Ten Easy Steps to a Clean Fridge

Do you feel like your fridge is a mess?  Here are ten easy steps to get your fridge clean.  Read below and get your refrigerator clean for the fall and winter.

What You Need

A sponge
Dish soap
Dish towels
Glass cleaner and a paper towel or two
Plenty of counter space for organizing food
A trash can
An old toothbrush (optional)
If you have a stainless steel refrigerator:
Stainless steel cleaner, vinegar, or oil and a soft cloth
If you have an enameled steel refrigerator:
A multipurpose cleaner

Instructions

1 (optional) Unplug the fridge. If the interior needs serious scouring, you can do this to save some energy while you're cleaning. I left mine plugged in because all the shelves were removable, the rest of the interior wasn't that dirty, and I closed the doors in between steps. If you do decide to unplug your fridge, though, rest assured that this whole process won't take long enough to harm any of your foods.
2 Take everything out of the doors and start using up that free counter space I mentioned. You could take everything out at once, but I found it was easier to do this in stages.
3 Get rid of expired products and consolidate doubles. I really didn't need two jars of sambal oelek or that quarter bottle of cooking wine that had been in the fridge for two months. This is also a good time to group like with like. I had several beers hiding out in the door, and the rest were on the other shelves, so this was when I put them all together on the counter.
4 Repeat steps 2 and 3 with the rest of the fridge. Then repeat them with the freezer.
5 Remove all shelves and drawers.
6 Wash them with warm soapy water. I'm fortunate enough to live in a place with a large double sink and a retractable hose, but if you aren't so lucky, then there's no shame in dragging those bins and shelves to the bathtub. Even in my giant sink the produce drawers got pretty unwieldy.
Dry them with dish towels and set them aside. At this point, I also chose to use some Windex on the glass shelves to get them extra clean and streak-free.
7 Wipe down all the fridge's interior spaces with a damp sponge or towel. For those of you looking for a really deep clean, if there are any shelf seams or rubber seals with buried bits of grime, an old toothbrush will get the job done. Put the shelves and drawers back in and admire the transformation.
8 Replace all your food, wiping down any sticky jars before putting them in your newly clean fridge. I found it helpful to keep all my items grouped by use, which is a task I completed as part of step 3. If you need help organizing the fridge, check out these helpful tips. Stick in a new box of baking soda, and if you unplugged the fridge in step one, don't forget to plug it back in.
9 You're almost done! Now that you've cleaned the inside, be sure not to neglect the exterior of the fridge. If you use magnets, tidy up the items they're holding and discard any outdated coupons, etc. Then give the exterior a quick wipe down with your product of choice. If you have a stainless steel fridge, use a stainless steel cleaner and wipe with the grain of the steel. Alternatively, you could use vinegar and a microfiber cloth or olive oil. For enameled steel fridges, a multipurpose cleaner will do the trick.
10 Admire your clean, happy fridge. 

For more information see Apartment Therapy.

Army Rangers Perform Jump

Jumping out of a plane is terrifying for most people.  However, jumping out of a plane into a lake is just another day of work for the Army Rangers.  The army rangers have been training for eight weeks for this exercise.  On Friday, they jumped from an airplane more than a quarter of a mile into Lake Lanier.

A jump from more than a quarter of a mile above Lake Lanier may not be a normal person’s ideal Friday morning.

But for a U.S. Army Ranger, it is just another day at the office.

On Friday morning, about 90 Rangers parachuted from 1,500 feet above the waters of Lake Lanier during a water jump training exercise.

“One of our hazardous types of landings that we prepare for during our jump preparations is landing in water,” said Lt. Col. Bob O’Brien. “If guys ever land in water, they have some familiarity and training of having done it before.”

Soldiers from the 5th Ranger Training Battalion, based out of Camp Frank D. Merrill in Dahlonega, piled into two UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters, which traversed the airspace over the lake, dropping off its human cargo six at a time.

“It started out just like a typical jump,” O’Brien said. “You get a slight falling sensation and then you can feel the tug of your parachute coming in. But it’s very different coming down not seeing solid ground — just seeing the lake beneath you.”

But, O’Brien said, about eight weeks of preparation went into Friday’s exercise, including coordinating with local authorities to help with the jump.

“One of the awesome things about today is we have been able to incorporate a lot of the local authorities,” he said Friday. “They’re helping out, so it’s a good training exercise for us from a coordination standpoint, too, because this is the type of stuff we have to do overseas.”

Capt. Thomas Shandy, who was gearing up for the jump Friday morning, said he had “no reservations at all” about jumping. In fact, he was “just happy to do it” after the many weeks of training.

“After practicing, what we’re hoping is it becomes automatic at this point,” Shandy said. “I think at this point, we’re all just ready to jump.”

And while the Rangers were taking the plunge from the helicopters, family and friends lined the beaches of War Hill Park to witness the exercise.

Kristin Snowden, wife of Capt. Joseph Snowden, was one of those spectators.

“I think it’s really awesome to be here to witness because (Joseph) loves doing this so much,” she
said. “He’s always loved being a paratrooper, so to get people out here to witness what they do is a pretty cool thing.”

Snowden, equipped with a camera, said she had no worries about her husband’s jump.
“He’s a jump master, so he’s done this so many times,” she said. “I have faith that he knows what he’s doing.”

Actually, she said, she would like to be in the air with him.

“I would totally jump,” Snowden said. “We’re adrenaline people, so I would love to do it. If I ever get the chance, I will.”

Authorities from Dawson, Hall and Forsyth counties helped with the exercise, as well as the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Georgia Air National Guard.

“It’s a pretty big operation,” said O’Brien, who said the jump was worth all the preparation and coordination.

“It’s been a very long process — many weeks in the making,” he said. “It was a great landing. The water is awesome.

For more information go to The Gainesville Times.

Apps for Back to School

Back to school can be stressful.  These apps are made to help you transition back to school, and they can also help your kids with studying.  They cover everything from Math to English, and they are designed for all levels.

My First Day of School

Is your little one nervous about the first day of school? This interactive book for your iPhone may help. The iStoryTime Kids Book — My First Day of School features the story about a boy, Charlie, who is getting ready for his first day at school. Though he is excited, Charlie is also a little scared, but he ends up really loving school. This interactive book offers three narration options, automatic or manual page turn mode, onscreen text and more.
Price: 99 cents

iStudiez Pro

Get school started off right with iStudiez Pro. This iPhone app allows parents, students and teachers to keep track of agendas, deadlines, grades, homework, tests and more with its scheduling tools and notification system. Whether your children are in elementary school, high school or college, this award-winning app can keep them organized and on target.
Price: 99 cents

iHomework

Another very helpful app for students, iHomework allows you to keep track of homework assignments, projects, reading lists, schedule, teacher contact information and more. This school organizing app is available for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, as well as for Mac.
Price: 99 cents

FlashCards++

You can find a number of flashcard apps to help with studies, but FlashCards++ is one of our favorites. With this app, you can make flashcards on your phone, create image flashcards with your iPhone camera, or download text and images from Flashcard Exchange, Dropbox or Quizlet. You can also import cards from Excel and even listen to vocabulary flashcards with its text-to-speech functionality. Stop carrying around a stack of paper flashcards and access them on your iPhone or iPad instead.
Price: $3.99

Grammar Guide

If your kids' grammar and spelling skills have dropped off this summer, the Grammar Guide app is the perfect solution for back-to-school time. This app is a quick reference guide that will help improve any student's writing with topics on grammar, punctuation, capitalization, misspelled words and more.



For more information please see sheknows.com

Is your family ready for school to start?

Getting organized and being prepared is the best way to make your transition into starting school easy.  School starts next week in Dawsonville so getting back to school ready is priority.  Here are some great tips to make sure your family will be ready when that first alarm clock rings.

Ease the family into a school year schedule.

The first day of school is no time for a drastic adjustment of household sleep schedules. Instead, ease children back into a school year routine gradually. During the last two weeks of summer, re-introduce a school year bedtime. Begin waking late sleepers earlier and earlier, closer to the hour they'll need to rise when school begins.

Don't neglect mealtimes! Younger children, in particular, need to adapt to new meal routines before the school day demands it of them. Plan meals and snacks to accustom little ones to rituals of the school day before the school year begins.

Create Calendar Central

Each school year floats on a sea of schedules. School functions. Lunch menus. Scout meetings and music lessons. What do you do when you're drowning in paper?

Nothing calms school year chaos like Calendar Central: a centralized site for all family calendars and schedules. You'll need a family event calendar to track after-school activities, school programs and volunteer work. Add specialized calendars and schedules, and you have it: a one-stop shop for family time management.

Form is less important than function. A paper calendar with large squares lets you enter information easily. Pre-printed white board calendars are easy to revise when necessary. Color-coding entries by family member helps keep busy lives straight.

 

Paper planner fans dedicate a planner section to serve as Calendar Central, while tech-savvy cybergrrrlz store the info in a smart phone or tablet and sync with multiple computers. Choose a calendar format that works for your family.

Post the family event calendar in a public place near the telephone. Use magnets to attach the calendar to the refrigerator, or tack it to a bulletin board.

Add other calendars to Calendar Central: school lunch menus, class assignment sheets, sports practice schedules. When the room mother calls for field trip volunteers, you'll know at a glance whether you're free to join the group on the bus that day.

Plan before you shop

August is the second-biggest sales month for clothing retailers. Back to school clothing sales begin as early as July! Are you prepared to run the school clothes gauntlet?

An informed shopper is a savvy shopper, so prepare before you shop. Take an afternoon and assess each child's clothing needs. Empty drawers and closets of outgrown or worn-out clothing, and either store or donate the discards.

Working with your child, clean and organize clothing storage before new garments are added--and cut down on school morning calls of "Mom! I don't have any clean . . . . "

Develop a wardrobe needs list for each child. Check for possible hand-me-downs from older siblings as you make your list. If you discuss the needs list and the family budget with your children before you shop, you'll avoid in-the-store tantrums.

Similarly, ask the school for classroom supply lists before shopping for school supplies. Forewarned is forearmed ... and helps protect the family budget.

Do shop early! With back-to-school sales beginning in mid-July, tardy shoppers have a tough time locating needed supplies among September's Halloween costumes and Christmas decorations.

Gather your papers

School entry may require documentation from immunization records to report cards from the previous school year. Athletes need proof of medical examination. A little preparation can prevent frantic last-minute searches for a birth certificate or registration confirmation.
Call your child's school or check the school district Web site beforehand to find out what paperwork will be required--then find it! You won't be sorry come registration day.

Take aim on morning madness

How are school mornings in your home? Crazed and chaotic, or calm and cheerful? Plan ahead to send your schoolchildren--and yourself!--out the door in a happy frame of mind.

Each evening, think ahead to the following morning; where can you lighten the load? Set the breakfast table as you clear the dinner dishes, and make sure breakfast foods are easy to reach. Lay out children's clothing the night before. Scan backpacks or launch pad spaces for missing homework, projects or library books. Make sure musical instruments or sports bags are packed and ready to go.

Do "bathroom wars" break out daily among the small fry? Multi-child households may need a bathroom schedule so that everyone gets equal time before the mirror.
What do you do about books and papers, lunch money and permission slips? 

Make a practice run

How will children get to school? The first day of school is no time to find out it takes ten minutes--not five--to walk to the nearest bus stop!

Before school begins, make a practice run to get children to the school on time. If they'll walk, help them learn the route they'll take and note the needed time. Car-pooling? Make sure the dry run accounts for early-morning traffic! Bus riders will need to be familiar with the location of the bus stop; print and post the bus schedule to prevent a missed bus.

Spiff up household systems

A new school year quickens the tempo of family life. Sports activities, music lessons, church programs and volunteer commitments tap parental time and put new mileage on the mini-van. Get organized! Spiff up your household systems to meet autumn's faster pace:

 

Clean house ... fast! Take a stab at speed cleaning and whip through household chores in record time.

Cut time in the kitchen: create a menu plan and never again wonder "What's for dinner?"

Streamline dinner preparations. Try a session of freezer cooking to stock the freezer with prepared entrees for stress-free dinner on sports night.

Conquer the paper pile-up. Set up a basic home filing system to track school paperwork, volunteer activities and household planning.

For more information see Organized Home.