simple solutions: killing fruit flies

spring has sprung. the weather here in the south is already pretty hot and with the warm weather, the bugs have started to invade. i'm originally a california girl and i was always used to black flies all summer long. now that i'm in the south, bugs take on a whole new meaning. there are bugs from the first warm day until the first frost...a. lot. of. bugs.

i can't say that i'm a fan. with my kids running in and out of the house a thousand times a day, they are inevitably going to make it indoors. fruit flies or gnats (as we called them in cali) are literally everywhere. 

here is a simple solution to kill the fruit flies that make it into your house. these ingredients are natural so you don't have to worry about little hands getting into things they shouldn't.

first, make sure the fruit in your house is either kept in the refrigerator or is completely covered. covering your fruit may work to keep fruit flies out of the fruit but they are crafty little devils and will manage to find a way. we keep our bananas in the microwave and try to keep all other fruit in the fridge. that has helped to keep some of the fruit flies away. also, as tempting as it is, avoid leaving the doors or windows open with just a screen in place. fruit flies can go right through a screen and will invade your whole house.

once there are fruit flies in your house, here is the way to attract them and kill them.

pour about 3/4 cup of apple cider vinegar into a bowl. add about one teaspoon of dish soap (i love mrs. meyer's dish soap and method dish soap because they use natural ingredients. they work perfectly for this). avoid using too much dish soap as the bugs will not be as attracted to the smell and it won't work as well. here is the result...only three flies dead in about an hour. 

with just the right amount of dish soap, you will have scores of flies dead in less than an hour. it is amazing. dump out your dirty, bug filled vinegar every day and keep repeating until you are bug free. it works like magic. enjoy a bug free summer!

simple solutions: soggy shoes

snowmageddon has come and gone here in the south. before that, we were having some days of steady, heavy rains and cold temperatures. this winter has been wet and cold. the picture above was one shot from my second story window looking down on my daughter's gymnastics bar and her sneakers which she decided to leave outside (along with a beach towel) during two days of steady rains. lovely. since then, we have had more pairs of water logged shoes than we know what do to with. there isn't possibly enough time to dry them all and the insides always seem to stay damp for days longer than they should.

enter a great simple solution! this trick was told to me by another fabulous mother of five and i am loving it. uncooked white rice naturally absorbs water. 

when you have soggy shoes, place some uncooked white rice into two different socks. i like using socks with longer necks so the rice doesn't spill out.

place the rice filled socks into the soggy shoes and leave overnight (or longer if you have the time). the rice will absorb the water and dry out your shoes in a fraction of the normal dry time. discard the leftover rice (i know this should go without saying but you just never know), throw the socks in the wash and you are ready to go! the sneakers will live to be left out another day.

simple solutions: how to fold a fitted sheet

sometimes, it is the little things that make me happy. knowing how to fold a fitted sheet so it will fit neatly in my drawers and closets is one of those simple pleasures. i know. it makes me sound like a crazy person. still, i'll take it...and my neatly folded sheets.

these pictures are of a fitted crib sheet because it is easier to photograph. the same directions apply for a king sized sheet. beautifully folded sheets are a thing of beauty. enjoy!

simple solutions: quick way to remove beach day sand from your body

i love going to the beach. i am a southern california gal and the beach is just in my blood, i guess. going is fun....but the worst part of a beach trip is the *sand*. anyone else with me? it's awful.

after we have hiked back to the car and are ready to go home we have to start the process of removing the sand. it seems to stick everywhere. 

the easiest solution i have found is.....baby powder. no joke. i simply pat my littles dry and then sprinkle on baby powder and the sand easily wipes away. no more itchy sand of their bodies and even better is no sand in the car! 

sometimes the best solutions are the easiest. give it a try the next time to are beach bound and let me know what you think! enjoy!

simple solutions: smelly towels

 

once upon a time, i used to use a towel one time to dry myself off and then i'd throw it into the laundry pile. crazy, right? now that i have seven people in my household to wash and dry on a daily basis (or at least daily for some of them) i hang up our towels to dry and wash them every few days. i don't know why it happens, but during certain times of the year, the towels i hang up after showers start to smell funky. this is the best solution to that problem...especially for colored towels you can't bleach.

 

 

throw all your colored towels into the washer together. put in the laundry detergent like normal and, if you use fabric softener, add that as well.

 

 

instead of using bleach, put in about 3/4 cup of vinegar into the bleach section of your washer. i know, it says bleach only. i get it. some of you are rule followers. trust me on this one. it's okay to break this rule.

 

run your cycle like you normally would. for this cycle, i will run it on hot but it doesn't matter. here is what is important. put on the extra rinse cycle. if your machine doesn't have this, run the load without the fabric softener and then do and extra rinse with the fabric softener at the end.

remove the towels and dry like normal. no more funky smell. works like a charm.

 

do you have any simple solutions to share? we'd love to hear them!

 

simple solutions: getting out baby poopies

you cannot have a newborn or an infant without a few diaper explosions. with five kids, i've had my fair share. my record was when i had to clean out behind my son's ear and inside his shoe...from the same dirty diaper. it happens. what can i say?

i've tried several things to get that distinctive baby poopie out of clothing. somethings have definitely worked better than others. with my last two babies, i have finally found the perfect solution...dish soap. there is nothing like it. something about the dish soap's grease fighting power cuts through all the yellow slime and brings back the shiny white colors like magic. i still run the clothes through the washer after i use the dish soap. i haven't had one stain that hasn't disappeared.

here's my current favorite dish soap. besides being all natural, it smells fantastic!

any other simple solutions to everyday problems?