Update: We've decided to skip the uv light and the whole house humidifier. Instead, I bought these air purifiers and will continue to do the individual humidifiers as needed. The purifiers are supposed to arrive today so we'll see if they help. We have an appointment next week to finalize the deal for the new HVAC system so it should be installed within the next couple of weeks. We'll live with the new system and purifiers for a while before deciding on the vent cleaning. Thanks for all your input!

Did you put the folded clothes away? You might need to torch the dressers, too!

Thank you all for chiming in with your experiences & advice! Spryte - Yes, it does get expensive, doesn't it? No, we don't have wood floors as that would be very costly (especially in addition to the new hvac system). Also, my kids are teens now & I'm not sure how long we'll be in this house once they depart. That's why I'm not sure how much to invest in the add-ons for the hvac system. We've identified other triggers for my dd, such as the live Christmas tree in December & some escalating food allergies. She was also allergic to our dog, but we recently euthanized him (due to advanced disease and his quite old age). We'll not be getting any more pets so maybe that'll make a difference? Good idea to run the furnace fan constantly. Sometimes we do that to help even out the temp in the house but never thought to do that for filtration. sbgrace - We could set the humidity to a certain level but I'm still concerned about the mold. kbutton - I think I need to clean the filter on my vac :blushing:. I'm in the process of switching to homemade cleaning products and am a big fan of the microfiber.

This is a very helpful tip, thank you! I'm always paranoid about collapsing the loaf when I move it.

My daughter has a mold allergy so that's why I'm concerned about adding the humidifier. It's so dry in our house, though, that everyone's getting nosebleeds. We tried the better furnace filters but our current system is so bad, actually out of code, that it restricted air flow too much. That's why I'm thinking that just having a new system would be a great help and we don't really need the add-ons. Idk. Here's the link to the UV light system: Fresh-Aire. It would add $700 to the cost of the system.

Thanks, I check out that website! We have an appt with the doc in 3 weeks so may ask then but I seem to remember a doc telling me before that it's variable. Some people notice a difference & others don't. The company giving the installation quote recommends only one other company for the duct cleaning because there's so many scams. Apparently, they feed a camera into the duct for before and after photos. With my daughter, the doc thinks that the more we can reduce her allergies the better her asthma will be so that's where we focus.

We need to replace the ac/furnace soon & have known this since we moved in 6 years ago. We just got our first quote a couple nights ago and there's some add-ons that I'm not sure are worth the cost. For those of you that suffer from environmental allergies and/or asthma have any of these things made a difference for you? UV light disinfection system - would be added directly to our furnace - $700 extra Humidifier - again, added to our furnace (we live in a very dry climate) - $545 extra Air duct cleaning - don't know cost yet but around $1000 Thanks! Sharon ETA: costs

:bigear: My dd wants to have a birthday party this year and coming up with teen party activities is hard!

When they say, "You are so mean!" after an unreasonable request, I say, "I know." I often get glimpses of the adults they will become and, at those moments, I'm stunned at how absolutely beautiful they are! :001_wub: :rofl:

This is our go-to biscuit recipe: King Arthur Flour

:iagree: It's important to teach teens to respect others even if they are upset or not feeling well. Half the time, my kids don't even realize how their saying something. When I call my dd on it, I can see her replaying the conversation in her head and then she usually says that she didn't mean to say it like that.

I love cats! Thanks for the laugh! The constant negotiating is a huge part of why I get so fatigued by it all. I agree with the need to allow them their independence and am very conscious of that. I choose my battles wisely and let things go more than fight, especially if there are natural, teachable consequences. However, at this age, there are times when parents absolutely have to say "no". Also, some teens push more than others. {Shrug}

Yes, I definitely realize this! Dh & I get along really well but I'm told I can be "intense". We rarely argue. But sometimes a statement is made that I don't agree with & my delivery is harsher than I intend. :( Thank you for your response. It helps. "...getting busy with your own "stuff."" My dd said that me going back to college was a good thing because "now you can have a life." Ouch. Because, you know, raising 2 kids & taking care of the home & family really isn't a life. Thing is, my kids are great kids but they are also teenagers. I know it's not their intention to be hurtful but they haven't learned to filter yet.

Please tell me this is a phase. I routinely have at least 2 out of 3 family members mad at me on any given day, usually the teens but sometimes Dh. I tell myself, "Don't take it personally" over & over, but, ugh! How much longer will it be like this? Signed, Frustrated mother to a 15 5/6 & a 14 1/4 year old

Glad you like it! I drizzle extra honey, too. Yummy!

Sure! This is the only bread that I start in the bread maker & finish in the oven because I haven't mastered the perfect "swirl" in my bread maker. Cinnamon Swirl Bread Recipe - Money Saving Mom ETA: I add my ingredients to my bread maker differently as per my model's manual, including room temp water.

I bought this one a few months ago (no longer available at Kohl's). Up until then, I had been using my Kitchen Aid to make pizza dough & occasionally, bread. My biggest problem is that I'm not home for long stretches to deal with the rising, etc, when I make it by hand. With the bread maker, I put the ingredients in, set the timer if necessary (it needs to be removed within 1/2 hour of finishing), & let it go. It took a few tries initially but now I use my bread maker all the time! The loaves are taller than normal so I cut the loaf in half horizontally before slicing. Now, we make at least 1 white bread, 1 whole wheat bread (my DH does this), 1 pizza dough, and 1 cinnamon bread every week. We use this thing a LOT more than I thought we would! Yes, homemade oven cooked bread has the best consistency and crust, but the bread maker still makes really good bread. I should also say that if I didn't have the bread maker, we would either eat store bought or do without.

I sometimes find it easier to "see" how something is done rather than "reading" about how it's done. Find a cooking mentor to teach you, take a class like others have suggested, watch cooking shows on tv, or watch YouTube videos. Then, practice, practice, practice! I'm a good cook but I've been doing it since I could reach the stove using a step stool. I've set fires, hacked my fingers with knives, burnt food to a crisp, served undercooked food, burnt myself many times (not sure I have fingerprints now), and still routinely set off the smoke detector. It's all just part of learning & yeah, I get discouraged sometimes but I get over it & try again. I also don't cook "gourmet" every night. Like a pp, cooking is mostly a chore right now but I like to have at least 1-2 dinners a week that are rave-worthy. Regarding the produce in recipes, I find that it's more personal taste rather than following the recipe exactly. For example, I don't like onion flavor overwhelming the other flavors in the food, so I use 1/2 the amount of onions the first time I try a recipe. As far as how small to chop the onion, no one in my family likes to crunch on onions so I usually chop them pretty small unless they'll cook for a very long time (soup or crockpot recipe). Often, I'll skip onion chopping & use onion powder so I get the flavor (mostly) without the onion bits my family dislikes. When you're trying a recipe for the first time, give yourself plenty of time to prepare & cook. Also, always have a back up plan such as box mac & cheese, hot dogs, or the phone number for takeout. That helps take the pressure off you. Hope that helps!

One of my New Year's resolutions this year was to go paperless with my lists. I'm a huge list maker so this was a really big deal! I finally settled on Google Calendar for appointments and menu planning (so that my Dh & Dd have access), and Remember the Milk for everything else. If you Google "Remember the Milk GTD" there's some really good tips and that's where I started. (GTD = Getting Things Done)

Thanks for the recommendations so far! Either. I usually start shopping for stuff like this online so that I can read reviews, etc, but I'm happy to head to a store. Oh my. :svengo: Yes, I'm buying 1 king & 2 twin sets so regular price would be $340! I'd have to wait.

I am looking online for new bed sheets and I'm surprised at all the poor reviews. I'd like cotton or cotton blend but no flannel, microfiber or fleece. So, any good recommendations?

:grouphug: Our old greyhound is having some of the same issues. He struggles to his feet after laying down and often sags in the back end. He can no longer do stairs (too many falls) so we've confined him to the family room and have penned off an area within it for night-time. Right now, he takes 4 pills in the morning and 3-4 at night depending on his pain level. He is on a medication to control bladder spasms & so far has not had additional issues with that. It's difficult to know how much pain is too much in a dog. Our vet, also a pain management specialist vet, says that dogs just don't complain. When they lose function, you know the pain is bad because they tend to keep going no matter what. If our boy gets to the point where he can no longer get up or has uncontrolled incontinence, we'll probably make that last trip to the vet. It's not an easy decision and we take it day by day.

This happens to us. I don't know why. :confused1:

My dd doesn't have tons of clothes but every time we were out, she'd beg for more. We instituted a clothing allowance using the teen checking account. Every month, money is automatically deposited into her account & that's all she gets. There are things that I'll buy like winter gear or a special occasion dress, but she's responsible for everything else, including undergarments. It's only been about 3 months but already she's learned so much! She's very selective about what she buys now and is much more careful with her clothing, such as checking the washing instructions instead of mindlessly mashing it all into the washer. Also, perhaps she needs a better closet system? Doesn't have to be pricey, it just needs to work for her. ETA: I'm answering your original question with a question: Does she have so many clothes that she can't (or doesn't want to) care for them all properly? If so, then she probably has too many and perhaps some thinning is in order.

I seriously needed to read this today. Thank you!