Two Frugal Chicks

Okay, you know we’ve all done it.

We’ve been cleaning up in the living room and found a brush; so we march off to the bathroom to put the brush away.

While in the bathroom notice we’re out of TP; so you run off to get some TP.

Then, while in the garage getting in to my TP storage, I notice a scoop I was missing.

I pick up the scoop and take it in to the kitchen and notice the dishes are undone.

Sooooo I start the dishes.

Meanwhile, the living room never got picked up  and I’m looking around thinking nothing ever gets completed. Then it’s too late to do anything about it and  I have to run off to work and nothing got done. Except maybe the dishes if I’m lucky.

So, I came up with this nifty cart idea. It’s just a simple cart on wheels that folds flat. I got the idea while watching maid service at a hotel. They never have to run off to put something away or pick something up. Everything they need is right there with them.

The reason it works so well for me is that I never have to leave the room I’m in. I have everything I need right there. I tied a laundry bag on one side, a recycling bag on the other and a garbage bag on the back (not pictured). My cleaning supplies are in the hand tote.  I take out the tote when I get to the room I’m cleaning and use the basket to gather anything that doesn’t belong in that room. It really is quite efficient. When I get to the next room I take out anything I gathered in the basket that belongs in that room and drop it off then proceed to clean, gather, sort and move on.

Oh and one last tip. EMPTY the cart and hang it back up when you’re done. I’ve spent plenty of time looking for something I put in that cart. I just rolled the thing out the garage and dumped it off without emptying it first which is All too tempting to do. But be sure to allot enough time to empty it out and put stuff away after your last room.

Here’s a pic of the cart after a trip through my living room (pay no attention to those empty beer cans)..

My Yahoo inbox is ridiculous. I have over 63,205 unread emails. So, if I haven’t answered an email you’ve sent me, please forgive me. I was trying to clean it out but I only knew how to do 100 at a time. But, I have found a better way.

Go to Options
Mail Options
Under Behavior – check a scrolling list and 200 messages view

Now you can clean out more than 100 at a time. You can search for emails and it will list them all in that category. Once they are listed you can go under the cog (the cog is the little icon that looks like a flower or a cog in a wheel. Its next to the spam and trash icon near the top) and choose select all. Then you can delete all in that search. No more deleting 100 at a time. 

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I saw organic bananas in the produce section and wondered, “Why would I buy organic bananas if I’m just going to peel them anyways?  Wouldn’t all the bad chemicals be on the peel? Which fruits and vegetables should I be buying organic?”. Then, the other morning as I was hitting the snooze button on the alarm for the umpteenth time, a news story came on KOMO news-radio about the “Dirty Dozen and Clean 15”.  The Dirty Dozen are the top twelve fruits and vegetables that had the highest pesticide residue, meaning you should buy these organic or grow them yourself.  The Clean 15 are fruits and vegetables that had little to no traces of pesticides and don’t need to be bought organic.

The Dirty Dozen –

• Apples
• Celery
• Sweet bell peppers
• Peaches
• Strawberries
• Spinach
• Nectarines (imported)
• Grapes
• Lettuce
• Cucumbers
• Blueberries (domestic)
• Potatoes

The Clean 15 –

• Onions
• Sweet corn
• Pineapples
• Avocado
• Cabbage
• Sweet peas
• Asparagus
• Mangoes
• Eggplant
• Kiwi
• Cantaloupe (domestic)
• Sweet potatoes
• Grapefruit
• Watermelon
• Mushrooms

To read the full article, go here. .

Times Square

My daughter, Kelly, and I just got back from a week long vacation in Connecticut, where we visited my oldest sister, Sharon, and my niece, Alyse.  We got to stay in an adorable little cottage on the coast of Rhode Island for a weekend, saw New York City for the first time, and ate EVERYTHING in sight!  The food… oh it was obscene the amount of food we ate.  But the pizza and the Italian food on the east coast is so, so good we had to get our fill.  We’ve been back a week and I’m still full!

Pepe’s Pizza

The Hot House Sandwich from Southford Pizza

Months before we left for our food orgy, I started a $5 jar so we could have some extra “fun money”.  I lined the inside and bottom of a large pickle jar with paper, made a slit in the lid and hot glued the lid on.  Every time I got a $5 bill, I put it into this jar. I was a little concerned as to how to break the jar open and sift through all the broken glass to get the money out, but then Kelly gave the glued on lid a twist and off it came – so much for security. After only a few months, I had saved $320.  Saving $5 here and there was really easy. I glued the lid back on the jar and have started to save my $5 bills again – I’m not sure what I’m going to use them for – maybe Christmas shopping?  a vacation next year?

Make your own $5 jar and start saving for whatever you like.  You’ll be surprised at how fast it adds up.

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Toast it in a dry skillet first. Just keep warming it up till it starts to barely brown and smells nutty. Then add water, fruit, nuts, whatever you like and stir till cooked. Adds a wonderful nutty dimension to ordinary oatmeal. We love it.

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Here’s a cute idea for halloween balloons. Stick a glow stick inside a balloon before you blow it up and you have instant glowing balloons! Just draw a fast on and you’ve got it. Easy and fun.

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Cut off the sides, running your knife along the edge of the seed.

Score up and down (note to self: don’t hold the mango and use a sharp knife at the same time). Put the mango on the cutting board and score down to the mango skin. I didn’t cut myself but realize looking at this picture that it doesn’t look safe so use your judgement.


Flip it inside out.

Cut off the chunks

Squeeze the pulp that covers the seed to get all the juice. Put in bags and freeze. It’s that easy.

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Life Hacker posted a great tip today on cooking corn on the cob for a crowd. Just fill a clean cooler with the corn and pour boiling water over it. Shut lid and wait 30 mins. Voila! Done! This is so much easier than trying to boil them in a pot or trying to fit them all on the grill..