How to Get Gum Out of Hair

Are you ready for this complicated answer????

Olive oil.

That's it.

Gum needs something oily to get it out of hair so other things with oil content like peanut butter and mayonnaise will also work, but olive oil took care of that in 5 minutes flat and that gum was actually chewed INTO the hair - it didn't just fall in!

Fabulous Find - cnet.com and Photo Recovery

Remember when I talked about the Maeve Memorial Run we participated in a couple of weeks ago? Remember how I said that I was taking pictures for it? Well, I did that in part because I love to and in part because Jon and Melissa asked me to. I took over 1600 pictures that day. That night I anxiously put the memory card in the computer and looked at all the pictures. Next day, took it out, put it back in the camera and started taking more pictures at a birthday party we went to. I ran out of room (surprise, surprise!) on the memory card, so I just started deleting pictures and taking more. On the car ride home I continued to delete them until it dawned me, in a very sickening way, that I had not SAVED the pictures to the computer when I viewed them the night before. I felt like I was going to throw up when I realized that. I made my husband reverse course and go home (we had been on the way to another engagement) and I checked the computer, JUST IN CASE.

nothing.

No saved pictures.

I spent the next day googling photo recovery and if it would even be possible to recover ANY of the pictures I had deleted. Lo and behold, there is a way!!!!

Cnet.com has been my friend for about a year now. I have utilized it as a resource to learn and make decisions on purchases for anything from a handheld camcorder to which shopping cart software to use for the business. Cnet did not let me down this time. One of the most inexpensive photo software recovery programs was listed and reviewed on cnet and I could even buy it from there! I ended up purchasing Adroit Photo Recovery. I did the trial first, which was free. It showed me all the pictures I had deleted and then I had the option to buy if I wanted them recovered. Ummm. Let me think. YES I WANT THEM RECOVERED. $20 and 3 minutes later, wahlah, all the pictures, safely stored on my computer.

So if you need anything new in your life - camcorder, camera, registrar for your website, shopping cart software, TVs - anything that relates to technology at all, you have to check out this site.

And if you are ever like me and you delete too many pictures, you don't have to throw up. Cnet.com to the rescue!!

Friday Flip Out - Composting

Once again, I have to talk about my local floral nursery. I love that place!

While I was there the last time I found this. It's an indoor compost bin! I asked what it was and here its a compost bin to keep inside your kitchen. I had heard about keeping your own compost pile before but completely ignored it because I knew it had to do with garbage and I didn't want to learn how to do anything with garbage except get rid of it! When I learned that it was incredibly good for my garden, I looked into it more and was sold.

What you do is keep kitchen scraps - egg shells, tea bags, coffee filters and grains, fruits and vegetables including peelings - in this bin. When it's full, you dump it into your outside compost pile and manage that to use on your garden.

Sounds like too much work to me, but keeping an outdoor compost is a very easy thing and if you have a garden it is well worth it. I have learned that you can keep one in something as simple as a tote! I'm going to talk about that further in a separate post, but for now, I am just excited about composting.

Here is why. We have two separate gardens we are growing this year. One has all the regulars and one has hot peppers. You're supposed to keep them separate from the regular peppers because placing them near one another will make them all taste funky. The garden with our regulars is completely exploding. The one with the hot peppers.....not so much. The difference? Compost. We used compost in our regular garden and the difference is amazing.

So, I highly recommend composting, and I'm pretty excited about the cool looking compost kitchen bins that I found while looking this up. They are great because you don't have to go out to your compost pile every time you are wanting to throw out a banana peel, they are attractive enough to keep on your countertop if you want and they use charcoal filters to keep the odor and flies away. Works like a charm!

**Images used from www.gardeners.com, www.gaiam.com and www.amazon.com

Fabulous Find! - Borax!

What a crazy thing to flip out about right? Well, I'm pretty excited about borax this week and here's why.

I entered my kid's bathroom to see a most disgusting site this week and spent the next 45 minutes cleaning it! I usually use Clorox Clean Up to clean the bathrooms but I was out so I decided to use the borax I had bought to kill my ants a few weeks ago because the box said I could. I couldn't believe how well it worked! My sink and toilet and bathtub became clean again! I typically use Comet to clean the bathtub because of the grittiness of it and the fact that that seems to be what most effectively cleans up whatever that film is that stays after bath time. I never understand how something you use to get clean can become so dirty itself! I used the borax this time and it was white and cleaned up very well with less time and without me passing out! Its all I can do to not pass out from the fumes of Comet, but it has always been worth it (every six months I clean the tub!). Not so with this, and I didn't have to worry about the kids getting baths afterwards because it's safe to use as long as you don't eat it or give it to your plants to eat! I was excited about that too because as I said earlier this week, I'm not partial to using chemicals and items that could potentially kill my family.

Anyway, in light of the amazing job it did cleaning, I looked up some other uses for this $2.49 box of pure genius I bought and here's what I found. Borax is a.......

1. Flea killer - Sprinkle on carpet, leave overnight and vacuum the next day. Not for use on your pet though. Fluffy will NOT like it! Fluffy might die.
   
2. Removing heavy sink stains and rust in porcelain or stainless steel sinks -1 cup borax + 1/4 cup lemon juice - mix into paste and scrub the stain. Rinse away.
3. Removing mildew from fabric - "soak a sponge in a solution of 1/2 cup borax dissolved in 2 cups hot water, and rub it into the affected areas. Let it soak in for several hours until the stain disappears, then rinse well. To remove mildew from clothing, soak it in a solution of 2 cups borax in 2 quarts (2 liters) water." *1
4. Removing rug stains - "Thoroughly dampen the area, then rub in some borax. Let the area dry, then vacuum or blot it with a solution of equal parts vinegar and soapy water and let dry. Repeat if necessary. Don't forget to first test the procedure on an inconspicuous corner of the rug or on a carpet scrap before applying it to the stain." *1
5. Cleaning your garbage disposal - "To maintain a more sanitary disposal, every couple of weeks pour 3 tablespoons borax down the drain and let it sit for 1 hour. Then turn on the disposal and flush it with hot water from the tap." *1
6. Removing urine odor on mattresses - Wet the area (no pun intended). Sprinkle borax, let dry and vacuum.
7. Make professional looking dried flowers - "Mix 1 cup borax with 2 cups cornmeal. Place a 3/4-inch (2-centimeter) coating of the mixture in the bottom of an airtight container, like a large flat plastic food storage container. Cut the stems off the flowers you want to dry, then lay them on top of the powder, and lightly sprinkle more of the mixture on top of the flowers (be careful not to bend or crush the petals or other flower parts). Cover the container, and leave it alone for 7-10 days. Then remove the flowers and brush off any excess powder with a soft brush." *1
8. Removing ants and weeds from around your house - Just sprinkle around the parameter of your house to keep ants away and sprinkle directly on weeds you don't want. Just a small amount will do and don't go crazy unless you want to kill ALL your plants!
9. Restoring china shine - Wash in a sink with water with 1/2 cup borax dissolved in it.
10. Cleaning aluminum pots and pans
11. Drain cleaner - Dump 1/2 cup borax down drain. Let sit for 1 hour. Chase with hot water.
12. Cleaning tile and grout.
13. Removing grease.
14. Clean cutting boards - Just make sure you rinse thoroughly afterwards.
15. Make your bedding smell fresh and boost your laundry cleaner - Add 1/2 cup to detergent.
16. Removing odors from refrigerator/coolers, etc. - Dissolve 1 tablespooon borax into 1 gallon of water.
17. All purpose cleaner - Mix 1 teaspoon borax with 1 cup very hot water. Put in spray bottle.
    
18. Wash diapers and baby clothes - "Flush out dirty diapers and soak as soon as possible in a diaper pail filled with warm water and 1/2 cup borax. Pre-soak for at least 30 minutes before washing in warm water. Wash linens, bibs, slips and cotton crib liners in hot water, adding 1/2 cup borax and detergent. Borax helps get rid of odors, reduce stainign and make diapers more absorbent." *2
19. Wash delicates - "Dissolve 1/4 cup borax and 2 tablespoons detergent in a basin of warm water. Soak hand washables for 10 mintues. Rinse in clear, cool water, blot with towel, lay flat or hang to dry away from sunlight and direct heat." *2
20. Make slime for kids - Place all of 4 ounce bottle of Elmer's glue in a bowl. Fill empty bottle with warm water and empty in same bowl. Add a few drops of food coloring if you'd like your slime to have color. In another bowl, mix 1 teaspoon borax with 1 cup water and stir until borax has dissolved. Pour glue solution into borax solution. Mix. The more the resulting slime is handled and kneaded the drier it will become making it more moldable and easier to handle. Store in airtight container or ziplock bag. Kids love this stuff!

So let's see. What all can I stop buying now? Clorox Clean Up, Comet, Bar Keeper's Friend, Raid, Round Up, Bar Keeper's Friend, Drano....... Think of all the money I'm saving!

Any other ideas? Share them here!

*1, *2, 3

How to Remove Ants

About a month ago we had these tiny little ants in our kitchen. We didn't just have a few, we had hundreds! I had no idea how to get rid of them all effectively and I felt like my kitchen was so dirty even though it really wasn't! Here's what I learned about ants and how to get rid of them. Oh, these aren't "natural". I am not against using ant killer or anything else that would kill them. I'm only afraid to use things that might kill my family. And this is not for huge infestations of ants either. Professionals have the keys to that one!

A Few Facts You Never Wanted to Know About Ants
1. The queen is in charge. You want to kill her.
2. The workers are sent out by the queen and then bring back food to feed her. You want to give them the bad stuff.
3. The queen knows when her workers aren't showing back up and will get stressed out and start dispersing her remaining workers in several different directions. You'll want to plan your strategy and attack!, doing it all at once and not doing what I did and suck them up with the shop vac every time you see one because you're grossed out!
4. Ants leave scented trails behind them so they can find their way back to their nest and so other ants can find the trail to the good stuff. Get rid of the trails not leading to the ant killer of your choice and keep the ant trail leading to the stuff that will kill it.
5. Ants like protein related foods (peanut butter) or sweet foods (honey), in my case my mom's strawberry jelly. Figure out what that is and use it against them as part of your strategy.
6. Ants do not like mint, vinegar or white gravel, so use that as deterrents in and around your home.

Planning the Attack
1. Do your prep work. Not necessarily fun, but just necessary. Make sure your floors and counters are clean. Use soap and water to clean or bleach. I used Windex with Vinegar. Strangely enough that killed them on contact, which morbidly I was very intrigued by! Keep your sinks clean and dry and vacuum and clean any areas you think might have spilled food, even in your kitchen cabinets and drawers.
2. Figure out what kind of ant you have. Great article here.
2. Look for the ants in and around your home. Some ants like moist areas and wood (carpenter). Others like dirt in the ground (really?) and wooden stumps and areas like that. Listen for crunching and crinkling sounds for carpenter ants. Dark areas are favorites too.
4. Buy and gather your killing supplies. My favorites are Windex with Vinegar as mentioned or just a spray bottle with vinegar should work too, Terro ant baits (I tried the Raid and the ants could have cared less), and borax (this little beauty I'm going to talk about later this week!). :)

Attack
1. Set out traps as close to their nest as possible, where they seem to be coming in your house and along baseboards, etc. Don't put them in the middle of your living room carpet because you don't want them there.
2. Mix up your own ant killer with 1 cup water, 2 cups sugar and 4 teaspoons boric acid (borax) and disperse that in the aforementioned areas.
3. Kill any ant colonies you find with ant killer spray or boiling water. (That one would be hard for me but hard times call for hard measures sometimes.)
4. Wait. They should be gone in a week. If they aren't, you may need to try other measures that I don't know about (that helps, right?) or call a professional exterminator.

Additional Articles
1. Killing carpenter ants
2. Killing sugar ants
3. General ant help

Good luck and happy any killing!

Any disgusting ant facts or killing ideas you want to share? Post them here!

How to Remove Outlast Lipstick

Another problem we've had to remove is the lipstick that stays on forever. All the major brands and companies have them! My kids wanted to use them too.

To remove outlast or whatever it is, lipstick, get a tube of chapstick and put it everywhere the forever lipstick is. Wipe off with a paper towel. Works like a charm!

If, however, you have the aforementioned lipstick on your walls, for instance :), you need to buy a latex primer paint. Prime the wall and repaint. That's the only way. Heating it up with a hair dryer and wiping off doesn't work, painting without primer doesn't work and harsh chemicals don't work either. Believe me, I've tried!

How to Remove Food Coloring

Have your kids ever made those baking soda volcano things? You make a mold out of something, clay, playdoh, etc. and then you place some baking soda inside. You add vinegar to it and wala! A man made volcano!

Well, my kids wanted to add a little extra pazazz to the volcano, so they added food coloring to their mix as well. At the end of their play time, which was mostly unsupervised (not smart on my part), we had food coloring mix all over the countertops and hardwood floors! I tried using vinegar, soap and water - no difference. I had a pink floor and countertop! Until, I tried the Windex. Windex cleaned it up in a snap and you can't even tell it was there now! Just a helpful tip in case you ever need to clean off food coloring. I wonder if that would work after Easter egg dyeing! Our Easter pics would look a lot different I bet if I had discovered this in the past!