Caulking gun.

Hank left a recent message on an old post about caulking guns. He says he can't find a model like this anymore. I'll be heading to Lowe's this weekend to pick up painting supplies and will see if I still see it there. Anyone else?

Really? A whole year?

Yep, it's been a whole year since I've posted on this site. What's been going on? Well...one of the reasons for working so hard on the house last spring is because we put it on the market. Alas, no luck in getting a buyer. We had wanted to buy a bigger house in this neighborhood, but the one house we loved was sold before we could make a bid. That's the way it goes.

So we put off plans to sell and settled back into our normal routine. The girls were both in school fulltime, for the first time, so I threw my energy into my photography business. It continues to grow and do well so that's where I'm still focused.

And what's happened since then? Our house is a mess! I looked back at some old posts showing how we decluttered and cleaned up and I nearly wept! I feel like I'm stumbling through piles of crap every day and I hate it. One great thing about having your house on the market is that it's clean all the time!

Sigh. I have to remember that if I wasn't so busy with my work I would have more time for house stuff. And we kick around the idea of looking for a new house. Although that would entail decluttering and cleaning up this wreck, which practically makes me hyperventilate. The size house we want may not be found in this school district. Do we look outside this area? Do we stay in the district but look for something with expandability? I don't think we could add on to our current house, but I'm open to a renovation at another place. Sounds like I have some serious thinking to do.

Hurry! $600 Home Depot card giveaway!

Over at the Confessions of a Pioneer Woman site, Ree is giving away a $600 Home Depot card. All you have to do is leave a comment on her post. But you only have until 8p Wednesday (tonight) to do it. So get to it!

Caulk singles now at Lowe's.

A while ago I posted a link to get a free GE Caulk Singles. I received mine (but haven't used it yet) and just got an email that you can now buy these at Lowe's. As you can see above, they'll be available in more stores next month.

I also went back to the GE Caulk Singles website and found a host of tips. Click here for some expert advice.

Lowe's workshops for kids.

If we didn't have my brother's wedding to go this weekend, I would definitely sign my kids up for this week's Lowe's Build and Grow workshop. How cute is that baseball game? I'd take the girls and we would make it and give it to John for his birthday next month. But I think my brother's wedding will take precedent.

Vinyl tiles under the sink.

The June 2008 Good Housekeeping has a great idea for the area under your kitchen sink: add self-stick vinyl tiles to the bottom on your sink cabinet. This will protect it from the spills and mess that inevitable happen there. I'm pretty sure we still have some plain black tiles leftover from the previous owners and I think I may try this.

Among the other good ideas from the article:
• Install a pullout basket for storing cleaners, dishwashing detergents, etc.
• Attach a wire basket to the inside of the cabinet door for sponges.
• Use a riser shelf (normally used in upper cabinets) to expand the vertical space (tuck smaller items, like garbage bag boxes, underneath and put taller items, like a bucket, on top).
• Add a lazy susan in the front of the cabinet for frequently used items.

Walgreen's $10 off $30.

Walgreen's must have been happy with the way last week's coupon did. Click here to print this coupon, which is good for Friday, May 30 only. I've already made my Walgreen's trip this week, so I believe I'll pass on this one. But it's good to see another pop up.

Recycling for dollars.

I just stumbled upon RecycleBank.com, a website that gives rewards points for your household and business recyclables. The service isn't available where I live (our recycling is picked up by the city), but oh how I wish it was. I've signed up so I'll be notified if it does come here.

Every week when we put out our trash, we have a filled recycle bin, along with two small trash cans of additional materials. Our large garbage bin (also provided by the city) is never full anymore. I look up and down the street and maybe see three or four recycle bins set out. None are even close to being filled.

I don't understand why more people don't recycle. Especially when, in our area, all you have to do is put your stuff out on the curb. You don't even have to separate paper from plastics. When we redid the kitchen last year, I made sure to include a pull-out trash cabinet that has two cans. The front one gets trash, the back one gets cardboard, paper, plastic and metal. When I pull out the cabinet, all I have to do is think about which can to drop the item in. Easy peasy. Even my girls know which one to use.

Are there any good reasons for not recycling?