:) currently? half of it's in boxes and crates int he attic- and the other half's in bins in the basement. setting up a crafting area was the first thing that I WANTED to do- but DH convinced me that clearing a place to sleep, eat, hangout, and brush our teeth would be more cost-efficient, workwise. however- in my last incarnation, I had a workstation made out of a hollow core door on two bookcases (the very first drafting table my dad ever built when he got his license, I might add) and three steamer trunks to hold raw materials. it was cramped, but I managed- and I did truely messy things outside. now- I have plans for a wash sink in the basement, so I can do my tie-dying indoors!

As the mother of a teacher, I will offer one piece of advice - do not buy "Favorite Teacher" or "#1 Teacher" type items like mugs, magnets, picture frames, tree ornaments, jewelry, etc. I truly understand that some children go shopping for their teacher and pick out these type of things and that is all they can afford, but responsible parents like you can prevent some of this. I truly do understand and sympathize with the feelings of so many, that it's great to have parents chip in and buy a useful gift, or it's great to get teachers something they can use for the classroom. And if that's the way teachers and parents feel, of course that's a perfectly fine way to go. But I'd like to present the other side. The side of the young mothers who do let their kids give home baked gifts and buy trinkets like #1 Teacher. When my kids were little, they were so excited about Christmas. They loved to bake cookies for the teacher and buy #1 Teacher mugs/figures, etc. We were on a very tight budget, and my kids did not want to give a group gift, they wanted to give their own gift. As a young mother, once I realized how many useless gifts teachers got, I started adding a "useful" gift along with my kids' "useless" gifts. It seemed to disappoint my kids in a subtle way, like their terrific gift they picked so carefully wasn't good enough to stand alone. One day I started really listening to my kids, and they were so convinced that candy was the greatest gift ever, not hand sanitizer for the classroom. You know, I was one of those "responsible" parents, but I regrouped and let my kids just give candy, or homemade cookies, or a tacky teacher mug. I looked down at that little excited face, so passionately explaining that there is no way the teacher will like soap as well as chocolate, and I bought the chocolate. Some teachers do like to have their room representative take up a collection for a group gift. I always wound up taking up the collection myself if I was room rep for a teacher who wanted that. I'm not knocking teachers or parents who want to give/get something useful rather than another plate of cookies. I don't think there is any right or wrong way to gift a teacher. Pick whichever way you like, or both. But not all moms who let their children give useless trinkets are irresponsible. My children had wonderful, wonderful, wonderful teachers. I loved them so much and still do. Some of my kids' elementary school teachers are Facebook friends, even after all these years. I tried to always be supportive in any way I could, and they have always been so very supportive of me. As my children got older, they understood the concept of useful gifts better, and they chose "better" gifts. They also sometimes wrote their former teachers notes telling them how much they enjoyed being in their classes. Entirely on her own with no prompting from me, my daughter baked cookies for her favorites, brought them coffee from Starbucks or biscuits from Chick-Fil-A with money she worked hard to earn herself. She also wrote lovely thank you notes for teachers who helped her with her college essays and wrote college recommendations. Maybe she would have done that anyway, but I think she "caught" the joy of giving to her teachers as a little girl. Because she chose the gifts she liked when she was little, she was more invested in the process. When I worked in the corporate world, I got wonderful gifts from some of my clients. Flowers delivered, gift certificates for meals at nice restaurants, funny posters, etc. Fast forward many years later, and I now work in the field of adult literacy. My "clients" are now mostly people not living in favorable circumstances. I can now attest that the most useful, beloved, treasured gift is to have a student call and leave a message on my cell phone, "Miss Daisy, I passed my test!!!!!! I couldn't have done it without you!!!!! Thank you sooooooo much for all you did!!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you for all you did for me. Miss Daisy, I loooooooooove you!!!!" That is better than flowers or gift certificates. There is nothing my students could buy me that is better than getting an excited hug from a former addict with prison tats on her arms, who is clean and getting her life together and who passed her test. I would rather have that than a solid diamond bracelet. When my kids were in school I still donated kleenex, hand sanitizer, post-it notes and the like. I wrote thank you notes and gave "useful" gifts at the end of the school year or during teacher appreciation week. But I don't regret letting my kids get those dime store gifts at Christmas or make those cookies, even if the teachers threw them out as soon as they got home. I am now the one spending my own money for some of my supplies. It's expensive. I think it's great for parents or anybody to donate useful things for the classroom. But please don't label as irresponsible a young mother who lets her little girl give yet another World's Greatest Teacher mug.

I'm still working on my organization and even the type of cleaners that I use regularly. I also very much wish to purge much of the "cleaners and cleansers" stuff that I have. I still have 3 packed boxes from my move (U-Haul smalls) with everything from sifter refills to cat deoderizers in them. Much of this stuff I don't use anymore. For instance I don't have the swifter anymore, but I have refills for it :( I find that my "main stuff" is: 1) a bottle of Green Apple Lysol spray cleaner. I use this almost everywhere. 2) a bottle of no-drip Windex. Windows, mirrors, glass. 3) dishwasher detergent 4) hardwood floor cleaner in a spray bottle. I had hardwood floors installed in my new home and this is essential. Don't know what the stuff really is. Probably something "common", but I got it since it was recommended my floorer. I use the microfiber pads that attach to a mop thingee and have several of them. I've gone thru a few and have to put all of this stuff into a "rags" load of laundry. Haven't yet. I also use just clean whites rags and often just paper towels with this stuff too for wiping up spills that happen on the hardwood floors. 5) a sprayer bottle that I keep a mixture of water and clear dish soap. I use this for most spills and spot treatments on my carpets or rugs. For most things this is all I need. Anything more complicated I wick up the spill with clean cotton rags and use the soap mixture and then call Coit for same day service. Okay I'm lame, but I don't like messing up my carpet. A whole cup of full strength espresso got spilled on my carpet at my old condo and while I got a lot out, Coit (a professional carpet cleaner) got most out and if I had them in right away I think it would have all gotten out. 6) clorox wipes. I know lazy perhaps. But I find them way too conveinent. I have containers of them all over the house, even one in my car.. 7) Orange-glo "wood cleaner". This is the slimy stuff. I use a clean rag and then desiginate the rag for only this stuff. I use this to dust and shine up all my wood furniture which is just about everything: dining room table, night stand, chest of drawers, telephone stand, end tables, TV tables, etc, etc. And then other stuff that doesn't get used as often, but has gotten used since I've been in my new house: 1) orange soft scrub (has bleach). use this on the kitchen sink, the bathroom sink, the bathtub and its tiled walls. 2) stainless steel cleaner that came with my new frig. only used there. works like a charm. I'm too afraid to use anything else on the SS frig. I follow the "directions" on this. Is this a sham to sell this stuff? Would good ole Lysol spray cleaner do the trick? 3) disposable toliet cleaner doohickies. I used to just use jonny mops (oh and when I had multiple baths, one in each) and toliet bowl cleaner. but now I use the wand thing and the disposable thing. I think I have the Scrubbing Bubbles kind right now. That's all I can think of right now. I'm sure there's more. But truely if this is all I really seem to be using, when I get around to emptying those 3 boxes, it means I can just purge them. I guess time to freecycle, or something? I guess these could just be tossed? Or I guess put out on the curb when we have our Annual Cleanup done by the City. But I get the impression that these, some of the stuff at least, is considered "haz waste"? Thanks for any advice :) Cheers, --jans

Surely, there is a way to shut off your water. You need to shut off the water to change washer hoses, work on sinks and toilets, etc. Locate your water meter. There should be two shutoff valves, one in the feedline to the meter and another in the water line leaving the meter that supplies the house. These two valves are needed to change out the meter. In my town, meters are changed out every 10 years for calibration and/or updates. In my state, there is a 3rd shutoff not accessible to the homeowner and it does require a special tool. This valve is buried at the lot line where your supply line connects to the city or association supply. Its at the lot line were city/utility employees may turn off the water without entering your property and do not have to get a court order. About your washer hoses. Trace your washer hose from the back of the washer to its source. Normally, these hoses (hot and cold water) are connected to a faucet or valve and may be behind the washer. A nice installation places these valves above the washer so they can be reached without moving the washer.