Mommin' It Up!

July 3, 2013July 3, 2013

Waste disposal that’s way more fun than it should be

A few weeks ago, my sink clogged. Fortunately, my dad, jack of all trades, was in town and was able to plunge the clog out for me. But then a couple of days later, it clogged again. This time Bobby took care of it. That fix lasted three weeks or so, but then it clogged AGAIN. Once again my dad was in town and came over and fixed it for me. And, he showed me how use a plunger to clear the clog myself.

This time the fix only lasted about two hours.

(At this point of the story I should probably also mention that every time the sink clogged, it was after I used the garbage disposal. But my dad thought there was just something in the pipe that shouldn’t be there that eventually we were going to have to snake out.)

I took a plunger to the sink. I have no idea why I thought this would end well.

I plunged one side of the sink and watched triumphantly as the water started to drain. I did a little victory dance. I FIXED THE SINK! I can’t do ANYTHING, and I fixed it! Just like my dad told me!

This is the point of the story when I should mention that my victory dance was interrupted by the sound of rushing, gushing water. Water that soon began pouring out from underneath my sink and onto the kitchen floor. EMERGENCY!

Long story short, I had a big mess, and a broken garbage disposal. And then a lot of trash because everything under my sink was ruined. It was one of the best! days! ever!

Now I don’t know about you, but I am way too lazy to live without a waste disposer in my sink. What? Pour Joshua’s half-eaten breakfast cereal in the trash can instead of down the drain? NO WAY!! I can’t handle that! I would have to get the milk drained out of the bowl first, howmmisupposedtadodat? Right?

Fortunately, I had just met a rep for InSinkErator brand at the Mom 2.0 Summit (I am telling you, all roads lead to the Mom 2.0 Summit! Fer realz!) So I sent a desperate email…”Hey, you know how we were talking about working together? My garbage disposal just broke! It’s your LUCKY DAY!” (Um, it went something like that.)

Really, it was my lucky day, because I am now the proud, nay, jubilant owner of this:

This bad boy is the InSinkErator Evolution Excel Food Waste Disposer (of DREAMS!!)

OMG BFFs! I realize that it is sad that I am in the season of life where I get excited about small appliances but I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS THING! It totally rules my world. Because my world is full of housework and dirty diapers and OH SO MUCH LOUD LOUD NOISE but this sleek, shiny machine takes my leftover crap and pulverizes the heck out of it and barely makes a sound. InSinkErator’s SoundSeal Plus™ makes this baby 60% quieter. It’s CRAZY quiet. The first time I turned it on? I didn’t think it was working. Because I couldn’t hear it at first over the sound of the running faucet! It’s quieter than running water. Seriously. Let me show you.

If you have an Evolution Excel waste disposer, you no longer have to worry about waking the baby when you’re cleaning the sink, HOLLA! I know that can be an issue when you have the kitchen and bedrooms on the same floor of the house. And there is nothing, NOTHING more sacred than nap time, canigetanamen??

And beyond how quiet it is, the other thing I love about it is the MultiGrind Plus™ feature which means, and I quote, “You can stop worrying about what food you can/cannot put in your disposer.” I can stop WORRYING? You mean that’s one less thing I have to think about? One less thing for me to screw up and cause domestic distress?

Isn't it lovely? — You can put a whole lot of mess down this rabbit hole.

Halle-flippin’-lujah, I’ll take it! This baby has 1.0 horsepower and you can put it to the test! Chicken bones, fruit rinds, coffee grounds – the Evolution Excel virtually liquefies all your food waste, people. Yesssss it does. (Quietly!) The Evolution Excel has definitely made my kitchen clean-up routine easier and faster. I couldn’t be any more pleased with its performance!

There’s one more thing that really impresses me InSinkErator Evolution Excel. It’s got a 7-year warranty. SEVEN YEARS. And they will come to your house and fix it for you. Parts and labor included! (Our old disposer, the one that broke? It was the higher-end one at the department store, a name brand you have all heard of, we had it for less than seven years, and we were out of luck when it broke.)

Did anyone else just swoon? That’s a way better warranty than you get on most new cars!

The bottom line on this product? After having it in our home and putting it to the test for several weeks, Bobby and I are thrilled with it. It’s large capacity, quiet but powerful grinding, and efficiency and versatility make it the perfect food waste disposer for our family. I know if you give InSinkErator brand a try, you will not be disappointed!

What qualities do you look for in a food waste disposer?

July 2, 2013July 2, 2013

Words that should be eradicated from the English language.

I am getting grumpy in my old age, and one of the things that drives me insane is the stupid words/phrases that we hear all. the. time. on Facebook, Twitter, whatever.

I have decided to compile a list to make it convenient for all of you to NEVER USE THEM AGAIN.

Now, I’m not throwing stones – I’m guilty myself. I’m sure I’ve committed more than one of these atrocities in the past 24 hours. But, with dedication and perseverance, we can change.

Without further ado, I bring you…

WORDS THAT SHOULD BE ERADICATED FROM THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

1. YOLO. I think that ridiculous acronym (which stands for you only live once, for those of you lucky enough to avoid that phrase until this point) is from a song, but I don’t really know. And before you tell me, I don’t WANT to know what song it is. Because it would probably get stuck in my head and then I’d have to end it all and it might be hard for my kids to understand why I killed myself over a song (but then they’d listen to it and be like, “oh, now I get it.”). ANYWAY. YOLO is a justification for doing stupid shit you know you shouldn’t be doing – and a poor justification at that. Also? I consider it to be prudent never to use words I’ve seen airbrushed onto men’s tank tops.

Now that’s a life policy I encourage you to adopt.

2. Mind.Blown. Really? Your mind is blown? That would explain why you chose to use a dumb phrase like that.

3. Periods.After.Every.Word. Now, I warned you that I was a perpetrator of some of this annoying shark, and what do you know, I used this one at the beginning of this post! But I annoyed myself when I did it.

4. That moment… I don’t know where that phrase came from or what started it – and, let’s be clear, I do not want to know – but that moment when I read “that moment…” on someone’s facebook status is when I want to punch my iPhone in the throat.

5. It is what it is. Really? WTF does that even mean? Actually, I’ll tell you what it means – nothing. It means nothing. It is not helpful advice, and it does not make me feel better – because even if it is what it is, “it” can still suck.

6. Foodie. One question – could you BE any more pretentious? I didn’t think so.

7. Selfie. This is actually the word that inspired this whole post. Selfie. An obnoxious word for an even more obnoxious activity. The only thing that would be better than getting rid of that word is to never have to see one ever again. What genius at Apple thought to him/herself, “Let’s see.. how can we make Americans even more self-absorbed than they already are? How could we make them MORE egocentric? Wait, I know – we’ll take something that’s supposed to focus outward – a freaking camera lens – and make it so they can point it at themselves! That way we can totally reinforce the idea that they ARE actually the center of the universe! Yay, narcissism!” Cue millions of dollars spent and thousands of hours wasted trying to Instagram the exact right angle of your face. (Sorry Jenny. xoxo. But seriously.)

Ugh, selfies. I am spent.

But I’m sure I’m missing some – what drives you crazy???

July 2, 2013July 2, 2013

Laundry Safety: Taking the KEY Pledge

I’m sitting in my living room and it’s finally quiet…two out of my three children are in bed and the one who’s still up isn’t making much noise. I sit and listen carefully to the familiar sounds of a household that is winding down: the hum of the baby monitor, the swish of the dishwasher, and, one floor below in our basement, the rhythmic hum of our laundry machines. I’ve got a large load of the kids’ clothes in, and I can hear snaps and zippers gently clink against the sides of the dryer as they spin round and round, so that by the time this day ends, our clothes will be ready to start the next one with us.

Laundry. It is the never-ending task in my home; one that is ready to be started again as soon as all the clothes from the last round are finally put away. (And let’s face it, often before they are put away.) It’s something I manage to spend a lot of time on yet not put enough thought into, but as I told you last week, that’s about to change. Emily and I are thrilled to be working with the American Cleaning Institute to spread the word about their KEY Pledge Laundry Safety Campaign – and we want to tell you how you can put some thought into laundry safety at your house and how you can help educate others, too.

Why are we talking laundry safety all of a sudden? Well, as you’ve probably noticed as you’ve cruised down the laundry supplies aisle at the store, laundry products have changed significantly within the past year or so – most notably because of the advent of single-load liquid laundry packets. These powerful little packets have made doing laundry so much more convenient and consumers – especially busy parents – have really embraced them. However, in 2012, the American Association of Poison Control Centers received reports of 6,229 exposures to highly concentrated packets of laundry detergent by children age five and younger. These are fabulous laundry products, and we love what they do for our laundry routine, but they need to be treated and stored just like any other household product – up, away, out of sight and reach of children.

laundry collage 2 — My laundry “helpers”. This is why their chore is loading and unloading the dish washer!

I’m excited about working with the ACI on the KEY Pledge campaign because it means I get to spread the word about how to safely use and handle single-load liquid laundry packets. Awareness and education are KEY to safety! KEY is an acronym that helps us remember how to use these laundry products safely:

Keep single-load liquid laundry packets out of the reach of children
Educate your family and friends about the safe use and storage of these new laundry products
You sere a key role in laundry safety

Now you can get involved and take action yourselves by taking the KEY Pledge at KeyPledge.com and by following the ACI’s simple steps to being the KEY to safe laundry room and routine. By taking the pledge you will be automatically entered into a sweepstakes to win a $2,500 gift card to help makeover your laundry room, too! Doesn’t that sound like some good clean fun?

The ACI has made it fun and easy for you to take the KEY pledge, but we hope you also take to heart how very important it is to keep your laundry products out of the kids’ reach. It’s so important that we’ll be talking about this issue more in the months ahead – this is something we need to be reminded about often!

My dryer just buzzed – time for me to go retrieve that laundry while it’s still warm and wrinkle-free. Maybe I’ll actually get it put away BEFORE I need the laundry basket again this time!