Bathroom - Organizing Happiness

kathy.b April 1, 2013

Frivolous Fawn Hair Dye

It was always a choice between;

1. Wash out

2. Semi permanent

3. Permanent

Choosing the right color was always the real problem. How did I end up with so many boxes and bottles of hair dye? Well, in the summer I thought I would go for the lighter look and in the winter, the darker look. When the two for one sale happened, I bought extra. Then just in case I wanted something exciting for the month I would buy something with a red tint. That is how it happened.

It’s time. Take out all of the hair dye boxes and bottles including bottles like Frivolous Fawn. If they have been there at least 6 months and you don’t plan on using in the next month, then toss.

This won’t take much time.

If you buy from the beauty supply store and mix your own then you probably already know that once the color and developer are mixed, you will have to throw the extra away. It stops working after 30 to 45 minutes.

Just for the record, my hair has been every color you can imagine. I still can’t decide what color I like the best but for now I know I don’t want to be grey. Or is it gray?

Filed Under: Bathroom, Life Leave a Comment

kathy.b February 9, 2013

How To Get Rid Of Spiders

We found a spider today in the shower and after doing research we thought it might have been a Brown Recluse. That then motivated everyone in the house to look up ways to get rid of spiders. What caught my attention on the link below was the paragraph on organizing.

http://www.pestexterminator.com/spiders-states/

Keep rooms clutter-free and well-organized to avoid spiders who love making a home in small hiding spots.

Coincidentally I had just watched a Horders episode on TV that showed lots of cobwebs. Even in my own home and outside in the garden those cobwebs weave fast and large ones can appear over night.

If you find that you have camel spiders. well I think you may have bigger problems then clutter!

Don’t give spiders a chance to find a cozy home in your clutter.

Filed Under: Bathroom, Bedroom, Closet, Garage, Kitchen, Life, Living Room, Outside Tagged With: Bugs, Spiders, Unclean Leave a Comment

kathy.b June 30, 2012

Is that my toothbrush?

How many toothbrushes do you go through in a year? This is what I’ve learned after doing some research. It appears the correct answer is 4, or one toothbrush every 3 months. Some think that may not be necessary and get a new one every 6 months. Definitely after you’ve been sick or had a cold. When you have just recovered from a cold sore would also be advisable.

Many of you buy toothbrushes in bulk or when they are on sale. It is always nice to have a few new ones in case your company needs one.

Next question is what do you do with old toothbrushes. Do you put under the sink to use for a cleaning brushes? It’s sometimes hard to throw away because you never know when the need for a little brush might be necessary.

Just Get Rid of It, It’s A Toothbrush

If you have a hard time throwing them out that collection under the sink will begin to grow.

When we recently redid one of our bathrooms, everything had to come out and all of it was stuffed into a smaller bathroom. After our new bathroom was complete we slowly put things back and did the finishing touches. That next morning my husband could not find his toothbrush and I suggested he look in the smaller bathroom. Sure enough it was there

That night he asked again if I had seen his toothbrush and I again said check in the other bathroom. This happened several times over the next few days andit finally occured to me that it was a possiblity someone else was using his toothbrush.

The Toothbrush Bandit

I asked one of my sons and he confirmed it was his toothbrush. The problem was my husband said it was his toothbrush. After they both screamed…YUCK! We threw away and everyone in the house got a new toothbrush. My husband then took fingernail polish and marked his up with his name just to be extra sure it wouldn’t happen again.

Keeping a few old ones makes sense if you really use them for cleaning. If you don’t or haven’t used them for cleaning then it is time to throw them out. Clear out under your sink and in the bottom bathroom drawers. As long as you are down there organizing that area, look at other half used tubes, dirty q-tips, dusty hair pins, dirty combs, expired asperin and get rid of those things too.

Filed Under: Bathroom, Life Tagged With: Family Drama, Toothbrush, Yuck Leave a Comment

kathy.b May 9, 2012

Your Toilet is Not a Bathroom Magazine Rack

It was such a pretty day today I could not pass up the opportunity to spend some time relaxing in the backyard. I could hear the faint sound of traffic and wind chimes, being surrounded by what we call the “Garden of Eden.” The dogs were lying in the sun and at peace now that the squirrels had all been chased away.

What a perfect day to weed through that pile of magazines from the bathroom.

That pile had grown into a stack that was leaning over and secretly I was hoping I could throw away all of them. There were such a variety of magazines including lawyer, medical, and University magazines as well as the latest on all of the celebrities that we buy for airline trips so I thought it was important to at least skim through them.

I filled up a little foot bath with epsom salt for my aching feet, grabbed the magazines, my reading sunglasses and headed for the backyard. Things were calm and good, until I heard the loudest crash ever. It was the sound of glass and metal. I thought that the termites have finally done their job and half of the house had caved in. The dogs took cover and I ran into the house thinking to myself I might be calling 911.

Filed Under: Bathroom, Life Tagged With: Bathroom Magazine Rack, Broken Things Leave a Comment

kathy.b April 28, 2012

Letting Go of The Big Hair From The 80′s

Today is the day we gather all of the hair dryers, straightening irons and curling irons in the house.

Your question:

When was the last time I used each one of these?

I Look Good…

When I go through old photographs I am always amused by the decades of different hair styles. How can you not love the big hair of the 80′s? I think that is when I first bought all of the different sizes of curling irons and hot curlers. Then they came out with the straightening iron because curl was out. Hair dryers are a necessity but I honestly don’t remember those growing up. Then of course we all needed the miniatures of everything for when we were traveling.

Safety

Most of this stuff is kept under the bathroom sink, in a bathroom drawer or maybe in your closet. If they haven’t caught on fire they are probably still there. One thing to consider is safety. If you have little ones around or grand-kids that come to visit nothing looks more inviting than a plug to stick into the wall. How many of us over the years have burnt ourselves on that darn curling iron? Cords get old and wires pop out not to mention the build up of hair, lent and fuzz that again can be a fire hazard.

Travel

If you travel you will know first hand there are hair dryers in almost every hotel room in the world. If it isn’t in the room the front desk usually has one. And besides unless you have the right plugs for that country your hair dryer won’t work.

Truth be told, most of my hair appliances have not been used in years and it was time to be ruthless and let go. I kept my newer hair dryer and a little 5 curler travel pack and it’s now time to say goodbye to the rest of it.

Check out some safety tips

http://www.ehow.com/facts_5758630_hair-dryer-safety.html

Filed Under: Bathroom Tagged With: Hair Care, Safety, Traveling Leave a Comment

kathy.b April 12, 2012

Free Lipstick With Purchase

It is hard to pass up free. Everyone I know likes the price of free. How many free lipsticks are in your bathroom drawer? It is time to dump your makeup drawer or make up bag out on the counter. Include make up from you bathroom medicine cabinet and car glove compartment as well.

Divide and Conquer

Let’s start. Separate your lipsticks, mascaras, liners, eye shadows, face make up, touch up sticks, fingernail polish, bobby pins, nail files, lotions, creams, scissors, and bar soap from the hotel.

Next, we need to consider possible health hazards. Most experts will tell you there is an expiration date to makeups and lotions. There of course it the smell test. You know the smell of rancid. If you smell that, then throw it out.

Protect Your Eyes from Infection

Mascara is always the one to be most concerned with because of eye infections. Keep 3 to 6 months. If the mascara wand is dry when you pull out then it is time to toss.

Powders and eye shadows could possibly last 2 to 3 years but honestly, if you have an eye shadow from 3 years ago you clearly don’t like the color. Unless you are saving the bright blue eye shadow for that 70′s party we talked about then toss them.

if you have an eye shadow from 3 years ago you clearly don’t like the color.

Base Makeup

Water base – 12 months
Oil base – 18 months

Most women I know have kept some longer than that because of the different shades we use during winter and summer. Unless you are super organized and somewhat of a minimalist you probably have several bottles. Or you have poured from one glass bottle into the other and there is no way to know how old the stuff is, so at least do the smell test and then narrow it down. A couple of bottles should suffice for the year.

Unless you run a makeup studio, every women I know has too much. There is no way they will be able to use all of it within a reasonable time. Save yourself some money and next time they offer free gift with purchase, give it a pass. I promise that free deal will come along again before you know it. Ignore it, because you will have already bought three new shades by then (unless you keep reading my site).

Lipsticks

Now lets talk lipsticks. Of all of the makeup, lipsticks seem to last the longest, about 3 years. I know my aunt has lipsticks from 15 years ago and they still work. So when they say a shelf life of 3 years, I think it is because of health reasons.

No one has more lipsticks than my sister. She has every color, every shade, shiny and not shinny. Several times a year we go through all of them and she keeps a few. It’s amazing how they accumulate so fast. She is happy to take the lipsticks from my mom’s free gifts and I too am happy to give her from my gifts. I’m not so sure we are doing her any favors but my mom and I love the opportunity to give them to her.

Keep only what you use. Get rid of old make up.

Less is Always More

Clean out the drawer. If you organized your makeup today and didn’t throw out any of it then something didn’t work. The point is to narrow it down. Streamline your makeup.

Keep it really simple, it will save time and money.

Filed Under: Bathroom, Car Tagged With: Lipstick, Make up Leave a Comment

kathy.b April 10, 2012

Organizing Can Save a Life

March 18 – 24, 2012 was National Poison Prevention Week. I happened to catch an article online warning Grandparents about how many calls Poison Control Centers get everyday with possible poisonings from Grandparents medication.

In 201o close to 4 million calls were made to centers around the country. In children about 40% of poisonings were from medications and the other 60% were household products. Poisoning is the 4th leading cause of death among children.

http://www.aapcc.org/ is a site with lots of good information to prevent that from happening. I will have my own grandson here soon so now is a good time to declutter and organize not only the medicines around the house but cleaning supplies as well.

Understand How to Deal with Poisons… Call Poison Control

My family has first hand experience when it comes to poisoning. In 1966 my little sister was in a neighbors garage and swallowed pool acid. One of the neighbor boys saw a coke bottle that had been filled with pool acid and handed it to her.

They said before giving IPECAC, call a poison control center.

The acid burnt her throat, mouth and baby teeth, not when she swallowed it but when she threw it up.

She survived but has had problems as a result of that accident. We made hundreds of trips through out the years to and from the Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles. First we were told she would not survive, but she did. Then we were told she would not ever be able to talk, but believe me, she can talk.

Take Action

So now is the time to organize your medicines and cleaning supplies.

Let’s start with expiration dates. Most of our houses end up with all sorts of half used medicines. Gather old medicines and take them to your local pharmacy.

Keep the medicines you use in their correct bottles. We think we will remember but sometimes we don’t.

Keep out of reach for children!

Last time my grandson was here he saw my husbands blue shiny cough drops by the side of the bed and could not resist. Crawl around like a 2 year old and see what they see.

Cleansers and Detergents

It’s amazing how many bottles we have under every sink. The pink, yellow and blue liquids in those bottles look a lot like kool-aid. If you have kids around remember there are so many options out there that are safe. Even if they are safe it is a good practice to keep up high. You really don’t want baking soda all over your carpet, do you?

Spring is a good time to get rid of old medicines and cleaning supplies.

Cleaning and organizing could save someones life this year!

Filed Under: Bathroom, Kitchen Tagged With: Dangerous, Kitchen, Medicine, Poison Leave a Comment