"Make Appliances Clean Themselves!"

I'll admit, I know I'm far from famous for keeping a clean home. But hey, mine's got that "lived-in" look! Okay, I'll use excuses 'til the cows come home! It is something I'm slowly striving to learn how to get a grip on. At least I've finally figured out one major point: if it took me 30 years or so to master this behavior, why would I think I can change it overnight? I have to learn new behaviors. That's where my FlyLady motivator will help me. I digress... this is not what I came to talk about! I was reading some info on AOL news the other day, and I thought this was worthy to share (but don't believe the "Cheat at Cleaning" title there... there's no such thing!). The following are excerpts from the book "How to Cheat at Cleaning: Time-Slashing Techniques for Cutting Corners and Restoring Your Sanity" by Jeff Bredenberg. Yes, in a perfect world, every machine we had would clean itself. But at least there are some easy things we can do to help them along...

Garbage Disposal

Empty an ice tray into your sink & push all of the cubes into the garbage disposal. Then push a few lemon rinds down there, too (any citrus rinds will do). Turn on the cold water, turn on the disposal, and grind away until the ice and rinds are gone. The disposal will be clean and lemony (or orangey) fresh.

Microwave Oven

Pour 2 cups of water into a microwave-safe bowl. Set it in the middle of the microwave and cook on high for 5 minutes. The steam generated will soften any cooked-on food splatters inside. Remove the bowl using oven mitts. Wipe down the interior with a damp sponge.

**I've also added some lemon slices (or lemon juice) to add a pleasant smell to the microwave... it works!**

Blender or Food Processor

Rinse to remove most traces of food, then fill halfway with water and add a squirt of dishwashing liquid. Close the blender or processor and turn it on for half a minute. Rinse again, then let the blades spin for a few seconds to throw off any remaining water.

Coffee Grinder

Here's the easy way to clean your grinder after each use: Run 1/2 cup of uncooked white rice through the grinder and throw it away. If you make a lot of coffee, just give your grinder the rice treatment once or twice a week. Other times, wipe it out with a damp paper towel.

Coffee Maker

Put a new filter in the basket to catch any loosened mineral deposits. Fill the coffee maker's tank halfway with white vinegar and the rest of the way with water and run it through its cycle. Turn the machine off and let it sit for 5 minutes (to help clean the glass). Pour the water/vinegar out, wipe out the carafe and run through the cycle again.

Dishwasher

Cleaning the interior of a dishwasher usually isn't much of an issue - unless you happen to have those white mineral deposits building up, indicating a hard water problem. Use a product such as Glisten or Jet Dry dishwasher cleaner often enough to keep the white streaks at bay. Put the cleaner in the washer and run the water through a cleaning cycle.

Oven

If your oven isn't trained to clean itself, it can still come pretty close: Pour 1/2 cup of ammonia into a glass bowl and leave it inside your closed oven overnight. Then pour out the ammonia and use a damp sponge to wipe up the grime loosened by the fumes.

Zwarte Piet

I was reading up on a little today on 'ol Sinterklaas (Kris Kringle, Father Christmas, Papa Noel, ...Santa Claus!), and ran across some information that's relatively new to me. According to Dutch folklore, Saint Nicholas has a companion by the name of Zwarte Piet, otherwise known as Black Pete. This person (some legends call him Santa's servant) helps St. Nick judge the children to figure out who's been good & who's been bad. Children would put hay or carrots in their wooden shoes for Black Pete to see when he comes down their chimneys. If a child was good, Pete would leave them small treasures and sweets. If they were bad, some stories tell how Zwarte Piet would leave a lump of coal in their shoes... or snatch them up in his sack and carried away!

I think if I'd heard that story as a child, I would've been striving really hard to be good as Christmas approached! Yikes!

The Twelve Days of Christmas with a Christian Twist

I was reading thru an email I got (KCC Women's Ministries E-Newsletter), and ran across this cute article...


An internet urban myth claims that the popular song "The Twelve Days of Christmas" is much more than simply a nonsense song for children. It suggests that it is a song of Christian instruction dating from the 16th century religious wars in England, with hidden references to the basic teachings of the Faith; a mnemonic device to teach the catechism to youngsters. Thus, the "true love" mentioned in the song is not an earthly suitor, but refers to God Himself and the "me" who receives the presents refers to believers. Each of the "days" represents some aspect of the Christian Faith that is important for children to learn. So while our research on the Internet exposes this claim as an urban myth, and it was never used as a secret way to teach children about Jesus, it’s delightful all the same, so we hope you enjoy it.

The partridge in a pear tree represents Jesus Christ.
The two turtle doves are the Old and New Testaments.
The three French hens stands for faith, hope and love.
The four calling birds are the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
The five golden rings recall the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.
The six geese a-laying stands for the six days of creation.
The seven swans a-swimming represent the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit: Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.
The eight maids a-milking are the eight beatitudes. The nine ladies dancing are the nine attributes of the fruit of the Holy Spirit: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control.
The ten lords a-leaping remind us of the Ten Commandments.
The eleven pipers piping stands for the eleven faithful disciples.
The twelve drummers drumming symbolize the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.

A little humor

A church was preparing for Christmas services. The pastor decided he wanted a banner made for the entryway and had a parishioner call the banner company.

The parishioner told the man on the phone the message he wanted and the dimensions needed for the entryway.

The sign came back a few days later... "Unto Mary, Jesus was born, six feet long and two feet wide."