Toilet Paper 101

How do you put the toilet paper on?

I personally think it should go over but I know that some would beg to differ. I found this article while stumbling over @ Current Configuration and thought it was a great article explaining the theory.

Essential Life Lesson #1: Over is Right, Under is Wrong

As part of our ongoing effort here at Current Configuration to make your life not only better, but also 10% more crunchy, we’re offering you this first installment of what will be an ongoing series of Essential Life Lessons. Kicking off this series will be a critical but even-handed examination of a common misunderstanding that occurs in a realm of many misunderstandings: the bathroom.

Put simply, there is a right way to hang the toilet paper, and a wrong way. Read on to determine the status of your own roll.

Toilet paper has a natural curve, a way of being that lends itself to certain orientations on the toilet paper spool.* If handled with skill and knowledge, it can provide an abundance of both sanitation and comfort, quilted together in each square of pillowy ply. If handled with clumsy ignorance, or worse, carelessness, it will beset the user with pain, filth, and frustration. Don’t let it end this way, with you curled on the tile floor of the stall, weeping in frustration, covered in wasted papier de toilette. To convince you, we’ve created some diagrams, harnessing the power of SCIENCE, to demonstrate the natural benefits of the over hanging method. First, we examine the optimal viewing benefits of the over hanging method.

Below are examples of the helpful and fruitful over-hung method on the left and the annoying and detrimental under-hung method on the right.

Notice the dramatic difference in the amount of visible toilet paper. Ironically, it is the over-hung toilet paper that has both the most visible free sheetage and the least amount of sheetage free from the roll to do it. Now, this may not seem like a big deal on its own, but in these extra sheets lies your undoing. Observe.

We here at Current Configuration, for the purposes of ease and expediency, do the one-handed tear (okay, really, it’s just me, but bear with me, er, us). The one-handed tear is a quick maneuver that takes advantage of the perforated squares, allowing your bundle of toilet paper to be liberated with one quick swipe of the arm. This is the foundation of bathroom ease, the cottony bedrock on which enjoyment rests in the restrooms of many nations.

The one-handed tear relies on a quick and forceful motion directed either away from or towards the tear-er. The forces applied in this motion are great and, like the atom, are not to be trifled with. The natural curve of the over-hung method allows the roll to stand fast after a one-handed tear, but the under-hung method creates a calamitous tendency in the roll. This tendency can only lead to this:

Wasted paper, frustration, the destruction of our forests. While we realize that it is possible to execute a one-handed tear on an under-hung roll, this is a game of sanitary Russian roulette. You are bound to lose eventually, and there is no re-rolling an unwound toilet paper roll. The results will only cause you grief. Don’t let this happen to you. Restroom attendants, janitors, maids, facilities crews, and responsible toiletowners take note: Don’t use the under-hung method for your toilet paper rolls. It leads to the destruction of our precious resources and the pillars of civilization as we know it!

So didn't it make sense?

House Hold Products Database

What's under your kitchen sink, in your garage, in your bathroom, and on the shelves in your laundry room?
Learn more about what's in these products, about potential health effects, and about safety and handling.


I found a site that I thought was a great thing to bookmark it is called Household Products Database by the Dept Of Health and Human Services. Especially if you have little ones or trying to go green.

Browse by category

Auto Products

Inside the Home

Pesticides

Landscape/Yard

Personal Care

Home Maintenance

Arts & Crafts

Pet Care

Home Office


Very nice site.

Tidbit Tuesday!

Well another Tuesday is upon us I have few juicy tidbits for you today. I hope you might find one that works for you.

For all those out there that have a above ground pool. With everything going up these days, it is hard to buy chemicals for the pool. I was told by a professional pool man that you could use baking soda to keep the ph level up in the pool. It works, and it only cost about $0.25 to $0.45 a box.

The best and cheapest way to get rid of weeds growing in the cracks of sidewalks is white vinegar. On a nice bright sunny day just squirt the vinegar all over the weed and into the sidewalk crack. The hot sun will take care of the rest. It's not only cheap but environmently friendly. And it's safe enough to have the kids do this job... I put it in a squirt bottle and have my son do this.

Sprinkle old coffee grounds around places you don’t want ants, or on the ant piles themselves. The little buggers will move on or stay away. Used grounds are also said to repel snails and slugs.

To clean those filthy artificial flowers, just pour some salt into a paper bag and add your flowers. Shake very well .The salt will absorb all the dirtydebris and leave your artificial flowers clean and new!

If your scissors get dull, just layer about 7 pieces of foil and cut through them a few times, and the scissors are sharp once again!

Be sure and stop over @ Melinda Zook to see what great tidbits she has today as well.

Homemade Cleaners

I am always looking for homemade cleaning recipes. They work well and are cheap to make. Here is a few I found from different sources.

Scour Cleaner

Sprinkle salt on the surface to be cleaned, Then take your towel dipped in either lemon juice or distilled white vinegar.


Citrus Fruits Are All Purpose Cleaners


Lemons, oranges, and limes when freshly squeezed, make good cleaners. Simply mix juice with water for day to day regular cleaning. For stubborn stains use full strength.

Thyme Cleaner - Disinfectant

2 1/2 cups water
1 handful thyme (fresh or dried)
Vinegar
Liquid castille soap (squirt)

• Boil water, add thyme. Simmer for several hours over medium-low heat, covered. Cool, then strain. Pour the water into a spray bottle, top with white vinegar and squirt of soap. Use as needed.

Herb Disinfectant Cleaner

This spray cleaner disinfects surfaces, kills mold, and discourages its return. Eucaplyptus, lavender, and tea tree are all known for their antimicrobial properties.

1 tsp. sodium lauryl sulfate
1 tsp. borax
2 Tbs. white vinegar
2 cups hot water
1/4 tsp. eucalyptus essential oil
1/4 tsp. lavender essential oil
3 drops tea tree essential oil

• Mix all ingredients together and stir until dry ingredients dissolve. Pour into spray bottle. To use, spray as needed on any surface except glass. Scrub and rinse with clean, damp cloth.

*Source: The Herb Companion, September 1999

Herbal All Purpose Cleaner

1 cup water
1 cup vinegar
2 tsp liquid castille soap
25 drops essential oil of thyme, eucalyptus, tea tree, lavendar, sandalwood, lemon, orange

• Add all ingredients to a large spray bottle (about 22 ounces) and shake before using. This formula disinfects and can be used on any washable surface in your home. Naturally antiviral and anti-fungal.

*Source: The Naturally Clean Home by Karyn Siegel-Maier

Lavender Soft Scrubber

3/4 cup baking soda
1/4 cup powdered milk
1/8 cup (one-eighth) liquid castile soap
5 drops lavender Essential Oil

• Combine all ingredients in a squirt-top bottle and add enough water to make a smooth paste. Shake or stir to mix. Apply to surface, then wipe area clean with a damp sponge or cloth. Rinse well.

*Source: The Naturally Clean Home by Karyn Siegel-Maier

Have You Ever Used Greased Lighting?

I was introduced to this about 5 years ago and have been a big fan every since. I am personally one who doesn't buy a lot of fancy cleaners,and it is not for frugal reasons although I do like that part of it. I have been in the cleaning profession as my career for many years and have found that you really only need a few basic items to get the job and squeaky clean.

This happens to be one of those stable products. I was working a second job at the time at IHOP and they would have us carry the food with out a tray so when stacking the food you would inevitably have a greasy apron everyday. I had tried different things and it was still the same. Then one day a coworker ask me if I had tryed Grease Lighting. I have never figured out why I never ask her what she used before when she came looking like her first day on the job everyday and I knew she was not getting new aprons. In my defense I was 8 1/2 months pregnant at the time so my thinking was a little altered at the time.

Anyhoo she goes to tell me that it would total keep my apron grease free and it was cheap. So I go the store and get some and it worked like magic. So I thought boy I am going to to try this on other things and see what happens. Well low and behold this is a miracle in a bottle. You name it can clean it. Soap scum whatever. It is FANTASTIC on baby laundry. Formulas stains it is the bomb. Not to be inappropriate but if you have a skid marks in your DH or DS underwear you will love this product.

Blessings,