(Low) Maintenance Freezer

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Maintenance Tips to get your Freezer ready for Popsicle Season (courtesy of Real Simple Magazine)

- Clean the Interior twice a year: No need to unplug the refrigerator – that will waste energy. But do move the food to a cooler. Wipe the walls and the shelves using a cloth and a mix of dish soap & water. Rinse & dry thoroughly. To clean the door seal, wrap a credit card in a cloth, dip it in soapy water, and glide it into the groovers. Nix odors with a box of baking soda.

- Vacuum the condenser coils once a year: Dust keeps the engine from running smoothly. Move the unit to get to coils in the back, or if the coils are located in front, snap off the lower grill. Then unplug and vacuum using the brush attachment. There should be three inches of space between the wall and the unit on the sides one inch in the rear.

- Maintain the proper temperature: Ideally that is 0 degrees Fahrenheit. To see how cold your freezer is, leave a thermometer in a cup of vegetable oil in the freezer overnight. Still too warm after lowering the setting? Check that cold air isn’t escaping. Stick a dollar bill in the door-jam, close, and try to slide out the bill. For optimum efficiency, keep the freezer stocked and away from direct sunlight, a stove, or a dishwasher.

How to Raise Your Credit Score

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I’ve reposted blogs in the past from The Mortgage Experts in Colorado. They have one of the best financial blogs I have found. They put everything in common sense terms that everyone can understand!

Here is a great post about How to Raise Your Credit Score:

Things to do:
- Pay your bills on time. Every time you pay a bill 30 days late, it lowers your score. The more recent the late payment is, the more that late payment lowers your score.
- If you missed a payment, get current on that account. If you are past due on an account, just making the late payment – and not making the current month’s payment – will continue to lower your score.
- Keep balances low on credit cards and other revolving credit accounts.
– If your balance is more than 70% of your credit limit, it lowers your score the most.
– If your balance is 50% – 70% of your credit limit, it lowers your score a bit less.
– If your balance is 30% – 50% of your credit limit, it lowers your score even less.
– If your balance is below 30% of your credit limit, it will improve your score.
- When you review your credit report, you will see a list of things that are lowering your credit score. Work on those things to raise your score.
– The reasons your score is not perfect are listed in order, according to the impact they have on your score. Fixing the first two will raise your score the fastest.
– Credit analysis software is available to some lenders. It will tell you exactly what to do to raise your scores – it also tells you how many points your scores will go up.

Things NOT to do:
- Do not close accounts. The longer your accounts are open, the higher your score will be.
- Do not pay off old collection accounts or old charge off accounts. Paying off an account that no one is actively trying to collect will change the “date of last activity” from the old date to the current date, and lower your score, even though it is now paid off.
- NEVER pay anyone to “repair” your credit. They are only ripping you off! You can fix errors on your report by yourself – for free. Use a lender who will show you how, and who will help you – for free.

Getting a loan approved is easy – if you know what to do. The Mortgage Experts know what to do!!!

Make sure you check out our web site:

www.mtgsupportservices.com

Checking Things Off My Bucketlist

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Everyone has a bucketlist, right? Or at least an idea of things you’d like to do before you die.

I do. It’s not very long, mostly because I forget to actually add to it. It is more of an “in my head” list of things.

Sometimes I do things and think, ok, well, that can be checked off my bucketlist….even though it was never actually ON the list!

I completed one of these items on Saturday, April 6th. Thanks to the suggestion by my bff & trainer Cassy, I completed my first Indoor Triathlon at Prairie Life Fitness! It consisted of 10 laps in the pool (1 lap was back and forth), 6 miles on the spin bikes, and a 2 mile run around the track.

When Cassy suggested I do the triathlon months ago (it’s a yearly thing at PLF), I got in the pool to practice. ONCE. I didn’t get into the pool again until Saturday morning. I did however practice the bike & run together. I spin almost every Friday so I wasn’t worried about that AT ALL. The rest…I was a little concerned about.
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Thankfully I caught up to Cassy on the track (she was 2 laps ahead of me), and we ran together for the majority of the race which helped me keep my pace (especially when I wanted to stop!) then she finished my last two laps with me! (LOVE her).

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I’m happy to report I finished in 46:10. I was the 3rd female finisher (out of 6) and actually beat someone (by 35 seconds) who was ahead of me for most of the race.

I won’t lie, I wanted to DIE at the end. And I was super sore the next day! I think lack of training for the swim (I did breaststroke) and spinning super fast (and of course a run afterwards), really worked my hipflexers! It’s 5 days later & I still have no desire to do another triathlon. Maybe that will change, maybe that won’t. But at least I can say I DID IT!

Thanks Cassy for the push & support!

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The Culinary Center of Kansas City — Cooking Class

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Last week I was able to add a new Kansas City Adventure to my list of accomplishments. My friend Jen Trusty & I attended a cooking class at The Culinary Center of Kansas City.

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We took a class in their “Heart Healthy” series – Heart Healthy Meals in a Flash. For those that know me, I’m pretty good at following recipes, but don’t especially like to cook. (hello, who wants to cook for one?!). We had a BLAST & learned so much!

Rachel Ciordas was our amazing teacher! Not only did she give us instructions on the foods we were making, she educated us along the way. Here are just a few of the things I learned:
- Grass fed beef is higher in omega 3 & lower in calories than grain fed beef
- Look for wild salmon. Sometimes it’s better to buy frozen (in KC) since we aren’t close to the ocean
- Fennel (never had it before!) – is good for digestion, has a sweet flavor and you should cut against the “strings”
- Leeks are in the onion family (another food I’d never had used before)
- Instead of using salt (or to reduce the amount you use), add something acidic
- Salt is to enhance flavor (I found this interesting, I hardly ever use salt!)
- Cumin is very good for you
- Frozen veggies are better than canned veggies. Avoid canned whenever possible. If you must buy canned, look for something without BPA added & get no-salt added

In addition to all this great information, we made an entire meal!!!

Salmon in Pappillote (Salmon in baked paper)
This was our hand-on activity! We got into groups and worked together to cut up the ingredients (including Fennel & Leeks) & put together our meal.
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The final product was yummy!!
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Next up was Pasta with Asparagus, Peas & Arugula. You’ll be surprised to hear that I was the “assistant” on this prep. ;)
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We used goat cheese to melt into a light creamy sauce. Again, another yummy & easy meal!
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Next up was probably my favorite food of the night, Quinoa with Corn, Black Beans & Jalapenos. It was amazing!! I’m pretty sure everyone had my table went back for a second helping of this!
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Dessert was Crazy Strawberry Pazzo with Mascarpone. I am sad I forgot to snap a picture of this! It included strawberries, balsamic vinegar, biscottis & mascarpone cheese (you could also use cool whip).

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Jen & I had an amazing time! I would highly recommend taking a class at The Culinary Center….and Rachel was a fun & informative teacher!!

If you are interested in any of the recipes, please let me know! I’d be more than happy to share them with you! (jodi@jodidanziger.com)

Why Wait for Spring to Start Cleaning & Decluttering?

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Two weeks ago I got an email from my friend Rachel Ellyn who along with Duane Daugherty hosts Everyday KC, an online Radio Show. She wanted me to be on the show to talk Real Estate, but more specifically, my organization tips.

I had been slacking on getting these tips onto my blog, so it was GO TIME! I searched the internet for great tips to share & started cleaning out closets with some of my own ideas. These tips are now ready (or will be) to share with you over the coming year. AND I am proud to say that so far I have FIVE bags of things to donate!!

Of course clutter for one person is decorations for another (my mom thinks my entire house is clutter – I see decorations!). I found an awesome article about the definition of clutter from The Complete Guide to Imperfect Homemaking. I have definitely been clearing out the excess in my house & it feels GREAT!!!

You can find my appearance on Everyday KC here. (I started about 15min into the show). I hope you enjoy my tips! What are some of your favorite decluttering tips?

Here’s to a more organized 2013!