January 13, 2025
Five items I won’t give up. Things that helped me do things differently and better around the house. Cook, contain, climb, clean, collect.
Hang on. First, I gotta tell you this real quick: I’m an affiliate for Amazon, and this post contains affiliate links. That’s a good thing. It means if you purchase a product I’ve highlighted, they may compensate me for the promotion of that item. I love to share products that are a good value and make life easier. Don’t worry; it doesn’t cost you any more.
Sometimes word-of-mouth advertising is the best, right? 😉 Amazon thinks so, and they’ll thank me if my mention leads to a sale.
Now — On to those products!
Thing One, Easier In The Kitchen
Gloves. Latex or nitrile gloves. I bought a box of these and stored a handful in a kitchen drawer. Now when I pluck a chicken… 😉 Just kidding. I don’t do that.
When I prepare any raw meat, I can slip on the gloves. If I want to rub chicken thighs or baby back ribs with all kinds of concoctions, I can just dig in and do it. No need to worry about having to clean my rings or fingernails.
When I’m cooking, somehow it makes me feel better to put gloved hands into the food.
I can still wash hands with them on, if needed, and keep right on working. And when I’m finally all done, I peel off the gloves and toss them in the trash.
Outside the kitchen, use them for general cleaning, to protect your hands.
Somebody is suggesting I try press-on nails for times when I need to look special. Which actually ends up sounding like a good idea. Of course I’ll probably use gloves for washing dishes to preserve them.
And one more use for those gloves: to apply Sally Hansen Airbrush Leg Makeup. Ladies, I’m just saying if you haven’t tried this you should. It’s an amazing product that does a great job of camouflaging all those “badges of honor” your legs have earned over the years. It’s great for vacation, for summer Sundays, just, well … days when I’m wearing a dress and other humans will see me. How did I not know about this product? And putting it on with gloves was borderline genius.
😄 I’m not saying I’m completely unfortunate, just saying when I find a way to go from “almost beastly” to “somewhat acceptable” I’m doing it.
And speaking of unfortunate, just listen to this awful thing that happened in my fridge.
Thing Two, Easier in the Refrigerator
A few years ago, a yucky thing happened in my fridge when I wasn’t looking. A package of fresh meat developed a tiny leak. And yes, all that yuck dripped and puddled onto other items.
You know the rest of that story 🤢 , so I’ll spare you the details.
And then it never happened again.
Because I bought an acrylic bin to keep meat in. If anything drips (and it usually doesn’t) everything is contained and my other food isn’t contaminated. I’ll take it out every couple of weeks and clean it out, but it really hasn’t gotten yucky.
Problem solved.
There are so many acrylic bins for the fridge. Do you collect those condiment packs from take-out food? I do. It’s nice to just add them to a collection that is contained. Like this bin.
I think I’ll be tackling my kitchen junk drawer, my makeup drawer, and some other areas with organizing bins.
( 😆 I do love containers, don’t I?)
And don’t even think about reaching for anything on the top of that fridge before you read the next thing.
Thing Three, Easier to Reach
I’ve said it before. Get a really good stepladder for indoors.
If you’re standing in a chair, please stop.
I’m not trying to boss you around. Well… maybe a little bit.
But there’s this: I promise, trying to climb back in that chair with a broken leg will be so much harder.
When I say “good” stepladder, I mean one with a nice high handle that you can hold on to, a wide base with a good weight range, and a flat fold so you can put it away easily. There are plenty to choose from.
If I can do it, you can do it. Train yourself: When you need to reach something, take half a minute to go get the ladder and be safe. Pretty soon you won’t even think about standing on something unsafe.
Get one for you and one for your mama. Sure, it will cost you a little. But it’s a love offering, right? Just tell yourself (each time you use it), “I didn’t break a hip today.”
Thing Four, Grout Cleaning Brush
Tile grout. You’ve tried different tools, right? Sponge, scrub brush, toothbrush, scrubbing erasers, everything. Me, too.
It just seems like it’s not getting totally clean, though.
I watched the Amazon video on this little skinny grout brush. Could it be that good? Yes.
It looked like a great price for a set of three brushes. It looked like it should work. So I bought it. It’s perfect.
A little Zep Mildew Cleaner and this brush, and my (decades-old) grout was snow white. Seriously. All the effort is focused just where you need it. Cleanest ever.
It gets around your faucet, into those cracks and also that place where the base can get a little… something. Whatever you want to call it. I love this thing. It seriously goes where no brush has ever gone before.
I still use the scrubbing erasers on things. A lot. Sometimes the name brand can get expensive. Here’s what I buy: Magic Sponge Erasers, 50-pack. I think there’s a lot of confusion about these things. Like whether they actually contain cleaners. My understanding is that they are simply a melamine foam product with enough mild abrasive to scrub off grime. Originally developed to help with scrubbing fiberglass boat hulls. Maybe that’s true, or maybe not. But if your boat hull needs a good scrubbing, this 50-pack should get you started.
Thing Five, Easier Outside.
Years ago a friend said (very solemnly), “I have cobs. I know I do. I see their webs.” Yep. Cobwebs. 😄
And, guess what?
I do, too. Or I did. Outside all my windows. I wanted to wash the windows, but most of the corners had thick webs that I knew wouldn’t come off with water.
I didn’t want to be trying to swing some kind of rake or broom near the glass. I just have a feeling there would be accidental damage. Going on history. But I wanted those dirty things gone.
I needed a tool.
So, I got this outdoor duster called Eversprout. It has an extendable pole and that fluffy head, and it reaches every corner of every window. It looks just like your indoor web duster, but it’s for outside. And it works. Every web is gone.
What convinced me? The video (Suburban Acreage) right there on Amazon. He demonstrates everything.
You collect the whole ugly web thing on the brush head, then rub it on the lawn to make it come off!
I thought I might wash my windows after that, but they looked so good I didn’t yet.
I did take it to my mama’s and clean her windows. Also the outdoor cameras for her security system. No more webs flapping in the breeze and obscuring the view.
Here’s the embarrassing thing: We could have cleaned those so much more easily when the spiders first made them. 😉 Oh well, there’s always next time.
(If we didn’t, I’m sure we were doing something good and noble.)
Five Things That Make Life Easier
So there you are! The five things I wanted to tell you about. Plus the four that were afterthoughts. 😄
Thank you for being here. I mean it. 💖
It’s a new year. Take a deep breath and say it will be better.
If you’re changing light bulbs, storing groceries, preparing food, or cleaning your post-holiday house, these things will really help you.
If you’re looking for more household encouragement, I’ve got previous posts on cleaning: Too Overwhelmed to Clean House, and How To Get Organized Finely.
And you know I’ve got plenty of household items I have recommended. Check out: Essentials for Household Organization, and Product Recommendations for more info. There’s even a schedule for cleaning that covers the entire house (and the entire year).
Sigh. These are ongoing tasks we need to address, but we just keep postponing taking action.
Pick one thing, and get it done. You will feel so much better. Seriously.
You like recommendations? I’ve got recommendations. Plenty of them. See more of my household organization helpers.
By the way, 😎
Some of the products mentioned as links on this page are affiliate links. That means a merchant may give me a tiny reward if you buy something I recommended to you. Tiny rewards like that, plus the sale of my own products, help to reduce the ongoing cost of the blog. (Or, as my husband calls it, my expensive hobby. 😉)
Find out more about that here.
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-Grammye
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