So we finally moved. It seems like it’s been hanging over our heads forever, but we’re finally in. And instead of struggling with the whole act of moving, we’ve moved onto struggling with how to make a much smaller living space work for us.

Right now my biggest foe is the bathroom. We’re currently trying to squeeze the contents of two bathrooms and a linen closet into one (decent sized) bathroom. This, my friends, is no easy task. You don’t realize how much crap you really own until you’re forced to squeeze it into an area that’s much smaller than what you’re used to.

So, of course, I used this as another excuse to hit up my beloved Pinterest. I won’t lie. A lot of what I found there were big, beautiful, expensive bathrooms that are not even close to our (nonexistent) budget. But there were some little gems that are actually attainable mixed in. (Click the photos for the sources)

I don’t know about you, but I’m sick of buying a container of big, juicy strawberries only to have them go gross within a couple of days. All berries really. And grapes too, while we’re at it. So I hit up Pinterest hoping to find a magical spell that would keep fruit fresh–even if it got pushed to the back of the fridge and I forgot about it for a couple of days.

The Pinterest gods were on my side and I found a great trick from The Frugal Girls: vinegar. Now, don’t go running with your nose all scrunched up in the air. I know you don’t want your fruit to smell (or, worse yet, taste) like vinegar. I don’t either. So I was a little skeptical.

But when I opened my refrigerator and no less than half of a container of strawberries I had bought days before were mushy and gross, I threw caution to the wind.

The post said to soak strawberries in a mix of one part vinegar to ten parts water and let them dry completely before putting them in the fridge in an uncovered bowl.

Now, we all know that I’m not the best at following directions. Sometimes it turns out OK and other times (like my pathetic attempt at a mug cake or that time I tried to make one of those yarn balls), not so much. This time though, a little improvising worked out fine.

Aside from checking out The Frugal Girls post, I consulted a couple of other websites about vinegar washes. They all had pretty much the same information. The difference was in the water to vinegar ratio and the method of storing your fruit. I decided to be wild and crazy and wing it.

I filled my sink with water about half way and then threw in a cup of vinegar before dumping in a three pound container or strawberries (go big or go home, peeps). I let them sit for ten minutes or so, stirring it up with my hands once in a while to make sure every bit of strawberry benefited from the soak.

Next up was drying the berries. The vinegar is key for killing any ickies that might be on there (think mold spores). Some people even say it may help get rid of some pesticides. But vinegar is not the only key to this process. You also have to make sure everything is completely dry before you store them. Moisture is the enemy here!

I put the berries in a colander for a bit before laying them out on a towel. I made sure none of them were touching to help the drying process. When I was satisfied that they were dry, I put them into a Rubbermaid produce saver container (they have a little tray on the bottom that allows room for water to drip if there’s excess moisture) and laid a paper towel on top to soak up any that way. I’m not a big fan of leaving things open in the fridge, so I tested my luck.

Well, when I went to take pictures one week later my berries were just as good as they had been on day one. In fact, we ate the last of them on day eleven and they were still in perfect condition.

Needless to say, I’m a total convert and have now started soaking all of our fruits (as you can see from the picture up top). I only soaked those yesterday morning so I can’t tell you with absolute certainly that it works just as well, but I have no reason to believe it won’t work.

And, in case you’re wondering: the fruit doesn’t even have a hint of a vinegar taste or smell. I didn’t rinse my strawberries after the vinegar wash to be extra sure about it. I had a feeling from my green cleaning escapades that it wouldn’t be an issue (my house never smells like vinegar after it dries), but I tested it to be sure.

VERDICT: I could not be happier with the outcome. I plan on soaking pretty much any produce that comes into my home in this wash. It saves me money and ensures that I clean my sink regularly (for the record, I clean it with baking soda and vinegar—I’m a big fan of DIY green cleaning and I don’t want any chemicals in my wash!) 😉

Hello, my name is Jen and I have a problem with mason jars. I realize it’s cliche and expected at this point, but that doesn’t deter me. I love the things. So when I came across a plethora of DIY colored mason jars, I had to be in on it.

First, I would like to say that I’m pretty sure my husband hit up my stash and threw a few of them out (not cool, dude). That had me a little leery to try anything new with my beloveds. So I turned to a stash of dollar store glass that I had leftover from a photo shoot I styled last year.

I found a couple of different colored glass tutorials, so I decided to give both a try. I dug out three candlesticks and a plate and got to business.

I decided to put my money where my mouth is.

Note: what the hell does that even mean? And why would I ever want money anywhere near my mouth–especially when the flu is running rampant?

I digress, but in this little scenario, it means that this week’s Pintervention is not only focusing on making one of my thousands of pins happen, but it’s focusing on making an organizational pin that I featured yesterday come to life.

Yes, my friends. I’m pinning something and actually doing it. I’m also posting about organization and actually using one of the things I posted about in real life. And it means my organization train is rolling full steam ahead.

That’s a whole lot of mind blowing in one place, so let’s just take a breath and get right to it.

The pin that I speak of is the super awesome DIY marker caddy posted by Aunt Peaches. I am totally and completely jealous that I didn’t think of this on my own. It’s also slightly silly that I’m doing a Pintervention post about it because it is so easy. When she said it took her ten minutes, she wasn’t kidding.

Still, I decided to give it a go to see if it really was that easy and functional. Plus, I’m a big fan of repurposing instead of throwing things out. Such a big fan, in fact, that I actually had a shoe box and a bunch of paper towel rolls sitting around waiting to be used (I know. I have a problem).

I’ve mentioned before that I think talking about our DIY fails is just as important as showing off our masterpieces. Well, I was on the hunt for a mug cake the other night. I had very few ingredients in the house but was hoping for something quick and easy to take care of my sweet tooth that didn’t involve jumping into my daughter’s Halloween bucket.

When I saw this recipe on Babble, I was all gung-ho. I had all of the necessary ingredients (there are a whopping three) and I thought I’d get fancy and add a marshmallow for some s’mores-like gooeyness.

Mistake #1:

I took my egg, cocoa, and powdered sugar and dumped them into the mug. The instructions say to take a little whisk and whisk them all together. I realized that any mini whisk I may have ever owned was lost somewhere in the girls’ kitchen toys.

Instead of pouring all of my ingredients into a bigger bowl and whisking them that way, I decided to just mix it all up with a fork. No bueno, my friends.

Mistake #2:

The instructions clearly say “Microwave for 50-60 seconds, until the cake is cooked through (but not overcooked!).” I’m a spazz in the raw egg department so I set my timer for 60 seconds. When the microwave beeped at me and I looked inside, the cake still looked a little wet. Instead of testing it with my finger, I put it back in the microwave for another 15 seconds.

Yeah, this is why my husband does the cooking and my daughter will tell you without hesitation that I’m not very good at it.

I wasn’t so sure about it, but I gave it a try (with wild hair, dark circles under my eyes and smudged eyeliner, so yeah. I know this isn’t the best picture) and at first it seemed OK. Definitely not gooey and maybe a teensy bit dry. When I took another bite or two I got tastes of cocoa powder and what can only be described as chocolate-flavored scrambled eggs.

I didn’t even eat half before I threw it in the garbage. And if you know me at all, you know that my love of chocolate usually conquers all. For me to throw it out means it was basically inedible.

Lesson learned: try sticking to the recipe next time, huh?

I’m linking up this fabulous failure with Skip to My Lou, Craft-O-Maniac, Positively Splendid, and Project Inspire.