Monday, Nov. 02, 2009

Take this hour and love it

Too busy with the crowded hour to fear to live or die, it’s Monday Mail.

Time to spare

In the e-mail today, we have this commercial promotion regarding this past weekend’s return of Standard Time, which I despise. This promo includes a top 10 list of things to with the so-called “extra hour” we supposedly acquired just by resetting our clocks.

Those 10 things are: quadruple overtime; read to children; suburban beekeeping; origami; race walking; musical saw; lint collection; clean closet; face your fears; and helium ballooning.

Good morning!

The National Association of Professional Organizers says the average American spends 55 minutes a day looking for things they own but cannot find.

If they can’t find the things they need to do the things they want, it’s a frustrating cycle. ClosetMaid, leader in home storage and organization, wants to free you up to do the things you really want to do with your extra hour and is giving you permission to think that way this weekend. Check out 10 fun and quirky ways to spend that extra hour, provided by ClosetMaid. Don’t forget to turn your clocks back one hour this Sunday and enjoy an extra 60 glorious minutes doing something out of the ordinary.

Visit www.Twitter.com/ExtraHour and our Facebook fan page for additional suggestions and to post what you will do with your extra hour....

Thanks!

Andrea

Dear Andrea:

Lint collecting doesn’t take an hour, cleaning closets takes more than a hour, and facing your fears lasts a lifetime.

I bet one thing a person loses and spends 55 minutes a day trying to find is his mind.

Pumpkin pile

For those still cleaning up after Halloween, we present this public service announcement I got from the local extension service last year and saved. It’s titled “Halloween Tips”:

My kids carved the pumpkin and made a mess. How do I get the stains and pulpy-inside out of my carpet?

Start by scooping up as much as possible. Use a table knife and tablespoon. Make a solution of one tablespoon of liquid dishwashing detergent and two cups of warm water. This solution will remove many food stains on carpets.

Use a clean white cloth and gently sponge the stain with the detergent solution. Then blot with a dry part of the cloth to absorb the stain.

Repeat sponging and blotting until the stain disappears. As a final step, sponge with cold water and blot dry....

Dear Tipsters:

Here’s a tip for next Halloween: Don’t carve the pumpkin on the carpet. Take it outside.

Tim Chitwood, tchitwood@ledger-enquirer.com or 706-571-8508