Let's Help Each Other Out

In year's past I approached the holiday season with joy and excitement. looking forward to warm gatherings with friends and family, festive decorations and celebrating Christ's birth. Nothing has changed for me except that area of my mind that would build stress as I realized I was steering the Davis Holiday Ship.  Let's be honest, some holiday tasks are more fun than others.  I realized early in my homemaking career that the part that entails cooking, cleaning, shopping, decorating, planning, etc. is primarily a "woman-driven" stress inducer.  This realization allowed me to cut back and reduce stress.  I do not NEED several small theme-decorated Christmas trees in my house.  I do not NEED to recreate the perfect traditional feast with every side dish.

Here are a few of the things I've learned along the way

1. Skip some of the side dishes.  If I serve certain things every other year, my kids will still remember them as being part of our tradition.  Some years I skip the Sweet Potatoes w/Marshmallows, others I skip the Green Bean Casserole.  Fortunately my family is great at dining pot luck style and if several different siblings or in-laws each bring similar items, so what.  No one really cares that the meal is balanced out. We always have plenty of food!

2. Meet with your family and make a list of the 1 holiday tradition they don't want to miss this year.  I let each child pick one and then we make sure to follow through.  Often this is the Holiday Light Fantasia in Goodwin Park, other years it may be a trip to NYC to see the tree in Rockefeller Center and the holiday window displays. This frees up some other traditions that I carry on for no particular reason - time to release them.

3. Shopping Shortcuts.  I like shopping for one 2-3 hour stint during the season to feel part of the excitement and enjoy the store decorations.  That's it.  One day for a couple of hours.  I am not talented with selecting the perfect items for everyone on my list.  In years past that means I've easily purchased 90% of my holiday gifts online.  Everything comes delivered to my door with a gift receipt included.  However, this method always left a twinge of guilt because I do truly believe in Shopping Local.  This year I pledge to shop local for at least 50% of my items.

Shopping Local - what does it look like?
Strolling a small downtown that is not littered with chain stores is a dream compared to hitting the mall.  Downtown Middletown or Niantic, CT, for the local folks, offers great boutiques.  Recently I visited Saratoga Springs which would be an ideal Holiday Stroll.

However, visiting an Open House full of gifts or enjoying a night out with some friends while we learn about a worthy company and how they help the community is also a great way to do local shopping while enjoying the warm social atmosphere of the holidays. As I've learned this year the direct selling business model relies on neighbors helping neighbors.  It is built on relationships.  Every company I've recently learned about (Norwex, Ava Anderson, Younique, Mary Kay, Arbonne and many more) are the types of companies that I am proud to frequent.  They generally have transparent business practices that embody everything I'm looking for when shopping local.

So lets look forward to a stress-free season.

For Moms of Teenage Athletic Boys

Always wear a scarf when picking up from sports practice, it comes in real handy for the drive home.

Holiday Gift Idea:  Norwex Sportzyme or Sport Towel

Pictured above is the Sportzyme spray which is the BEST spray I've ever used for deodorizing sneakers and athletic bags.  Also the Sport towel w/carrying case has BacLock so you never need to worry about it smelling.

The car wash mitt and cloth are also pictured as this is a gneral picture of gifts for the man in your life (I guess he is athletic and washes cars: good qualities).

School Open House ~ High School years

I'm Henry's mom, but I'm not "Henry's Mom." 

When you go the school’s open house, introduce yourself to the teacher confidently with your first and last name.  The teacher’s face will indicate if they have made the connection to your child and whether or not that connection was favorable. The habit of retaining your own identity will prove beneficial to you and your child.  It’s a small thing, but you’ll see. You want to be your own person and you want your child to view you as a person with her own motivations, not solely the moon that revolves around your youngster’s being. (obvious disclaimer: if your last name and your child’s is different you are used to making clarifications…and you probably don’t need help remaining your own being as your name choice has already mandated your independent status).

Stumbled into a classroom last night where I became trapped in a Febreze cloud...cough, cough, choke, gag...so I'm posting this Public Service Announcement.  I avoid negative posts, but do we really want to breathe this stuff in?

Dangers of Febreze

The smell of CLEAN is nothing (void, neutral) and fresh air comes from outside not an aerosol can.

What to make for Dinner (Oh, yeah it's 5:30....)

We are Back to School and I can’t say I’m disappointed to be back into a routine.  But do you ever just not mentally plan dinner and before you know its 5:30?  Here are a few hints:

•  Throw some butter in a skillet and add some chopped garlic & onions.  Anyone who comes home will get a whiff and think you’ve begun a well-planned meal.  Then you can defrost some meat in the microwave and try to pull something together.

•  Have a young child prepare “cheese toast” or “garlic bread.” Even though it’s a fatty, not very healthful side dish, no one will complain because they will need to praise the little one’s cooking talents. (Last night I had steaks, beet greens/bok choy and….what else? …. Oh, yes, “little one, come here, you get to make CHEESE TOAST!”

• Keep jarred pickles, beets, olives, etc. on hand.  When your dinner is lacking and/or not very colorful, pick one of these items and pour into a small glass bowl.  Oh, now the table looks so pretty!

Please comment below and add your own helpful hints for pulling together dinner in a jiffy without caving and ordering pizza.

Norwex Travel Essentials ~ Long Weekend Getaway

My family just returned from a long weekend in Annapolis where we rented a house through AirBnB.  Imagine my surprise when our host returned to his house and emailed to let me know we left the house "immaculate."  I am someone who, before Norwex, NEVER cleaned to that level!

Essentials for the Weekend:

 

• Enviro Cloth
• Polishing Cloth
• Reusable Straw

We stayed at a medium size split level home with 3 bedrooms and 1 and 1/2 baths.  I brought 2 large homemade casseroles (Scalloped Ham & Potatoes and Tuna Noodle), fresh veggies for salads and cooking, snacks and Avery's Soda.

Using the house was a 10 year old, 15 year old, two 18 year olds, my husband and me (and a 17 year old on Day Liberty from USNA). So the house was not "lightly used" nor were we "only there for sleeping."

Every night I ran the dishwasher, handwashed the overflow and wiped down the kitchen with the Enviro Cloth.

Upon leaving I spent less than 10 minutes walking around the house with the Enviro and Polishing Cloths to wipe counter/table tops, mirrors and any fingerprints that I saw.

I've been using and LOVING my reusable straw.  I keep one in my water bottle and the other in my pocketbook (fits right into one of the pen pockets).  The best thing about the straw in the heat and humidity of Annapolis is it keeps your cold beverage super cold as it travels up the straw. 

New Generation Norwex Microfiber

What the heck IS this Norwex and WHY is Carol always going on and on about it?....click the YouTube video below for the introduction into my craze!

August Host & Customer Specials

Great Specials for August!  Another chance to earn a free MOP SYSTEM when you host a party that produces $500 or more in sales.

Need a Gift for someone going to college? Bathroom Retreat
Teacher Gift (or treat yourself)? Facial Luxury
and the Sparkling Duo will make everyone's life easier and cleaner, but lets not give that as a gift ;)

 

What is a Mystery Host Party?

I hosted my 2^nd Launch party to introduce my “Beach Friends” to creating healthy homes with Norwex and used the Mystery Host theme. To run a Mystery Host party YOU host a party but let the guests win the Host rewards!  There are many options, but here’s the simple way I ran the party.

Before the party I printed a bulleted list of the July $325 level Host Gifts. I also used a recent tip I learned: I pre-wrote the $5.95 shipping on the order forms (and NO ONE even mentioned shipping as they had in my past parties).

I ran through my regular party “Lesson Plan” using a few demos and highlighted the Safe Haven Package.  This was my 4^th party and I find I am always fine-tuning what I demonstrate and display.  I want to show so many of the astounding products Norwex offers without overwhelming the guests and simply losing their interest.  Focusing on the Safe Haven package proves to be the winning balance for me!  I also tested a raffle for a few giveaways (Spirinette, Veggie Scrub Cloth, Spirisponge). Tickets were won for coming, completing the “How Green are You?” survey, asking questions, etc. Towards the end of my 40 minute show I pulled tickets.  Since the party was small, once a guest won an item, they were not allowed to win again.

The party ran smoothly and as guests completed their order forms and checked out I had them write their name by 1 item on my bulleted list.  Two people ordered that night and then two others ordered within the next couple of days.  Since their orders were later, I just gave them the best of the items left on the list.

Today I distributed the orders and used the leftovers of the host gift to fill each bag. 

What about the free shipping and shopping spree?  I used the shopping spree to order the Mediterranean Sea Salt Scrub to try out and then be able to describe and demonstrate at parties.  I didn’t offer the free shipping to anyone (I suppose I used it for my Salt scrub).  If the party were larger I could’ve used both the Free Shipping and portioned out the shopping spree. 

Let me know if you have any questions!  Or if you’d like to Host a party – if YOU host you get the entire Host Gift package.  Here’s what is being offered in August below!

How to turn Leftover Bread into Domestic Bliss

My friend Loulou gloriously exclaimed she no longer needs to buy powdered sugar because she discovered how to run granulated sugar through a food processor to make her own.  Her infectious smile begged for me to agree that I would also not buy powdered sugar. My instant visual: cluttered kitchen counter (because presumably I'm already making a recipe that requires powdered sugar) and the food processor parts scattered about with clouds of freshly powdered sugar meandering into cracks and crevices that get missed during post-baking clean-up.  "Thanks Loulou, that's great!"...(but I'm going to continue stocking a full supply of powdered sugar).

Catered family event occurs and I (with the most kids) end up bringing home a shopping bag of nice restaurant bread yesterday.  The good kind, with no preservatives that really must be used up within a day or two. Although the saying sounds a little offensive "send it home with Carol, she has all those kids," the epithet spills accurately. Between teenagers, a freezer and 2 large dogs, little food waste remains.

After the day of family togetherness I set about turning all the sliced bread into delicious French Toast (Recipe Below) which I flash froze on a cookie sheet with waxed paper between each layer and then popped into several 1 gallon freezer bags.  We look forward to grabbing a couple slices when desired, heating them in the toaster oven and enjoying for the next few months.

French Toast

• 2 eggs
• 1/2 c. milk
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla
• 1/8 tsp. cinnamon
• sliced bread (about 8-10 slices)
• butter

1. Heat griddle and run a pat of butter around it to melt and coat the griddle.
2. Whisk eggs, milk, Vanilla and cinnamon together; pour mixture into shallow bowl
3. Dip bread 1-2 pieces at a time in mixture until coated
4. Fry on the griddle about 2 minutes per side.
Serve with Vermont Maple Syrup

Yeah, I did that 5 1/2 times last night to get through all of my bread.  Hubby helped by mixing up a few batches.  I like to keep the proportions accurate so I chose not to make a huge batch of mixture, I also had no idea how much I would need so working this way allowed me to judge when more mixture was needed AND most importantly allowed me to more easily quit at any time if I didn't feel like standing over a hot griddle any longer!  But I made it through.

Where is the domestic bliss?  Why the story about powdered sugar?...I'm getting there.

While I was going through the bread I set all of the ends (heels, butts, whatever you call them) on a cookie sheet.  I put it in the oven set to 250 degrees.  When the oven reached temperature, I shut it off and set the timer for 20 minutes.  Then I left them in the oven all night so the timer did nothing productive.  I had decided to make bread crumbs.  In the past I had heard of saving bread ends and making your own breadcrumbs and I had done this several times.  It seemed like a lot of work (and kitchen mess) for something I could buy on sale for $1.99.

Today I followed the procedure below and turned my dried ends into breadcrumbs. Thrifty! Productive at home! Yes, Domestic Bliss! Since I was using a sharp knife and the food processor blade always scares me I had to focus on the task at hand.  Doing this frees the mind of all the distractions and mental lists running through one's mind.  When I finished I felt proud and now understand Loulou's powdered sugar smile!

Bread Crumbs 
Collect old bread ends.
1. Dry them out but setting them in an oven, turning the oven to 250 degrees and then turning the oven off when temperature is reached. Depending on the size/density of the bread, leave them in the oven from 20-60 minutes. Longer will do no harm.  If the bread is still a little spongy in the center, that is OK.

2. Cut hard chunks with a very sharp knive into 1/2" x 1/2" squares (no need to be fussy, just small enough for the food processor)

3. Process in Food Processor on high until crumbled

 Work in batches and don't worry if a few chunks remain.  

Use in meatballs, meatloaf, coating chicken or fish, etc.

Norwex vs. Everything Under my Kitchen Sink

Anyone knows that applying the principles of Reduce ~ Reuse ~ Recycle yields financial savings.

So clearly the $48.99 spent on the Household Package (above ) would be a huge savings over the multiple chemical cleaners one has in their home.

BONUS POINTS:

• Norwex cloths are warrantied for 2 years
• More space in your cabinets
• More time since you will clean less. Did you know all cleansers leave a film behind that actually ATTRACTS more dirt?

Negative Nellie:  "But you have to wash the cloths, that uses electricity, water and detergent."

Me:  (thinking "Really, Nellie! You want to go there!). Suppose you use Norwex UPP which breaks down to about $0.07/load and you wash your cloths every 2 weeks.  52 washes * 7 cents = $3.64. Water and electricity will vary from home to home but living in my relatively expensive state of Connecticut I'd be using about $15 of water and electricity over the 2 years. So adding that up we get $18.64 for TWO YEARS of household cleaning.

(transparency revelation:  that's not really the stuff under my kitchen sink although I have just as much in my house; I've been boxing it up lately since I've discovered Norwex....this picture is from another Norwex Sales Consultant who is generous and lets us put our names on her photo work; everyone is just so nice at Norwex!)

Andy Will it Work Norwex

Best INDEPENDENT news clip about Norwex that I have seen.

I really feel like I've been brainwashed by marketers of disposable products: everything from paper towels to diapers (that topic is for another post).  When I was young in the early 70s we used cloth rags, my mother would buy a SINGLE roll of paper towels occasionally....ok, I'll refrain from a rant as I just wanted to get this video posted. (and I have no intention of EVER saying anything disparaging about toilet paper, I will keep buying it in large quantities).

The Problem with Norwex

As I’m transitioning to a fully “Norwexed” home, I’ve found extra time on my hands. Using my Enviro Cloth, Window Cloth, and Dusting Mitt the house gets cleaned efficiently and STAYS clean longer since there is no chemical residue left on my woodwork/windows/furniture/counters to attract more dirt.  With this extra time, I have branched out to try and clean a few things that I was hoping to replace. 

First I have a red porcelain coated cast iron kitchen sink with 2 dividers, thus 3 sinks! It is one of the few items I wanted to keep when our kitchen renovation was done 14 years ago.  With the red sink, we chose a white faucet, 2 white drain baskets for the side sinks and a white coated “In-sink-erator” garbage disposal drain.  Over time the In-sink-erator white coating was washed off and/or flaked off so it is now black.  The white drain baskets would get so dirty I used to soak them in baking soda paste and then scrub them with a toothbrush.  They never returned to white. They were dingy light brown and there was always a tiny bit of black mold I couldn’t quite remove from the bottom. Even though I knew they had been cleaned well, I still didn’t like putting fruit or veggies in the sink to clean. I once purchased new drain baskets at the grocery store only to find they didn’t seal the drains tightly and I had to return them.  

(Not the best pic - the water remaining looks blotchy)

So with a few extra minutes available I gathered up my cleaning paste and spirisponge and gave the baskets a soak in the cleaning paste.  Then I started running some water and began to scrub.  With very little scrubbing they became absolutely white again.  No need to buy new ones now!

Next I tackled my coffee pot.  Although it was rinsed daily and washed with dish detergent and a sponge at least every other day, there was still a buildup in the pot.  In the back of my head, I added it to the list of something to look to replace. I again used some cleaning paste and the spirisponge to quickly wash the pot and find amazing results!

Also did the drain under my fridge water/ice dispenser, not yet perfect but MUCH improved:

So….the problem is I can’t buy new things because the old things clean up so well? Hmmm….I’m really starting to like this Norwex stuff A LOT. I feel like it is nipping my consumerism and allowing me to live a more true, simple life.

Like for your Number! ...I bet 90% will not repost...

1.       I don’t need to “like” someone else’s “number” litany to create one of my own.

2.       I read things I like quite often and don’t feel the need to share them with anyone.  If I remember I might verbally mention it to someone in person.

3.       I regret that sometimes I get caught up in social media culture and pass on information on line that is not necessary (but sometimes those funny cat pics are just soooo cute and I think most things Pope Francis says IS necessary).

4.       I believe telling “the world” (aka Facebook) what you did today, will do tomorrow, ate for lunch, etc. is really silly, not to mention self-indulgent.

5.       I realize many people will recognize themselves as self-indulgent; I’m not scolding or judging, this is a gentle reminder (to me).

6.       I overuse parenthesis (despite being qualified as an English teacher) all the time (and sometimes quotation marks for emphasis).

7.       Although I conduct many financial transactions on-line and have faith in internet security I do not think one should put every facet of their life on-line.  Yes, someone could browse my FB and come up with my family dynamics pretty quickly; I’d rather not make it too easy though. For example I have never given eBay my home address (on any of my accounts).  If an irate customer comes to find me – they’ll find themselves in an industrial park.

8.       Apparently the number I have given myself is 8.  From reading Dan Brown’s Inferno I’ve learned that 8 has to do with rebirth and resurrection.

Three weeks as a Norwex Consultant!

Real Quick Update on my Journey as a Norwex Independent Sales Consultant:

I’m still loving Norwex products and happily trying to spread the mission! The day of my Launch party I had THREE people who I was confident would show, call and let me know they couldn’t make it!  Par for the Direct Sales course, I’m sure. One placed an online order right away and I had another two (ok, they are my sisters!) also place online orders.

Six people came and asked great questions – thus my business was successfully launched. The demonstrations all went well and as planned. Upon checkout, I realized I had spent so much time planning the “lesson plan” of the party that I absolutely forgot about how to write up the sales slip! Ugh, what is the darn tax in CT?  0.0635? Fortunately my neighbor was extremely helpful and tutored my taxation.  After everyone departed I had five spanking new orders!  I sat down to input them and was met with frustration trying to get everything into the website.  Part of this was because I am new and it’s my first time and part of it is because I have a systems background and really don’t think I need much training or documentation they sent me. WRONG! (I’m still muddling through and listening to their online trainings when I can). 

I decided to sleep on it and was able to get the party entered the next day.  I realized I didn’t charge anyone shipping – ate that out of my commission and lesson learned.

One thing I’ve done right is to meet with two friends who are in direct sales (Ava Anderson and Mary Kay).  I sat down over coffee with each of them and they were a wealth of information and ideas.  

Norwex offers incentives in Fresh Steps and I am on track - I've met my first step and feel confident that I will meet my second.

Stoke the Fire, Let the Dogs out, Change Baby’s Diaper ~ Repeat a couple times a day for 10 years until you become an expert Fire Stoker!

Moving into an old Victorian we saved from demolition as newlyweds it was not uncommon to come downstairs on a winter morning to find the thermometer reading in the 50’s or below.  At that point we had a fireplace insert in our kitchen fireplace that my husband would start in the mornings and then we’d rekindle when we returned in the evenings from work.  Ahhh, we were young and in love, it was so romantic!  A Fireplace Insert for the uninitiated is similar to a wood stove but it fits entirely in the fireplace and has an electric fan that turns on and helps distribute the heat into the room.

Once our first baby arrived I had to learn to keep a fire burning all day long and “stoke the fire” Thus this blog post’s title is the mantra all of my children learned. Upon any winter time departure or arrival home stoking the fire was the last thing I did before leaving and the first thing I did upon return.

In the close to 20 years I've lived in my Victorian house we've used various methods of heat as we upgraded and renovated our home.  Currently we primarily use a coal burner (in the garage) which connects to tubes that supply our water based radiant floor heat. Throughout the years, having a wood burning fire in the house has been a mainstay. Recently used just to make the main living room really cozy and warm and at times when electricity has failed it created a wonderful mini-cabin in our house as we all huddled in the room by candlelight.

Over the years, my husband and then the first 3 of my children all became adept at starting a fire in the fireplace insert. A good, strong fire that would keep burning and cause the blower fans to kick on within 15 minutes.  I, on the other hand, could keep a fire burning, but starting one anew was my albatross.  It would be pretty embarrassing if my 10 year old son ever found out that I didn't ask him to start the fire because I thought it would be fun for him; but that mom really couldn't do it.  Oh, how many tightly wound newspaper “logs” I created only to be frustrated.

Alas!  A friend asked me if I could hold onto my dryer lint as she wanted to make some fire starters for camping and with the size of my family she knew I did lots of laundry. I collected the lint all Spring and then she told me she didn't need it, apparently she had enough and was told not to use it in her new wood stove anyways, so didn't need any extra.  Collecting the lint had been a comforting exercise in recycling, I couldn't throw it all way now. 

After saving the toilet paper and paper towel tubes I created my own firestarters and they were a success!  I can now start a fire.  No one else in the house uses them (such experts) but they've worked out great for me as a fire-starter-challenged person.

How to make easy fire starters using items you already collect:

• ·         Cardboard tubes from toilet paper (or paper towels)
• ·         Dryer lint (the stuff you scrape out of the lint trap)
• ·         Candle wax

1. Maintain your cardboard tubes near your dryer and fill them with lint as you do your laundry. Put them in a bag or drawer to reduce dust.

2. Once you have a bunch (I usually get about 6 before I make a batch), light a pillar or jar candle and let it burn for at least an hour so there is plenty of melted wax.

3. Stand all tubes upright on wax paper (on a cookie sheet or other firesafe surface).

4. Drizzle the melted wax onto one end of the lint stuffed tube.

5. Let the wax dry.

6. Next time you need to start a fire (in your fireplace, firepit, etc.) simple open the flue and light the waxed end of this starter.  Let it flame, then surround with some kindling and small pieces of wood.