How I Cleaned My Washing Machine

Let me begin this post by saying that I am under no obligation to endorse the Tide name or brand...I just have a really great experience to share! (And, I want to have the following information put in writing somewhere for future reference!)
Believe it or not, even the appliances we use to cleanse things need their own cleansing now and then. I would have thought that idea was a given but I was laughed at recently by a friend who insisted she'd never heard of actually cleaning a washing machine. Go figure.

So, for quite some time now my washing machine has been super stinky. I always had to make sure and get the clean clothes out of it right away before they began to take on that stinky sock smell.

I've scoured the internet looking for ideas. Several websites mentioned different concoctions of vinegar, lemon juice, bleach and more---and I tried all of them that I found---but none seemed to work. I checked with Heloise but her information wasn't much different from what I found online.

The above-mentioned conversation took place in the presence of a third friend who, at the time, informed me that there was an actual product out there called "washing machine cleaner". She encouraged me to look for it at Walmart.

I had been meaning to look for said product for the last several months but kept forgetting. The other day, I decided to check for it online. That's when I discovered Tide Washing Machine Cleaner.

According to the Tide website, our washers get stinked up with all kinds of nasty things like oils from our skin, body and environmental odors, and filthy film from the dirt and grime on our clothes. These things rub along the inside of the washer and then rub onto each load of clothes we wash. The washing machine cleaner is designed to pull up all that nasty stuff, leaving your washer smelling great and free of the smellies.

I finally did go to Walmart and buy a box. It cost me almost $7 and came with three monthly treatments. According to the directions, if one hasn't used the product before then it should be used once a week for three weeks and then every month thereafter. After running a treatment through, I thoroughly scrubbed all surfaces outside the drum with Formula 409 cleaner.

My washer is now sparkling clean and smells so fresh and nice! I think the product was well worth the price and am happy I bought it. The only problem now is the fact that my washer now smells so nice that I don't want to wash anything in it and risk getting it dirty again!

Gossip: Part Three

"But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison" ~ James 3:8

For the past couple of days I've been discussing the topic of gossip. In Sheri Rose Shepherd's book, Fit for Excellence, she names three types of gossip: "general gossip", "silent gossip" and "godly gossip". In this post, I will discuss the form of gossip known as "godly gossip".

In my opinion, this is the most detrimental, as well as disgusting, form of gossip. It is with this type of gossip that we can effectively discourage a fellow Christian, help destroy a ministry, or even aid in the eventual turning from the faith by not only the one we are gossiping about, but also the ones we are gossiping to.

"Godly gossip" is when we preface our story with something like, "I'm not really a gossiper but I wanted to tell you this so you can pray" or "we really need to pray for sister so-and-so", and then we proceed to run her reputation into the ground all in the name of "prayer".

I believe this form of gossip disgusts the Lord. In 1 Thessalonians 5:11, we are encouraged to "exhort one another and build each other up." In my opinion, the best thing to do when faced with a "godly gossiper" is to politely remind him or her of this truth and then just walk away.

Book Review: Chew On This by Eric Schlosser and Charles Wilson

My newest weight-loss strategy: read through one of Eric Schlosser's books once every few months.

A few years ago, I happened across a well-traveled copy of Schlosser's Fast Food Nation and was disgusted by his vivid descriptions of the filthy conditions of meat-packing plants, as well as what actually goes in to the food we eat.

In Chew On This, Schlosser manages to not just inform, as well as disgust, the reader of the dangers and filthiness of the meat-packing and fast food industries, but the dangers of soda consumption, and the soda industry's plot to boost their sales to children as well.

While the book was written for the 9-12 age bracket, I think that it is a much more clearly written book as opposed to Fast Food Nation. There are just enough facts to inform the reader, but not so many that it turns a reader off from boredom.

The book is filled with many interesting and surprising facts. For instance, did you know that a Chicken McNugget has more fat per ounce than a burger? How about that fast food places, for years, disguised the fact that their fries were fried in beef fat? How do you think those vegetarians out there took to that revelation?

I guarantee that anyone who reads this book will think twice about stopping off to pick up a quick bite at a fast food restaurant. The time one saves by eating at a joint like that is minuscule compared to the extra years one would live by avoiding it all together!