122) Chiggers love the sweet perfume of OFF! Wear it well at clothing openings and about the ankle. (Deer ticks are optional here but plentiful.)

My wife organizes a yard sale every year for her church. When it's all said and done, every thing left is picked up by good will. maybe you can donate it to some organization. Remember, no matter how little you have, there's someone out there with less. Sorry about the sermon:-)

The drawer is 20-1/2" wide inside, and the jars are just slightly over 2", so they fit with a tiny amount of wiggle room. If I push them to one side, there's less than 1/4" gap. I haven't used them yet to see how well they work. The lids are very tight- once you think they are on, you can give them another 1/4 turn, and I'm sure they will be quite tight. I actually hope they loosen a bit with use, as I don't know if my wife has the grip strength to open them. We keep our bulk spices in the freezer. We buy them from sources such as Penzey's, and try to buy a 6-12 month supply, although some things rarely get used. I make a lot of spice mixtures for different cuisines and BBQ, plus we wind up with things like 6 different varieties of salt. I made a quick list, and came up with about 80 different spices and mixtures, so it's not as crazy as it seems. Filling and labeling is going to be a project! I have surgery coming up, and will be restricted to 'light duty' for as long as two months, so this is one of many projects I've lined up for that time. I have a P-Touch labeler which is fantastic, but the labels get expensive. I want to label the jar, the lid, and a board under the jar so we know where to put them back. I might line the bottom of the drawer with 2" wood squares which I can label, but still re-arrange should the need arise.

How I would deal with a cleaning service would be very different than how I deal with a cleaning woman I hired. A service is a business; I don't tip the saleslady at Macy's who helps me - Macy's pays her and her salary is between them. With my own cleaning woman, I pay her what she asked for. After a year, when I go away for a month (she comes every two weeks), I will give her a day's pay during that time as "paid vacation". I know she counts on her money but I don't want her in the house when I'm out of town - she's just too flakey. I always give each $100 at Christmas. Every 2-3 years, I give my yard man and my cleaning woman a raise. My yard man has been with me for nearly 12 years. I'm afraid he's getting to the top amount I can afford to pay him - at some point, all jobs reach that point. If I had a new cleaning service or cleaning woman in my house, I would definitely stay home the first 2-3 times they come. They may have questions or you may see them doing something you do NOT want them to do (rearrange your book shelves?) so being there is a good plan. I still have to stay around with my "new" cleaning woman (started last Aug) as while I have told her WHAT to do, if never occurs to me to tell her what NOT to do as things she does astound me. A few months ago, I was out when she cleaned my library and when I returned, the smell of PineSol was overwhelming when I sat in my upholstered club chair - it was so powerful, it caused me an asthma attack. I couldn't imagine what on earth she even need to use PineSol for in the library - had some been accidentally spilled? I called her and she told me she had "wiped down" my upholstered chair with a cloth with pure, undiluted PineSol on it so the chair would not "smell". My chair did NOT smell - I'm not a smoker and I don't pee on my chair! In 50 years of cleaning women, this was a first. Who knew I had to tell her not to do this? Thank God she didn't do it to the cotton/linen velvet LR sofa! At least my chair was cotton and a quick wipe down with clear water and a good room airing solved the problem. Yes, this IS the same woman who still cannot put the sheets on the bed correctly so we do it together. Believe me, if I could find someone else, I would. But since it is not impossible for me to do any cleaning, I'm stuck with her. I just have to try to anticipate her flights of fancy.