We’re busy getting our son ready to go back to college. This year, he will be living off campus instead of the dorm, so we have been looking for office furniture such as a desk long enough to hold his monitor, laptop, printer/scanner, etc. I don’t know if he needs scanning software or not, but I’m sure he has listed everything he needs on his shopping list.  He has a great chair for his desk and a great laptop and monitor, so he’s all set there.  He does need a bookcase, though.  Once he gets the desk and bookcase, that should complete the major items on the list for his office/study.

Depending on which part of the country you’re in, the water may be hard. I remember growing up and visiting some relatives who had water so hard that I almost couldn’t get the soap to rinse off my skin. People in these types of areas have to use a water softener to get the water to the point where they can rinse soap off the skin in a normal way. Also, clothes washed in hard water turn out dingy, don’t look clean, and aren’t soft.  Dishes washed in the dishwasher may have spots all over them.   Again, people use water softeners so their laundry turns out clean looking and so their dishes look clean as well.

Note: One advantage (and maybe the only one) to having hard water is that people get a good amount of calcium and magnesium in their drinking water. 

Have you ever had a get-together, maybe a Christmas party, at your house and guests left their sodas sitting on a wooden coffee table or end table? Probably nearly everyone has had that happen at some time or another and wished they had holiday drink coaster décor to protect their wooden furniture from getting those ugly water marks.

I happen to have a couple of those water marks on two different pieces of furniture, and they are hard to get rid of once they’re on the wood. I’ve tried several different solutions, but the water mark rings eventually come back. I wish I knew of a way to be rid of them once and for all.  The best thing I’ve found is prevention!

One of the things I hate is having a toilet overflow and having the plumbing problems that go along with it.  Through the years, we have had that happen on varying occasions.  In fact, most people have had that problem at some time or another.

A few years ago, a friend told me of an experience with their daughter who was two or three at the time.  The little girl came into the living room and told them, “Pss pss go swimming!”  They didn’t understand what she meant so she repeated it, and then they followed her into the restroom.  She went over to the toilet and pointed to it.  Much to their dismay, for some reason she decided that the hairspray needed to go swimming and that she could flush it down the toilet.  Well, you can guess the outcome of that story and how a plumber was needed to fix the plumbing in the “swimming pool.”

We have had overflows three or more times when company was visiting.  It involved things like one person trying to flush two or three paper towels at once, another child flushing a fourth of a box of Charmin Wipes down the toilet and stopping it up big time, and another person flushing too much toilet paper at once.  You don’t have much control when company is visiting except to hide the wipes!  Then it’s time to look through the list of plumbers and call one ASAP!

*Note: I am participating in a blogger campaign by Bucks2Blog and was compensated monetarily. However, the views and opinions are my own.

This is so futuristic that it reminds me of the house in the Jetson’s Cartoon.

Remember I told you I was having a giveaway for a NSF Approved Grilling Accessories Set?  Well, I received one in the mail today for myself!  I was thrilled!  If you would like to enter the giveaway for the same set, all you have to do is click here and then leave a simple comment on my blog.  That’s it!  You have a good chance of winning because there are not many entries.

The tongs are really nice, from Crate & Barrel, and they lock when you want them to stay closed.  The Rubbermaid Premier container is BPA Free, stain resistant, and is from the AVEC Easy Find Lids grouping.  The meat thermometer is a nice one, nicer than the one we have.  And the Chef’s Apron looks like something from Food Network.  It’s so easy to enter the giveaway for a set for yourself!

Giveaway is now over.  Winner:  Elisabeth

NSF is a nonprofit organization that is committed to protecting public health and safety by developing standards and certifying products against those standards.   Their cooking and grilling tips are great for the novice and the grilling expert. With summer grilling going on and the Fourth of July just around the corner, a lot of people are grilling!  Check out this news article from CBS about NSF.  Then check out the tips below and also the GIVEAWAY for a 4-piece Safe Grilling Accessories Set!

COOKING & GRILLING TIPS TO REMEMBER

1.     Start with a Clean Kitchen: According to a swab analysis by NSF International, the kitchen sponge and kitchen sink were the germiest places in the home – items that are typically used in multiple stages of the cooking and cleaning process. Avoid cross-contamination by ensuring these items are clean by:

a.     Placing wet sponges in the microwave for two minutes once per day and replacing them often – every two weeks or more as needed. A better option for kitchen cleaning are dishcloths, towels and rags. These items can be sanitized by washing on the clothes washer’s hot water cycle with bleach. Replace every 1-2 days.

b.    Washing and disinfecting the sides and bottom of the sink 1-2 times per week with a disinfecting cleaner. Sanitize kitchen drains and disposals monthly by pouring a solution of one teaspoon household bleach in one quart of water down the drain. Wash kitchen sink strainers in the dishwasher weekly.

2.     Defrost Foods Safely. Don’t attempt to defrost foods quickly by leaving them sit overnight on a kitchen counter. Use one of the following methods:

a.     Option I – Place a covered food in a shallow pan on the lowest shelf of the refrigerator.

b.    Option II – Defrost the food item in the microwave, but keep in mind that you must finish cooking the food immediately thereafter, as some areas of the food may become warm and begin to cook during the microwave defrosting process.

c.   Option III – If there is not enough time to thaw frozen foods, it is safe to cook foods from the frozen state. However, the cooking will take approximately 50% longer than the recommended time for fully thawed or fresh meat and poultry.

3.     Practice Proper Marinating. If marinating food, marinate in a refrigerator overnight and dispose of any leftover marinade that has been in contact with raw meat. While acids in marinades can help tenderize meat, too much vinegar or hot sauce can cause meat to be more stringy and tough.

4.     Keep Hot Foods Hot and Cold Foods Cold Hot foods need to be kept at temperatures above 140 F and cold foods less than 40 F. Between these two temperatures, bacteria can multiply very rapidly and reach dangerous levels in as little as two hours.

5.     Don’t cook with your eyes; Cook with a thermometer. In order to ensure food has reached a safe internal temperature, always use a certified food thermometer. Any leftovers should be put away within two hours (one hour if the temperature is over 90° F).

6.     Avoid Cross Contamination. Since bacteria can easily spread from one food to the next via dripping juices, hands, or utensils, think ahead to avoid cross contamination.  Don’t use the same utensils and plates for raw and cooked foods, and always remember to wash your hands before preparing and consuming food.

With these great safety tips in mind, here’s a giveaway for safe grilling accessories.

Win it:

One lucky reader will win the 4-Piece Safe Grilling Accessories package as pictured below.  This contest is open to all U.S. residents. Entries will be accepted until midnight CST Saturday, June 18, 2011.  Winner will be chosen by Random.org.

• Grilling Tongs (Locking) from Crate & Barrel
  

• NSF Meat Thermometer

• NSF Certified Rubbermaid (BPA Free, Resists Stains)
  

• NSF Apron

Mandatory Entry:

Subscribe to Healthy Home Blog by email or RSS Feed.  See “Follow Me!” box at the top of this page.  Leave a separate comment letting me know you’ve done this or if you already subscribe.

Bonus Entries:

Be sure and leave a separate comment for each entry.  And if you’ve previously subscribed or followed Healthy Home Blog, let me know that in a comment, too.

• “Like” Healthy Home Blog on Facebook.(1 extra entry)
• Follow me on Twitter (1 extra entry)

• Click the Facebook “Share” button below this post to share it on your FB wall (1 extra entry)

• Follow me through Google Friend Connect on my sidebar. (1 extra entry)

Make sure to leave a separate comment for each entry.

* I was supplied with the Safe Grilling Set for this giveaway. I was not compensated monetarily for this article.

I really like my computer desk!  It’s the perfect size for me plus it’s on casters in case I need to move it easily.  Otherwise, it would be a pain to move.  The chair for my desk is on casters, and now that I think about it, our dining chairs have them, too.   It would be nice if more of our furniture was made to make moving easier!

Have you ever had a bunch of cords and cables running from some electronic setup and wished you had a cable management system in place to organize everything compactly?  I have before, and it’s so nice when all the cords and cables are not in a jumbled mess.  I like things to be organized and efficient in using space, and that includes cords and cables!