20 Ideas For Re-using Dryer Sheets

You may or may not have seen this already, as it circulates the inboxes. But maybe you’ll find another way to re-use your dryer sheets.

1. Use it to dust your television screen. The anti-static chemicals in a dryer sheet will help to repel dust and lint.

2. Use old dryer sheets to easily wipe up talcum powder, flour, and other messes of this type.

3. Used sheets usually have enough fragrance in them to freshen up other areas in your home. Stuff them in tennis shoes, place them in closets, in laundry hampers and in pieces of luggage – anywhere your house needs a little “refreshment.”

4. Run a sheet over a piece of thread when you’re doing sewing tasks. The thread won’t tangle up as easy.

5. Have pet hair on your clothing? Simply wipe it off with a used dryer sheet! Also works great on cloth furniture too!

6. Keep dust and other contaminants off your glass computer screen by carefully wiping it with an old sheet.

7. Did you purchase some old, musty books at a garage sale or thrift shop? Make them smell good again! Simply place the books in a sealed plastic bag with a used dryer sheet. Allow the bag to sit undisturbed for a day or two, then remove the contents. The musty smell will be gone!

8. Got a problem with mice? Find where they are entering your house and stuff the hole shut with a used sheet. Mice won’t chew through the smelly material.

9. Place a used dryer sheet in the bag of your vacuum. Sweep your house, and, once you’re done, the air will smell as fresh as your clothes do.

10. These wonders of the 70’s are also said to repel mosquitoes as well as other annoying, flying insects. Don’t rub it on you. Instead, stick a used sheet in your belt loop.

11. You can use dryer sheets to clean and polish the chrome on your vehicles.

12. Is there a build-up of soap scum on your glass shower door? Simply use an old dryer sheet to eliminate the mess.

13. Is the interior of your car or truck smelling a little stale? Forget the pine tree on a string! Place a few used dryer sheets under the seats of your vehicle instead!

14. Use sheets to clean and polish the glass lens of your eye glasses. They’re not recommended for plastic lens, though!

15. Is your hair dry and full of static electricity? Gently wipe a used dryer sheet over your head to get rid of it.

16. Dryer sheets make great dusting cloths for your wooden furniture.

17. Help keep dust and other contaminants out of your house. Simply place a used sheet inside every furnace/AC register in your house. Make sure it covers the openings and replace once they are dirty.

18. Keep your window blinds clean longer by wiping them periodically with used dryer sheets. The anti-static properties of the product will actually help to repel dust and dirt.

19. Are your scissors not cutting as smooth as they should? Wipe the blades clean with a used dryer sheet to remedy this problem.

20. Used dryer sheets make great little cloths for quick shine ups in the bathroom and kitchen too. Just use one on each of your chrome faucets and see how brightly they shine!

Taking The Day Off

It has been a rough week for me, emotionally. I took off yesterday for family concerns and found I need to take off today, too, simply to recouperate. I don’t really like to take a day off to pay bills, catch up, or simply relax, but maybe that’s what “vacation” days have come to.

At any rate, I ended up checking my work email anyway, and now I’m going to go to the bookstore. Normally I don’t purchase brand new books (my how things have changed – I used to want ALL my books to be new), but I have a gift card from Christmas that’s been burning a hole in my pocketbook. A nice, long stay at the bookstore is a bit of a vacation to me.

A while back I talked about homecationing / staycations, and now I’m wondering – what do YOU do with your day off? If you take one, unplanned, with no destination, what do you do for a “mental or spiritual health” day?

Things I enjoy that are uplifting for me are:

books/book stores (often Goodwill and Salvation Army), and the library
going to a movie
baking (a houseful of bakery aroma = bliss)
writing
cleaning (I feel more content in a less-cluttered home)
singing
walking
driving

Chorizo For Lunch

I had a package of Johnsonville Chorizo that needed to be used up, and a menu that was void at lunchtime. After having omelettes for breakfast, I wasn’t quite feeling chorizo and eggs. I had just bought a loaf of Brownberry Buttermilk (white) bread. We don’t usually buy white bread, like ever; I figured it would make a tasty bun for chorizo, though…

When I’m at Whole Foods, I like to pick up their frozen pepper strips. They are very versatile.

Chorizo in the pan (I some Schlitz instead of water to cook the sausages).

Franny requested macaroni and cheese for lunch. I don’t usually eat “instant” mac and cheese, but every now and then it is nice on the side.

It was a very tasty lunch. Simple, too.

Cheese And Vino

Last night I sat down with Frank and had a late evening snack of cheese and vino.

I used our “new” wine glasses. They’re “new to us” second-hand finds (Goodwill). I loved them because, well, I had the same glasses years ago, so they were nostalgic, but also because the glasses of today are fun, but ridiculously humongous. These little baddies remind me of Italian spaghetti house vino glasses. Simple.

German Chocolate Birthday Cake

Our middle son turned 12 this month. His “wishlist” was pretty simple: Dinner out with grandma and grandpa, and dinner in with family. He posted a menu for me.

I had made everything on his menu before, except the German Chocolate Cake, which I wanted to make from scratch. And I did – with this recipe for German Chocolate Cake. I printed out the recipe, went shopping for the ingredients and got to making the cake.

Layers, cooling.

Frosting, which I set out in the snow for a faster cool-down.

Frosting the layers (which was a bit tricky because the frosting is a bit hazardous with the coconut and nuts, which have the potential to ruin the surface of the cake layers. It was still warm enough to spread, but not cold enough to stick. I had to trim the first layer to make it more even.

I couldn’t help but taste the frosting. Delicious. I was excited for Lootie to come home and see HIS cake.

Frosting the entire, assembled cake was the trickiest part. The frosting kept sliding down the sides. I did frost it completely, and the put it in the fridge to settle. After about and hour (or maybe a half hour), I was able to take it out and smooth up the rough or droopy spots. I was glad that I made a double-batch of the frosting. There was a tiny bit leftover, which I spread on chocolate graham crackers – yum.

Layers of ooey, gooey, yummy German Chocolate Cake.

The cake was a hit. We feasted off it for days. I stored it in the fridge, which Frank liked – he likes cold cakes, cold pudding. I thought the cake at room temperature was at its best.

Creating A Peaceful Environment

When things around our house are chaotic, as they have been lately, I try to create a peaceful, comfortable, cozy atmosphere to make up for it. The smell of good home-cooking is an often used trick (tell me a house is instantly a home when a good, home-cooked meal is thick in the air). Baking is my preferred olfactory method, but casseroles, soups, breaking out the grill… those all do the trick mighty dandy, too.

I don’t have the luxury of a fat checkbook to spend on visual ambiance, so last year when we painted the kitchen, I chose neutral wall colors so that I could change the look easily with tablecloths, seasonal decorations, or even a bowl of fruit. Unfortunately, at this moment, I cant change the hideous color of our chairs – candy orange, free from dad’s church (a never-ending supply) – but I can still work with them (see tablecloth below).

The other day I picked up a new tablecloth, incentive to clear off the kid’s homework and clutter. I probably should have ironed it before putting it on, but I was eager. One tablecloth, one 3-wick candle (not one I made, but one I bought years ago from Target – can’t throw it away, gotta use it up), dinner in the air and lights dim… nice and inviting for the boys and Frank to come home to.

My aging camera requires more takes than it used to, and after a good handful of pictures, a glass of wine became part of the relaxing atmosphere.

You can see my wonderful cloth napkins still going strong in the background. So glad I made that switch.

Best Hair Straightener/Flat Iron

I’d like to purchase a hair straightener/flat iron. And a good one, ’cause I plan to use it.

I’ve recently gone from this:

to this:

Nine years of nappy natural hair. It was fun, and I may do it again. But before I went natural, I was relaxed; I wanted to revisit relaxing my hair. The lady who did it was skilled, and excited to work with “virgin” hair. She said that it was nice to be able to start with it and know what works. She learned (as I told her) my hair is VERY stubborn and hard to relax, and that she should have left it on the ends longer. Can’t blame her too much though. With her now knowing exactly what has touched my hair and how my hair works, I’m hoping to render even better results next time. She’d also like to use me for her next Relaxer Class in the fall, so I’ll get a free treatment, which is cool.

In the interim, I am on the search for a good, solid straightening iron for my hair. I have no clue where to start. I’ve seen them on QVC and infomercials, but have no clue where to start. Any recommendations?

Easy Crockpot Pork Chops and Stuffing

I wasn’t sure I’d be able to put a decent dinner on the table tonight. Since my evening consisted of dropping off 3 boys at youth wrestling, then picking the oldest one up from high school wrestling, transporting him to soccer clear on the other side of town, waiting the hour and a half for practice to be finished, then driving home, I couldn’t figure where dinner preparations would come in.

I had just submitted to the realization that it might just be a pizza night (again) when I remembered the pork chops in the fridge.

Crockpot. Pork chops. Stuffing. I had all three.

Boneless chops went in the bottom of the crock pot (you could do bone-in, but when they get tender, the bones tend to get lost in the mix, so be careful). And 8-serving canister of Stovetop poured over, with 2 cups of water on top of that. I mixed it a tiny bit to wet the stuffing, put the lid on and set the crockpot on high, hoping all would work out well and dandy.

Four hours later, it was done. And yummy. We had a side of broccoli and some applesauce to round it off. Very good, and very easy meal.

Things I Did Over The Past Week

It has been a few days since my last post. Here is what I’ve been up to over the past week (and mostly weekend):

Got my hair relaxed last week. I’ve had a bit of trouble getting decent photographic documentation of this. Still working on…

Watched my oldest son win his bracket in the JV Big 8 wrestling. His coach would like him to wrestle Varsity next weekend.

Watched the twins play their first game of indoor.

Packed up the boys and went grocery shopping… spent (ugh) $500 in two places (Woodmans and Sam’s). I was not really prepared to shop, but it needed to be done. The boys were pleased, seeing as we’ve had a very bare fridge for a while now. They were wonderful, though, helping me load groceries and carry them in. I didn’t have to carry one bag in the house. Not one, bless their hearts.

All that shopping and I forgot Sal’s humble request (for Super Bowl munching): nacho cheese. We stopped off at Walmart on the way home. I needed deodorant, too, so the boys ran off to get the nacho cheese and I picked out deodorant for myself and one of the boys.

I took a nice, long walk with Frank.

We watched half of the Super Bowl at home, and then finished watching it at a friend’s house.

Heard that Punxsutawney Phil did indeed see his shadow. More winter, which is fine, I hope it brings snow.

Made some Butterscotch Pudding – tasted fine to me, but the real test will be my husband who loves Butterscotch Pudding.

And now I’m going to tackle the task of straightening my hair, which is kind of fun as the novelty of relaxed hair has not worn off yet. But that can be a whole ‘nother post.

Have a happy Monday.