live from sublurbia

Longtime friends who know me know I tear up my whole life and try something new every once in a while, so it’s not going to be a surprise that I’m doing it to the blog, too. :P

Not sure about a new moniker or site, but stay tuned.

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It’s weird, thinking about that word. Dirty. And about hanging dirty laundry. Why air dirty laundry? Are you airing it? Or sunning it? And don’t you want to hang up CLEAN stuff?

Back when I was still diapering our pair, I’d hang out the diapers to sun the spots* out, and it got me thinking more on the use of the phrase and the word. About old laundry and modern laundry and the pile of folding I’m ignoring.

You’d air dirty laundry if you just want to get some of the smell out, letting it dry out and get out. Much like you air your shoes out by rotating them through a couple of working pairs. And you sun dirty (soiled*) laundry to get the color out. After you wash it through your washer, or smash it on a river with rocks, ymmv.

So I decided** to try it out with a shirt my youngest had spilled spaghetti sauce on. Washed it twice, still had a stain, hung it out on the laundry line***. Stain was gone within two hours. Laundry line only fell over three times (first time I’d set it up and I didn’t have a proper foundation) before I leaned the bricks on it correctly.

Not just the “fresh feeling” of dryish clothes from the air, not just the de-scenting that can be done with some vinegar and airing, but sunning out of stains. Fun****! Got a bunch of work and workout clothes done for me, too.

* poop stains
** dryer conked out
*** don’t tell the home ogres assciation
**** dryer conked out at 5:30 in the morning with my work and workout clothes all tumbling around – luckily it was a dry run day and I didn’t have to actually be anywhere at any set time ..

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I’ve got my rain barrel up and running just in time for the tremendous rainstorms. Yay! Now if only I had a better spot for it. Not getting a lot of roof run off at the front of the gable. :(

However, the sides of the house are getting soaked. I’ve got a big tub out there, catching water that also doubles as a mud-rinsing sink. So, why not move it? But the rain barrel just looks good at the front.

So I got a bucket and moved the water from the side of the house to the rain barrel one gallon at a time. Ridiculous, I know, but at least it’s getting filled …

And I’ve got the back garden beds cleaned out. They’re falling apart but they should last me one more season. I’ve layered in some veggie potting soil and just spent this lovely cool sixty-degree morning transplanting in some vines and fruits.

Yay rainy season, bring it on! (But no more tornado warnings, kthx!)

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Some days I really am annoyed by the existence of the Home Owner’s Association. I had to go over hill and over dale trying to get my roof tiles approved (an infinitesimal shade of difference from the originals, no longer available), and even then it took fourty forevers.

But there has to be some kind of benefit, right? They got a few roofs fixed (finally) but not much else. And some of my fellow owners are, frankly, weird. We had hot rods screeching through the neighborhood one night, leaving rubber tire marks on the road. Someone wanted to sue … someone … and make that someone pay to clean it up. Never mind that it wears off eventually, it was harshing their property values (granted, this was at the height of the insane property bubble).

My management company was pretty useful when our electrical box and light poles were hit with gang-like graffiti. Neighbor called, reported it to the cops, reported it to the HOA, reported it to the electric company. Eventually the electric company totally cleaned and repainted the box, even removing the ugly old pile of cement the builder had left on there (that I’d jokingly threatened to paint green to match the box). if I’d known they’d do that much I would have graffitied and reported it myself (kidding). Continue Reading »

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So friends and family (originally linked to me from the Feminist Breeder’s FaceBook wall) have been passing around this particular Toys R Us link for trading up old baby stuff for new.

A great idea to encourage turning over of stuff that’s just not safe after a while – strollers, cribs, baby seats, carseats. A 25% discount is not a bad deal, either. Sure you can surf for coupons or save up points or wait until the kid is 47.95 inches tall to get her a more height-appropriate carseat, or you can take this easy trade up discount and go.

I’m going. Well, maybe one of my carseats is. I don’t actually need any new carseats, or strollers, or anything else. My eldest is well enmeshed in school and my youngest is itching to go. We’ve gone through and rid ourselves of nearly every infant- and toddler-safe toy in the house. So I’ll turn in my beloved Fisher Price Safe Embrace and ensure it will be disposed of safely and properly.

The last time I tried to get rid of one of those, I was adamant that I destroy it enough that it wouldn’t be reused. I slashed all of the buckles, and took a sledgehammer to it. It was TOUGH. Tougher than I, though a couple dozen sledgehammer hits later, we had a good, visible crack in the shell.

This time I let it sit in the garage, passed over every time we did a clean out. Every time I’d remember it was there, I’d forget to find out where to get it destroyed safely. But this is a great opportunity. Take in the carseat, and ensure it’s destroyed by someone responsible (Toys R Us). We have local fire stations that do inspections, but I’m not sure they handle destruction. And all of them are already rather busy with fires and as gathering points for Haiti relief efforts.

Thanks to TRU – sure it’s a marketing ploy, but it certainly can’t hurt to get some of this older gear OUT.

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For more WMFW tips, visit our hosts at: We are THAT family.

You think with my mega food prep post last month (I know, it’s been a crazy month) I would have covered beans. Small error on my part, sorry.

I’ve been using dried and frozen and freeze dried vegetables for years – there was a metals allergy in my family so I never was much for canned veggies. And maybe it’s my inability to plan meals correctly, but the “standard sized can” of veggies isn’t quite enough for two meals, and too much for one. Continue Reading »

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Think of a something Thursday

I’ve been thinking wayyy too much about food lately. The holidays are coming, I’m packing lunches and snacks for folks, planning my own meals away from the family, either on the road doing small writing projects or at home.

And LEFTOVERS. Oh, the leftovers. And quick-fix meals. And long-term cooking. And my freezer that keeps clicking.

The cycle usually goes like this. I get in a mood to cook a lot, or I find a deal and make a lot of something. Then I have the same tasting leftovers in the freezer forever, using up all of the few containers I have.

So I came up with a better idea while brainstorming this problem. Turn all the food into ice cubes. It worked for my breastmilk in my pumping days. It worked for kiddie purees. It works for my leftover broths! Continue Reading »

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Busy working here and there, picking up freelance projects and juggling just as much as I was when I put in a forty hour work week at Corporate. Phew.

And I’ve gone through and upgraded everyone’s website and life except for my own. Shoemaker’s children and all that.

Soon. Sooon! Big changes rolling out.

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Summer of cousins is over :(, school year is begun :), Tropical Storm Danny has me out getting my six five-gallon water bottles refilled :(.

My sister and mom decluttered the panlaundrium and kitchen a bit (See, I told you my methods make sense! They put everything where I expected except for my little plastic IKEA bowls – I think they ate them.) and it didn’t “hurt” as much as I expected. Decluttering for me, as opposed to me decluttering, drives me NUTS, but now that it’s over and I didn’t know it was happening, well, maybe it wasn’t so bad after all.

And seeing progress makes it easier for me to make progress.

Anyway, I have ton of blogging and reading to do, but I need to go spend some hours on my clients first, catching up on their bloggy administrivia and support, then do the same catching up on my own (I’m revamping the site so don’t mind if I go dark a few days).

Stay tuned and happy back-to-school!

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So far I’ve uncovered:

6 size 1 disposable diapers from my eldest’s short time in disposables

1 flannel 2T jacket

Size 0 left shoe, worn once for pictures

Information about recycling at our old home

A packet of unopened crayons suitable for school this year

Lots of random unsharpened pencils from various goody bags over the years

A peanut M and M that looks like a Teenage Mutant Ninja turtle

Can’t wait until school starts; with the kids out of the house I’ll probably find even more.

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