Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Hate Cooking, Love Cleaning (WWRW) (5Faves)

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Hey remember my super scintillating vacuum cleaner "situation" a few months ago?  Welp, we've been using our new Hoover ever since then and ehrmagherd, we are in love.  They didn't give me this for free or anything, by the way.  I paid for 'em with my own American doll-hairs.

Paul calls the canister "the leaf blower" and even he (WILLINGLY) helps clean the house with it.  I even cleaned the spiderwebs off of a ceiling with it the other day.  Who. Am. I?!?!?


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This book is laugh-out-loud funny.  She has a dry, sneaky sense of humor that I can only envy from afar as I scream stuff and italicize and use too many parentheses (like a goob).  The combination of actual recipes and clever chatter makes this the kind of book you can read even if you never plan on cooking ever ever ever again because seriously that's how much you hate to cook.

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The lovely and generous Jen Fulwiler sent me this Camelbak when I was almost-bedresting it up and needed to consume obnoxious quantities of water on the daily.  I used it, then I stopped using it as much for a while because I'm dumb, and now I'm back to using it as part of my super-duper-get-back-in-shape-by-Christmas plan and am feeling like it is my secret slimdown weapon or something.

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Is this like the ultimate housewife post or what, man?  Cooking, cleaning, drinking water to slim down....oh my gosh I'm so lame.  

Whatevs.  So I told you about Folex the other week, which I heart for carpets and upholstery and sometimes even for clothes.  But you know, I don't think it would work for dried grass stains on pants and shorts.  For that (and other things) I've discovered Fels Naptha soap.  

I bought a bunch of bars back when I was making our own laundry soap (which I had to scrap because Mary had a rashy reaction to A&H Washing Soda and the HE washing machine didn't like too much shredded Fels Naptha) so now I have it handy for dried clothing stains.  I just wet the fabric and/or the end of the bar of soap, and rub the bar straight onto the fabric as if it's....like....deoderant or something.  Throw it in the wash as usual and VOILA.  Stain gone.  

disclaimer: do not use on berry stains.  It does something weird.  I don't get it, but it's true!

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I picked up a quart of this Valspar paint and a few other supplies thanks to a Lowe's gift card we received for our (still ongoing) laundry room project.  It was signed "Leila" so I can only assume it was from my dear friend Leila of Like Mother, Like Daughter and I am so grateful.  We're going to use it for the workbench table that used to be in there and needs, well, it needs some help.  How much do you love this color?  Muy much, I know.  I can't wait to show you the finished project!

Five Favorites, hosted at MoxieWife.com


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21 comments :

  1. My mom has a really old edition (older than me, perhaps?!) of the "I Hate To Cook Book" on a shelf at home. I've never read it, but it's always intrigued me when I go back home. Mom only cooked once a week, so it's pretty fitting.

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  2. We always used Fels Naptha when we got into poison ivy and wanted to stop it cold before it had a chance to get us.

    -nancyo

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  3. Peg Bracken totally would have been a blogger in her day.

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    Replies
    1. Right??? I think she and Auntie Leila would be very friends, too. Very, very.

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  4. Yes yes yes on the camelback. I recently picked them up for the Hubs and I as we attempt our get healthy mission, and I now drink far more water than is mixed with coffee or used in brushing one's teeth. Will also have to check out the Fels Naptha - would it be in the detergent aisle of any old store?

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    1. Coffee and beer were my primary sources of hydration prior to bringing that bad boy back into the mix. Honest.

      At our Meijer they sell the fels naptha right there in the detergent aisle, but I've seen some people complain that they can't find it anywhere local. So maybe call ahead?

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  5. I got Camelbak Eddy bottles for the whole family a few months ago when the sun started blazin'. I spent a ridic amount of time researching the best water bottles on amazon. It was worth it. Best purchase of the summer!
    Alllllllso, I got a nice vacuum for Christmas a few years ago and it remains my favorite gift of my adult life. Lame? Maybe but my floor is clean and my back feels good.
    Last of all, my homemade diaper detergent does something weird to all the diapers that have the after products of blueberries in them. I don't use Fels but there must be some common ingredient in my concoction. strange indeed.

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  6. I do believe that "it does something weird" needs elaboration or an explanation...something. Curious minds...

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  7. Fels Naptha was a staple at our house growing up! Is it a Michigan thing perhaps?

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  8. That turquoise color is gorgeous!! I love picking out paint colors and imaging all the different ways my rooms could be beautiful. Of course, with all the different colors and styles of decorating I would love to try, I would need a house with like 5000 rooms!

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  9. I got that book at a wedding shower. So many easy ground beef recipes in there.

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  10. I'm so old, my family had a copy of the I Hate To Cook book when I was a kid. I loved it then, and I love it now. I love the "let it simmer while smoking a cigarette and staring sullenly into the sink" quote. We also had the I Hate to Housekeep book, AND I Try To Behave Myself, her etiquette book. All gems!

    The Hilary Knight illustrations are perfect as well!

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  11. I have to say that "The I Hate to Cook Book" was on my mother's shelf, too. I remember asking why she owned it once, because she LOVES to cook, and is quite good. She smiled and said, "It's funny. And owning something that's humorous is just as useful as owning something useful." I completely agree!

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  12. The first meal I ever cooked was from the I Hate to Cook Book. I wanted to make something special because a cute guy was coming to dinner (this was in college). I tried the pork chops from the book. The recipe said "saute the pork chops in a pan". Since I had NO idea what "sauté" meant, I put the chops in a pan (no oil, since it wasn't mentioned in the recipe) and promptly burned them! What to do? Happily, my roommate actually knew how to cook and whipped up a great spaghetti dinner for us (she was a wizard!). And the cute guy? I ended up marrying him and learned how to cook with him as the guinea pig...and we both survived!

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  13. So I spent a ridiculous amount of time researching vacuums when ours broke a couple of weeks ago. I really wanted a Miele, but couldn't shell out the lettuce for it. Then I couldn't decide between canister or upright and tried to find opinions everywhere. The problem was that my husband wanted upright and I thought canister sounded a little easier to take up and downstairs. So...we settled on a canister one that is fine, but now I miss the swiftness of vacuuming with the upright (canister sort of clunks around behind). And my point of this whole comment is, I WISH YOU HAD POSTED ABOUT THAT VACUUM SOONER!! It looks like the perfect canister/upright compromise. I didn't see it when looking. grrc'estlavie. Never shy away from housewifey posts, so helpful to hear your opinion.

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  14. I do the SAME thing with screaming and parentheses in my writing. That made me laugh. I want so badly to be a successful writer and have a funny, engaging blog and write a book someday- all of it is such a dream of mine! So exciting! But then I notice the way I write and it's just pathetic. Sigh. I also love vacuuming, and hate cooking! Now I'm sounding like a creepy fangirl so I'll stop there :P

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  15. That vacuum cleaner looks like Heaven. I want one.

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  16. Last Wednesday was my birthday and I was... busy. But! I gots some comments.

    For your H&E washer, you might try Charlie's Soap. It's good for just about everything you want to wash and I love it. We bought a 5 gallon bucket 3 years ago and we only need to order another now. Your family will go through it faster cause you've got more people, but still it's half the price per load of Tide, et. al. if you buy it in bulk, is very low sudsing, and rinses out well.

    For fresh berry stains, alternate bottled lemon juice and Dawn. Work from the back of the stain out with these two things and you can completely remove it. I got blackberry juice on a brand new white nursing tank in July and you cannot tell there was ever a stain. It's incredible.

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  17. Dweej,

    I have to thank you for the Fels Naptha soap recommendation. My 11yo, bless his soul, likes to wear nice clothes around the house. Unfortunately he thought it would be okay to wear his nice new Old Navy khakis (found nwt at a second hand store) to play baseball. He came home covered in grass stains. Vinegar and soap helped but didn't compete the job. Then I saw your post! A few runs with the Fels Naptha soap and they look as good as new - YEAH! Thank you so much!

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  18. If you love the cleaning then you should learn how to clean things with right and accurate method, if you get this information then you will enjoy more. With this amazing article i would like to share my best article which helps you and teach you the best cleaning methods.

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