Day 156- Netflix trix

Day 156- Netflix Trix

I love movies. If it were up to me, I would watch at least one a day. Maybe even two if I had nothing to do.

That is one of the reasons why I love Netflix. It is like a pure and constant stream of movies to my front door.

And with the summer coming up, there are few things I like quite as much as lying flat on my back in the heat and humidity with a frozen drink, a dark room, and a movie. But, on the other hand, with vacations and longer days, summer blockbusters and free concerts in the park, I could also see how people may wish to watch less films. If you find yourself in that boat, you may want to utilize some of these handy netflix "trix". All of these tricks are accomplished by first clicking on "your account" on the upper right hand corner.

1. Downgrade- The standard netflix seems to be the three at a time. But for some folks, a constant stream of three films at a time is just too much. So, why not get fewer movies? By clicking on "Change Plan", you can reduce the ammount of films you receive. Christine and I have the unlimited two movie plan--one for her and one for me. I have some friends who get only two films a month one at a time because they just don't watch too many movies. I know some folks who get four or five at a time because they can't stand the idea of going a single day without watching a movie.

Transfer- Since Christine and I are sharing an account, we each get a disk at a time. But, I am going out of town for two weeks at the end of the month and won't be watching any movies. So, I will probably give her my disk for those two weeks so that she can have two movies and I get none. Click on "account profiles". As you can see, there is an opportunity to "reassign DVD's".

Account Hold- Lets say you are going out of town for a month and you will be constantly on the road, or hiking the Appalachian Trail, or a camp counselor in the middle of the forest, or sailing the world. Or maybe you just are tired of watching movies for a while and have no one to transfer your dvd's over to. Just put your account on hold. Just click on "Put Account on Hold". This will keep all of the movies currently on your queue, save all your film ratings and reviews, plus you don't have to pay. There is just one catch, you can only put it on hold for 90 days. That being said, if you anticipate being Netflix-less for more than 3 months, you might just want to cancel the whole shabang. Just punch in the days you are gone and they will stop sending you movies and stop charging your account.
Well, I wish you good movie watching and summertime fun this season.

We are slowly but surely getting our garden all together. It has been a lot of fun. But recent weather makes it difficult to work longer than a half an hour without sudden and violent thunderstorms. But the morning glories and cucumbers are in. Tomorrow will be squash and corn I think.

Oh, my co-worker and I have started our own web comic called The First Strip of Our Webcomic. I would appreciate it if you gave it a gander.

154- Multi-Surface Cleaner

Day 154- Multi-Surface Cleaner

Well our old house has been packed up and moved. We spent an entire day cleaning the house from top to bottom.

For cleaning surfaces and windows, I mixed up a batch of all natural surface cleaner which worked just as well as the commercial product--Clorox Formula 409.

I took a large spray bottle and filled it about 2/3 with water. The final third, I filled with cheap distilled white vinegar and 1/2 tablespoon of dish washing soap.

That recipe again is:
2 parts warm tap water
1 part distilled white vinegar
1/2 tablespoon of dish washing soap.

We use Seventh Generation products at our house, so we know that my surface cleaner was 100% natural and biodegradable. There were no harmful toxins or chemicals unlike 409 Spray.

It cleaned the walls from grease, dirt, oil, and pencil marks in a breeze. And it cleaned windows with a streak free shine. (Use crumpled, old newspapers instead of paper towels to help fight streaks.)

Plus, it was made of things lying around the house, so we had a whole day's supply of surface cleaner without having to go out and buy a bunch--saving literally a dozen dollars.

Whether its for pickles or cleaning surfaces and drains, I always keep a big jug of distilled white vinegar around, just in case.

Competency Moment of the Day: I got my rebate check today! It will be going toward savings and paying off debt.