One Hundred Dollars a Month

It’s that time again. You ask, and I pretend to know things and answer your burning questions. It really is so much fun to open my inbox and see the wide variety of questions you guys have. Reminds me that my readers are so diverse and pretty dang awesome. So keep those questions coming and I’ll keep racking my brain for answers. As always, please pipe up if you have any input or are knowledgeable when it comes to any of the following questions:

My nephew (20 years old) is currently at the naval Base on Whidby Island in training for 45 days and is in the dumps because all his friends are back on the east coast and he’s not used to the climate (from Georgia). Is there anything you can recommend for him to check out in the area when he has time off that you think he would enjoy?

~ Trish

Oh gosh, where do I begin? I did this post on 10 Ideas for a Seattle Staycation that he might like. Lots of good ideas there. I also really love the Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum. So cool! If he’s into music the EMP Museum is pretty cool. If he wants some cheaper options he can head to Seward Park. You can take the trail around the outside of the island, it’s paved and flat and goes in a circle for a little over 2 miles. There’s also a similar path around Green Lake with vast lawns and gardens, touristy areas, paddle boats, golf, tennis, a skate park and more. The Olympic Sculpture Garden along Puget Sound is a fun place, too.  Hope that helps give him a few ideas!

Hi Mavis! One of my new goals for 2018 will be to organize my recipes (to hopefully encourage me to cook more). How do you suggest I do that? I’ve tried recipe books, recipe boxes and online recipe storage. Now I just have a bunch of recipes in all those places. Help!

~Christie

My best suggestion is Google Drive. I know it sounds weird but you can start a recipe folder, easily search by ingredient, copy and paste full recipes and pictures in there, scan old recipes and plop them in the file, and easily share the entire folder with family and friends. You can write little comments on the recipe so you can remember tips after you make it {your friends and family can do this, too!}. It’s free, easily organizable and the storage space is unlimited. You can access it from anywhere you have an internet connection. I think it’s the perfect way to organize recipes if you ask me!

Hi Mavis, I enjoy your blog. My washing machine just gave up the ghost 3 days before Christmas- ugh! I guess 15 years for a low-end washer isn’t too bad but now I have to replace it. Any suggestions of washers that have a lint filter in them (I like to hang out my clothes to dry whenever possible and hate the lint the old washer would leave) and is “reasonably” priced? Any washer recommendations are welcome. Thanks.

~Christy

Well our washing machine is still relatively new {3 years} so I can’t give a definitive thumbs up to it yet as far as longevity {it’s an LG Energy Star something or other with cold wash technology and a speed wash cycle that I love!} and I want to say it was around $600 when we bought it at Lowe’s. So far so good. But, if I didn’t need have a counter top for folding installed over my washer and dryer, I probably would have gone for a basic top loader with really good reviews to save a few hundred bucks. I LOVE the roominess of top loaders better and to be able to wash comforters is a huge plus if you ask me.

This might be a question I’ll turn over to my lovely readers for input. Whataya say you guys. Any washing machine recommendations for Christy?

You already know that libraries rock but thought you might find this interesting.

~Gail

Altadena Library going to seed. Literally.

I didn’t think I could love libraries more and then you share this. A seed lending library? Seriously? I LOVE THIS!! I wonder if we can encourage more libraries to do this? How fun would that be if it spread like wild flowers {no pun intended}.

Hi Mavis, I have been following your blog for several years and I have learned so much. However, I do not recall you ever talking about distilled water. Over the past year, our household has added several appliances (cpap machines, essential oil diffusers) that use distilled water. We go through about 1 1/2 gallons of distilled water each week. Right now, I am buying distilled water from Winco or Safeway (~ 90 cents/gallon sale price). Besides, adding up to lots of $$, it’s creating a lot of waste with the plastic gallon containers. Any ideas on how to save money on distilled water or dealing with the empty containers (I’m putting them out with our curbside recycling)?

~Jeannine

Did you know that you can easily make distilled water at home? You can and it’s so simple you can kiss all those plastic gallons goodbye {well not all of them since you can store your homemade distilled water in them}. You can google how to do it or click on over to this tutorial. If you end up giving it a try, let me know how it goes!

Have a question for me? Submit them HERE and I’ll try to answer them.
~Mavis