Learning From Roommates

I have learned so much from the wonderful roommates I've had over the years. They have taught me cooking skills, cleaning skills, social skills, communication skills; and have influenced my habits, diet, style, and opinions. Most married people don't have the chance to have a roommate after they get married (besides their spouse of course), but I've been lucky to have two roommates this past year: my sister, Marie, and my sister-in-law, Emily. And I've learned a lot from them.

In fact, I've adopted two oh-so-practical strategies from Emily that I thought I would share:

#1 My new favorite kitchen item: disposable vinyl gloves. I have always hated touching raw meat. And this has affected my cooking style over the years because I pretty much just throw meat on the grill/ in the pan so I don't have to touch it. I hate prepping it.

To the rescue: gloves! Why hadn't I thought of this before? I worked as a cook in a cafeteria when I was in college, for heavens sake! I guess since I haven't been preparing food for the masses, it slipped my mind. Anyway, they are cheap (you can find them in Walmart in the cleaning section next to the rubber gloves) and make life so much less icky. (And if Isaac has a melt down when I'm in the middle of chopping chicken, all it takes is a quick glove removal and I can go save the baby.)

#2 New bathroom-cleaning technique: let the toilet bowl brush drip dry in the toilet. You just pin the brush handle between the toilet and the seat so it can dry like this:

Again, so common sense, I can't believe I've awkwardly never known what to do with the wet toilet bowl brush for so many years! (Sorry about the gross looking brush by the way, we need to get a new one.)

So there are two practical tips for the day. Thanks, Emily!