This is a long winded thread and Im glad. I started vermicomposting last april 2013 . I didnt get enough castings to use last summer . But I did have enough to put in some cuttings I over wintered and I used nothing but castings and liquid seaweed. The cuttings are doing well and leafing more than I remembered other cuttings doing. This year I will have enough to try on my roses and honeysuckle and others. Plus I will be trying worm tea, in fact Im brewing a batch at present which Im going to test on my cuttings and seedlings. Hopefully all will go well and I can report back in detail.

Fly - We LOVE the house we have now and aren't looking at all. The missed house was back in 2005 when we had some definite financial and geographical confines and I let an ideal one slip through my fingers because I just . . . couldn't . . . . commit. In a house prior to that we made a vanity out of an antique dresser. We did a drop-in sink, though, and it worked great. The piece had three drawers and we lost use of the top one, but the middle and lower ones we just shortened (water lines came out of the floor) so they were still usable.

When we moved, I was surprised at how many pictures and prints I had bought and never framed. If not now, when? Why have I waited so long? I sorted them all, and walked around our 3 year old house looking at where I could put them. I'd had other pictures professionally framed, but that gets expensive fast, so I went to JoAnn's and Michael's. I figured out what worked, waited for the appropriate coupons, and bought dozens of frames with mat and glass included for very little. Got some larger frames at Michael's, got some of their $12.99 mat board which I can cut, and got glass from a local place where we'd had our bathroom mirrors made (total ~$27 for glass for 3 large frames). Our new windows are supposed to have UV protection. With that, and the fact that who would really want my pictures after I'm dead and gone, I figured I didn't need the expensive glass the framing places sell. I have walls in 3 different rooms that have room for several pictures instead of just the one that I now have in each location, as well as other assorted places where one or two pictures could hang. I'm looking forward to enjoying the pictures (which include some photos I took and had enlarged to 8 x 10s many years ago), having the whole place look a lot more interesting, and not having to store them any more! Anne

Waking up to laundry talk is the best way to start the day;) Mamapinky, I do add the ammonia to the LFS dispenser. I read a great thread on here that involved you, I believe, several others, and also a person in dry cleaning. That post and the one about Lysol Laundry Sanitizer (tried once and done) are what sent me into a happy laundry tailspin:) For some reason I came away with the idea that ammonia strips out some of the oils, etc., and likely thought that meant also stripping out the gunk, for lack of a better word, that liquid detergents leave behind. This was before I leaned about powder detergent, which I've now ordered. Also, I was thinking that using ammonia as the last product in my wash cycle is helping keep my s****y FL washer clean/mold free. I have also tried running a short cycle, adding maybe a 1/2 c. or less ammonia only (in the detergent tray) and then doing a regular or sanitary cycle with a small amount of liquid det. on certain items. Ammonia on the front end to lift any oils so the detergent may do its job a bit better. I know the stuff to never mix together - chlorine bleach & ammonia, obviously - but have likely gone a bit wild on the ammonia b/c it's the first product that has left all of my laundry smelling truly clean. Towels stay fresh much longer instead of starting to get that "smell" after using once or twice. I'd love to know what to change. So, my main objectives are: 1. Truly clean laundry (not masked by scents, although I love a light fresh scent - the kind you used to be able to find - not the ones available now that remind me of what they've done to poor Oreos, if that makes sense;) 2. A FL washer that stays clean and does not contribute to bad laundry smells. I will always maintain it - wiping rubber gasket in all the nooks, taking out dispenser to dry at the end of the day, leaving door open/wiping down/cleaning filter every month, etc., but want to make sure the products I use aren't fighting that endeavor. Our family does not mind if clothes are a little "crisp," and we prefer towels and sheets that way. I only used Bounce sheets over the summer, and it was an effort to make stuff smell a bit better. I'm now shoving the leftovers in my son's smelly cleats;) All that to say, I don't need to add LFS to my routine. So, I was thinking I'd start a new routine with powdered detergent (this first foray will be with Cheer HE) along with the correct amount of STPP. From what I've learned, here, this will work toward keeping my FL clean, and it sounds like powder is preferable to liquid for a variety of reasons. Keep using the ammonia, but in the correct way - I look forward to hearing what that is. I know I'm WAY too ammonia-happy right now! Try the Oxydol mentioned in this thread (has Biz in it and some enzymes, I think) for what whites I do have and also try sodium percarbonate and ammonia with it if not overkill, or try the latter two products with the Cheer. I don't want those baseball pants too white...no one on the team likes a try-hard, ha ha. Dawn/hydro. peroxide or Fels Naptha pre-treating works great for me on grass stains and clay/dirt. I think I'm done with chlorine bleach for whites. Again, I have few whites to speak of, and strongly discourage my son and husband from purchasing white clothing. I'm still recovering from my red-piped white baseball pants fiasco of 2016;) I will run a "clean" cycle with bleach as needed, but just don't need it otherwise at this point. On another note, I have tried many natural methods. Essential oils, vinegar, grapefruit seed oil, and more. None worked for me the way ammonia did (which is also natural;) I know people love white vinegar, and I keep it on hand, but I've never had the kind of success with it that others seems to have. Thank you, Mamapinky and all on here. I look forward to being helpful to others the way you all have helped me! -Vas