Monday, April 21, 2014

Creativity Takes Practice.

"Creativity isn't a mythical creature to be caught and tamed.  It's a habit...a way of life that's built over time."

Jane Porter writes thought-provoking ideas in her article, "How to Cultivate a Creative Thinking Habit," that both the inspiration-seekers and practiced imaginatives alike can benefit from.

http://www.fastcompany.com/3026816/dialed/how-to-cultivate-a-creative-thinking-habit

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Thrifty Cleaning Tip: Savings on Spray.

Before I even share this nugget of creative frugality I feel the need to first justify my use of the product.

My use of disposable cleansing wipes started slowly because I find them expensive and environmentally unsound.  When my siblings began having children I began to understand the obvious hygienic diapering needs of parents and caregivers and loosened my rules to accept bathroom wipes.  Then I discovered that window cleaning wipes left far less lint and foggy residue than a spray with towels (whether cloth or paper) and began using those, especially on photo frame glass.  Now I live in a house with white tile floors and white, rubbery caulking sealing every imaginable edge that shows every little fuzz, hair, or who-knows-what that touches it.  Add to that a cat who throws up and leaves trails of little kitty paw prints through the house and you get a woman who uses cleaning wipes.

The selection of cleansing wipes is minuscule here, we can choose between Clorox and Lysol brands.  I choose the type of Clorox wipe that cleans up grease also, making it perfect for the entire house because, as I forgot to mention, our kitchen has ultra-white counter tops and all white appliances.  When we moved in I bought a two-pack to keep under the kitchen sink containing a total of 150 wet wipes.  I noticed a fair amount of liquid left in the bottom once the first container was empty so I dumped it into the second container; it seemed wrong to discard it.

A couple weeks ago that second tub of wipes was running low and there was a considerable amount of liquid left.  I tried pouring some on paper towels but it didn't seem to have adequate cleansing ability and I concluded that a spray bottle was my best solution.  Today I stopped by a decent ¥100 store and bought one then filled it up with excess liquid and now I have over 300 ml of perfectly good cleaning spray.

What a Thrifty Cleaning Tip!  Pour excess cleaning solution remaining in a disposable wet wipe container into a spray bottle to reuse.  For safety, please label the spray bottle with the contents, especially the chemical components.  Simply cut the paper label and tape it to the spray bottle.





Please, be safe and label and bottle.