TIP: HOW TO KEEP PLASTIC BAG IN PLACE

Are you still trying to use up grocery store's plastic bags to line your trash bin?  Are your plastic bags slipping down like mine when you toss something inside the bin?  Well hey ... two yeses for me.

Since buying the real trash bags (which most likely will fit the bin more perfectly) is not in my agenda, an alternative solution had to be thought of.  This is what we've been using to securely place the plastic bags: snack plastic clips.  We just tightly gather the plastic excess on one side of the bin and clip it in place.  Don't forget to remove the clip before you throw the plastic bag into the dumpster though.  :-)

May your plastic bag stop slipping and you find this tip helpful!

TIP: COFFEE AS AIR FRESHENER

Have you ever opened a foul-smelling trash cabinet?  Well, it was quite a common problem in our household.  We don't compost.  Our trash bags don't get filled up quick enough for us to dump quarter full bags into the dumpster.  Hence the smell.

In the past, I used to buy those $.99 air freshener at Target.  Unfortunately, they didn't last long, only covered but not making the air fresher, were scented (which sometimes came a little too strong), and contained chemical.

Ever since Babyroo was born, I've been cold-brewing coffee for Papahroo every week.  It's so sad to see ground coffee wasted.  I love the smell of coffee but not the taste.  One time, I remembered opening the trash cabinet and thought to myself, "Hmm, it's very strange.  Where's the foul smell?"  It wasn't until a few weeks later that I realized the foul smell's gone after I threw the ground coffee in the trash bag.

Ground coffee from our cold-brewed coffee

Ding ding ding ... major light bulb.  I'm sure I'm not the first one to find out.  Sure enough, this thing about coffee used as air freshener is a hit on the internet.  So to join the wave (lol), I smartly reserve the ground coffee for our homemade natural air freshener!!!  (noble prize!!!)

Place it next to the smelly trash can

Have you been trying this method at your home too?  If you haven't, give it a try and let me know your experience.  You can also use this in the car and rooms.  But make sure you have it in a more covered container such as cloth pouches or cover using punctured cling wrap to avoid the spill.

May you find this tip helpful!

TIP: CLEAN OR DIRTY DISHWASHER

It could be the pregnancy brain syndrome that I have which has caused me to be a little forgetful than I used to be.  These days, sometimes I would wash the clean dishes twice or forget to run the dishwasher for the dirty dishes.  Opppsss.

TIP: CHANGING FLAT TIRE

The culprit

When I was in college, Marcel didn't let me buy my own car and drive by myself unless I knew how to change a flat tire.  So one of the training I had to pass in "Marcel's Driving School" was changing a flat tire.  I had to change about 10 tires before he finally gave me the green sign.  Phewwww :-) *it's OK ... he meant well and I appreciate him*


This afternoon, when my sister and I were on the way out, she found one of our car tires deflated.  Oh nooo.  What to do with my big belly?  Praise the Lord, Marcel works from home today.  So he could assist my sister in changing the tire.  Poor sister ... came all the way from Indo (where her driver would do all this for her) to deal with this.


When was the last time you had a flat tire?  Do you know how to change a flat tire?  Well, in case you (yes including you, Ladies) need some refresher, here are the steps to change a flat tire:

TIPS: APPLYING PHOTO ON REUSABLE BAG

As our token of appreciation for the outpouring love from the Aunties to Baby Manny, we shared these personalized reusable bags for them to use.  Especially for those Aunties in the Bay Area who are trying to support the GO GREEN campaign.


In this post, I'd like to share how we personalize the bags:


Step 1 - Obtain the reusable bags.  You can make or buy them.  I bought them online from "1bagatatime" -- a Californian company -- because the material is quite sturdy and the bag can stand up as you put your groceries in.  To top it off, I love their Customer Service: very friendly, not pushy, and quick shipment.

Step 2 - Print the design on an iron-on transfer paper.  I bought the papers from Michael's.  Make sure you buy the right paper: for dark vs. white color fabric.  And also follow the printing directions provided by the paper manufacturer. 

Step 3 - Cut up the designs accordingly and peel the paper lining.

Step 4 - Place the design on the bag before placing a wax/parchment paper over it.

Step 5 (Optional) - Place a dish towel over the wax paper before pressing the iron on it.  This is to avoid burning the bag.  Make sure you follow the ironing instructions provided by the paper manufacturer.

Step 6 - The result is ready in 20 seconds.  Tadaaa!!!! 

Yayyy to going green.  Hope you find this useful.

NESTING: ORGANIZING GADGETS

My hubby is a gadgets fan.  I felt overwhelmed at times because I couldn't find enough desk space to work from home.


Praise the Lord, gadgets are getting thinner and thinner these days.  So earlier when we just moved in to the house, I took advantage of our desk paper organizer as our gadgets AND paper holder.  This fits nicely on our side desk.

View from the side.  We normally have my work laptop and hubby's work laptop on top of our tablet and Google Chromebook stored in here.

View from the front.  Not bad eh??

NESTING: TICKLER PROJECT

Ci Kiki shared the Simple Mom website several years ago with me.  Last month I read their post about the Tickler File to organize the counter paper piles.  Inspired by that, I adopted it for my nesting project and leveraged Google Calendar which has been our family organizer for the past 4.5 years.

This was my side desk before.  Filled with mails and coupons

Step 1 - I got myself a Tickler folder from OfficeMax for $7.00 (on-sale)

Step 2 - I labeled the pockets by months

Step 3 - I cut all the coupons and placed them in ziplock by their expiration month.  Then I put the ziplock into the Tickler folder by month.  So I only have to grab the ziplock from the appropriate month when I need to use the coupons

Step 4a - Example #1: our property tax invoice before I put it in the February (due month) pocket of the Tickler folder

Step 5a - I added a new event in Google Calendar with "(T)" in front to indicate that there is an associated paperwork in the Tickler folder.  The event date is the due date listed on the property tax invoice.  I added hubby Marcel as the guest and reminders to alert me when the time gets closer.

Step 4b - Example #2: our vehicle registration renewal notice from DMV before I put it in the March (due month) pocket of the Tickler folder

Step 5b - I added a new event in Google Calendar with "(T)" in front to indicate that there is an associated paperwork in the Tickler folder.  The event date is the due date listed on the renewal notice.  I added hubby Marcel as the guest and reminders to alert me when the time gets closer.

Step 6 - The result is ... TADA ...very organized and clean right???

Thank you, Ci Kiki, for sharing the website.  Thank you, Simple Mom, for sharing the tips.  My house is getting more and more organized in preparation for Baby Manny.  LOVE IT!!!  It's easy to maintain.  It's stress free ... clutter free ... all needed papers are in one folder.  All others are either shredded or placed in our filing cabinet.

NESTING: ORGANIZING LINEN CUPBOARD

One of the nesting projects we did over the holidays was organizing our linen cupboard.


We didn't buy or install a new linen cupboard when we moved in to the house.  There used to be two of them: one hanging and the other one at the corner.  For security reasons, we uninstalled the one at the corner because we kept hitting our hip to the edge of it every time we walked pass it.

So with the one hanging cupboard that we have, we store all of our towels and the bed-linen sets.  The towels are rolled to save some space.  The bed-linen sets are stored inside one of their own pillowcases.  So no more hunting through piles for a match for us!!!!


Hopefully with a more organized home, we can be readier in taking on more responsibilities that come with having our Baby Manny this Spring.

NESTING: LESS RECEIPTS CLUTTER

People said that with pregnancy, your motherly nature will start to kick in and that you will start "nesting."  Basically it's like a momma bird who prepares the nest for the baby bird.  I too have been in the nesting mode these past few weeks.  I have been trying to tie up loose ends of old projects and organize the home to be more efficient as our responsibility increases with the coming of the baby.


One of the things that I have been neglecting since we moved to the house is clearing up the receipts clutter and entering them into our expense reports.  Since we moved in, all receipts went into a drawer like this.

Four months into settling in, I just never got around to that.  The receipts kept building up.  The expense report was four months behind.  Every time I opened the drawer to sort the receipts, I was turned off by how messy they were.  


Lately, however, I have had this urge to organize and get a method down for our receipts clutter management and expense report update.  So I pulled out ALL the receipts from the drawer, face the reality, and get going with the project.  And here they were once pulled out from the drawer.

Then I got myself a $3.00 folder from Office Max and put the months as the label.

I unfolded and organized the receipts by months.  Then I started entering them into our expense report (that goes by month too) while keeping them in the folder still till our next tax cycle.

Now, the drawer looks VERY clean.  And when we have receipts to enter, they will go to the appropriate month in this folder.  The more organized we can be from the start, the easier it is for me to keep our expense report updated.  So far, this method works for our family.  I think I will go either weekly or bi-weekly with the expense report update this way.  No more four months behind for us.

Hope your house is not as cluttered with receipts like ours.

TIP: HOMEMADE STAIN REMOVER USING BAKING SODA

Here is another homemade cleaning formula I have tried at home that is cheap, environmentally friendly, and better than my other one I posted about a year ago.


One Sunday hubby came back from his regular coffee hangout with shirt and pants full of coffee stains.  But we could not get home to clean it until later that late afternoon.  So I prepped the shirt and pants with baking soda and vinegar.  Then I washed them together with the other laundry.  The result is ... WONDERFUL.

Here is the video tutorial for your reference.

May you find this tip helpful!

TIP: PEEKING NO MORE YOU, SOLICITORS!

I live in an apartment complex that even though we have "No Solicitors" signs put up in almost every corner, we still have solicitors knocking on doors.  I guess the signs are meant to be ignored???  :-)

Anyway, Marcel has this "trick" that he implemented to help me avoid solicitors while he was still traveling for work.  He wanted me to feel safe in checking the door before opening it without the other person knowing whether I am home or not.

For this trick, you will need:

1) Peephole

2) Sticky note

3) Black marker

How you do it:

1) Find the peephole you want to cover. 

2) Using the black marker, color the sticky note.  Make sure the area you color is big enough to cover the peephole.

3) Place the sticky note on the door.  I guarantee that the peephole will look pitch dark from the outside even though you have your lights on at night.  And when someone knocks on your door, you can lift up the bottom side of the sticky note and peek through the hole without him/her knowing if someone at home or not.  Make sure you do not lift the sticky note up too high like my picture below.  The picture was meant for demonstration only.  :-)

May you find this tip helpful!

TIP: HOMEMADE MILDEW OR MOLD REMOVER

Here goes another homemade "formula" to remove mildew or mold.  I have stopped using store-bought mildew remover for a year now.  And I have been using kitchen-found ingredients for my cleaning formula.  


I researched online on how to clean mildew/mold in a more environmentally friendly way.  And I found this combination of Baking Soda and Vinegar.  I use the baking soda that I stored in the freezer for odor eliminator.  Since the date has passed; and I cannot use it for cooking, I might as well use it for cleaning :-).  And I just ran out of the regular vinegar.  So I used the Apple Cider Vinegar instead.  It works well for me.  So give it a try!!!


Here goes the video I took today while cleaning the bathroom.

May you find this tip useful!!

TIP: COOK INSTANT NOODLES AT HOTEL

Remember this tip on free drinking water at a hotel?  Well, not only that I was thirsty, but I was also hungry during that stay.  I bought several cups of instant noodles the night before.  So while Marcel was at a business meeting, I made myself a  cup of instant noodles.  You can try this too.

You will need:

• Coffee maker
• Drinking water (I used the water I made from melting the ice cubes)
• A cup of instant noodles

Put 3 - 4 cups of water in the coffee maker and then turn the machine on.  Depending on the coffee maker, my hotel's took about 15 minutes to heat up the entire pot.  The water will not boil, but hot enough to "cook" the noodles.

Once the temperature has been reached, pour the water to the line indicated in the instant noodles instruction.  Close the lid for at least 3 minutes.  VOILA!!!!  Here goes my quick meal!! No need room service.  I could save the money for something else.  :-)

May this tip be handy for you!

TIP: FREE DRINKING WATER AT HOTEL

I don't know about you.  But hotels that I stay at do not offer complimentary drinking water in the room anymore.  If I am fortunate enough to stay within walking distance from a convenient or grocery store, I would stock up several bottles during my stay away from home.  But if I am not close to any resources, then I will need to get the water from the hotel; which I find really pricey for most of the time.

So these days, I have found a new way to get FREE drinking water at a hotel.  It may not work at all hotels internationally.  But if you happen to stay at a hotel that has this resource, feel free to read on. 

You will need:

• Ice vending machine
• Ice bucket or clean plastic bag
• Empty water bottles or hotel cups

[Click to enlarge]

First, you will need to find the ice vending machine. 

Secondly, fill up the ice bucket with the ice from the vending machine.  Please do not forget to first rinse the bucket.  I recommend that you fill up the ice bucket first thing when you arrive so that the ice is already melted when you need it.

Last, strain the melted ice into the water bottles or cups.  If you are using the ice bucket, the easiest way to strain the melted ice is by placing the ice bucket lid on with a tiny opening for the melted ice to go through.  And the result ... VOILA ... you get FREE drinking water for your stay away from home.

Put the drinking water in the fridge if you like it colder.  Or you can heat it up in the coffee maker or microwave to drink it warm.  ENJOY!!!

If you are able to take advantage of this tip the next time you travel, please let me know your experience and pass this tip along to your friends and families.  And I hope you get to save some money from doing this; and you do not need to drink the tap water.  Somehow the melted ice tastes a lot better than a tap water for me.

May this tip be handy for you!

TIP: HOMEMADE STAIN REMOVER USING BORAX

It's me again with another tip to share.

I don't know about you.  But I can't stand the smell of store-bought stain removers.  Plus, they can get a little pricey too.  As always, I tried to find a homemade formula that will work for me and is a cheaper solution.

For the formula, you will need: Borax, warm water, and a bucket.

You should be able to find Borax in the detergent aisle at the store.  It's about $3 per big box.  CHEAP!!!

So how you do it?

Fill the bucket with warm water.  Then dilute 1 tbs Borax per gallon of water used.  If the stain is not too "naughty," you should be able to get rid of the stain after 30 minutes of pre-soaking it.  I just so happen to deal with Marcel's burrito-stained pants that he didn't get to bring home till a lot later that night.  So the stain was pretty comfortable on Marcel's pants by the time I got to it.  As a result, I had to pre-soak it overnight just to loosen the stain up.  Then, I wash and dry it as normal. Finally ... VOILA!!!  

Here is the video tutorial for your reference.

May you find this tip helpful!

TIP: HOMEMADE PLANT POTS

I have been on work leave this week.  At first, I was so confused of what to do to fill up the time.  So I made a to do list of things that I wouldn't do if I were at work or things I have been postponing.  Now, as the first week of leave's over, I totally LOVE my time off.

One of the things I did was gardening.  My teacher just inherited me plenty of plants that took over our patio.  As a result, for the past 1 month, Marcel hasn't been able to do our bike maintenance.  With this time off, I was determined to get the patio cleaned up so that both of us can enjoy our hobbies there: gardening for me and maintaining bikes for Marcel.

When I was working on the plants, I realized that lots of my plants have "given birth."  So I needed to re-pot them.  But what could I do?  I got no extra pots to use?  Hmmmm, I thought to myself.  Then, I found 20 empty water bottles in the kitchen.  At that moment, I was in the mission to make use of them.

So here you go, I would like to share with you how I made 20 FREE pots.  Best of all, remember my post about bromeliad pups?  Well, three of the pups were big enough to be repotted.  Check out the last photo in this post.

[Click to enlarge]

These bromeliad pups were from here

May this be handy for you!

TIP: MAKING FOAM SOAP

I really like foam hand soap because it rinses faster than the regular liquid soap while cleanses well too.  Since the price of the foam soap refill is the same as the regular liquid soap refill, I have decided to make my own homemade foam soap refill to save some money.


You will need:
- A foam soap dispenser (the one with the wider spout)
- Water
- Liquid Soap


Direction:

1. Fill 1/3 of the bottle with liquid soap
2. Fill with water up to 1/2 the bottle
3. Shake and mix well (this will instantaneously create bubble inside the bottle)
4. Fill up with water again up to 2 inches below the opening to allow enough space for you to insert the dispenser without spilling too much of the mixture
5. Pump for foam

Now, I can make three times more refill with the same amount of money.  Yayyyy to saving money!!!


May you find this tip useful!

TIP: PREPARING FOR A BIKE RIDE

I love summer because I get to do a lot of outdoor activities; plus I have a longer daytime to do them.  Do you love summer too?  


One particular summer activity I've been enjoying in the past 2 years is BIKING :-).  This year especially, I'm grateful that I have recovered from my accident injuries and get to enjoy biking as much as I did before.  On weekends, Marcel and I love to do a longer or climb ride to practice our endurance and see beautiful views along the way.  Though we are not experts, we'd love to share some tips that work for us to prepare for the weekend bike ride.  Please note that this is not an extensive list.  Impacts may also vary among people.

WHAT TO EAT

• DO carb load by eating healthy portion of carb (rice, pasta, noodles, etc) starting two days before the ride.  You need carb to increase the glycogen storage for your energy
• DO continue to make healthy and wise food choices
• DO eat breakfast the morning of the ride.  I like to eat a banana (source of potassium; good to avoid muscle cramp) and half-sized power bar with water
• DON'T eat spicy, greasy, too much fiber and/or dairy food the night before or the morning of the ride.  They may cause you tummy some discomfort; especially dairy if you are lactose intolerant
• DON'T eat excessively or too little

HOW TO SLEEP

DO get 8 - 10 hours of sleep/night starting from 2 days before the ride.  Enough rest combined with proper amount of carb consumption will boost up glycogen storage in your muscle.

WHAT TO PACK

• DO pack lightly
• DO pack energy-boosting snacks such as banana, power bars, or chocolate
• DO pack enough water or energy drink
• DO bring direction (bike path)
• DON'T pack unhealthy non-energy-restoring snacks such as chips and candies
• DON'T pack spicy and/or salty snacks because they make you parched

WHAT TO CHECK

• DO check the brake
• DO check the tire pressure
• DO check the weather

May your bike rides be more enjoyable!

TIP: SECURING OBJECTS IN CAR

Marcel and I get our drinking water from water vending machine (like Glacier) or water store.  We have two 5-gallon jars that we refill bi-weekly.  

Driving with filled jars is quite tricky.  One time, I turned a little too fast that the jar fell over in the trunk causing a little of flooding to clean.  Another time, I managed to turn slowly without the car behind me honking impatiently.  Unfortunately, I forgot that I had left the jar in the car under a hot summer weather for grocery shopping.  So the bottom of the jar became rounded and wouldn't stand still.  *Baaaammm* the jar fell over again even on a slow turn.  Another time Marcel got his turn to cause the fall.  This time was pretty drastic because we ended up cracking the lever.  As a result, we had to get a new jar which is NOT that cheap.


Tired with all this.  Marcel and I were in search of a way to secure our water jars in the car.  Our solution is to secure the seat belt around the jars.  Yes, it works.  We've done it for almost 2 years now.

Recently we've tried to fill the 5-gallon jar with just 3 gallons of water to make it easier to carry to the 3rd floor

You can also try to secure any large items (laptop bag, watermelon, milk gallon, etc) this way.  That way they can stay where they are and avoid further injury or mess that could have happened when you brake or turn hard.


May you find this useful!

TIP: MILK FOR LACTOSE INTOLERANCE

It's that time again for another tip.


Do you have lactose intolerance like me?  


I grew up in a small village with cow farms within walking distance.  My grandma would go the the farm at 5 o'clock every morning and buy plastics of fresh-from-the-cow milk.  FYI, the milk comes out already warm from the cow.  So you can just drink it (if you don't care about sanitary reasons).  Sometimes, my mom would boil the fresh milk and mix it with with Ovaltine or Milo for flavoring.  I always enjoyed consuming my fresh milk before school.  Somehow it made me feel smarter :-) haha (oh wait, not haha, but Moo Moo).


Unfortunately, I no longer have that convenient access to fresh milk here in the States.  Instead, I have a new Calcium buddy - milk carton.  Too bad, no matter what brand I choose (Lactose free or not), I always find myself having uncomfortable digestive consequences after a glass of milk.  Something is different between my childhood milk and the US milk!  


Many people recommended that I should switch to soy milk.  To my defense, "But, it's not the kind of milk that would remind me of home, of grandma, of Mamah."  :-( .  I know, I'm so particular about it huh?  Psychologically to me, milk is from cow (not goat, not horse, or any other animal/plant -- including soy beans).  If I don't drink cow milk, I haven't had a cup of milk yet.  Just like most Indonesians say, "If I haven't had rice for lunch, I haven't had lunch yet."  :-)


This past weekend, my bestie Evelyn (Epe) came to stay with me.  She saw the 3 bathroom trips I had to make after a glass of milk.  She said, "So what's the use of drinking milk then?  It's in and out for you!"  Well, she has her point.  That's true.


So she gave me a tip (pure from her parenting experience) that I feel so thankful for her sharing.  The solution to lactose intolerance?  Warm Milk.  Yes, you heard it.  It's still the cow milk from the cartoon.  But it's warm.


Last night, I had a glass of warm milk after shower.  Oh boy, it's so comforting.  I haven't been going to the bathroom for lactose intolerant reason.  Yayy, warm milk works for me.  Thanks, Pe!


So if you are like me, maybe try to warm up your milk.  Hopefully it will sooth your tummy instead of upsetting it.  


May you find this helpful.