How to clean and organize your freezer.

I spent an hour yesterday getting my freezer cleaned and organized. I bought 4 pounds of green tomatoes and tomatillos  to make a huge batch of my famous green sauce base to freeze it and my freezer was such a mess that I figured it needed to be cleaned before I put anything else in it. 
Plus, the bigger issue is that the holidays are coming and really will be here before you know it.
          


It's time to start getting prepared and this week we need to tackle the freezer so that you'll have room for baked items you might make and extra food for company or parties. If you have a freezer of any size, you and I  know that if you don't clean it out regularly,  it becomes the Burmuda Triangle of frozen foods. You can occasionally find things in there that you don't even remember buying. Even if you do clean it out regularly, there are empty boxes, things that've been shoved in, any old place there was a spot, and items that shouldn't be saved because they've been lost in there too long. 


I use the same technique that I use with my pantry. 

• Grab a folding table or have a flat spot that you can sort everything out on. 
• Remove everything from the freezer, this is scarier for some of us than for others, and make pile based on the type of food it is. Veggies and fruits, uncooked meats, cooked items, etc.

 If your freezer is frost free, lay out the items on the table in the piles and wipe out the inside of the freezer with cloth and a solution of 3 TBS baking soda to 1 quart of warm water. Now, skip down to the section below the stars ************. If you have a freezer that needs to be defrosted here's how to do it.


If you have a freezer that needs to be defrosted, you will need to put your frozen items into coolers or wrap them up in a very thick comforter to keep them cold and frozen while you take care of the frost.

• To defrost your freezer that is inside the house, under the door opening you should protect the floor by laying out a flat trash bag and placing towels on top of that.  Turn the freezer OFF. Chip off any frost chunks that you can with a wooden spoon, wood can't dent or puncture the freezer tubes as easily as a metal utensil can. Put a thick layer of newspaper in the bottom of the freezer to catch the chunks. Bring 2 large pans of water to boil. Place a one of the pans on one of the bottom shelves and close the door. Let the hot water soften and melt the frost. After 10 to 15 minutes remove the pan, chip the thawing frost off onto the newspaper in the bottom and wrap up the chunks in a couple of sheets of the newspaper to remove them from freezer. Place the second pan of boiling water into the freezer and close door. Reheat the pan you remove. Repeat until the frost is gone. Wipe out the excess water with towels and then wipe out the inside with 3 tablespoons baking soda in 1 quart of water to gently clean before replacing food. 

• If your freezer is in your garage (lucky you) because then you can use the fastest way to defrost a freezer- A garden hose. 

UNPLUG- REPEAT UNPLUG THE FREEZER!!!! UNPLUG THE FREEZER!!!! UNPLUG!!!!!

Water on the floor and electric appliances do not mix!!!!!!

• Check to make sure the freezer is UNPLUGGED (humor me and check one more time that it is unplugged) then take a garden hose and spray the frost in the freezer, beginning at the top of the freezer. The frost will melt off in the water spray very quickly. Once all the frost is out, dry the inside with some large towels.  Mop the water out of the garage and you've not only cleaned out the freezer but cleaned off the garage floor as well. NICE!

********************************************************************

Now, it's time to reload the freezer.   
TIP: Plastic baskets are your friend in a freezer. They help keep bags and smaller items contained and allows you to stack and pack items higher so that you don't waste space and things aren't sliding out on you when you open the door.  

• I mark each item that goes back into the freezer with a Sharpy. Since I only clean out my freezer every 6 to 8 months, I only use 2 colors. Blue and red. This week I'll be using red. Anything that I put back in the freezer I'll put a red check mark on.  This lets me know that that item went back in this October. As I'm sorting and consolidating items to put back in, when I find an item that has a blue mark on it, I know that it's been in the freezer for at least 6 months. (I cleaned the freezer out in late May and used blue.)  I really look at these items to see if they should be put back in or not. If they go back in, they'll have a red and a blue mark on them. If I find them still in there next time I muck out, they're out-a-here! I also make sure that these items are put at the very front and try to use them us ASAP so that they don't go to waste. 

• As you put the food back in, check the dates on each item and look at each item. If it's been in the freezer for a year, odds are it's going to have an off taste and really needs to be thrown away. If you find meat that looks a bit freezer burned, thaw it, cut off the freezer burned area and make a soup or a stew out of it for dinner that night. It needs to be used up quickly. 

Here are some repacking hints:

• If you have stuff that comes in a large box but there are only a few left, cut the photo and preparation instructions off the box and stick the items ad the cut outs into a ziplock bag together. More and more I've started doing this right when I get home from the store. It's saves so much room in the freezer plus when you can see the items, you know exactly how many you have left. I hate it when I go to the freezer to get something and there is one in the huge box and I need 3 or worse yet, THE BOX IS EMPTY!!! Who leaves the empty box there when they take the last one out? Not anyone from my gene pool, I'll tell you that!
• Group food items together. Have an area for fruits and vegetables, an area for convenience foods/snacks, an area for baked goods and an area for raw meats. TIP: Raw meats should ALWAYS be in the bottom of the freezer below all other items for 2 reasons;  If the meat leaks any juice out of the packaging while it's freezing, the juices won't contaminate any other items in the freezer and heaven forbid you lose power or the freezer fails, the juices from the thawing meat won't leak onto other items.  I also keep any liquids that I freeze in Ziplock bags at the bottom of the freezer for these same reasons. I tend to make double batches of a recipe when I cook. We eat one batch and the second batch I freeze for a quick and easy meal later.  I keep all of these Pre-Made Dinners together as well.
• Make sure to leave an empty section for your holiday baking and extra items you'll need for parties or guests. After all, this is why we're doing this task!!!! 

Have a great week and get those freezers cleaned out. 

Monday's Household Assignments- Pantry

School is starting and it's time to get your house back under control or at least think about it. It's been a year since I told you about how to clean out and organize your pantry but even though it seems like yesterday, it's time to do it again. I always do it right when school starts. I actually won't be doing it until next week. This week I'll be on a road trip to bring my youngest to college in California! I won't be around this week but I'll update you when I can.

Now back to pantry cleaning! I have a good size pantry and usually muck it out 3 times a year. The first week of school (which cleans up after a summer of kids shoving things in), The first week of December (to get ready for the holidays) and then right after spring break in April. Cleaning out your pantry on a regular basis helps save money by reminding you of items that you have that you might have forgotten you had so that you can use them up, it weeds out any expired food that could be unhealthy to consume and just plain old makes you feel good when you look in and see it all in order.

Here is how I suggest you clean and organize your pantry.

• To start with, get a large trash bag and a folding table. I set up the folding table right outside the door and the trash can next to that. Start at the top of pantry and work your way down.
  
• Remove everything from the top shelf and place it on the table.

• Wipe down the shelf and then sort through the items you removed, checking dates and contents. Anything that has expired throw away, combine other items if you have a couple of half containers.

• Place the items back on the shelf with the oldest items in front so that they'll get used up first and the newer ones behind those.

I arrange my pantry by categories. Baking Ingredients, Cereals, salty snacks, sweet snacks, canned fruits and all juices, Nut butters, jelly and honey, Pasta and sauces, rice and beans, Asian, Drink mixes, and condiments.

HINT: Try using baskets and bins to keep smaller items together. For example; I have a plastic shoe boxes for chocolate chips and baking chocolate, one for nuts, coconut and baking candies, and one for crisco.

Try using large bin for pastas, a bin for rice and beans, a bin for condiments, and a bin for dry seasoning. None of my bins match but it's my pantry- who cares!! Sorry the photos are so bad.

One thing that I find really handy, I have an airtight tub that I keep all of my bread making ingredients and bread recipes in. That makes it easy to pull out and have everything that I need to make a batch of bread with.

Here are two interesting questions that came up as I cleaned my pantry today.

1. How is it possible, when I do this every 3 to 4 months, that every single time, I find one or two items that expired years ago? This time I found a can of peaches that had expired in 2005 and a bottle of ranch that had expired in 2007? Are expired foods sneaking into the pantry in the middle of the night? I really do look at every single can and box before putting it away. I have a good friend who has this same Twilight Zone experience every time she cleans her pantry.
   
2. Why were there at least 6 EMPTY boxes in the pantry? Who puts away an empty box? I bet it was the same person who put away the empty milk carton this morning.
   

Have fun cleaning yours out and let me know what the oldest item that has expired in your pantry is.

Monday's Household assignments- Start getting organized for school.

I know that the summer is flying by and the last thing you want to think about is school starting, if you have kids that is, but take some time this week to plan ahead for what will be here before you know it.
I recommend doing the following things this week.

• Go through your kids clothing and see what fits and doesn't fit for this fall. Pack up the small things for the next kid down or bring them to a consignment shop to try and sell or you can donate it to a family shelter. 
• Separate the summer stuff from the school stuff so it's easy to find.
• Make a list of items that you'll need for each kid- take some measurements of waist bands that fit so that you can shop without them, favorite colors of the moment and sizes to keep in your purse in case you run across a great sale.
• Empty out their backpacks and notebooks from last year and make a list of school supplies that you need to restock. 
• Start watching for the back to school sales and start shopping them now. If you wait, you might not have the selection or the sale pricing that you can find now and by spreading the shopping out over time it's easier on the cash flow.
• Think through how to organize school papers, backpacks and homework for each child.  Try using bins that they place their school stuff into when they walk in the door to prevent the "I can't find my_____" panic attacks before school? I had a narrow table right as you walked into the house from the garage with a large fabric bin for each kid. There were hooks on the wall for coats and their shoes could go underneath. Backpacks, books and papers went right into the bin so that everyone knew where their stuff was. Think about issues you had last year and brainstorm with your kids for solutions for those issues. 

• Start getting on a school schedule now. Start getting the kids and yourself to bed a few minutes earlier each week heading up to school. Getting back on the sleeping schedule of the school year for a full week before it starts makes the transition much easier than waiting until the week before school. Everyone handles transitions better when they've had enough sleep. 
• If you have a child heading off to college check back tomorrow for a post on getting them and you ready for that huge transition. I'm about to send my 5th and final child off this fall so I've learned a few things along the way.

Keep enjoying your summer but start thinking about fall this week.

Monday's Household Assignment- Get your history and those recipes before they disappear.

On Saturday, we went to the farmer's market and they had some gorgeous apricots. I bought a huge bag of them and decided to make a small batch of jam with some of them. My grandma makes the best jams so I called her to get her recipe. She was topping green beans from her garden so that she could can them this afternoon. This meant we could have a nice chat. We talked about how the late freeze had killed off all her orchard fruit for this year to the point that she's been climbing the 8 foot ladder to get a few cherries to eat.

Just so you know, my grandma is 91 and has a small orchard of 20 or so peach, cherry, apricot, walnut and apple trees and a HUGE vegetable garden. She and her husband, 96 do all the work themselves.

Before I'd called I looked up some apricot jam recipes and they all called for half apricots which in my opinion would leave you with big slimy chunks in the final jam. Ughh texture issues!!!  I remembered that grandma's was a much better consistency and sure enough, she puts her apricots through a hand grinder with a course blade. I just used my food processor to chop mine. I hate to think about it but if I hadn't been able to ask,  I never would have thought to chop or grind the fruit up that fine.

It really got me thinking about what other recipes I might not have in my hands. I started making a list Saturday afternoon of the different foods that I remember from my childhood and am going to make sure that I have the recipes for these things. I'm also going to be asking a lot more questions about procedure too! 

I will say that there are some recipes you just have to be there in person to watch how they are made. My grandma make a penuche candy that is to die for. My mom and I asked her for the recipe but she said that she didn't have it written down, she just made it. When were were visiting a few years ago, we made her make a batch so that we could write down the recipe and figure out how to make it. She never used a candy thermometer she just knew when it looked right. So when it looked right, we'd take a temp and wrote everything down. Now we'll always have that recipe.

I'm also going to take the time to get more family history from her. Stories about her growing up and my mom growing up and record them for future generations.

What things in your life do you love but have no idea of their background or in the case of food how it's made? Take the time this week to make a list of your favorite family foods and hunt down the recipes. You don't want to be left with only a memory of how good something was and an inability to recreate that for your family. Take the time to build a history before it's too late to do it.

Monday's Household assignments- Go Explore

The assignment for this week is to go out and become a tourist in your own town. Unless you are living in the outback, for most of you, there is some historical site or "touristy" site within a 45 minute drive of your house. Have you been there?

Last weekend we headed up to a wedding in Fort Collins. Along the highway is a place called Johnson's Corner. It's a truck stop on I-25 that's been there since the 1950's. You see signs for it all along the interstates through Nebraska, Wyoming and Colorado. Had we ever stopped before, nope. But now I can say that we did and their world famous cinnamon rolls are as good as the signs say. Great food and a fun place that we'd passed by hundreds of times. It'll be a regular stop from now on.

Photo from the Johnson's Corner Website

Take the time this week to stop and check out someplace new, right in your own town.

I can't wait to hear what you find right in your own "backyard"!

Monday's Household assignments- Pictures of your kids

I was going through photos of my kids, looking for some to frame, and realized what all parents of multiple kids run into later on, there are not very many pictures of my youngest daughter and there are even fewer of her all alone!!!
Here is the day we brought her home from the hospital and here's one of her senior pictures. There just aren't that many pictures in between!!!!!

When they were little, it was so hectic and hard to take the time remember to pull out the camera and take a picture. When I did remember, they were group shots of all of them, usually at some event or on a trip. OK, you have to give me a small break because in "the old days"( the 80's), taking a picture was a hassle. It meant taking the photo, waiting until you finished the roll of 24 or 36 pictures, taking the film to be developed somewhere, remembering to pick up the film and then having to find a place to store the pictures- 60% of which were bad shots! Digital cameras are so much easier.

Your assignment is to take the time, once a month, to pull out your camera and take some pictures of each your kids doing ordinary things. Reading a book, playing a game, sleeping, anything. Just take a few shots each month of each child individually.  Not just when they are younger either! Each of my kids have pictures from birth to age 5 or 6 but then there are very few of them from 6 to about 14 when they started taking their own photos. So keep on snapping once a month. You'll thank me later when you won't be feeling as guilty as I do about dropping the ball and scaring your child for life!!! Plus, think of how much money you'll save not paying for therapy for your youngest child later on!!!!

Monday's Household Assignment- How to deal with mail.

This week we're going to tackle the pile of papers that are on your desk or counter and the paper that comes into your house as mail. It's amazing how fast it all accumulates isn't it?

First let's deal with the mail. There are 3 basic kinds of mail that come into your house.

1. Mail that is junk
2. Mail that you need to read and then throw away.
   
3. Mail that you need to keep or bills that you need to pay.

The key to dealing with the mail is to sort it as soon as you bring it into the house.  When I bring the mail in I sort it right over a trash can so that I don't have to touch junk mail more than once.  I pick up a piece and decide if it's a keeper or a tosser. If it's a tosser it doesn't pass go and doesn't collect any of my money, it goes right into the trash.
Keep and reads would be items like magazines or catalogs, or letters and cards. You read them then throw them away. 
If it is a keeper, it goes into one pile and if it is a read and toss it goes into the third pile.
Some keepers you have to keep long term like tax forms, warranties, or certificates. Some are items are temporary keepers; items that you need to pay or that have a time expiration attached to them, like bills.You have to keep them long enough to deal with them then throw away.

Once the mail is sorted, you need to deal with the keepers. I have a folder that all keepers go into and I clear it out once a week. I pay the bills and then file the  other items that I have to keep, into the correct folders filing cabinet.

Keep and reads I have ONE pile that I try to read through once a week. I love cooking magazines and always want to try some of the recipes. Instead of keeping the whole magazine, as I read each issue, I tear out the photo and the recipe and those go into a folder for untried recipes.  I try to use at lease one recipe out of this folder per week. At the end of each season, I clear it out and start new. Once I try a recipe, if it's really good, I scan the recipe and photo into a computer file and put it in my recipe folder on my computer. By getting it into electronic form, I eliminate the storing issue and it allows me to access the recipe with a few clicks instead of searching for a piece of paper or leafing through a whole magazine.

I hope that you can get your piles of paper under control this week and take back your desk!

Monday's Household Assignment-Memorial Day

Memorial day is the day that many of us think of as the beginning of summer but do you know the history behind it? Memorial day was formerly know as Decoration Day. It was a first observed to honor fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War by decorating their graves.
 It was then expanded after WWI to commemorate US men and women who have died while in Military Service. It is always held on the last Monday of May.
Since it is a National Holiday- the only household assignment I have for you is to take a moment with your family today to remember the brave men and women who have died protecting us and our freedoms that we so take for granted sometimes. Please also take the time to pray for the soldiers who have come home safely and for those that are currently serving right now.
Have a wonderful week.

Monday's Household Assignment- Spring Pantry Organization

Spring is coming or already here for some of you. It's time again to clean out, de-clutter and restock your pantry with items for spring and summer.  I find that my cooking changes from season to season. When spring hits, I'm ready for grilling and lighter foods. Gone are the stews and hearty comfort foods I tend to make during the winter. This week I'm going to take the time to clean out any expired foods and reorganize my pantry putting the dried beans and items I use is heavy soups and recipes on bottom or top shelves and put the items that I'll use for the next few months in easier reach. Plus, after a couple of months it just looks messy and is hard to find things. It's been driving me crazy but with the wedding, I didn't have time to do it. So this week get into your pantry and get it in shape.
Here's how I  clean and organize my pantry.

• To start with, I get a large trash bag and a folding table. I set up the folding table right outside the door and the trash can next to that. I start at the top of pantry and work my way down.
  
• Remove everything from the top shelf and place it on the table.

• Wipe down the shelf and then sort through the items you removed, checking dates and contents. Anything that has expired throw away, combine other items if you have a couple of half containers.

• Place the items back on the shelf with the oldest items in front so that they'll get used up first and the newer ones behind those. Place the items you won't be using as much on a top or bottom shelf.

I arrange my pantry by categories. Baking Ingredients, Cereals, salty snacks, sweet snacks, canned fruits and all juices, Nut butters, jelly and honey, Pasta and sauces, rice and beans, Asian, Drink mixes, and condiments.
HINT: Try using baskets and bins to keep smaller items together. For example; I have a plastic shoe boxes for chocolate chips and baking chocolate, one for nuts, coconut and baking candies.

Try using large bin for pastas, a bin for rice and beans, a bin for condiments, and a bin for dry seasoning. None of my bins match but it's my pantry- who cares!!

One thing that I find really handy, I have an airtight tub that I keep all of my bread making ingredients and bread recipes in. That makes it easy to pull out and have everything that I need to make a batch of bread with.

Have a great week.

Monday's Household Assignments-get your yard ready for spring?

It was looking like spring. My crocuses had pushed their heads up out of the ground and promptly got them frozen off from our March snow storms last week. At least my daffodils survived.
None the less, it was a reminder to think of spring and get the yard ready. This is the time to do it while it's cool and comfortable to work outside.

• Take a walk around your yard and look for any dead or broken branches and limbs that were damaged over the winter and remove them. It's easier to see and remove them now before the leaves come out and block your view.  Remove deadwood from bushes as well. 
• Clean up those flowerbeds. Cut back any dead plant material and work some compost into the soil. This is also the time to plant your summer bulbs like dahlias and lilies.  Weed now. One weed pulled now could save you pulling 100's later in the season. 
• Place a new layer of mulch in your beds and around trees to help conserve soil moisture during the hot summer months. 
• Throw a layer of compost over your vegetable garden and till the soil to get ready for planting. Get your onions and potato sets into the ground. 
• Set up your appointment to power up your sprinkler if you have someone else do it. 
• De-thatch your yard! Use a rack and really dig down to get all of the old dead grass out from around the base of your lawn so that fertilizer, water and sunshine can get down to the base of the grass.
• Have your yard aerated  if you have heavy thick soil. Most yard companies can do this for around $25 to $50 depending on the size of your yard. They take a machine that stamps plugs out of your yard leaving behind holes which allow the fertilizer and water to really penetrate to the deep roots of the grass for a healthy thick lawn this summer. 
• Take the time to hose off the front porch and sweep down any spiderwebs and dead leaves stuck on the ceiling and walls of your porch. 
• Wipe down the front door and any window ledges you can see as you approach your home. 
• Check that front welcome mat. Is it looking a bit worn and tired. Freshen it up by washing it or buying a new one. 

Enjoy some sunshine and vitamin D while you get your yard ship shape and ready for spring and summer. 

Things to do when daylight saving time starts and ends.

I use the day that we change to or from Daylight Savings Time as a concrete reminder to do these very important things.

• Change the batteries in all of your smoke detectors, whether or not they are beeping. Vacuum any dust out of the inside using an upholstery brush attachment. Press the test button and make sure they are functioning. Do this when the kids are around so that they learn what the noise sounds like and what it means. 

• Change the batteries in all of your Carbon Monoxide detectors. Dust them out. Press the test button and make sure they are working. Do this when the kids are around so that they learn what the noise sounds like and what it means. If you have a fuel-burning heater or appliance, a fireplace and/or an attached garage, you should have a carbon monoxide detector installed within 15 feet of each bedroom in your home. Last year Colorado had 5 deaths in 2 months from carbon monoxide poisoning all of which would have been prevented if there had been monitors in those houses. The state passed a new law that sellers/landlords of buildings with fuel-burning heater or appliance, a fireplace and/or an attached garage must provide well-functioning carbon monoxide alarms near bedrooms in any homes that are for sale, rental housing such as apartments that are leased to new tenants and all new construction must have them as well. If you don't have any CO detectors get them and install them this week. You'll change the batteries in the spring. 
  

• Take this opportunity to go over your household emergency plan or to make one. The Ready.gov
  site had great recommendations on how to set up an emergency plan for your family. 
  

• Check your family Emergency Kit and replenish any outdated supplies. If you don't have one, take the time to set one up. This site has information about what to have in your family kit.
  

• Make a fire escape plan and practice it with all the members of your family. Plan where to meet once you've all made it outside. Here is a good site with information on how to set up a fire escape plan.

• Go through all of your medicine cabinets and check the expiration dates of all prescription and over the counter medications and ointments. Don't ever take medication that has expired!
  Medications (over-the-counter and prescribed) can become poisonous when they age and if taken can cause severe reactions and even death. Medicine if not stored properly, can expire before the expiration date. Sunlight, humidity and heat can be alter medicine regardless of expiration dates so medicine should be stored in a dark dry cool place. A hall closet or a  cupboard that is not in a bathroom is the perfect place to store them. 
  

• Go through all of your vitamins and mineral supplements and check them for expiration dates. 
  

• If you have any medications or vitamins that have expired, keep in mind that they are now considered a toxic form of Household Hazardous Waste. The worst thing that you can do is to flush them down the toilet or down the sink where they can dissolve into our drinking water supply. Check with your local pharmacy to see if they will accept expired medications back for proper disposal. You may also drop off expired medications at hazardous waste collection locations. If they do not provide this service and you must dispose of your unused medications in the trash, try dissolving solid medications in some water and then adding the liquid to some kitty litter or flour to re-solidify them. You should also add flour or kitty litter to liquid medications to make them into a paste or solid. This can help keep the medicines from being taken accidentally by a child or pet.
  

• Check your supplies of items that you might need in a medical emergency. Band-aids, antibacterial ointments, large gauze pads, an ace bandage for minor injuries. Ibuprofen, Tylenol, decongestant, throat lozenges a thermometer, a flashlight and some antihistamine.  I recommend gathering all your over the counter medications and bandages into one place in your home. I have some labeled shoe boxes, that are all together, in an upper cupboard in my house. In an emergency, there is no running around looking for something. All of the medical supplies are in one spot. 

These are the things that I use the time change to remind me to do. I hope that you will too.
Have a great week.

Are you and your family prepared for a disaster?

The earthquakes and tsunami news this weekend got me thinking about how prepared my family and I are for a disaster. I have some food and water but is that enough? In doing some research I found quite a few websites with good information on how to get prepared for an emergency situation. The FEMA site had a tone of good information.
Here's a breakdown of the most important things to have for an in house emergency like a blizzard or heavy storm:

1. Have emergency food and water for 3 days- 1 gallon per person per day. 
2. Non-perishable foods for 3 days- Pick low salt foods liked canned vegetables, cereals, shelf stables milk, snacks, protein bars, granola bars, canned fruits and main dish items that don;t have to be reheated. Rotate these food items with fresh ones before the expiration dates so that the emergency kits is always fresh.
3. A manual can opener
4. Flashlight and a hand or battery powered radio 
5. If you have a gas powered grill- have an extra propane tank so that you can use to cook on for a number of days.  
6. Have a meeting place in your neighborhood in case you get separated. 

I knew what to have on hand in our house but I had never really heard of having a Go Bag packed for emergencies where you might have to evacuate quickly in cases like fire, hurricanes or earthquakes. In Colorado we don't really have too many unanticipated emergencies but it's still something that I'm going to do. You should have bag packed for each family member and keep at least a basic kit in your car. 
Here is what to have in your Go bags.  This information is from a site called 72 Hours
Put the following items together in a backpack or another easy to carry container in case you must evacuate quickly.  Prepare one Go-bag for each family member and make sure each has an I.D. tag. You may not be at home when an emergency strikes so keep some additional supplies in your car and at work, considering what you would need for your immediate safety.

• Flashlight
• Radio – battery operated
• Batteries
• Whistle
• Dust mask
• Pocket knife
• a small tarp to use as shelter if needed
• Emergency cash in small denominations and quarters for phone calls
• Sturdy shoes, a change of clothes, and a warm hat- In cold climates warm coat, boots mittens and socks.
• Local map
• Some water and food
• Permanent marker, paper and duct tape
• Photos of family members and pets for re-identification purposes
• List of emergency point-of -contact phone numbers- Remember that in certain circumstances, you cell phone might not be able to make or receive calls but it may still be able to do texting since that service uses a different system than phone calls do.
• List of allergies to any drug (especially antibiotics) or food
• Copies of health insurance and identification cards (Driver's License, passports, social security cards)
• Extra prescription eye glasses, hearing aid or other vital personal items
• Prescription medications for at least 5 days and first aid supplies
• Toothbrush and toothpaste
• Extra keys to your house and vehicle
• Don't forget to pack a go bag for your Pets. 
• A small tent for your family 
• Any items you need for babies or seniors in your family. 
• A deck of cards to help pass the time
• a toy for each kid

I'll be putting a go bag together for my daughter who will be going to college in California next year for her to use in case of evacuations because of earthquakes or fires and I'm making one for my hubby and I too.
Are you prepared for an emergency? I'm off to find a couple of backpacks in the basement to fill up.

Monday's Household Assignments- Emergency Shut off Lists

Last week I had a plumber come to fix a bad faucet. While he was here he asked if I knew where my main water shut off was. I was pretty sure I knew and after one false stop, at the sprinkler shut off valve, I showed it to him. He said that many home owners don't have any idea where it is but that they should. So this week's Assignment: Make an Emergency Shut Off List for the Water, Gas and Power for your home.

WATER

• Main Water Shut Off Valve-  Why do you need to know this??? If even the smallest pipe in your house- a 1/2" pipe bursts, depending on your water service, it could pump out 2 to 14 gallons PER MINUTE into your house. The faster you can shut off the main water valve for your house, the less damage you're going to have to deal with. Burst pipes are the most common cause of water damage reported to insurance companies each year. Find it and practice going there a couple of times this week to cement it into your brain. The main shut off valve is usually located where the main water pipes come into the house. It almost always has a simple faucet handle that you turn clockwise to shut off.  If you live somewhere nice and toasty warm, your shut off may be located outside, under a rectangular shaped cover, near the curb. The valve may be a foot or more underground and require a special tool so check it out and see what you'll need to do the job. If you have a well system, like I do,  there may be a shutoff where the water comes into the house and also one between the pressure tank and the rest of the house. You will have to close the shutoff that is located between the pressure tank and the rest of the house. If you only shut off the intake valve, all the water in the pressure tank will have to run out before it stops. so use the one after the pressure tank.  If there is no shutoff on the water pipe, you can shut off the well's electrical circuit breaker to turn off the well pump. 
• Individual water shut offs: are under sinks and by appliances. For each faucet there will be a hot and a cold valve under the sink. Know how to turn these off as well. 
• Washing Machine Hoses: Did you know that broken washer hoses cause over $150 MILLION dollars in damage in the US each year?
  
  
  The hoses should be replaced every 4 to 5 years according to manufacturers or 2 years according to the insurance industry.  Before leaving for a trip, make sure that the water to your washer is shut off. These shut off valves are usually right behind the top of your washer. also take the time to replace your rubber hosing in exchange for metal or reinforced hoses which are less likely to burst.

POWER

• Find and know how to shut off the Main Electrical Shut off- to shut off the power to your entire house. The main circuit breaker is usually located at the top of the breaker box/ fuse panel and is visible even when the panel door is closed. The individual breakers can be seen only by opening the door to the box/panel. Switching the main circuit breaker to "off" will shut down electricity in the entire house. To find the breaker box/ fuse panel look for where the electric meter is on the outside of the house and usually it will be inside near that spot. Modern panels have a large number of circuit breakers. These breakers are like light switches that automatically turn off when too much electrical current flows through them. They can also be shut off manually just like a light switch. When a circuit breaker is flipped to the off position, there will be no power flowing to any of the devices attached to it.On the inside of the door, there should be a "map" with each breaker listed and the items connected to that breaker. If there isn't, take the time to flip each breaker and have someone tell you what went off, write them down so that in an emergency or in a maintenance situation, you will know which breaker controls what. 

 GAS

•  If you have natural gas in your home and begin smelling it, get out. Do not pass go, do not collect $200- just get out. It is very important that you DO NOT turn off or on any lights and that you DO NOT use your phone. Also- DO NOT use your garage door if it is automatic. Walk out and call the gas company from your cell phone. Any of these actions could trigger a spark that could ingnite the gas fumes and cause an explosion. Want some confirmation on this? Look at These Images. Enough said.

Fire Extinguishers

• You should have a fire extinguisher in each floor of your house in case of a small fire or to help you escape one safely. You need to check them once a year to make sure they are still pressured and that they haven't expired. Practice with your family going and getting them so that their location is second nature. You don't want to have to hunt for one when you need it.

Put Emergency Contact Numbers in Your Cell Phone for the Gas, Electric and Water Companies so you will have them if needed.

Hopefully you will never need to use some of this information but safety is being prepared for any emergency.

Monday's Household Assigments- Knitting Needle Rescue!!

This week's assignment is for the crafters out there- If you don't knit or crochet, then you have the week off!!!!
If you do knit or crochet you probably have a number of projects going at the same time. This weekend I took the time to do a needle rescue. I went to grab a set of size 7 needles and they weren't where they belong. I went through my knitting bags and realized that half my needles were in projects that were half done and might never get done. Let's be real, I'm ADD and have the attention span of a newt.  I got some bright red yarn out of my stash and with a needle threaded it through the stitches of each project and took them off of the needles. Tada- all my needles have been rescued!!!!

The other thing that I did was to figure out a different way to store my needles. My straight needles have always been kept in a rolled up holder and my circulars, I've kept in a CD case. It was hard to find the needles that I needed easily. I came up with a new solution. An over the door, clear pocket, shoe holder.

It works perfectly. I have a different pocket for each size needle and I can see them all and find the ones I need at a glance. I also have pockets for all of my crochet needles and other assorted accessories. The holder is hung over the door of my craft cupboard, where I store all of my crafting supplies. It's cute and keeps everything organized. Have fun finding all of your own needles.

I love using items in different ways than they were intended!  I also use clear pocket shoe holders to store all of my leggings, tights and stocking and bras. I can see exactly what color they are and which pair  or bra I want without having to dig through a drawer. I took the door hooks off and attached it to a hanger with safety pins. Works great!!!! Have a wonderful week.

Hints to help you Clean up the Kitchen!

This week I'll be focusing any extra minutes in my kitchen. It's time to scrub down the outsides of the cabinets, clean off the counters, organize and sort through the drawers, and wipe down the appliances.
I have a really busy week so I'll break these jobs down into 15 to 20 minutes tasks.

DRAWERS: 5 to 15 minutes per drawer
When I clean out a drawer, I remove the drawer and dump it out onto the counter. I wipe out the inside and make sure it's really clean before I start putting stuff back in. As I sort through the items I ask myself, when was the last time I used this?, How often do I use it? and Do I really need this? If I only use it once a year, I have a plastic tub with a lid in my laundry room and that tool goes in this keeps the drawers less crowded. If I only use it occasionally, it goes to the back of the drawer. The items that I use frequently go in the front for easy access. I use plastic bags or tiny plastic containers to keep smaller items, like corn cob holders , together and organized.  I have a hard time giving things away that are perfectly good, I haven't used in years BUT- I might need them someday. I force myself to put these things into a bag, TAPE IT SHUT and set it in the back of my car. I write a date on the bag one month from when it goes into the car. If I haven't needed anything from the bag in that month, I drop it off at goodwill WITHOUT LOOKING IN THE BAG!!! I use this method with closets and the basement too. I forget exactly what's in there and if I don't see it, I won't miss it.

CUPBOARDS- Inside-  20 to 30 minutes each.
Take everything out, wipe down shelves and put everything back in. Is there a better place for these items. For example- Are your coffee cups and coffee making items near the coffee maker? Are the dishes easy to put away from the sink or dishwasher? This is the time to rearrange if it makes more sense.
If you have young kids- try placing their dishes in a drawer that they can reach. This makes it easy for them to help put their dishes away and for them to get their things out for meals and snacks. My kids are grown and we still keep the small bowls and plastic plates for snacks in a drawer. Drawers are also a much easier place to keep tupperware bowls and lids. It makes it much easier to find them than in a cupboards.

CUPBOARDS-Outsides of all-  15 to 30 minutes.
Wipe down the outside of the cupboards and drawers with Murphy's Oil Soap or whatever is safe for your cupboard doors. I like to use a microfiber cloth for this to really get the cooking build up off.

APPLIANCES- Outsides:15 to 20 minutes
Wipe down the tops, fronts and sides of all the appliances- The fridge top can be scary if it hasn't been done in a while. While you're cleaning, Take the time to remove all the stuff from the fridge front. Take down all the magnets, photos and stuff. I tape those kinds of things on the inside of my cupboard doors. This keeps them in a handy yet out of sight place. Just removing all the stuff from the fronts and sides of the fridge will make your whole kitchen look cleaner and more uncluttered. It really does!!!!! Try it!!!!

REFRIGERATOR COILS- 5 to 10 minutes
Vacuum the coils of your refrigerator to increase energy efficiency and prolong the life of the compressor. You should clean the coils at least 2 times a year, if you have pets 4 times a year! Your owner's manual will show how to do this or you can google it online. 

Break it down this week and get that kitchen cleaned.

Monday's Household Assigments-Planning all your meals for the week saves time and money!

This week's household assignment is to start planning ahead for your meals each week! By planning your meals once a week you'll save money and time. I plan all my meals for the week on Wednesdays because this is when the grocery sales flyers come out. Some stores post their flyers online and other only have them in the paper. I always get the Wednesday paper for the coupons and the flyers. I lay out all of the flyers and my schedule for the week. I identify the days that are going to be crazy where I'll need to plan on a crock pot dinner or a fast  preparation dinner.

I then look at the meats that are on sale that week. Last week, there was a great sale at Sunflower Market on their ground meats. Ground chicken breast, turkey and beef were on sale for $1.97 a pound. In addition their Italian sausage and pork loin roasts were on sale.  Once I pick the meats, I go ahead and plan my main dishes around these meats. (I also bought extra for the freezer, more on that later.)  I pull out the recipes and make sure that I have all the ingredients for them either in the pantry or on my shopping list.  I then go through the circular and plan my side dishes. My menu ended up being,
       Wednesday-  Spaghetti with Italian Sausage, salad, french bread
       Thursday- Creole Stuffed Peppers (ground beef), broccoli and
                        honeyed carrots (crockpot)
        Friday- Roast Pork Roast with cranberry chutney, green beans, wild rice and tossed salad,
        Saturday- Tamale Pie, corn, fresh tomatoes and shredded lettuce
        Sunday- Beef Pot Roast- Bought on sale last month used out of freezer,
                       new potatoes, carrots and peas
        Monday- White Chicken Chili on rice (crockpot)
        Tuesday- A family tradition- Srevotfel-  Leftovers- It just sounds more
                                                              elegant when you spell and say it backwards!!!   This cleans                                                                     out the fridge for shopping on Wednesday.
Once week a month- I challenge myself to make all the meals from the pantry and the freezer so that the only things I have to purchase from the store are fresh veggies and dairy items. This helps the budget a lot!!!!!

When you plan ahead you:

• Are prepared for dinners on busy days with food in the crock pot or quick preparation recipes so that you can avoid last minute take out or delivery food that costs so much.
• Avoid extra trips to the grocery store that do cost you extra cash with those impulse purchases! 
• Prepare a broader variety of meals when you write it all down and do a little bit of planning. 
• Ultimately save money!!!!!!! 

Hint- When ground beef goes on sale, buy 5 or 6 pounds and take an extra 30 minutes to brown 3 or 4 pounds of it. Once it's browned completely, cool slightly and divide the cooked meat into separate plastic bags, label with the date and toss into the freezer. With the meat already browned, you can thaw a bag in the microwave and make it into tacos or spaghetti sauce in under 5 minutes- It's a real time saver!

Monday's Household Assignments- Makeup does have an expiration date!

Last week I opened my medicine cabinet to get out everything to put my face on, when half of what was on the bottom shelf came tumbling out. Time to organize the mess. I took everything out and as I began to sort through everything, I came across some blue eye shadows and thought about how old some of my stuff was. Seriously, when you find baby blue Bonne Bell eyeshadow and you're over 16, you are long overdue for a cleaning out session!!

I got online and found that most of what I have is expired and should be thrown away. Here are the expiration dates I found.
Expiration dates — beginning from the time you first open these products

• Pressed powder cosmetics: face powder, blush and eyeshadow should be thrown out after one year. 
• Cream shadows: 12 to 18 months
• Liquid Foundation: 1 year if you use a sponge or applicator. If you use your finger ont he top of the bottle then 6 months
• Wand Applicator foundation- 6 months
• All Natural cosmetics should be discarded after 6 months because they do not contain any preservatives.
• Lipstick and lipliner: 1 year
• Mascara and eyeliners: 3 months - WHAT!!!!!
• Blue Eye Shadow- Throw away the 70's are over!
• If you get any kind of an eye infection, you should discard any eye makeup that you have used to prevent reinfecting yourself.
• Never Share Your Makeup!!!

Makeup brushes: Clean weekly using a mild detergent or shampoo
Makeup sponges: Replace weekly, or when sponge becomes soiled

When you use your makeup, you expose it to bacteria on your hands and face and this bacteria can grow and thrive in your makeup which really can be harmful, especially if used around your eyes.

Here's what I did:

I took everything out and if I couldn't remember when I bought it, I threw it away.  I then scrubbed the shelves, got a small plastic box to hold all of the small items and now, not only can I find everything, I'm not going to infect myself with bacteria and I won't be wearing any more blue eyeshadow! If only this would help with either the zits or the wrinkles that BOTH seem to be taking over my face. It's so unfair to still get zits when you are getting wrinkles at an alarming rate.
Have fun cleaning out your makeup!

Christmas Checklist- The Stockings are hung by the chimney with care...

I can't believe that Christmas is in 4 days. Today is the day to make sure you are all ready. Here are the things to do today to help make this week less frantic. OK, it's still going to be crazy but at least you won't be caught off guard by the insanity.

1. Write out your menus for every single meal you will be serving this week and make sure you have all of the ingredients that you will need for each menu item. 
2. Go grocery shopping and get the things you'll need. Do that no later that Tuesday because the stores will be way to busy to handle shopping later. 
   
3. Double check your gift lists and make sure you have the gifts that you need. If you have been shopping for the past few months, dig out the gifts from the hiding places and make sure you can find them all. If you are like my friend Gina and have kept a color coded Excel spreadsheet with each gift purchase, where it has been put and whether or not it is gift wrapped yet, you can skip this one. Yes, she really does keep one- It's password protected to keep prying eyes from seeing the list. She's Santa, I swear!
4. In our house, we only do one or two gifts but do really big stockings, lots of gadgets and gift cards and good stuff like that. Whether or not you do big or little stockings, get a grocery bag for each family member, put their name on it and divide out the stocking items into each person's bag, this way on Christmas Eve, you'll have already done all the work, just carry the bags down and stuff the stockings.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
5. Wrap those presents, if you haven't done so already.  If your paper is too small see this post from last year.  To keep kids from prying into the packages, see this post.
6. Take some time this week to just sit back and be thankful for the true meaning of Christmas. Christmas isn't about all of the presents and the "stuff", it is about the gift that God gave to each of us, His son Jesus and LOVE!!! It's about the love of God and the love of our family and friends. I am SO guilty of getting frantic and stressed over all that needs to be done and I neglect to show the kind of Love to those around me the way that God so graciously and mercifully shows me every day. I am praying that I will step back and keep that in mind all this week. 
   

Monday's Household Assigments- Thanksgiving Checklist & Cranberry Sauce.

Happy Thanksgiving!!! This week, it's time to prepare for Thursday.  Here are some suggestions to plan your week and have a successful Thanksgiving.
If you are not cooking dinner then you won't need all of these but it can still help you get ready. 

• Plan your menu and write it down. Write down how long each item takes to cook and where it is cooked, stovetop, oven, and temps. I've already posted some of the recipes that I use for Sausage Stuffing/Dressing and an apple cranberry pecan version, Sweet Potatoes, and How to Brine your turkey.
• Write out your shopping list based on your menu. Go through each menu item and make sure you have each ingredient. I set out the recipe and then pile all of the non-perishable ingredients with the recipe on the counter so that it's all together. 
• Now plan out what you are going to do or make each day. For instance, your cranberry sauce can be made days ahead so it can be done Today. I make my Sweet Potatoes on Wednesday, my pies on Wednesday and part of my stuffing on Wednesday. This means I have far less to do on Thursday and it gives me more time with family and friends. 
• Lastly- make a time schedule for Thursday. I figure out what time I want dinner and work backwards from that. So if the turkey takes 3 1/2 hours and we want to eat at 2pm then I need to start working with the turkey at 9:30 am. I will rinse the turkey, put a cut up onion, a quartered orange and some fresh sage into the bird. I will rub the skin with some butter and get it into the preheated oven by 10 am. It will bake for 3 1/2 hours and then it needs to sit covered for 30 minutes out of the oven before carving.  The green bean casserole takes 45 minutes so it needs to go into the oven by 1:15. Etc.  This helps make sure that all the items for dinner will be ready at the same time.
• Do as much as you can before Thursday. I even set out the dishes and silverware onto the table on Wednesday. I put the serving bowls for each item with the serving utensils and a post it note on it so that I know what food will go into it.  The key is to think it all through and write it al down. I have the schedule typed up on my computer to use year after year.  Careful planning will help make your holiday stress free, at least from a cooking standpoint, I can't do anything about your family stress. 

As we were driving on Saturday I got a text message from my son with the picture below and he told me that he was making cranberry sauce. I of course asked where he was, I thought he was with my daughter and helping out. Turns out he was at his house making it all by himself for an early Thanksgiving dinner with some friends.   I'm was so impressed that he made it all by himself. I asked my son to send me a photo of the sauce in the serving bowl to post. He informed me that that that would be impossible because he didn't have a bowl. I found out that his house has no real dishes. He said that guy houses don't need dishes and that's what girl's houses are for. Girls have dishes, that's why guys date girls. I laughed so hard. Well here's his recipe for Orange Cinnamon Cranberry sauce and the recipe that I've used for years for Regular whole berry Cranberry sauce.

Regular Whole Berry Cranberry sauce. This is the version from the Ocean Spray package.

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
1 (12-ounce) package Fresh or Frozen Cranberries, rinsed and drained

1. Combine water and sugar in a medium saucepan. Bring to boil; add cranberries, return to boil. Reduce heat and boil gently for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cover and cool completely at room temperature. Refrigerate until serving time.

Makes 2 1/4 cups



 Tom's Orange Cinnamon Cranberry sauce

1 (12-ounce) package Fresh or Frozen Cranberries, rinsed and drained
1 Cup of orange juice
1 cup of brown sugar
1 1/2 cinnamon sticks
the zest from half an orange. 
Place the washed cranberries, orange juice, brown sugar, and cinnamon sticks into a medium sauce pan. Add enough water to cover the berries. Bring all the ingredients to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 45 to 55 minutes or until the sauce is thickened. Remove from heat and cool with the lid on. Once it has cooled, remove the cinnamon sticks and discard them. Serve. 
Doesn't it look good? 
I made it this afternoon and my mom made a batch of it as well. 

We both think that this cranberry sauce is absolutely delicious. She said that she tasted it periodically throughout cooking time and took the cinnamon stick out about halfway through so that the cinnamon taste didn't dominate. I love cinnamon so I left it in the whole time. Just keep testing it and pull the sticks out when it has the amount of cinnamon taste that you like. 

Happy Thanksgiving and I hope that you have a wonderful time thanking God for the blessings in your life.

Monday's Household Assignment-Get ready for the Holidays!

This week is the week to get your house ready for the upcoming Holidays. As much as I hate to say it, it's time to do a really deep cleaning. UGH. I hate this post because it means that I have to do it too.

Once you get started, it goes pretty fast. I have to work quite a bit this week so I won't have the luxury of just spending a whole day cleaning, I'll have to break it up. Obviously, the most important place to start is where your guests and family will be spending most of their time. Here are some things to do and some techniques for doing them: First grab a couple of old toothbrushes, you'll need them.

General Cleaning:

• When you clean always clean from the top down. Do your dusting and wiping down first before you vacuum and dust the top shelves first and work down. This way any dust or dirt you disturb falls down onto a dirty surface not a clean one. 

• This is the time to remove everything from shelves before cleaning it instead of just dusting around the items. 

• Knickknack Shelves or Picture Shelves: I take everything off the shelves and put them on the floor. I wipe off each shelf with a damp microfiber cloth and then wipe down each item before putting them back. Rearranging your shelves will give a new look to your room without spending a dime. 

• Book Shelves: I don't take all the books off!  I just take a vacuum with the brush attachment and vacuum the tops of the books and them wipe the shelves around them. When you place books on shelves, insert some stacks of books that are laying on top of each other and some other items to break up a long span of standing books. It gives a shelf some visual interest.

•  Go around each room and using a damp cloth and maybe a bit of vinegar, wipe off all of the face plates and any smudges and marks on the walls or, in my case this morning, the ceiling. How did my kids get a hand print on the ceiling? I don't think I want to know. Mr. Clean's Magic Eraser is great for marks on walls, but only use it on walls painted with flat paint and you can't scrub too hard or the paint will come off.  Don't forget to wipe down all the doors, too.
  

• Wipe down the baseboards. I use a damp microfiber cloth and a toothbrush for this. The baseboards don't look that grungy until you start then you have to do the entire room because you can see the difference. 
• The last cleaning chore in a room will be vacuuming. 
• First take the time to vacuum the insides of the chairs and sofas. Remove the cushions and vacuum the cracks and crevasses of the furniture and the bottoms of the cushions.  If you think that there might be some earrings or valuable items in those creases, take a nylon knee high stocking and elastic band it around the tip of the wand. This will catch all the big items and hold them. Once you get all the big stuff caught, remove the stocking and vacuumed up all the crumbs.
  
• When you vacuum for deep cleaning go around the baseboards, edges  and corners of the room with the hose attachment to get all the dist and  stuff that the vacuum reall never picks up,  then vacuum as usual.  Don't forget to get under the furniture.
  
• Bathrooms- Get an old toothbrush and use it around the faucets and the faucet handles.
  
  
  
  
  
   
  I also use a different one old toothbrush around the base of each toilet. I throw this one away as soon as I've finished cleaning around all the toilets so I don't accidentally use it by the sinks. 
  • Go get a holiday candle to set in the guest bath and some seasonal air freshener for guests to use if they need it!!! LOL
  • I know it's tacky and wasteful but I have a roll of paper towels in my guest bathroom instead of cloth guest towels. They're on a cute red holder! Unless your guests are washing their hands for 2 full choruses of Happy Birthday, they're not getting many germs off of their hands before using a guest towel which means that the towel is a cesspool of germs. To prevent the spread, I use paper towels for guests. I do try to get the rolls of cute holiday print.
  • Hide an small air freshener on the floor behind the toilet. It will smell fresh without being obvious.
  
  

• Kitchen
• This is the week to run a cleaning cycle on your oven if you have it. That way anything in there won't burn as you run your oven for hours, making Thanksgiving dinner. If you don't have a self cleaning oven, do a good scrub and wipe out to get ready for baking. 
• Take the vacuum and vacuum out the silverware holders. I hate it when we have a ton of company and I empty out a holder to find lots of crumbs in the bottom- Yuck! 
• Scrub and bleach your sink. Fill the sink with hot water and add a cup of bleach. Let it sit until the water has cooled. Your sink will be sparkling clean and disinfected. Throw your sponges and scrubbers in to soak too. 
• Wipe down all the cabinet and drawer fronts with a damp cloth. 
• Clean off the junk pile and your desk. Sort it all out and put it away. 
• Sweep and mop the floors. Really get into those corners with- you guesses it- A toothbrush. I told you it was deep cleaning. 
• Bedrooms- Same in here: dust, walls, door, baseboards,  and vacuum
• Getting ready for guests:

• If company will be staying over, have a basket filled and ready to set out in the bathroom for guests. I have one and it holds travel sizes of: shampoo, conditioner, mouthwash, deodorant,  a new disposable razor, shaving cream, a new toothbrush and toothpaste, lotion and mouthwash, plus some little paper cups. This helps out guests who may have forgotten one of these items. Make sure that there are easy to reach extra rolls of toilet paper near the toilet.
 
• If you have the luxury of a separate guest room,  Put clean sheets on the bed and fresh towels in the room. I wash sheets after a guest leaves but I fold them and make the bed just before company comes so that the bed is freshly made. 
• If you don't have a guest room and will be using a kids room for guests. Have a spare set of sheets for that bed that are for company only. Have them washed, folded and ready to use along with a set of towels for each guest. Keep them all together so that when you need to "flip" the room you'll have everything that you need to get it ready in a few minutes.
•  Make sure that there are some empty hangers in the closet for their hanging items and a place to set their suitcase. I have a couple of those folding luggage stands for guests to use.
  
• Set a few newer magazines next to the beds for bedtime reading.
• Make sure that there are tissues in the room as well. 

I'm off to scrub and clean. Have a great week.