Two things that are brilliant

1. Those Scandanavians are so clever and I adore them for it.  I don't know how I lived without Ikea's STABIL pot strainer.  (Well, I do.  I made a mess.)
2. My love of Quickie isn't so consistent because they change their products so often it's hard or impossible to find refills... and not very green_ly left with a useless mop as a result. And while this isn't the exact model I have (the refill will fit mine), and the irony that they've declared it "green" isn't lost on me, I present the microfiber hardwood floor mop. I love the large head and how swivel-y it is, and that the elasticized microfiber cover is washable and reusable.  I am a bit more hopeful about the company's greener focus, at least.  They do have a lot of new products made of bamboo, recycled materials and microfiber.  I'm curious to see how this progresses, and plan to watch the styles' longevity. Quickie products are usually found at DIY/hardware stores. 
   

Now following:

Simple, Green, Frugal Co-op.  I just discovered it today- it's fantastic! 

Better late than never.

For years I've been meaning to do something about the switches in the bathroom.

Crazy stuff happens to half century old rental houses in low income neighborhoods. Things like two single switches (one for the light and one for the fan) installed so closely together that two single light switch plates couldn't be mounted over them without "customizing" one (but too far apart that a double switch plate wouldn't work, either).  It looked ridiculous.

I know wiring isn't rocket science, but I respect (read: fear) it enough that I just don't mess with it. I also never got around to asking one of my handy friends to help...

After years of being annoyed by the ghetto switch plates, I finally asked for help and had the switches rewired to a double box and they're finally covered by ONE double switch plate.

Which meant I had some drywall patching to do.

And I already had everything I needed!  This is probably the first project since I've returned that didn't require a trip to the hardware store.  Which also makes this the least expensive project to date!  I only had to purchase the electrical box, a new switch (the old one was decrepit as all hell) and a switch plate cover- everything else had been purchased previously for a bigger drywall project.

More after the jump...