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Thursday, March 21, 2013
Friday, March 8, 2013
My Secret For Saving Time & Saving Money
One of the first things I had to learn to do when I became a single Dad was to horde time. When I was married, my wife and I thought nothing of shooting to the store to get something, even if it was one item. I worked from home and my wife didn't work, so there was always one of us to watch Maddie if the other needed to go out. That dynamic changed drastically when I brought the baby and Maddie home from the hospital alone. All of a sudden, time was at a premium and the baby's feeding and sleep schedule didn't allow me to just run out and pick something up any more.
While shopping on line is great, it just doesn't cut the mustard when you need a product right away...not in a couple of days, but right now! Substitution became a way of life for me and I became quite good at it. One book has helped me tremendously in that regard and
that book is The Reader's Digest Extraordinary Uses For Ordinary Things book. While I got my copy at a library book sale (I love to support my local library and get great deals on books!) you can easily get a copy through amazon.com. The time and money saving ideas I found in this book stunned me. While some of the ideas seemed a bit crazy and over the top, others were sheer genius! Below, I'll show some of my favorite tips using vinegar and hydrogen peroxide. If you don't feel like buying the book, don't worry. I'll give more tips out in future blog posts, though this will be the only time I will give out the name of my time saving secret book!
Hydrogen Peroxide
What can you do with a $1.33 bottle of hydrogen peroxide? A lot actually! Did you know this stuff is great for removing stains? Wine stains, grass stains, blood stains, mildew, this stuff will zap it good. For tough stains of unknown origin, I like to mix a teaspoon with non-gel toothpaste and rub it over the stain, Once you rinse it off, the stain has a great chance of being gone.
Are you afraid of using chemicals to sanitize your cutting boards? Grab a paper towel and wipe it down with vinegar. Next, wipe it down again with a paper towel with hydrogen peroxide. The hydrogen peroxide works great for killing bacteria.
This last tip for hydrogen peroxide I didn't find in the book, but I had read about it somewhere else and decided to try it. The next time you are starting to get cold or flu symptoms try putting a couple of drops of hydrogen peroxide into your ear canals. The fizzing sound you'll here is the solution letting off its extra oxygen molecules and supposedly this helps to fight off any viruses or bacteria that may be lurking in your ear canals. I was a bit skeptical when I heard this one, but I figured it couldn't hurt and I tried it. Sure enough, it worked! While I'd never guarantee that this will work all of the time, I do find that a couple of drops in each ear when I feel a bit under the weather helps to get me back to normal sooner rather than later. (Please note, don't construe this as medical advice. I am a stock analyst by trade, not a doctor!)
Vinegar
Aside from making salad dressing, what can you really do with vinegar? A better question is what can't you do with vinegar? My time-saving secret book above has 175 uses for vinegar...and I am sure there are more! Here are a couple of my favorites:
Unclog Drains - To clear clogs in sink and tub drains use a funnel to pour in 1/2 cup of baking soda followed by 1 cup of vinegar. When the foaming subsides, flush with hot water. Wait five minutes and then flush with cold water.
Speed Up A Slow Drain - Pour in half a cup of salt followed by 2 cups of boiling vinegar, then flush with hot, then cold tap water.
Shine Your Silver - Soak your silverware (and pure silver jewelry too) ina mixture of 1/2 cup white vinegar and two table spoons of baking soda for two to three hours. Rinse them under cold water afterward and thoroughly dry with a soft cloth. Warning! DO NOT APPLY VINEGAR TO JEWELRY WITH GEMSTONES OR PEARLS! Pearls will disolve, while gemstones can have their finish damaged.
Remove Old Wallpaper - Mix equal parts of vinegar and warm water and spray on the wall until saturated. Wait a few minutes and then scrape it off the wall with a scraper.
Protect Against Fleas & Ticks - Use this trick for dogs. Fill a spray bottle with equal parts water and vinegar and apply it to your dogs coat and rub it in well. It will help to keep the pests away. God bless you if you can do it to a cat without getting clawed to death!
There are so many others! I can't recommend this book enough. It is worth it just for the vinegar tricks alone. There are a lot of health tips that include vinegar as well, so if you are into alternative medicine then take a look at vinegar.
I've added an email sign up spot to the blog so if you'd like to see these weekly tips in your email sign up now. Otherwise, enjoy the added time you find to spend with your kids. Remember, time is the most precious gift you can give to your kids.
While shopping on line is great, it just doesn't cut the mustard when you need a product right away...not in a couple of days, but right now! Substitution became a way of life for me and I became quite good at it. One book has helped me tremendously in that regard and
that book is The Reader's Digest Extraordinary Uses For Ordinary Things book. While I got my copy at a library book sale (I love to support my local library and get great deals on books!) you can easily get a copy through amazon.com. The time and money saving ideas I found in this book stunned me. While some of the ideas seemed a bit crazy and over the top, others were sheer genius! Below, I'll show some of my favorite tips using vinegar and hydrogen peroxide. If you don't feel like buying the book, don't worry. I'll give more tips out in future blog posts, though this will be the only time I will give out the name of my time saving secret book!Hydrogen Peroxide
What can you do with a $1.33 bottle of hydrogen peroxide? A lot actually! Did you know this stuff is great for removing stains? Wine stains, grass stains, blood stains, mildew, this stuff will zap it good. For tough stains of unknown origin, I like to mix a teaspoon with non-gel toothpaste and rub it over the stain, Once you rinse it off, the stain has a great chance of being gone.Are you afraid of using chemicals to sanitize your cutting boards? Grab a paper towel and wipe it down with vinegar. Next, wipe it down again with a paper towel with hydrogen peroxide. The hydrogen peroxide works great for killing bacteria.
This last tip for hydrogen peroxide I didn't find in the book, but I had read about it somewhere else and decided to try it. The next time you are starting to get cold or flu symptoms try putting a couple of drops of hydrogen peroxide into your ear canals. The fizzing sound you'll here is the solution letting off its extra oxygen molecules and supposedly this helps to fight off any viruses or bacteria that may be lurking in your ear canals. I was a bit skeptical when I heard this one, but I figured it couldn't hurt and I tried it. Sure enough, it worked! While I'd never guarantee that this will work all of the time, I do find that a couple of drops in each ear when I feel a bit under the weather helps to get me back to normal sooner rather than later. (Please note, don't construe this as medical advice. I am a stock analyst by trade, not a doctor!)
Vinegar
Aside from making salad dressing, what can you really do with vinegar? A better question is what can't you do with vinegar? My time-saving secret book above has 175 uses for vinegar...and I am sure there are more! Here are a couple of my favorites:Unclog Drains - To clear clogs in sink and tub drains use a funnel to pour in 1/2 cup of baking soda followed by 1 cup of vinegar. When the foaming subsides, flush with hot water. Wait five minutes and then flush with cold water.
Speed Up A Slow Drain - Pour in half a cup of salt followed by 2 cups of boiling vinegar, then flush with hot, then cold tap water.
Shine Your Silver - Soak your silverware (and pure silver jewelry too) ina mixture of 1/2 cup white vinegar and two table spoons of baking soda for two to three hours. Rinse them under cold water afterward and thoroughly dry with a soft cloth. Warning! DO NOT APPLY VINEGAR TO JEWELRY WITH GEMSTONES OR PEARLS! Pearls will disolve, while gemstones can have their finish damaged.
Remove Old Wallpaper - Mix equal parts of vinegar and warm water and spray on the wall until saturated. Wait a few minutes and then scrape it off the wall with a scraper.
Protect Against Fleas & Ticks - Use this trick for dogs. Fill a spray bottle with equal parts water and vinegar and apply it to your dogs coat and rub it in well. It will help to keep the pests away. God bless you if you can do it to a cat without getting clawed to death!
There are so many others! I can't recommend this book enough. It is worth it just for the vinegar tricks alone. There are a lot of health tips that include vinegar as well, so if you are into alternative medicine then take a look at vinegar.
I've added an email sign up spot to the blog so if you'd like to see these weekly tips in your email sign up now. Otherwise, enjoy the added time you find to spend with your kids. Remember, time is the most precious gift you can give to your kids.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
More Time-Saving Tips For The Mom On The Go!
One thing I've learned over the past three years is that saving time is an art not a science. For instance, buying a second cradle so the baby could sleep by my side while I worked turned out to be a great investment. It saved me the time it takes to walk up the stairs and it also saved me multiple trips up the stairs to get her settled. I injured my knee a couple of years ago and marching up and down the stairs has turned into a literal grind. Ashleigh could sleep through a bomb blast, so the typing noise never seemed to bother her.
Three years have passed since then and my girls are eleven and three now and we survived the hectic years. Maddie continues to be home schooled and is doing great. Indeed, when she finished up the fourth grade in May she tested out at the eleventh grade level in both math and reading. Ashleigh, too, is showing signs of being a scholar. She turned three last month and can already spell her name and six other words. She can also count to forty.
For me, cooking always seemed to be a gigantic time suck and I've come up with creative ways to shorten its impact on my day. At first, I cheated by hiring a chef to cook Maddie and I meals three times a week. While the food was great, it was an expensive way to save time. My sister Michelle came up with the answer for me when she introduced me to the crock pot.
Prior to my divorce I have to admit that most of my "cooking was either done on a grill or in a microwave. While I could cook, I found most of the prep work to be tedious and I usually preferred to just order a pizza. Now that I was cooking for more than just me, I wanted a quick and easy way to make nutritious meals. The crock pot was my answer. Below is one of my favorite recipes. The time needed for prep is minimal...With the crock pot you can set it and forget it. I find the results are best when I leave the pot on high for nine or ten hours.
Pulled Pork Rollups
Ingredients:
3 pounds of pork butt or pork roast (frozen)
1 onion
1 18 ounce bottle of Kraft Hickory flavored Barbecue Sauce
1 pinch Italian seasoning spice
water
1 red pepper
sour cream
1/2 bag of shredded cheddar cheese (16 ounce)
1 package of Pepito flour tortillas (burrito size)
Preparation:
Pour one cup of water into the crock pot and then place the frozen meat into the crock pot.
Chop up 1/2 an onion and place it on the meat. Add one pinch of italian seasoning spice over the meat.
Pour the Hickory Barbecue Sauce over the meat making sure to cover the entire roast. When the bottle is empty add 1/3 of a bottle of water and swish it about to clear the extra sauce from the bottle and then pour it into the crock pot making sure not to splash the meat.
Turn the crock pot on high and forget about it for 9 or 10 hours. The added water will help keep the meat moist and the pork will shred easily after this time period. Given the meat was frozen, you WILL NOT overcook the meat over this time frame.
Chop up the rest of the onion and put it in a small bowl.
Clean and chop up the red pepper and place in a bowl.
Place the shredded cheese in a bowl.
Scoop the sour cream into a bowl
At dinner time, place the pork onto a large plate and shred it with a knife and fork. The meat will be very tender and shred easily.
Give everyone a warmed tortilla and have them make their own roll up. Add raw onion and red pepper to taste as well as cheese and sour cream.
Result:
My daughters love this meal and it takes me about 15 minutes tops to prepare the food. The crock pot does all the heavy lifting so to speak and because of the added water I don't have to be in the kitchen while its cooking. If any of you try this recipe, please email me at wayne_nef@yahoo.com and let me know what you think...They don't call me "The Chef Nef" for nothing!
Now that I've made you hungry, click on the link to my store and stock up on a new crock pot or ingredients so you can try my recipe tonight! Or do any other shopping you may have to do so that you can spend more time with your kids today. Afterall, isn't that what life should be about? Spending quality time with your loved ones.
Pulled Pork Rollups
Ingredients:
3 pounds of pork butt or pork roast (frozen)
1 onion
1 18 ounce bottle of Kraft Hickory flavored Barbecue Sauce
1 pinch Italian seasoning spice
water
1 red pepper
sour cream
1/2 bag of shredded cheddar cheese (16 ounce)
1 package of Pepito flour tortillas (burrito size)
Preparation:
Pour one cup of water into the crock pot and then place the frozen meat into the crock pot.
Chop up 1/2 an onion and place it on the meat. Add one pinch of italian seasoning spice over the meat.
Pour the Hickory Barbecue Sauce over the meat making sure to cover the entire roast. When the bottle is empty add 1/3 of a bottle of water and swish it about to clear the extra sauce from the bottle and then pour it into the crock pot making sure not to splash the meat.
Turn the crock pot on high and forget about it for 9 or 10 hours. The added water will help keep the meat moist and the pork will shred easily after this time period. Given the meat was frozen, you WILL NOT overcook the meat over this time frame.
Chop up the rest of the onion and put it in a small bowl.
Clean and chop up the red pepper and place in a bowl.
Place the shredded cheese in a bowl.
Scoop the sour cream into a bowl
At dinner time, place the pork onto a large plate and shred it with a knife and fork. The meat will be very tender and shred easily.
Give everyone a warmed tortilla and have them make their own roll up. Add raw onion and red pepper to taste as well as cheese and sour cream.
Result:
My daughters love this meal and it takes me about 15 minutes tops to prepare the food. The crock pot does all the heavy lifting so to speak and because of the added water I don't have to be in the kitchen while its cooking. If any of you try this recipe, please email me at wayne_nef@yahoo.com and let me know what you think...They don't call me "The Chef Nef" for nothing!
Now that I've made you hungry, click on the link to my store and stock up on a new crock pot or ingredients so you can try my recipe tonight! Or do any other shopping you may have to do so that you can spend more time with your kids today. Afterall, isn't that what life should be about? Spending quality time with your loved ones.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Hello, and welcome to Buy-Buy Momma. What does a single father of two know about what a Mom needs to buy on the fly? A lot actually. When my second daughter was only four days old I brought her home alone to take care of her and my older daughter Maddie who was eight at the time. To be able to work, take care of the girls, and home school my eldest I needed to find ways to save time while also keeping the house functional. Eventually, I hired nannies to help me with these tasks. In the three weeks it took me to find a nanny I relied heavily on the internet to shop and hire a nanny.
I've started this site to help mothers get their shopping done quickly, so that they have more time to spend with their children. It has worked for me, and it can work for you too! The SHOP HERE button to the right will take you to the Buy-Buy Momma shopping portal. I have laid out the store for ease of use. There are sections for:
I've started this site to help mothers get their shopping done quickly, so that they have more time to spend with their children. It has worked for me, and it can work for you too! The SHOP HERE button to the right will take you to the Buy-Buy Momma shopping portal. I have laid out the store for ease of use. There are sections for:
- Baby
- Toddlers
- Older Children
- Something For Mom
- Gifts For Hubby
Your shopping experience will start in the baby section, but the navigation bar to the right of the page will quickly take you to whatever category you'd like to shop in. I hope you find Buy-Buy Momma a pleasure to shop in and I look forward to reading your comments on your experiences below.
Thanks for shopping,
 |
| Wayne, Maddie, Ashleigh & Lucky |
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