January 7, 2006

• These Are a Few of My Most Useful Things!

  The new washing machine arrived
  this morning, and I’ve put it to good use. I must confess that I don’t
  think it holds that much more than my old machine, but I know I
  probably filled the old one too full, hence it’s death.  The
  clothes do seem drier when they come out of the washer, though, which
  is a plus.  After only three loads, it is far too soon to tell.

  But, the arrival of the washer
  has set me to thinking. What are some of the most useful things I have
  in my home?  I thought I’d make a list for you, just in case
  “Getting Useful Things” was a resolution.

  1. My NIV Bible on CD. 
  I listen to this every day, I think. It has allowed me to spend hours
  in the Bible that I would normally have only spent in driving, ironing,
  or other hands-on, mind-free tasks.  (Okay, so driving isn’t
  really a “mind-free task.”)  I usually read the NASB version, but
  the NIV was dramatized with music and multiple readers.  It was
  quite a deal from CBD for under $60.

  2. My rice cooker.
  I didn’t grow up eating a lot of rice, but the good doctor did. He
  loves rice. My kids love rice. I seem to be rice-cooking impaired.
  After years of only making instant rice and cringing at the price
  difference between instant and regular, I asked my mom for a rice
  cooker for Christmas.  I’ve had it for several years now and have
  never had a problem with it and always have perfect rice.  If you
  cook a lot of rice or use instant because you can’t stand the gummy,
  burned mess regular rice cooking entails, then you ought to consider
  one of these handy appliances!

  3. Bath and Body Works Bubble Bath. 
  Okay, I stretch the definition of “useful” here, but I had to
  comment.  I am a huge fan of long, hot baths.  I also am a
  big fan of not spending a lot of money on bubble bath, so I always used
  Equate (Wal-Mart) lavender baby wash as my bubble bath.  At 98
  cents a bottle, it’s a good deal. But, I was treated to a bottle of
  Warm Vanilla Sugar BBW bubble bath for my birthday.  WOW! I’ve
  never had bubbles last for an hour and still smell so good!  It’s
  pricey, but you can get it on sale for $5 a bottle, and one bottle
  lasts for six or more baths. 

  4. Vitamin Keeper.
  No, I’m not an old person with forty different pills to take, but I
  bought one of those five day, four times a day, pill keepers.  We
  fill the keeper with the daily vitamins and allergy pills and fluoride.
  Then, I can tell at a glance on any given day who hasn’t taken his or
  her vitamin.  Is Tuesday Lunch still full? Then I know Michael
  hasn’t taken his vitamin.

  5. Cup Circles.
  This handy thing is really cheap.  I took a piece of colored
  contact paper and stuck it to one of our kitchen counters. Then, I drew
  six circles on it with a permanent marker (traced a cup, actually).
  Each circle has a name in it (kids and Dad).  When someone
  finishes drinking from his or her cup, it goes back on the cup circle.
  Not quite finished with your drink? It still goes on the cup circle. I
  used to have a piece of paper with the circles drawn on it
  covered with clear contact paper taped to the counter, but I
  decided to skip a step and just go for the contact paper directly to
  the counter.

  I have more handy ideas to share, but I’ll save those for another entry.

   

   

  • 4:17 pm
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