We have a winner!

Hey, remember when i had a giveaway?

My friend Sarah Chia won!

i really appreciated all of your ideas on making my life smell less, so i'm going to copy the tips into this post. They are tremendously helpful! The italics are mine.

From QuiteContrary1977:

For your stinking house: Get a jar of cinnamon from a dollar store, and toss a tablespoon in some water. Let it simmer on the stove. All the time. People still asked "What's that smell?" But in a good way!
For your stinky self: Get your own baby wipes! To that stack of wipes,add lemon juice,water and some squirt of your fave perfume. Pull out and wipe neck when you neeed freshening up!

From Nikki:

I've found that baking soda takes the smell out of anything. It amazing! You could sprinkle some in the diaper genie to absorb the smell. Every now and then I sprinkle it all over the carpet in my house and let it sit for a few minutes before I vacuum. I've even heard of people adding it to their laundry :)

From Jes:

Before switching to cloth diapers we had a diaper champ, I used to spray it with bleach water and rinse it out every time I changed the bag. Now with the diaper pail for the cloth diapers I sprinkle baking soda in the bottom, or I will drip some lavender oil on a paper towel and put it in the bottom. but I always, ALWAYS put it outside to air out for a few hours every couple days. that really makes a difference.

From Katie:

--New baby smell--every time you change her diaper, wipe with a diaper wipe under her chin to get the fold gunk off her neck.
--Breastfeeding smell--now is a sour milk smell, or a yeasty smell? If it's sour milk smell, change pads more frequently (and bras)--and after you've pumped or whatever you're doing right now--give your nipples air time so they dry off...if it's yeasty smelling you may have thrush...and you'll need to boil your bras and breastpads (if they're the washable kind)...and possibly take antibiotics. Are you trying to supplement your formula with breastmilk or are you trying to dry up--I've got tips for both of those as well!
--Formula smell...yeah...there's really nothing you can do about that..
--Toddler smell--save the diapers that are too small for Cadence--or donate them to a women's shelter--it's so not worth a huge load of laundry (or the hassle of changing clothes with every poopy diaper)--just switch up to the next size--it kills me when I have to do it too...but it's so worth it! Also, examine his diet--is it different from before he had a little sister or the same--that could say something about why he's pooping so much!
--New baby's smelly clothes--have a "dirty wet clothes" plastic tub--and once a day have your hubby throw it in the laundry (so it doesn't sit too long)--or if you're up for it--throw it in yourself once a day.
--I'm still working on this mildewy smell in my own clothes--I've experimented with tea tree oil and vinegar and combinations of other "natural" things...and I gotta say--laundry soap and add oxyclean really does the trick! For extremely smelly laundry, soak it first in the laundry soap/oxyclean combo, then when that's done wash it a second time...should do the trick. Also, add a second dryer sheet (if you're into those kinds of things--I AM) in the dryer and make sure they are SUPER dry (I always do a second dryer cycle on towels that got too moldy smelling)...
--Stomach flu--I'm glad you're better!
--Postpartum smell--well...I'll leave that alone! :)
--Diaper genie--ADD YOUR OLD DRYER SHEETS to the bottom of the pail--and sprinkle baking soda in it--OR douse it in vanilla and then after it sits for a while, wash it with bleach really good...
--House--enlist family or friends who love you very much to come help you...(i'll help if you want it!)... Borrow or rent a steam vacuum cleaner and get the couch (We own one so you can borrow ours or I can do it for you) and remember it's OK if your house isn't perfect--it's better to take care of your kids, yourself, and your hubby rather than a perfectly clean house! I guarantee you my house has been worse!


From Sarah Chia:

For mildew, my neighbor swears by the Shout/Oxyclean combo bottle they sell. It's a two-sided thing.

I haven't tried it yet, but she's pretty pumped about its results.


From Kristine:

I remember my mom saying something about using vinegar in your dishwasher. Sorry, I don't know.

P.S. Kristine, i think you're supposed to run an empty load with vinegar in your rinse liquid spot. i tried it and it seemed to help! love jessica

P.P.S. Everyone should check out Kristine's other helpful tips. If you go here, she's got awesome ideas for making your life easier.


Mama Belle said:

The only thing I know of is bleach, Febreze, and B&BW candles & air fresheners. Probably all not good for the baby. Not a lot of help, I know.

You know, sometimes air fresheners are the only thing that work, especially when you've got people coming over and don't have time to bleach the diaper genie. Lord knows i believe in them, which is why i'm giving one away!


Thanks everyone for your awesome advice! Miss Sarah, i will be emailing you to get your lovely air freshener out.

Tip on thrifting

i have been wanting an ice cream maker for a long time. Not just any ice cream maker, but the electric type that doesn't require ice or rock salt. i have almost purchased several, but i keep putting it off in the hopes i find one at a thrift store.

My friend Devin and i went to an awesome thrift store near her a few weeks ago, and imagine my delight when i found an ice cream maker! For like $6, plus the store had a 25% off sale. So for just a little over $4, i happily went home with my new old ice cream maker.

After washing it, i went online to find directions for use, because of course there was no manual. i froze the container just like it said, put in the ingredients, and plugged it in. Something seemed wrong. Turns out, there was no mixing paddle. You kinda need that. i hunted and scoured the interwebs for a replacement part, and it is nowhere to be found. i contacted the manufacturer and the part is no longer available. Of course.

i do this all the time. i bought a blender at a garage sale for $1 that had no rubber stopper on the bottom, so it leaked all over. Because it was the best blender i've ever used, i ended up paying $6 online for a small rubber disk.

Last year, i bought a food processor at Target, a display model, "As is". i was excited because it was only $25 instead of $50. i noticed there was no blade, but i figured i'd just buy one on ebay. Nope. None on ebay. i had to order one from the manufacturer, which was $14.99 plus $9.99 shipping. It was missing a food pusher thing that comes in the box, but i didn't order that, because it was $10 more. So for the same amount of money a new one would have cost, i got less food processor goodness.

So anyway, if you buy opened small appliances, make sure all the pieces are in there. It has cost me quite a bit of time and money to learn that lesson! i'm not sure if i'm never going to buy opened appliances again, but i'm not going to get so excited about a great deal that i will forget about functionality.

Baby things to buy second hand

So, my beautiful friend Kacie is preggo with #1. i'm freaking out with excitement for her! This just adds to my ever-growing list of ever-growing pals:)

In her honour, i've decided to write a post about baby stuff. There are millions of lists of what to buy and what to skip of baby stuff, and they all contradict each other, because some babies couldn't live without their swing and others hated it, right? It all depends on the child, i think. David hated his Jonny jump-up, but i'm keeping it, because maybe Baby Turnip will love it.

Anyway, we don't need more posts about what babies need or don't need, but i'm going to make a list of stuff you can buy second hand or what is good to maybe buy new. i wish i had had a similar list when i was pregnant with David. It would have saved me a lot of money!

i'll start with what you should buy new:

• A car seat. You don't want to get a car seat from a garage sale simply because you don't know if it's been in an accident. Most likely, it might be a bit older, too, and unless you can read PDF on your cell phone and look at this extensive car seat recall list, it's not worth buying and getting home and finding out it's been recalled. *Spare tip: buy the stroller that goes with the infant carrier. Usually if you buy the set, it's cheaper than buying them individually, and being able to plop the infant carrier right into the stroller without disturbing baby is very handy and a sanity-saver on horrible days.
  
• Crib mattress. The springs may be worn on a used one, and not as good for your baby's growing back. Or it may be old and not flame-retardant.
  
• Nipples for bottles. The rubber in them breaks down kind of quickly, i guess. i actually threw out David's bottle nipples and will replace them for new baby.
  
• Breast pump. Even for those very frugal ladies that say "all parts of breast pumps are sterilizable and new ones are really expensive", just buy a new one. Find the one you like the best, and make the investment. You need one you'll be really comfortable with (i.e. the one you pick out after reading thousands of reviews) and the warranty on those puppies aren't good for the second owner.
  

Stuff to buy used or borrow:

• Clothes. Trust me, the baby needs a LOT of clothes over its first year. Within the first year, they change sizes 4 times! The clothes are still practically brand new by the time they're outgrown, and very expensive to buy new.
  
• Crib. People only use cribs for a short time, and then they become this huge piece of furniture taking up space and not helping anyone. If you find a crib second hand, make sure there aren't any missing or broken hardware or slats. The slats should be no more than 2 3/8" apart (about the width of a soda can). Corner posts should not be higher than 1/16". There should be no design cutouts in the headboard or footboard. (i found the previous information from here.) Make sure the mechanism that moves the side up and down works easily, and you're golden. Cribs are crazy expensive new, and you may be able to find one that is just what you want for 1/10 the price of new from someone extremely glad to get it off their hands. If you don't like the color, you can also paint it. But i also know that at almost all of the garage sales with kids stuff, there is almost always a crib, so there are lots of options out there for frugal mamas.
• Toys. There are too many toys out there in the universe. Trust me, most of them reside in my son's room. Please don't buy them new. Take them off some harried mommy's hands, clean them well, and let your kid have them. Honestly, more than half the toys David got he had absolutely NO interest in whatsoever. The thing is, when it was the teething ring i got for .10, it hurt me much less to see it ignored than the Baby Einstein rattle i bought new for $9. And those giant toys for babies they lie under and kick with their feet? You can find hundreds of them at Once Upon a Child, all on clearance, some with tags still on them. Same goes for exersaucers, Johnny jump ups, bumbo chairs, and other assorted large baby fun stations. For swings, i'd recommend buying them at a garage sale, since Once upon a Child tends to charge quite a bit more for those than would a regular yard sale.
  
• Changing tables. These are not necessary pieces of furniture. i'm putting this out there, because some moms never use them at all. i borrowed mine from my SIL, and happen to use it all the time, and am glad not to have to bend over onto my bed or on the floor to change my wriggling monkey man. Anyway, if you want a changing table, please consider borrowing from a momma between diapered children or buying used. Once again, it is a piece of furniture you will use for about 2 years of each child's life. It is not a permanent fixture in your house (though it will seem like one to those tired of changing diapers)!
• High chair or feeding station. No matter what you use, whether it be a high chair or a chair booster seat, they are made of plastic and easy to clean for your baby's use. Figure out what sort of system would work the best for your family, go to the store and look at them new, and go to a garage sale and find the exact same thing for 1/3 the price. Really. People were really nice to me and went in on this really expensive high chair for David. And i love it and use it all the time. But i've seen it at like 8 garage sales for $20 since then, and i realize those that gave it to me paid $80 for it, and i feel a little sorry, because the extra $60 is 3 months of diapers, roughly. (When you become a mom, you start thinking of money in terms of how many diapers it buys. Just letting you know.)
• Diaper genie or diaper pail. i've not seen many of these used, but they are cheap when they are. You can find the liners at every store, and as long as the pail is in tact, a little disinfectant, and voila! You're golden. *Spare tip: For those that have hard times figuring out their diaper pail system, i'd recommend letting hubs figure it out. The end of pregnancy or the beginning of motherhood are not a good time to read a bunch of directions on something that seems complicated at first. Let hubs figure it out: he'll feel like he helped, and it'll save you the hassle and tears that can come with reading the weird directions. He'll teach you how to use it, (which is incredibly simple when you're taught) and you'll kiss him and say "Thank you honey!" And it will be a good situation.
• Crib sheets and blankets. Make sure there are no stains, wash them up, and you'll be glad you did. Also, buy quite a few crib sheets. Trust me.
  
• Maternity clothes are also a nice thing to borrow if you can. It sucks to buy a whole wardrobe for about 5 months of your life, so if you've got a previously preggo friend, i'm sure she'd be glad to get that box out of her closet for a while, until/if she needs them again. Plus, used maternity clothes at stores are ugly. Don't ask me why. But most friends have similar tastes in clothes, or similar enough to merit borrowing. Buy yourself a few things you like, but mostly, save your money. You'll need it later, i promise.
  

The great thing about buying baby stuff used is that if there is something you MUST have for baby that is really expensive, you've saved from other places, so it's not so bad to pay a bit more for something special, like this or this or this that i'd have loved for David:) Or this if new baby is a girl.

There are probably things that worked for me that wouldn't for you guys. i'm not saying this is an extensive list, or would work for everyone, but it's what my personal experience has taught me. i also know i am much less squicked out about used stuff than a lot of people, so if the idea of getting a used whatever freaks you out, don't do it. But i hope some of this helps you out a bit.