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Monday, January 25, 2016

Spring Cleaning, Decorating and Fresh Air

When I think of frugal and simple foods the egg salad sandwich is on the list - close to number one.  What I didn't realize after using one egg I boiled  - it should be number one.  I used that egg to make a sandwich today.  Imagine how surprising it was when that egg produced two sandwiches.  (not skimpy)
One egg
5 chopped up green olives
One small celery stalk
Two (2) tablespoons of mayonnaise

And, I have two meals for 30.75 cents.  Adding in 5 cents for the additional ingredients still makes it a simple, yet frugal, meal at just under .18 cents a meal.  Add the bread which I can't calculate because I don't know how many slices are in the loaf.  But, fair is fair so the bread needs to get a mention.

Grocery stores don't offer smaller portions for single people in the fresh veggie department.
If I want lettuce, I buy an entire head.  Or carrots and celery come in nothing smaller than 'stalk' or a pound.  A friend has been singing the praises of green bags for years to me.  I finally bought some because I had all the dehydrated foods I need and watching food waste was irritating the heck of out me.  She was correct!  I now have a portion of a head of lettuce that is still good that was purchased at the beginning of January.  That makes it twenty four days with more to come.

Now, out of the kitchen and into the office.  I'm loving the small space.  The couch came in with a small black side table.  It's beginning to get cozy in there.  Next will be drapes.  Measuring from the ceiling to the floor let me know I need 95 inch drapes.  If the roads are clear on Monday, I'll hop over to Penney's to check out their selection.  If they're not on sale in the store, I'll grab the information and go online where there is a 50% off sale plus 20% with any type of payment.  Going through ebates will net me another 9% off which will bring the cost down to just over 26.00 a panel for a panel that was originally priced at $70.00.  The ones I'm looking at are lined in white.  White is the only color that can appear in the windows from the street. (Home Owner Rules)  I don't mind it because the look is consistent.  Our neighborhood is small and multiple colors would definitely look unbalanced and not so clean.

Things got moved around already.  To fill the empty space
in the jut out part I placed the organizers that were previously
next to the bookcase and desk.



The couch is a bit bigger than a love seat, but smaller
than a regular couch.  It also opens up to a sleeper.
(Double) Marley photo bombed the picture. 

On the list is also another lamp for the small side table.  I'm hoping Marshall's still has a matching lamp to the one that's on the bookcase.  The last thing will be a medium size television so Marley and I can watch our videos.  I'm looking into a 'smart' TV which has Netflix and METV access built in.  I have heard rumors that those devices can spy on a person in the room.  I don't know how true that is.  Well, no matter.  There's time to make a decision.

MONDAY

After prayer time I began watching a couple of the ladies I follow on yoo toob.  Before coffee!  Bad idea because one of the videos was extremely motivational.  By 9 AM I had a dining area that was scrubbed down from the floor on up.  I washed the chairs and table base, then went on to the table top.  The floor and baseboards are now clean, as well.  I just realized the ceiling light didn't get cleaned so when I'm done writing I will wipe that down as well.  The chair seats have also been cleaned with upholstery cleaner and are in the middle of drying out.

The chair seats need to dry before they are returned to
the appropriate position.  When they're dry I'll clean off the residue
with a cleaning brush to remove the dried up dirt.


Since everything is smelling nicely I opened the living room window to air out the living area.  The sun is shining and the air is crisp.  Just the right combination to kill germs.

Later this morning the plan is to go to Penney's to check out the drapes for the office.  I did a bit of research on smart TVs and I think I'll pass on a TV in the office room.  Samsung has a privacy policy that literally tells you they collect data from your device AND the TV is capable of listening to conversations in your home.  I don't talk much anyway, but I also like to think my home is my private area,  So, I'm taking a pass on that one.  It's an invasion of privacy to be on the computer and that's enough for me.

Here's a link to Samsung's privacy policy.  Note the verbiage is soft, mentioning third parties.  No thank you.    http://www.samsung.com/us/common/privacy.html

Stay safe. 





9 comments:

  1. OK I need some motivation! Who do you follow on you tube that inspired your cleaning bout? Off to make an egg salad sandwich- made me hungry! haha

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    1. LOL Angela! I know. There are times I just want to sit and stare at the wall rather than do anything. Especially in the winter. I watched 'How Jen Does It'. Her home is more modern than I'm comfortable with, but that girl can clean. She's currently doing a challenge. Good luck and have fun!

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    2. Thank you- I will check her out first thing in the morning when I get my guys out. Winter is hard- a good book, knitting, etc can so lure me in.

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  2. Your house looks immaculate. I'm very interested that you are only allow d white curtains due to house rules. Angie I've not heard of this in my part of the world. I love the photo of dear Marley. I've only seen photos of her beautiful face and can now see that even though she has a white face that most of her body is brown. Angie I followed the progress of the storm and hoped you were fine. You put me to shame with my cleaning Angie, thanks for inspiring me in my cleaning efforts x

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    1. Leisha, If you check out my reply to Anonymous, you'll see the reasons behind the rules. Since there are four units to every building we thought it would be good not to have old cars in driveways that someone has torn apart and left. This is a rather common practice in the South. We can have flowers, if we take care of them and outdoor decorations, but each unit is limited in the number of items displayed.

      Please know that my cleanliness habits have been instilled in me since I was a small child. I actually like to clean because I fell I have accomplished something when a task is completed. I would encourage you to live at a level that's comfortable for you. Just make sure your life is a simple one! Here's a secret. When our son had cancer as a child, I was determined he wouldn't die because of germs. I scrubbed the house every day with a disinfectant, top to bottom. Thank God, he never had to be hospitalized because of catching a germ. He's now 34 and has a family of his own. Our family is very blessed he's still with us and is raising his own family now. This is a glimpse into why God is so important to me. I have lived His mercy.

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    2. Thank you Angie for sharing this with me. What a terrible thing to experience having a child with cancer. I admire how you became so focused on scrubbing your house so no germs could harm your son. Wonderful to hear that he is thriving with his own family.

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  3. I have a question: Can that really be a rule, that your window curtains must be white or lined in white? Such a thing is so new to me and I would like to point out my astonishment. Are those Home Owner Rules so very restrictive? I admit, that would not make me happy as I prefer individual looks or even no curtains at all. But of course: Other
    countries, other customs.
    You are quite early with your spring cleaning, but what is done is done and makes a good
    feeling.

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    1. Where I came from there were no homeowner's association, but no condos either. Before I could close on my home I had to wait ten days so I could read the rules and then sign a paper stating I agreed with them. The rules are simple and put in place because we all want our home values to increase. My unit has increased $35,000 in value since I moved in three years ago. So agreeing to the simple terms was an easy thing to do for me. The rules only address outdoor consistencies. Inside we can do anything we'd like. I hope this helps answer your question.

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  4. I watched that video, wow, her house is spotless--of course it helps that it is new. I have lived in older homes and newer ones, and for some reason, it's easier to keep the newer ones looking clean. At least watching her got me motivated. However, I do liked to clean and organize, so I was looking for tips. The comments you've rec'd about the homeowner's association rules are interesting. I am familiar with them, and they are not a bad idea, especially as you pointed out in their relation to home value. In our neighborhood, we could sure use some rules for yard and home upkeep--- my husband and I have finally figured out it all comes down to personal pride in ownership. If you don't give a whit about how you look in your dress or appearance, then you probably won't care if your yard is dirt and weeds and there are junked cars in the back. We have also experienced neighborhood rules where you can't have a basket ball hoop attached to the front of your garage, or a clothes line in the yard. Restrictive? Perhaps, but at least the neighborhood keeps it value.

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