2. I LOVE Lysol All-Purpose Cleaner in Lemon! I bought a big thing of it from BJ’s and I use it for so many things. I invested in a few empty spray bottles and made my own slightly diluted cleaning solution. I’m sure you can do this with vinegar and water.. but I love the lemon scent and it feels like everything is so much more clean!

     3. We use Scotchbrite Sponges in our kitchen (no dishwasher. boo!) and since we have to trade them out every week or two, I save them under the sink and then use them to clean the bathrooms. They scrub the tile really well and we feel like we get double duty out of them!

 When I feel I am out of fresh cleaning advice, I check out REAL SIMPLE.COM for tips and hints. They have an entire cleaning section and a featured spot removal guide for things really get messy!

P.S. I dare not mention cleaning or cleaning products without publicly praising my wonderful Husband for all that He does around the house during this season in our life and marriage. Regardless of the fact that I often get frustrated that He is the one doing all the things I feel are “my job” He is SUCH a big help and I am most GRATEFUL for the blessing he is!

   
Today’s “Must Have” is pretty practical and not at all exciting… unless you just love Italian food–

which I do.

I love to make it. I love to serve it. AND, I love to eat it!

I have noticed that many recipes (whether Italian or not) often call for a small amount of Tomato Paste. At some point in the past, I realized I was buying a small can of tomato paste every time I need a Tablespoon and then having trouble deciding what to do with the rest. I hate waste– and throwing away the rest of the can definitely felt wasteful.

Then I found this product, Amore Tomato Paste in the tube. This was a great little product for me, as I could squeeze out a small amount of this super-concentrated paste for sloppy joes, meatloaf or whatever, and then pop it back in the fridge for next time! It goes a long way and has proved to be very convenient as one of those, ‘have on hand’ items. Many grocery stores carry it on the top shelf, and it will usually cost about 2-3 dollars per tube.

I will say, that when I make marinara sauce, I do not use this, but use an entire small can of regular tomato paste merely because it is more cost effective. If you really want to plan ahead, you can buy a case of it here!  Twelve tubes for $26.77 comes out to a little more than $2.00 a tube! I definitely plan to do this if we move somewhere that does not carry it at a good price!

Dear Lu-

Today’s must have is from Crate and Barrel– which I absolutely love and will miss when ever we move elsewhere. They seem to carry many functional things– many of which do not also carry a very high price tag. I once found small juice glasses for .75 cents a piece there– so cute. We had four… now we have 2.  That will teach me to buy only just enough. 🙂 Anyway, they were adorable with oranges etched on the side and the phrase, “squeeze me.” Love them. But, I digress.

These Parker Mini Bowls are adorable and functional. They scream “springtime” and we have already put them to great use several times! I chose the Mimosa, Provence and Macaw for our little kitchen and we have used them for small servings of dessert, soup, snacks, even prep bowls for cooking! And at $3.95 a pop, they are an inexpensive little Spring upgrade for your table or kitchen! (BTW, they also carry a large 5-piece set of Parker mixing bowls, and if we had not too many bowls already, I would have seriously considered them as well. What can I say? I love dishes and serving-ware!)

I have to admit that in our current economic situation, both as a country and as a family, an item has to work on several levels to be considered a “must have.” And still, the term is a bit of stretch. There are few “things (i.e. people)” that I must have and they are currently both sleeping peacefully. Never the less, I have thoroughly enjoyed my little bowls, and I think you might as well!