Category Archives: randomness

Refrigerator Motherboard

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Who knew that the newer refrigerators have motherboards?

Last summer, our fridge started making this weird revving noise about every 2 hours.  We did not think much of it and just ignored it.  Around Thanksgiving, the ice maker stopped dispensing ice.  It still made ice, but nothing would come out when you pushed the lever.  Fast forward to April…we had a storm come through on Friday evening and the power went out.  When it came back on, the fridge no longer worked…AT ALL.

After doing some research, I found that refrigerators have motherboards in them.  And there just so happened to be a recall for ours.  The bad news was that we were over the 5 year mark and the recall was no longer valid.  It was going to cost $100 to have a repairman come out and look at the fridge, or there was a motherboard on Amazon for around $100.  With $100 gone either way…we took our chances.

It was just like replacing the motherboard of a computer (which I am VERY familiar with since I have built my computer from scratch the last several years). Voila! A working fridge AND the ice dispenser worked again! Who knew???

Losing a cell phone

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In the 16 years I have had a cell phone, I have yet to lose one.

When Wade and I got iPhones 4 years ago, they did not have insurance on them.  Fine.  We have never needed it before…so no big deal.  Well…that all changes when you drop your phone in a lake and can’t reach it.  I still have not *lost* a phone.

Luckily I keep everything backed up or in the cloud so I was not too concerned, I would just call AT&T on Monday and get a new phone.

WRONG!

I was informed that since I did not have insurance (which is now offered) and my contract was not up until October 2013, I would have to pay retail for the phone…to a tune of $650!!!  After searching I found that iPhone 4s are in demand and you basically can’t find them unless you want to pay the $650.  Sorry, I just can’t stomach that.  If I had insurance (at $7 a month), then I would just have to pay for a new phone at the new contract price ($200).

I started looking and found that to add a line it would only be $10 more dollars a month.  Wade and I have talked about having another phone for the girls if they go somewhere to take with them.  So…I ordered a refurbished iPhone 4s and when it came in, activated it to my number and bought a cheap phone from WalMart for the additional number.  Even at $10 a month for the next 2 years, plus the cost of a new phone, that $390 is still cheaper than $650!!!

Is it cheating?  Yes.  But we have had our account since 1992…they have made some money on us in those 20 years.  I don’t feel so bad.

Pinterest Project #2- Homemade Laundry Detergent

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Yes, I am slightly addicted.

Today I decided to make homemade laundry detergent and dish washing detergent (which I did not get one thing…so that will be a later post).

WHY did I decide to do this (was the first thing Wade asked when he walked in the door)? No, it is not about saving the environment and being all granola. Although I would enjoy that, it would be impossible in my right-winged conservative house. It was about saving money.

I am not ashamed to admit Wade and I are Tide snobs. It makes our clothes smell SOOOOOO good. But after months of experimenting we found that the added Febreeze makes us both itchy, so we went on a laundry detergent hunt. We have been using Gain, and it is ok, but nothing like Tide. But whatever we choose, it is still pretty expensive. We pay around $17-20 a container that lasts about 40 loads. (Roughly 6-8 loads a week means we are buying it every 5 weeks.)

In comes Pinterest with all of its crafty goodness! Here is the original link:

Being Creative

Yes, I followed it exactly and am hoping I can go 9 months without buying laundry detergent!

Cost breakdown from Walmart (about $25…but that includes a $10 container):
Container- $9.97
1 4 lb 12 oz box Borax (2.15 kg or 76 oz)- $3.38
1 4 lb box Arm & Hammer Baking Soda (1.81 kg)- $2.08
1 box Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda 55 oz (3 lb 7 oz)- $3.24
3 bars of Fels-naptha soap, found in the detergent isle- $2.91
2 small containers of store brand oxyclean (try to get about 3.5 lbs total (1.58 kg))- $3.92

Initial thoughts…so far I have done 4 loads of laundry with it (about 2 tablespoons per load). Our clothes come out smelling…clean not overly fragranced. I can’t tell about stains yet, I have 2 girls that don’t get too messy. I am not a fan of powders, I don’t think they work as well, but so far I am pleased. I tried first putting the powder in the water then adding the clothes, I also tried mixing a small cup with water and 2T of powder and then lastly I put the powder directly on the clothes. It all seemed to work the same. I will update in a few months and let you know how much I use before I have to get new detergent!

Unclaimed Baggage

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Have you ever wondered what happens to all the luggage that never gets claimed at the airport?  Ok…so maybe you haven’t.  But when you travel for work A LOT, you start thinking about things like this.

Meet the Unclamied Baggage store in Scottsboro, Alabama.

The place is so big there is a map of the departments when you walk in.  It is kind of like a big Marshalls, except all of the stuff in here came out of someone’s luggage that got left behind at the airport, or in the overhead bins, or ripped apart getting on/off on the plane. And some of the luggage was not that of other people, but brand new stuff that was shipped over from China (or where ever the clothing sweat shop is located).

Some of the locals were telling me that they have some great bargains, but like any place like that, you have to know when the shipments come in and you have to be willing to search.

I am all about resale and hand-me downs, but the rows of underwear bothered me a bit.

I was shocked at the number of digital cameras. Most were marked about $20. They had a big counter that you could take the cameras out and actually test them. (And the laptops, and ipads, and ipods, etc…)

My favorite thing in the whole store actually had NOTHING to do with unclaimed baggage. As I mentioned in the previous posts, I am a total 80’s girl. They have a huge display of things from the movie the Labyrinth. How cool is that??? (Well…I thought it was cool!)