How To: Fold your sheets

I don't know about ya'll, but I hate folding laundry. I have no problems washing and drying. Just folding and putting it away. It's almost become a joke in my family. And more than anything I hate folding sheets. Kid you not, my linen closet looks like something exploded in there. I'm awful about folding sheets, and then they are scattered everywhere. Today is Home Blessing Day with Flylady. First on the list, change the sheets. Except I can't find the matching sheets. In my desperation I googled how to fold sheets with the idea that I could redo my linen closet and found this amazing video on youtube. Not only do you learn how to fold your fitted sheets, but you fold your entire sheet set together and stack it nice and neat! What a win! So without further ado, here is this awesome tutorial vid, brought to you by 2bluelashes.

How To: Write a Household 6 SOP

Or in other words, a Home Management Binder. :) I know, seems kind of hokey, but believe me, they work. And it's nice to find everything in one place.
Required Items:
Binder
Dividers
Sheet protectors


That's pretty much all you need. You can divide your HMB any way you like. Let me give you an example. In my home management binder, the first thing you will find are my routines and cleaning lists. Daily, Weekly, Monthly and seasonal. These are printed and in sheet protectors so I can mark them off. these are good to have because if you go down ill and wind up in the hospital for a week, your hubby has marching orders right there and will know how to keep the household flowing smoothly so you don't come home to recover and find yourself up in the middle of the night catching up. Routines mean consistancy and that is good for you and good for your kids. When your hubby deploys and everything feels like it is too much, you just take one thing at a time and before you know it, you're humming along again.

The second section is my emergency information. I always put this with a red tab and write on the cover that in case of an emergency, use the red tab. Each family member has a complete medical history, allergy lists, blood type, etc and it's all gathered into their own sheet protector. I'm good at remembering this stuff. My hubby is not. He might forget that I'm allergic to Sulfa and Pennicillan but my history will warn the doctors before I'm subjected to it. Going to a spouses retreat and leaving the kids with a neighbor so you can recouperate while he's downrange? What if the baby gets ill? They have that info in case of an emergency. I can't stress how important this is. I also include locations of living wills, regular wills, powers of attorney, etc. If you want to get seriously detailed, keep lists for first aid kits, emergency preparedness info etc.

My third section is all the kids routines and calenders. You got kids over the age of 5? You'll probably need a calender to keep track of who has what when, coaches and teacher information, etc.

Fourth section are recipes. Family favorites, quick and easy recipes, or treasured family classics.

Fifth section are addressess and phone numbers

Sixth are my patterns for my crafts, some devotionals, etc.


So, the basic idea behind this home management journal is not so much that you can't function without it. But that your house can function without YOU should something happen.

If you don't feel like you are the creative type, here are some links to some printables that might help.
http://www.household-management-101.com/image-files/home-management-binder.jpg

So what are you waiting for? Get cracking!

How To: Repair a blocked pump in a GE Top Loading Washing Machine

So today was a fun day. My washing machine just wasn't draining! I have a GE Top Loading washing machine and nothing I did was making this sucker drain. So I decided to make sure the pump was working. So if you are ever in this situation, here's what you need.

1. A bolt remover set.
2. And probably a pair of pliers.
3. Lots of towels to sop up the water
4. whole lot of confidence in yourself.


First thing you should do is unplug your machine and remove the hoses ((after turning off the water!)). Then you remove the top panel. The one with the knobs on it. My machine required a star shaped allen wrench. I don't know what it's called..lol. Luckily it was one of the bits included in my craftsman electric screwdriver set. When you remove this be careful not to yank it off, there are wires connected and these are important. Encased in here you should find a sheet of paper tucked in describing how to dismantle your machine for maintenance purposes.

If it didn't have that sheet of paper, this is basically what you do to remove the front wall of your machine. Aligned with the edges of the lid of your machine are two spring loaded tabs. Take a putty knife or a butter knife and slide this in the seam of the machine at those two points. Press to release the tabs. Repeat on the other side. Then pull out just a little, and up to relase from your machine. You should see the inside the machine now. Use your flashlight to locate the drainage tube. Mine was black and hard to miss as it ran from the tub to a pump on the lower left side. Congrats on locating the pump!!



Your next step is to use your pliers to clamp down on the spring collar securing your hose to the pump. this will allow you to remove the hose from the pump and check for obstructions. This is exactly where mine was. A purex 3 in one sheet was the culprit, blocking the entire hose. If there is no obstruction, your pump might need replacing. I suggest calling a repairman.

Reconnect everything, operating in reverse, making sure that all the wires in the front panel are still connected tightly, reconnect hoses, etc and give it a go!

Look at that! You are a certified obstruction remover and a super home maker. I told you you can do it!