Condo Blues: March 2020

Monday, March 30, 2020

How to Caulk Around a Toilet

After tiling the guest bathroom and replacing the boring builder molding with something a little more interesting, It is time to make this bathroom look and function like a bathroom by installing a working toilet – a luxury we haven’t had in quite a while since the builder toilet went on strike.


I went with a Watersense rated Delta Faucet Company toilet (you can find similar toilets here.)  (Disclosure: I am including affiliate links in this post for your convenience.) I had such a good experience installing one in my powder room because every single thing you need to install the toilet comes in the box down to a screwdriver and the Watersense rating means it is water efficient (I think of it as the Energy Star rating for plumbing) without the hit or miss of not quite flushing everything that needs to be flushed like a duel flush toilet. 

the easy way to caulk a toilet and bathtub
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But before I can completely cross Install New Toilet off my punch list, I need to caulk around it (and also along the new tile next to the bathtub. Fortunately, you caulk around a bathtub the same way you caulk a toilet. Let’s do this!

Why Should I Caulk Around the Toilet?

Thursday, March 26, 2020

Friday Favorites Week 522

Hello everyone! How are you holding up? I'm trying to put my nervous energy to better use by doing those projects I've been putting off for far too long like Spring Cleaning (you'll find my bedroom Spring Cleaning checklist post in the link party below) and from the gunk I found when changing our furnace filter,my furnace ducts. Wish me luck!


Time to link up your fantastic and creative craft and DIY projects, recipes, and ideas!


Let's Party!


Tuesday, March 24, 2020

How to Deep Spring Clean Your Bedroom with a Free Checklist!

While most people wait until actual warm weather date on the calendar to start their Spring Cleaning, I usually follow my nose. If I do too many oh I’ll deep dust/clean that thing next time when the house is buttoned up during the winter, my dust allergies kick up and let me know that was one time too many (which happens more often than I want to admit.)

My Bedroom Deep Spring Cleaning Checklist for Dust Allergies
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 According to my allergist, I have been dusting my house all wrong for someone who has seasonal allergies. He told me to stop using a feather duster (or Swiffer type dusters like these) to dust shelves and doodads because they don’t actually remove dust. Dusters clean by throwing the dust on the shelves into the air. Oops! (Disclosure: I am including affiliate links in this post for your convenience. If you make a purchase through these links I receive a small commission that allows me to keep the lights on. Thank you for your support!)

He also told me to stop using dusting sprays, especially the scented kind, because they can affect seasonal allergies too. He told me the absolute best dusting spray to use is plain, old fashioned water.
He’s right.

I cleaned and filled an empty spray bottle with water, sprayed it onto a piece of an old towel I cut up to use as dust rags, and was amazed (and kinda grossed out) and how much dust plain water on a rag picked up from a surface that didn’t look dirty or dusty. Oh, and the price is right too!

My Bedroom Deep Spring Cleaning Checklist for Dust Allergies

Thursday, March 19, 2020

A Personal Update and Friday Favorites Linky Party 521

How are you doing? For the most part, other than self distancing and quarantining, we are fortunate that so far life is pretty normal at the Condo Blues World Headquarters and Thunderdome.  My husband's job has everyone working from home and we're grateful since we know so many in the entertainment, bar, and restaurant industry saw their business evaporate in a day and until further notice.

One of the hardest hit communities are Renaissance Festivals. There are many performers, food and craft vendors who make their living traveling and working all aspects of the faires and festivals that have shut down with no idea if they will reopen this year. To help, here is a Facebook group called Faire Relief 2020 that is full of  shops and performers from all over the United States and selling everything imaginable. You can search the group so if you need something like a chainmail potscrubber for your cast iron skillets or a crocheted hat you can do so since people are adding their shops to the group daily. I suggest trying the Facebook group before searching Etsy as many of these stores don't have one. (

If you want to keep or start exercising and no longer have access to a fitness center or gym (all are closed in Ohio) I highly recommend the At Home Workouts Lead by Circus Performers Facebook group here from my friends who performed in the Cincinnati Circus (it is a people only circus with trapeze and aerial classes/performances, jugglers and such) until all of their bookings for the year were cancelled in one horrible half of an hour. Here's the group description: "At this time when so many people are stuck at home, we want to raise their spirits and help them stay healthy. Since we too are stuck home out of work, we will be asking for a $1 donation per person per workout. It is not necessary since we know others are having financial difficulties as well, but if you have the capabilities we would really appreciate it." There are several classes throughout the day to fit your schedule. (Neither of these two links are affiliate or sales links. I'm just trying to help out some folks who need it by spreading the word.)

I'm trying to keep the writing ship afloat despite Facebook's glitch marking the urls of Condo Blues and Lazy Budget Chef post to our Facebook page here   as spam but will let me post memes about cakes that look like toilet paper all. day. long.  Weird but a minor thing I'm sure will be sorted out eventually.

Since I also have some extra time on my hands, I'm attempting to relearn how to crochet. I haven’t crocheted since my grandma taught me as a little kid to keep me out of her hair when babysitting. I figure it is time relearn. Good to know my technique is still that of a six year old’s.

Hopefully it will be a cotton dishcloth. 

I showed you my project, now you show me yours!

Tuesday, March 17, 2020

How to Plant an Indoor Hydroponic Herb Garden the Easy Way!

I have more time to grow a garden during the winter and spring than during the summer. Unfortunately it is way too cold outside and I just don’t get enough sunlight inside of my house to grow even a tiny herb garden. Trust me. We tried. 

Also there is the whole I forget plants need water to grow thing. The only reason I can keep a succulent alive is that they thrive on low light and neglect.

I’ve been interested in hydroponic gardening (growing plants in water instead of soil) ever since my husband and I saw an exhibit on aquaponic gardening (similar to hydroponics except fish in a tank fertilize the plants.) I looked at several of them off and on but most of them needed preparatory (and spendy) seed pods that weren’t always what we were interested in growing or eating. Fortunately, on Christmas morning my husband unwrapped our gift and learned that you can use your own seeds to grow whatever you like in an AeroGarden.

how to set up and troubleshoot an AeroGarden indoor hydroponic herb garden
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We set up our indoor hydroponic herb garden and have been enjoying cooking with fresh herbs all winter which feels decadent because up until now, that as been a summer only thing.

How to Set Up an AeroGarden Indoor Hydroponic Herb Garden

Thursday, March 12, 2020

Friday Favorites Linky Party 520

The Governer of Ohio just closed all K - 12 schools for three weeks and prohibited all gatherings over 100 people - which includes a concert my community band scheduled to give in two weeks. A bummer given everyone's hard work but better safe than sorry.

Take care of yourselves. Take care of your neighbors. Be kind.


Time to link up your fantastic and creative craft and DIY projects, recipes, and ideas!


Let's Party!



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Sunday, March 8, 2020

How to Install a Bidet Attachment

Disclosure: Tushy supplied product to facilitate this tutorial and review. It had no influence on my opinion because all opinions are my own. This post contains an affiliate links for your convenience.

I’m working on the details of the guest bathroom renovation while looking forward to the master bathroom renovation. Well planning actually. I’m not looking forward to this even more involved project where are water leak began.

Anyway.

I would have liked to add a bidet in the bathroom to save on toilet paper because according to Tushy it takes 37 gallons of water to make a roll of toilet paper and most people use 1.5 toilet rolls a week! That is a lot of water to flush down the drain, which doesn't include the amount of water it takes to flush it all down the drain.

But more importantly, with a bidet, even if you run out of toilet paper at the time you need it most, you have an option.

Share this tutorial to your Pinterest boards for later! Share it with your friends!


Unfortunately all of our condo bathrooms are too small to add a free standing bidet. I didn’t think much more of it until friends raved about just installing a bidet toilet seat. I was  intrigued. A bidet toilet seat attachment I can do. Then I promptly forgot about it because I'm awesome like that.

Thursday, March 5, 2020

Friday Favorites Linky Party 519

Time to link up your fantastic and creative craft and DIY projects, recipes, and ideas!


Let's Party!



Please support and follow our lovely blog party hostesses:



Jerri at Simply Sweet Home - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst
Lisa at Condo Blues - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst
Penny at Penny's Passion - Twitter FB | G+ Pin | Inst
Kelly at Under a Texas Sky - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst | BL
Lauren at All About That Mommy Life - Pin | Inst
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You can show your love for this week's favorites by going over and commenting on the posts and by pinning or sharing!

And if you love all of this week's favorites, please pin, share, and invite your friends to this week's linky party!

Lisa from Condo Blues chose
Welsh Tea Cake from Our Sunday Cafe


Jerri at Simply Sweet Home chose
Pistachio Jar Dessert from Miz Helen's Country Cottage

St Patricks' Day Pudding Shots 
Penny at Penny's Passion and Amy at A Day of Small Things 


    Jennifer at Busy Being Jennifer chose Golden Bee Card from Paper Seedlings


Friday Favorites Button

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Monday, March 2, 2020

Zero Waste on a Budget: How to Grocery Shop without a Bulk Bin Store

After seeing the explosion of zero waste ideas online (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing,) I get a little worried that people may not try or quit because they aren’t meeting the strict one year’s full of trash in a jar “standard” they see shown on social media.

Which is a bummer because Zero Waste living isn’t black and white or should be so restrictive it is a struggle.

Or at least it shouldn’t’ be.

In reality, shifting your mindset to a lower waste living is much more sustainable because it takes into consideration what you have available locally, what you can’t, or don’t want to give up. Are you seriously going to deny grandma life saving medication because it comes in a plastic bottle?!

zero waste living on a budget at a conventional grocery store
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Often how zero waste you can go depends upon what is available where you live. Fill your own container bulk bin sections and stores are fairly anemic around here because local code enforcement strongly reminded everyone that shoppers have to use store provided containers. Winter means nothing grows here for 6 months out of the year.  Sadly zero waste utopia doesn’t mention that. So what do you do?

You do it by concentrate on reducing and stop focusing on the zero - without guilt.

Guilt is not productive. Trying is.

How to Live Zero Waste When You Shop a Regular Grocery Store