Making The Most of Your Candles

Let's face it, good candles are expensive.

Whether it's Voluspa, diptyque,Yankee Candle or Bath & Body Works, they can easily run upwards of $20. I don't mind spending money on good candles because they tend to smoke less and burn longer.

What I do mind spending money on is this:

When a candle doesn't burn all the way to the bottom and there is still a 1/4 of the wax left in the jar, it really irritates me. I've tried a lot of things to extend the life of the candle, such as placing a tea candle on top of the existing wax. But it doesn't smell nearly as good as when the actual wick is melting the wax.

Then it occurred to me, that I could actually use the leftover wax in my plug-in wax warmer! If you have a Scentsy or other form of plug-in wax warmer, give this a try next time your favorite candle burns out.

Step 1: Freeze the candle.
There's something scientific that goes on when you freeze wax. I'm sure it has something to do with changing molecules and other smart things, but basically it shrinks the wax just enough that it is easily removed with a sharp paring knife.

My candle fresh out of the freezer

Step 2: Remove the wax
Gently slide a sharp paring knife along the edge of the candle to loosen the wax and it should "pop out".

Step 3: Cut the wax
Gently break up the wax into small chunks. It doesn't matter what shapes they are because they're going to melt.

Step 4: Use your wax!
Place a few chunks into your candle warmer and put the rest into a ziploc baggie for later. Remember to store it in a cool, dry place.

If you want to take it one step further, most Bath & Body Works candles have labels on them that are also very easily removed. If there is any residue left behind, Windex or "Goo Gone" works great to get the glass completely clean!

Just peel back the label...

Voila! A nice, clean votive candle holder!

So next time you spend $9.50 for a votive candle, just remember that you really can get your money's worth if you're willing to put in a little effort.

What's your favorite household tip? I'd love to hear it!

Not An Iceberg...A Fatberg

I haven't had the chance to download and edit all of the pictures I took over Mother's Day weekend, so I'll be posting those pics later this week. In the meantime, I've decided to totally gross you out and bring to light a disgusting, but real problem.

I was listening to NPR the other day and there was a London reporter talking about a huge problem they are having in their sewer systems. Apparently a lot of the popular foods that are cooked in London require frying (fish, french fries, etc.) and for decades, people have been pouring the used grease down their kitchen sinks when they were finished cooking.

This erroneous disposal of grease has caused what they have termed, "Fatbergs" under the streets of London. Basically large globs of fat are clogging up the city's sewer systems and they are now having to go in and dig it out.

I'm warning you... this is a really gross image...

 

Disgusting, right??? (This poor guy!)

The good news is, London has contracted with a company to turn these vile Fatbergs into an energy source by burning it. You can read the entire story here if you are so inclined.

So why am I blogging about this gross problem in London?

Because it's not just a problem across the pond. It's happening in your own city too. And in your own household sewer lines if you dump oil down your sink.

Granted, you probably don't have Fatbergs developing, but disposing of oil in your sink is not only bad for the environment, it's really bad for your sewer lines. And clogged sewer lines are very expensive to fix. Trust me. We had tree roots growing into one of our sewer lines and have had to call people out to come clear them. NOT cheap.

What's the solution?

Easy. It's a trick my mom (and maybe many of you) has been using for as long as I can remember.

When she would cook something that would produce grease (like meatballs) she would pour the excess grease into an old can and then stick it in the freezer.

Here's how I do it:

When you're finished making your meatballs/chicken Parmesan/bacon, etc. your pan looks like this:

Carefully drain the grease into an old, empty can or jar:

Stick it in the freezer to solidify:

Once the can is full, you can toss it in the garbage.

I also have a good friend who cooks like my grandma did, and she saves her bacon grease and then cooks with it. I'm sure it would add a delicious flavor to green beans!

So, there's your gross, but useful, tip of the day. Want to know some other things you should never throw in your disposal (including pasta & rice - who knew???) click here.

Some Helpful Tips

What parent couldn't use a few helpful tips every now and then? I know I surely can!

Pinterest is probably my favorite place to get great tips, but I have also found very useful ideas in parenting magazines. The only problem is, that I usually dog-ear the page, or "pin" the idea, and then forget to actually implement them. Dangit.

Here are a couple super-easy ideas that I thought I'd pass along. Now it's your responsibility to actually do them. :)

Finish All Your Meds
Any doctor will tell you that the "Golden Rule" when it comes to antibiotics is to FINISH the entire prescribed amount. Don't just stop taking your meds when you start to feel better.

So, to help me remember if/when I've taken my meds, or if I've given meds to the kiddos, I write down the days of the week along the top of the bottle, starting with the first day that I start the medicine and ending with the last day that I am supposed to take it.
Then each day after I give/take the medicine, I cross off that day of the week.
No more guessing about how many more days, or if you've remembered that day. Easy, peasy!


Mark What Is Yours
Summer is just around the corner, which means lots of days splashing around at the pool.
Whether you have a community pool, or you're going to the beach, the best way to keep track of your toys/goggles, etc. is to write your name on them.
Sounds so simple, right?

But sometimes it's the simplest things that make the most sense.
Now, when we go to the pool, I won't have to wonder if the rocket toy that the random kid is playing with belongs to us. I can just say, "Honey, can I see that rocket for a second?" And if it has "HECKMAN" written on the side of it, I know immediately that it's ours.

I also do this with goggle straps, towel tags, buckets and shovels and anything else that I've spent money on and would like to get at least one season's worth of play out of it. :)


Getting Clean After The Beach
I have a friend who always teases me saying, "I bet when you get home from the beach, you don't drag one bit of sand inside your house."

Well, I don't know about "one bit of sand" but I've gotten it down to where you certainly wouldn't know I had 2 kids and 2 adults playing in the sand all day. Here are my tips:

1. Obviously, if there's a shower at the beach, use it before you get in the car. At least to rinse off feet and legs.

2. If there's not a shower, I will often carry a gallon of water in the trunk and use it to rinse off feet before climbing back in the car.

3. When Parker was a baby, I used the baby powder trick where you simply dust their feet and legs with baby powder and the sand miraculously comes right off! It's quite amazing.

4. When we get home, both kids strip down in the garage (or in the laundry room) and immediately put their bathing suits in washing machine. I then load in all the beach towels and any other sandy clothing and start a load of wash.

5. We empty out the car and immediately vacuum it out with our Dustbuster.

Just a few simple steps that will eliminate a lot of clean-up work after a long day at the beach.

Corralling Art Supplies

This can apply to all areas of your household, but for this post, I'm going to show how I corral our art supplies.

I find it to be so helpful when I contain "like" items together in one space using similar storage bins.

I have all of the kid's craft supplies in the laundry room cabinet. This allows me quick and easy access to things when the creative mood strikes!

By grouping them all together in one place, and then separating them out into bins to organize "like" items together (e.g. all the crayons and markers in one bin, all the painting supplies in another bin, etc.) helps me find what I want very quickly and easily and helps everything look clean and organized.

It also allows me to only grab one bin when we want to color, or one bin when we want to paint, rather than having one giant "craft" container.

I hope these tips were helpful. I'd love to hear some your favorite household hints as well.

Have a great Tuesday!