Potted Garden

My younger sister and I decided to try our hand at gardening.  Since all I have is a patio, we decided to do a potted garden.  So far, half the plants have died but the other half are going strong.  I may buy a starter tomato plant that is at least 20in already.  But the rest are looking some what decent.  Who knows, this is the first year so we will see how everything turns out.  Does anyone have any suggestions??  


We started our plants as seeds in early March, but most of the plantings started dying after they sprouted.  Then we transplanted them to the big pots and they all died.  So, we bought starters at Nick's Garden planted them and only half survived.  So, we are going to buy a few more plants and see which survive and produce fruits and vegetables.


See below. 

Confession Time - Cleaning

So as I have already stated before, I hate cleaning.  Despise it.  Not because I don't like having a clean house but because I don't want to waste my energy on cleaning.  I tried all (well not all, but a lot) the quick fix products out there.  Most of them aren't what they claim to be.  Yea, yea I fell victim to the commercial, but honestly who hasn't at one point or another.  I just wanted to give a quick run view of a few products and then..... confession time.  

  First product, Kaboom($3.97), "When it turns white you just wipe away to reveal a deep clean and a sparkling shine with absolutely no dull residue left behind." I call BULL SHIT!  Sorry folks, this product doesn't work at all!  I tried it on my bath tub, and not only did it not wipe clean, but I couldn't even use it as a good scrubber.  Not on my recommendation list.  Same goes for the Scrubbing Bubbles above.  The foam product, doesn't really work.  
          However, the Automatic Shower kit ($17.87), it works pretty well.  Not perfect, but it lets you clean your shower less, which in my book is worth it.  I would still suggest deep cleaning the shower once a month, but hey its better than once a week.  The only draw back to this product, and the reason I no longer use it, is it just looks so ugly.  

Which brings me to my next product, Tilex, Fresh Shower($3.98)

 I haven't really used this one to much yet, since I didn't feel like cleaning my shower spic and span in the first place.  But I will be giving this one a go.  I'm suppose to spray it after the last shower of the day and it will keep your shower mildew and soap scum free.  I have a feeling it will work like the scrubbing bubble shower kit but this one won't have to be an eye sore.  I'll let you know what I think in about two weeks.  

Know my all time favorite product, COMET ($0.79)! Love this stuff.  Yes, you need to put in a little elbow grease and get on your hands and knees but this stuff eats through, mildew, mold, soap scum, rust, hard water stain and anything else.  I love this stuff, well the powder, not the soft scrub.  For some reason the soft scrub doesn't work as well, maybe I need to give it another chance.  

And here's another trick, the lavender comet powder will seriously take the dinge out of your whites.  I highly doubt its a approved for washing clothes,  but one day, I by accident knocked the powder into the washer machine (top loader) and thank god the clothes in the washer were white.  I probably drop a good 1/4 cup into the machine and I couldn't really do anything since it was already dissolving.  So, I ran the wash, and what do ya know, super bright whites.  Now, if you try this, try it at your own risk.  I add a little comet only once every few months.  I don't know if it's damaging my washer, but it seems to do the trick with the whites, so I use it once in a while. 

And for the confession...

I have two cleaning ladies that come every two weeks to clean the entire house.  I know, I know, why spend money on something that you can do yourself.  The truth of the matter, these two wonderful ladies do an amazing job, clean the entire house in just a few hours, and honestly, I rather work an extra shift than clean.  They cost $80.00 every two weeks and I have a clean house.  I don't have to spend 6 hours every Saturday cleaning a portion of the house.  These ladies take care of everything, the baseboards, the blinds, the dusting, the washing, the scrubbing, the floors, the carpets, the kitchen, the bathrooms and every other nook and cranny in my house.  It would take me about 8 hours to do the same thing these ladies do.  The best part, while they're cleaning the house, I take care of the laundry and usually a specialty project, like organizing the pantry or fixing my craft room.  The projects I never have time to do, all of a sudden I can because I have more free time.  Not to mention, I don't have to buy all those cool products on T.V.  Honestly, if you can work into your budget a cleaning lady, by all means do!  The best $160.00 I spend each month.  So, I can't have the outfit I wanted at the mall, big deal a clean house is worth a hundred outfits!

What do you think?  Would you be willing to get a cleaning lady??