which laundry machine

Astrid asked which laundry machine is best for a large family.

Well, that depends.
When you dry your clothes in a dryer, it's best to have equal heavy loads.
That way your wet laundry won't stay in the machine too long, causing smell.

When you dry on the line I prefer a washing machine with as large a load as possible.
I can't afford an industrial machine, because it requires large wardrobes, so I opt for a 7 kilo one.

I don't care for many buttons.
Just the temperatures, full and half load and the possibility of centrifuge only.

It needs to give a good balance between clean clothes and saving energy.

For me a front loader is best, because I can put the basket under it and just pull the laundry out.

The filter needs to be at a level that I can put a small bowl underneath it to let the water out.
A filter that's too low is a problem, because it means using towels or stuff to catch the water.

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Yes! ShopWiki in The Netherlands too!

2 items that made this week into a memorable one:
Susan Boyle (Need I say more?), and....

drums.....

tada!!!!!!...

ShopWiki is available for The Netherlands too!

I'm so glad, because ShopWiki really makes a difference.

I know, because ShopWiki already exists for Germany and France, and ofcourse in the UK and the USA: http://www.shopwiki.com.

Wiki means "fast", and in this case it means that you can get a fast comparison of products and prizes.

Because shops are not charged to be added, no advertising is involved.
For us, Dutch, it's the way it should be: clean, no ornaments and elbow work.
Just a plain representation of the facts.

Right now over 7000 online shops are participating and I'm sure that number will increase.
I don't know the amount of products are in the system now, but I'm sure it's huge.
Being the cheapest means not only that the consumer gains, but also that ShopWiki sends a lot of customers and potential customers to a shop.

Yesterday I had a dynamic discussion with the man in the house. I want to have one of those little hand-vaccuumcleaners and he'd seen one for 82 euros.
I had seen one for 49 euros, but I knew they were cheaper.... somewhere....
He just didn't believe me because I couldn't prove it.

Just a moment ago I showed him this page, and he was amazed how easy it was to find products and prizes.
Just chose the name of the brand, chose the product and your at a page where a lot of information is provided.

When it's too much: adjust the prize range at the top right.
Or when you just want to know the information about a certain color, chose the color.

ShopWiki gives you the best prizes and the shops where you can go, links included.
New products are added as soon as possible, with the date of addition mentioned.

Additional information, like descriptions and warnings are given too.

Whenever a similar product is available you'll find a link at the top of the page.
In this case I went to this page, where I found items with more gadgets attached.

Another way of shopping is using the list.
We wanted to know more about cleaning the computer and found good tips. The links in the text and a list of related products at the bottom provided us with the products we need, ofcourse with the welknown ShopWiki prize comparison.

We've bookmarked http://www.ShopWiki.nl and take my advice: you should bookmark this site too.

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recipe: oliebollen

I was asked for the recipe of oliebollen.

Here it is:


1 (0.6 ounce) cake compressed fresh yeast
1 cup lukewarm milk
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 egg

Not absolutely necessary:
3/4 cup dried currants
3/4 cup raisins
1 apple (Granny Smith) finely chopped

1 quart vegetable oil for deep-frying
1 cup confectioners' sugar for dusting

DIRECTIONS


Warm the milk and break the yeast into it.
Let stand for a few minutes to dissolve.

Take a large bowl and sift the flour and salt into it.
Stir the yeast mixture and egg into it,
and mix, untill it's a smooth batter.

Soon through carefully the currants, raisins and/or apple.

Cover the bowl, and leave the batter in a warm place to rise until double in size. That's about 1 hour.

Heat the oil in a deep-fryer, or heavy deep pan to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
The oil needs to be hot enough, otherwise you'll get greaseballs. Ugh!

Use 2 metal spoons to shape scoops of dough into balls, and drop them carefully into the hot oil.
Fry the balls until golden brown,(8 minutes).

When everything is OK, the balls are soft, but not greasy.

Drain finished doughnuts on paper towels, or on a normal ironed towell.

Just before eating or presenting dust them with fine sugar.

Eat them hot if possible.


You can make from the same batter some other new years treats.

Take a apple. Peel and get the core out.
Slice the apple in 0.5 to 1 cm think slices, with the hole in the middle.

Cover it on all sides with batter and bake like oliebollen.

You can eat it hot, or cold.

I prefer cold.

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Laane asks

The council started with a new "waste-away system".

Right now we're recycling parts of our waste.

Paper, green stuff (gardenwaste, vegetable waste etc), and textile.

They started plastics last week.

I'm OK with that, but I'm not sure what the best way is to keep it aside untill we can bring it away.

Plastic had the tendency to take in much space and have almost no weight.
So I think we need to put it under pressure.

Any advice?

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laundry and rain

Ethelwenn can do with some kind words.
She's struggling with her laundry... it even looks like the rain just knows when her clothes are on the line.

Is there a mysterious attraction between wet laundry and rain?

I know the bloggingworld is full of people who have very good advice, so when you have some, please visit her.
If you have none, a kind world will do.

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cleaning little corners

A friend asked how I clean little corners.

Well, there are many ways.

You can vacuum the corner. When you put your hand for the opening, you can guide the vacuumer's power right into the corner.

After that I take a paintbrush.
A little one. Like the one children bring home from school.
If it's a delicate item, I use a soft brush. But with furniture it's a hard one.

Give it a try!

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washing a cushion with feathers

question:
Can I wash a cusion which is filled with feathers?

Well, you have to read the label.

Many cushions can be opened and the feathers taken out.
You can wash the cover, and air the feathers.

Expensive cushions are better be taken to the drycleaners.

If the cover is very closely woven, you'd better not wash it yourself.

If the cover is losely woven you can have a try.
Take a natural soap, or very soft detergent, no bleach.
Lots of water.

Keep taking clean water untill it stays clean.

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