Cinderella Kitchen Cleaning Ball

We are so glad that all of our local Cinderellas hurried to the church in their enchanted pumpkins before the clock struck seven!  Your cleaning gowns were beautiful.  Rowena our wonderful fairy godmother showed all the queens to be, her magic tips and tricks to cleaning effortlessly.  Everyone's kitchen will be sparkling in no time, and of course all the beauties met a handsome refreshment or two.  Learning how to make dazzling organic cleaning products, and how to enchant our castles with cleanliness was never so much fun.  

And thank you to everyone for not bringing any glass slippers, mice or imposter fairy godmothers, it really made the evening go much smoother.

Here is a short update about what we learned.  

Liz Bohon, The Spiritual Importance of a Clean Home

* Our homes are compared to the temple in sacredness, shouldn't they be kept as clean?

* Benefits of a clean home include: less stress, easier to keep the Sabbath Day holy (everything is already clean and ready!), more peace

Rowena Ard, The Nuts and Bolts of Clean Living

* Resource: flylady.net

* A few acronyms to remember: FLY (Finally Loving Yourself), and CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome).

* It is easier to keep a home clean when it is tidy and organized.

* Clutter decreases energy and increases stress.

* You cannot organize clutter--you must get rid of it! Some of what we keep someone else would appreciate finding (at the Bishops' Storehouse or Goodwill). Ask yourself: will someone else enjoy this more than I and my family do?

* Starting Steps:

   - De-clutter a room/dresser/pile at a time. Set a timer for 15 minutes and stop cleaning when the timer goes off. This helps to keep from getting overwhelmed.

   - Clean in sprints during commercials of your favorite TV show.

   - Organize your week and make a plan. This helps to avoid guilt; no thinking, "Gee, I really should vacuum today," instead, you can relax knowing that Thursday is vacuum day!

Here are some pictures of the Cinderellas working hard.  

Everyone was moving so fast it was like a magical blur......

Scrubbing on our hands and knees. The dedication to dirt never ends

Just making sure that the ovens sparkle as much as our tiaras 

A shining sink could never out-dazzel our happy smiles

Young princes also learn how to work in our castles.

Our wonderful fairy Godmother herself.  She teaches by example. 

A clean fridge full of food makes all Prince Charmings very happy

Here are the recipes for organic homemade cleaners that you can make at home.  

WINDOW CLEANER

1/4-1/2 teaspoon liquid detergent

3 tablespoons vinegar

2 cups water

Spray bottle

Put all the ingredients into a spray bottle, shake it up a bit, and use as you would a commercial brand. The soap in this recipe is important. It cuts the wax residue from the commercial brands you might have used in the past.

OVEN CLEANER
1 cup or more baking soda
Water
A squirt or two of liquid detergent
Sprinkle water generously over the bottom of the oven, then cover the grime with enough baking soda that the surface is totally white. Sprinkle some more water over the top. Let the mixture set overnight. You can easily wipe up the grease the next morning because the grime will have loosened. When you have cleaned up the worst of the mess, dab a bit of liquid detergent or soap on a sponge, and wash the remaining residue from the oven. If this recipe doesn’t work for you it is probably because you didn’t use enough baking soda and/or water.

ALL-PURPOSE SPRAY CLEANER
1/2 teaspoon washing soda
A dab of liquid soap
2 cups hot tap water
Combine the ingredients in a spray bottle and shake until the washing soda has dissolved. Apply and wipe off with a sponge or rag.

FURNITURE POLISH
1/2 teaspoon oil, such as olive (or jojoba, a liquid wax)
1/4 cup vinegar or fresh lemon juice
Mix the ingredients in a glass jar. Dab a soft rag into the solution and wipe onto wood surfaces. Cover the glass jar and store indefinitely.

VINEGAR DEODORIZER
Keep a clean spray bottle filled with straight 5 percent vinegar in your kitchen near your cutting board and in your bathroom and use them for cleaning. I often spray the vinegar on our cutting board before going to bed at night, and don’t even rinse but let it set overnight. The smell of vinegar dissipates within a few hours. Straight vinegar is also great for cleaning the toilet rim. Just spray it on and wipe off.

MOLD KILLERS:

2 teaspoons tea tree oil
2 cups water
Combine in a spray bottle, shake to blend, and spray on problem areas. Do not rinse. Makes two cups.


Vinegar Spray
Straight vinegar reportedly kills 82 percent of mold. Pour some white distilled vinegar straight into a spray bottle, spray on the moldy area, and let set without rinsing if you can put up with the smell. It will dissipate in a few hours.

Emergency Preparedness Workshop

Emergency Preparedness Workshop

Thanks to everyone who came and helped!
This event was a wonderful opportunity for the members of 5th and 3rd wards to become better prepared in case of a disaster.  We had between 250 and 300 people attend with 280 Seventy two hour kits made.
Our activity was even featured on the local news program KOMO  4 and everyone who was interviewed did a great job.  We were so proud of all of you.  

We are including here some photos of the event as well as a few check lists.  If you are interested in receiving more information simply e-mail thirdwardrs@gmail.com and request it. We will send it right to you.

Documents to

have or keep copies of in a Disaster kit.  

Keep them water proof.

Put in a Gallon ziploc bag in your 72 hour kit

Consider keeping copies at a relatives house and in safe deposit boxes

birth certificates
□ passports
□ social security cards
□ copies of your credit cards front and back
□ homeowners insurance policy
□ auto insurance policy
□ life insurance policy
□ bank statements
□ retirement statements
□ *internet passwords (banking, personal, work etc)
□ immunization records
□ utility statements
□ work/tax documents that would be difficult to replace
□ CASH – keep a variety of small bills on hand

Car Kit

 

In case you need to leave in a hurry, (or get stuck in your car) a main focus on being prepared for “evacuation” is to have a well stocked car.

□ Water (a case of bottles would be excellent)

□ 72 hour kit food, high calorie meal bars, or other snacks

□ Cash ($20-30 in small bills and include some change)

□ Diapers/Wipes if you have kids

□ Emergency blankets/hand warmers (or an old spare comforter)

□ Jumper cables

□ Car shovel/pick

□ Pocket knife

□ First aid kit

□ Radio

□ Package of batteries (for flashlight and radio)

□ Toilet paper roll

□ Spare clothes for small children

□ Coffee can heater

Grab List

The last thing you want to be thinking about in an emergency where you might not come back to “home” as you know it are the important keepsakes. Compile a list of items you would want to grab if you had the room and time.

□ Photos

□ Journals

□ As this list is personal, keep compiling as you think of things

Under Bed

72-Second Disaster Kit 

Keep items in a Bag/backpack (this will prevent glass and other debris from getting in your shoes)

-Sturdy Shoes

-Pair of Socks

-Emergency contact list

-Whistle (to attract the attention of emergency personnel)

-Dust mask (Useful in fires -and earthquakes)

-Work gloves (To protect your hands when moving glass or debris)

-Several bottles of water

-Flashlight (Don’t use if you smell gas)

-Light stick on a lanyard

-Pry bar

-Portable radio with spare batteries

On Bedside Night Stand Keep:

Extra car keys

Cell phone and charger

Glasses

Wallet

Example of another 72 hour kit menu

This kit has items that need to be heated.

(2)Tang (1/4 cup each)

(2)Instant oatmeal

(2)Granola bars

(2)Cocoa mix (1/4 cup each)

(1)single serving stew or pasta with pop top lid

(10 sticks)gum

(9 pieces) jolly rancher candy

(1) beanie weenies with "pop top" lid

(3).5 oz fruit roll-ups

(2) single serving lipton noodles

(1) 1 oz package raisins

(2)1 oz package beef jerky

(3) plastic spoons

matches

wing stove

fuel pellets

What can you heat with?

Wing Stove $8 (approx)

http://www.shelfreliance.com/wing-stove-w-fuel-tablet.html

The wing stove is one of the lightest and most compact fuel tablet holders on the market. This lightweight stove can fit into the palm of a hand, yet it can hold up to a gallon size pot. The fold out wings improve heat output by directing the flame upward.  Now includes six fuel tablets

* Lightweight and extremely compact 
* Can hold up to a gallon size pot 
* Fold out wings improve heat output 
* Includes six fuel tablets

One of the lightest, most compact stoves on the market.

* Tablets can be easily lighted with ordinary wooden matches, and can be extinguished and saved for reuse

Or....

Free Version

  "POP CAN STOVE"

2 Tbsp of denatured alcohol which can be found in hardware/paint stores.  (rubbing alcohol does not work great (trust me I tried it)  and you can boil water or heat canned food.

Google it or Go to the following website to learn how to make a pop can stove. 

http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to-make-soda-can-stove-189957/

Party: The Relief Society Birthday

"Relief Society. . . . gives [women] opportunity for growth and development. It gives them status as queens in their own households. It gives them place and position, where they grow as they exercise their talents. It gives them pride and direction in family life. It gives them added appreciation for good, eternal companions and children.

"What a glorious organization Relief Society is. There is nothing to compare with it in all the world."

-Gordon B. Hinckley

Thanks to all who came to celebrate 169 years of this wonderful organization!! We are especially grateful for the organization of Relief Society and focused on the gifts that we've received from Relief Society.

 Past Relief Society generations have given us the gift of faith and great examples of following the prophets; supporting progressive causes for women; and the gift of frugality and craftiness.

To learn about the early roots of the organization, we played a wonderful game of Jeopardy, LDS style (on-your-honor points!)

  As a tribute to the "gifts" Relief Society has given us, we practiced unique and thrifty wrapping and then exchanged our gifts with other sisters.

Thrifty wrapping ideas:

Thank you to all who came to celebrate the birth of this wonderful organization!