wouldn't normally use in my scrapping. And come on, let's be honest...how many supplies do you have sitting in your space that you haven't used in months?!? There are only a few things that I can find absolutely no use for. Even then, I might use it to practice to see how something might look or turn over a piece of patterned paper to try out some journaling. You should do your research to see which kit club works best with your personal style. My favorites are: http://www.scarletlime.com and http://www.mosh-posh.com/.

I'll address the question of how do I store all of my scrapbook kits? in another post!

The First One

Ok, so this is my first blog post ever. I don't know where I'll go with this...maybe recipes, scrapbooking, product reviews....where she goes, nobody knows!