Cleaning tip--household odors and my lil' blue aura

Good Tuesday morning! The holidays are quickly approaching and a lot of us will be having people in our houses. The last thing you want is to have a great looking house with an underlying nasty odor, so here are a few tips to help with some common household odors.

Fish or Other Spoiled Food Odor-
Place a bowl of white vinegar on the counter for a few hours. The odor will disappear for good.

Freshen a Garbage Disposal-
Sprinkle baking soda in it along with a few drops dish-washing liquid. Scrub with a brush (a new toilet brush works great), getting under the rubber gasket and all around the inside. Then, turn on water and let the disposal run to flush thoroughly. For a fresh citrus scent, throw in a few cut up lemons or limes and run them through, too, using lots of water.

Refrigerator-
Put an open box of baking soda in your refrigerator. The baking soda will absorb the odors. You can also pour baking soda down the drain, into diaper pails, cat litter and on the kitchen sponge to eliminate odors.

Try the power of activated carbon in a product like activated carbon odor absorbers. The natural, fragrance free activated carbon filter literally soaks up odors better than baking soda, coffee, and vinegar combined. All you have to do is hang or place one on each shelf for incredible effectiveness. They can also used in your freezer too if your ice is tasting or smelling bad.

Use a mixture of baking soda and water to clean the fridge. Use an old toothbrush to clean those hard to reach areas.

Garbage/Trash area -
The smell of garbage can quickly permeate the entire house. To eliminate this problem, again use the power of activated carbon. Activated charcoal odor absorbers easily clip on to, or hang from trash cans. Just keep a couple near by your trash can and odors get stopped in their tracks.

Of course, the trash can does get nasty dirty...so it's a good idea to take it into the shower area or outside (weather permitting) and give it a good cleaning occasionally. First, spray it down to remove any loose bits. Then add 1/2 to 1 cup bleach and several drops of dishwashing liquid to 1 gallon warm water. Use a long-handled scrub brush to splash and scour the solution on the bottom and sides of the container. Empty, then rinse empty it again, and let air-dry.

You could also try sprinkling some cat litter into the bottom of garbage cans to keep them smelling fresh. Change the litter after a week or so or when it becomes damp. If you have a baby in the house, use cat litter the same way to freshen the diaper pails.

For small trash pails in other rooms, try tossing used fabric softener sheets into the bottom of a laundry hamper or wastebasket to counteract odors. What a great way to re-use something that still has a little life left in it. Keep a small zipper bag in the laundry area to save the dryer sheets as you remove them. You can also put them in the bottom of the laundry hamper to cut down on smells from there. Or put a few in your closet.

Stove Top Vent -
As grease and oils build up, so will odors. Use a natural lemon or orange based degreaser to wipe away build ups. These products effectively cut through grease so you can easily wipe it away and leaves no residue. There are several effective and natural cleaners available for this.

Microwave odors-
Try using coffee as it is known to absorb odors. Fill the coffee mug or small bowl with about 2 tablespoons of ground coffee and ½ cup of water. Set the cup in a small bowl (to catch any overflow as it boils) and place it in the microwave. Microwave the coffee on high for about 2 minutes. Be careful when you go to remove it as it will be HOT. Repeat as necessary.

Of course, we already know that vinegar is great at removing odors, so you could also try that method in the microwave too. Fill a small bowl about half full of vinegar and place it in the microwave. Turn the microwave on and let it heat until it steams. Once it has developed a good amount of steam, turn off the microwave and let it set for about 5-10 minutes. There may be a vinegar smell in the microwave, but this will dissipate within a day or two.
If your going to use this method...this is a great time to clean your microwave of any food bits stuck to the inside. The vinegar steam will help to loosen those bits and make it easier to wipe clean. ALSO...do NOT just pour the heated vinegar down the drain. Hot vinegar is good for cleaning soap scrum from shower doors.

To keep your kitchen smelling fresh you can try boiling lemon or orange skins and then simmer for about an hour. I like to simmer cinnamon sticks in a small pan of water on the stove.

Well, after doing my blog entry yesterday I decided to do some "blog link hopping" (remember bar hopping? lol), I'd go to one blog I know and click on a random link there and see where it took me, then I'd click on another link from there. I ended up at a blog called 1 Door Away From Heaven-part II. I was reading a few of the entries there which lead me to check out a few things about Aura's. It's pretty interesting and I thought I'd like to try to find out what color my aura might be. I went and did about 5 or 6 tests/quizes to see what the different one's said. One said my aura was magenta, one said it was red, but at least 3 of them said it was blue. So I guess I must be blue, maybe with a wee bit of red and/or magenta.

Here are 2 of the quizes that I took.


And...

I took the "The Aura Color Personality" quiz on gURL.com
		My aura is... blue Are you blue? No worries--having a blue aura does not condemn one to a life of sorrow. But those with blue auras are some of the most emotional people on the planet. Blues are quite sensitive to other people's feelings... Read more... What color is your aura?

This is what Pamela Oslie say's on her site, http://auracolors.com/index.html, about Aura's.

Blues are some of the most loving, nurturing and supportive personalities of the Life Colors. They live from their heart and emotions. Their purpose for being on the planet is to give love, to teach love and to learn that they are loved. Their priorities are love, relationships, and spirituality.

Blues are traditionally teachers, counselors, and nurses---basically the loving, nurturers and caretakers on the planet. Blues are constantly helping others. They want to make sure that everyone feels loved and accepted. People are always turning to Blues for comfort and counsel because Blues will always be there for them. They consistently provide a shoulder for others to cry on.

Blues are the most emotional personalities in the aura spectrum. They can cry at the drop of a hat. Blues cry when they are happy, hurt, angry, sad, or for no apparent reason at all. Even watching a sentimental commercial on television can bring on tears.


Okay, I'll take that. And yes...I do cry watching sentimental commercials. It's a rare occassion if I can watch a re-run of Little House on the Prarie without crying. I've just always been that way. Yes, I know it's just a tv show, but it's like I actually feel whatever it is I'm watching. Although, I do believe there is a red overlay to my blue...

People are not born with a Red Overlay. A Red Overlay is usually added to the outer bands of the aura early on in life because the person felt a need for protection. While a Red Overlay can offer protection, it also can become a terrible burden to bear.
The two most common indications that a person is carrying a Red Overlay are either feelings of intense anger and rage, or continuous struggle and self-sabotage. If these people don't eventually remove the Red Overlay from their aura, their protective shield will eventually become their prison.
People usually add a Red Overlay to their aura for one or more of the following reasons:
They have had a life-threatening situation at birth or at a young age, which caused them to perceive that they may die, or that the world was not a safe place. Examples of life-threatening situations can include birth complications, severe illness, choking, drowning or suffocating. Many people do not remember these incidents, and so the source of their anger or struggle remains a mystery to them. They frequently have feelings of dread or of impending disaster for reasons unknown to them.
People may also add a Red Overlay if they have been physically, emotionally or mentally abandoned or rejected. Red Overlays frequently appear in people who were unwanted children, adopted or separated from a parent at a young age. This can also apply to children who felt emotionally abandoned by a parent, even when the parent appeared to be physically present in the home.
The most obvious and traceable causes for Red in the aura are those cases in which people have been physically, emotionally or mentally abused. Children who have been sexually abused, physically beaten, or raised by alcoholic or verbally abusive parents usually feel that the world is an unsafe and undependable place and that protection is necessary for survival.

Oh and I believe I may be living with an Abstract Tan...

The bright and curious Abstract Tans are unique characters in the mental family. They are the most childlike of all the Tans. Abstract Tans are open, friendly and outgoing. They have incredibly optimistic personalities. Though they frequently have high energy, it is also usually scattered. They tend to go in many directions at once.

All the other Tan personalities process information in a very logical and sequential manner. They process every step in a linear fashion, from one to ten. While Abstract Tans see all the details and steps which need to be handled, they do not proceed in an orderly fashion.

Abstract Tans have random thought processes. Rather than proceeding step by step, they attempt to work on all of the steps simultaneously. They do not sense that any one step is a priority — the first step is just another piece in the project, as is the last one. These sensitive individuals often appear to be scatterbrained to others.

Abstract Tans are consistently misplacing or losing their possessions and they usually can't remember where they put things last. Their lives seem to be in a constant state of confusion and disorder. Abstract Tans energy is so unfocused that people around them can become agitated trying to pin them down.

Abstract Tans have energy similar to that of fireflies or hummingbirds. Their rapidly vibrating wings move a hundred times a second as they constantly change course in mid-air.

Hm, I wonder if Blue and Tan is a good combination of aura's? I should probably make him go take one of those little tests to find out for sure what he is. Rylie? Oh goodness...I think she may be a yellow right now...

Yellows are the most fun-loving, free-spirited, energetic, and childlike personalities in the aura spectrum. Yellows are wonderful, sensitive, optimistic beings, whose life purpose is to bring joy to people, to have fun, and to help heal the planet.
Yellows can either be very shy and sensitive, or they can be the life of the party. These playful characters have a great sense of humor. They love to laugh and to make others laugh. Yellows believe life is to be enjoyed. They like to live life freely and spontaneously. With a perpetual smile on their face, they remind people to not take themselves or their problems too seriously.
Yellows would prefer not to work at all, unless their work was fun, playful, or creative. They love nature, and often have concerns for the survival of wildlife and the environment. Dogs are very drawn to Yellows and often become their best friends.

I did get my macaroons made and one successful batch of fudge. One batch was an experiment in flavors and did not turn out well at all. It was a stupid mistake and I really should have known better. I was trying to add maraschino cherries to a vanilla walnut fudge. However, I forgot to get the excess liquid out of the cherries first which, of course, turned the batch of fudge into a kind of sugary goo. Oh well, live and learn.

Have a really terrific day!
Jill Marie