Dehydrating, Decore, and Dogs!

There were SEVERAL things I did in my brand new dehydrator over the weekend but I thought I would share this with you first as well as a few other things from the weekend on this chilly Monday!

First up...

Dehydrated Apples!  Yes...I left the skins on!  I know many of you take the skins off while dehydrating.  I have done both but wanted them on there this time!  I dipped them in Organic Lemon Juice prior to putting them in my Excalibur.  I also sprinkled on Wildtree Hearty Oatmeal Sugar & Spice Mix In.  They were so good I already have to make more.  Hubby enjoyed a few as well!

Dale has been wanting to decorate the living room and put the tree up so we did that over the weekend as well.  He's big into the fake tree and I enjoy outdoor lights a bit more.  This year was the first time we have done both indoors and outdoors in a LONG time.

Here's a photo of our tree.  We have it high and up and out of the way since we have our 3 dogs and 2 cats we had to strategically place it 'just-so'.  Instead of buying a new tree skirt we used the skirting of a 'bed in a bag' since we don't use the bed skirting anyways...it worked out pretty well!

As for outside...many of our lights worked from YEARS ago which was a nice surprise.  We did add a few little things this year, tho, including the lighted candy canes.  I found 8 of them for a total of $17 at Aldi!

As an afterthought we ended up getting the 2 spiral lighted trees last-minute for $20 at Family Dollar.

We are thinking about keeping the 18-foot tub lights out and wrapped around the light pole all year - even after the holidays - because it's VERY dark on our street and Hubby leaves for work around 4am M-F.

Here's another look at the right hand side of our front 'yard'.  I use the term 'yard' very loosely because it's not really a 'yard' due to the fact we don't have any grass!  Right past the public/city sidewalk is our front 'garden' and steps up to our house.

We have some large stones, a fossil (not pictured, but cool to look at), and a cement block, along with a couple of other things in our front garden that we could add a few Season's Greetings type decor to the mix.

And here's another look from the left hand side - the side with our Lamp Post.  The light we have in there year round doesn't give off all that much light so I think the lighted tube might help.  We haven't totally decided if we are going to keep that part up after the holidays but we might.

I think it turned out nice without going overboard.  Unfortunately, we haven't been overly social with our neighbors but I know some of them must be surprised that we decorated out front this year!

And...of course...the furkids enjoyed every minute of us being home this past weekend.  We did get a lot done around the house too!  I spent a good amount of time washing out our main sink...it was pretty gross...around the drain.  I used the last of my Tub and Tile and Tough and Tender from when we used to be Melaleuca Members.  I will miss their natural cleaning supplies the most but I'm sure I will make, create, and find others I like, too!

Here's a picture of Riley being lazy last night.  I forgot to mention last week while I was tinkering around with my dehydrator that Paco some how unzipped my Memory Foam Pillow and ripped apart the inside as well as ate some of it.  BUGGER!!!!  Long story short he's ok, but OMG was I upset and more importantly worried about the little guy!  He hasn't chewed on things in MANY MONTHS so I don't know what that was all about! 

Mason Jars For Prevention and Storage Solutions

I'm certainly not an organized person...far from it actually but a few months ago I threw everything away in my cupboards and put all other items in Mason Jars.  I did this for several reasons.  The photo above was one I found on a DIY Site for Food Pantry Organizational Ideas.

The first reason I came to this Mason Jar idea was that we live in a very old house and twice a year I get unwanted guests in our kitchen that I want to evict but NOT kill.  I just can't bring myself to kill them - even if they find their way back.

Anyhow...I tried all the natural suggestions online.  Either they wouldn't work at all or they would work for a limited time and then I had to find another way to 'keep them out'.

Perhaps I went a little overboard...but...knock on wood, I haven't had a problem in MONTHS.

Here's what I did...

Like I said...I ditched MOST everything from my cupboards - which was a good thing because I found some really ancient packages shoved way in the back that I didn't know I had!  I placed the little I wanted to keep in Mason Jars.  I ended up buying 4 dozen pint size and 4 dozen quart sized jars.  I still have leftovers and unused jars which is PERFECT because now I can add to my pantry this way!

Another reason I LOVE this is because I am a very visual person.  I'm not organized but I have to SEE everything in front of me and can function better that way.  Not only that but all 'little critters' are NOT tempted by the aroma of cupboard contents this way...they are all tightly sealed in the jars!  This past Summer I heard of a lot of local people having moth and worm problems, too, especially in grains and flowers, etc...this way...is MUCH safer...and you can SEE it before opening it!

In addition to the Mason Jars - I did the following to eliminate and prevent future 'friends' from scoping-out-the-joint...

I wiped everything down with warm water and soap.  I then wiped it down with Tea Tree Oil AND Peppermint Oils.

I bought CHEAP Dryer Sheets and placed them on every shelf, in every cupboard, drawer, under the sink, etc.  Mice and other 'friends' do not like the aroma of Peppermint OR the Dryer Sheets so they tend to stay away from them.  Not only that - but for weeks afterwards - my house smelled awesomely fresh!  We have cats AND dogs and BOY was it a change!

I also put cotton balls soaked in Peppermint Oil on window sills, counter tops, and near kitchen utensils.  I covered them with Bean Sprout lids that I no longer use (I have since upgraded my Sprout Lids and use those for Sprouting instead!).

I used SOS Pads (Generic/CHEAP Alternative) to fill holes in between shelves, walls, pipes, etc.  I also used Aluminum Foil for super-tight spaces.

I use Melaleuca Cleaning Supplies as well.  I try to use their Disinfectant as often as possible on my stove, counter tops, and shelves.

And I still buy and use Humane Traps where I can catch and release them back in to Nature.

With all of these things - knock on wood - I haven't seen 'anyone' sneaking around my kitchen in MONTHS.  I figure they are sick and tired of striking out on a food source now and me throwing off their senses couldn't hurt the efforts either.

Just a few ideas if you have the same problems or if you are looking for a way to store items in your food pantry or cupboards!