Irish Attic » appliance http://www.kco1.net/blog how to live green - resources & tips Sat, 04 Sep 2010 01:39:10 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 Cord Control http://www.kco1.net/blog/2009/09/cord-control/ http://www.kco1.net/blog/2009/09/cord-control/#comments Sun, 13 Sep 2009 13:51:04 +0000 admin http://www.kco1.net/blog/?p=1260 An electrician told me that I shouldn’t wind electrical cords around the appliance it goes with. I used to use twist ties, but they can be awkward to manage and I can never find the twist tie when I’m putting the appliance away. Velcro cord-keepers, aren’t free and they have the same drawbacks as twist ties.

Empty toilet paper tubes have proved to be the ideal solution. Besides being free they’re easier to manage than twist ties. Fold the cord in half (don’t crease it, just gently fold), and then in half again, continuing to fold until the cord is about five inches long or stopping before it’s too thick to fit into the tube. Then, slide the cord into the tube and you have an easy to use cord keeper that won’t get lost when you need to store your appliance.

You can leave them as is but I like to cover them with contact paper. This way they are easy to wipe clean as I invariably splatter them with pancake batter or whatever. It also keeps them from accidentally being thrown away. When using an appliance, I just slide the cord out of the tube but leave the tube right on the cord. It stays out of the way but it’s still with the appliance so that its ready to store the cord when I put it away.

This worked so well that I now use toilet paper tubes to store household extension cords and excess cord hanging behind appliances.

more ideas for organizing your cords


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]]> http://www.kco1.net/blog/2009/09/cord-control/feed/ 2 Alphabet Art http://www.kco1.net/blog/2008/04/alphabet-art/ http://www.kco1.net/blog/2008/04/alphabet-art/#comments Fri, 04 Apr 2008 04:34:12 +0000 admin http://www.kco1.net/blog/?p=10 Cut your child’s initials from a large piece of cardboard gleaned from a box before you place it in your recycle bin. Decoupage the initials with pictures cut from magazines and/or family photos. Hang on your child’s bedroom door, bedroom wall or playroom wall.



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]]> http://www.kco1.net/blog/2008/04/alphabet-art/feed/ 0 Wrap Your Gift in an Old Appliance http://www.kco1.net/blog/2008/04/appliances-gift-wrap/ http://www.kco1.net/blog/2008/04/appliances-gift-wrap/#comments Fri, 04 Apr 2008 04:27:02 +0000 admin http://www.kco1.net/blog/?p=8 Your gift will be dressed to impress when you wrap it in a recycled appliance. Small non-working appliances can be gutted to make imaginative gift containers. You may even want to spray paint them with a high gloss or metallic paint to give them a retro look.

]]> http://www.kco1.net/blog/2008/04/appliances-gift-wrap/feed/ 0 Resurrected Appliances http://www.kco1.net/blog/2008/04/appliances-broken/ http://www.kco1.net/blog/2008/04/appliances-broken/#comments Fri, 04 Apr 2008 04:24:34 +0000 admin http://www.kco1.net/blog/?p=7 Try fixing a broken appliance yourself with the help of a manual borrowed from your local library or Google your problem on the Internet.

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