July 27, 2018 – Surprise learning when you can’t sleep

The used grocery bag trick.

         I had a taste – yes, just a taste of 85% dark chocolate yesterday afternoon around 4:30 p.m. and at 2:30 a.m. I was wondering why I was wired and couldn’t fall asleep. Last evening I watched Fox news – one show after the other, after the other until about 11:00 p.m.  Then I shut the lights off and expected to fall asleep.

The two alarm clocks were deafening.  “TICK TOCK TICK TOCK.” I got up and put one in a drawer and the other in the sweater cupboard.  I lay back down again and then flopped and tossed and turned and rearranged the pillows until my arms got sore and I tangled up in the sheets like sea kelp. I got up. 

         I wandered out to the computer to check on emails and then the cat wanted some food.  I padded out to the mudroom and gave Jasmine, the cat, a small bit of food to tie her over until morning.  She thought it was 6:30 a.m. because I was up.  I noticed the shopping sack in the corner was overflowing with used grocery bags.  I shook my head – what a mess - what do we need them for – yeah, we have need occasionally.  Why does the husband keep every single one of them along with every wine cork, every bread twist tie, and every Fudgicle stick?

         I padded back to the computer. I remembered I was going to look up borax and cleaning fiberglass shower stalls and after exhausting that topic I clicked on a link to 40+ cleaning ideas.  Maybe because it was the middle of the night and I had no lights on except the light emitting from the computer screen, I found many interesting ideas.  Many I had never read about before or seen before.

         I should have jotted a few down because now, day later, I can only remember half of what was useful.  But, the one that I found immediately useful and clever was the folding and rolling of used grocery bags so that you can put them in a pop up container and reuse them easily and not have a mess on your hands – like I currently have in the corner of the mudroom.

         After an hour or so of cleaning idea net surfing, I turned on the television and surfed and found nothing of interest there either.  I was so wide awake I even thought of walking out across the wet grass and retrieving the morning’s paper as it is always delivered by 11:30 p.m. on weeknights and as I was awake around that time I had watched it being delivered.

         But, I decided against that.  Me opening the front door would rouse the dog and then he would want me to walk him around the wet grass and I didn’t really want to get shoes or my feet wet.  I snapped off the TV.

         I padded back to the mudroom, found all the balled up grocery bags stuffed here and there and overflowing from the shopping bag. I retrieved them all and dumped them on the kitchen table.

         I remembered the first step was flattening them out and I did that and tossed out the ones that felt icky or had tears or bad handles.  Then, at 2:00 a.m. in the morning, I thought I remembered how to fold them and did a test drive. NOPE – I didn’t get the rolling or something right.  I tried again and failed.  With all the bags now flat and ready – I had to go back to the computer and give it a search to find how to roll them.  Yeah – one little bit off and it doesn’t work.  Now I see what I did wrong.

         Back in the kitchen, I rolled 12 of them and tucked them in a Cremora bottle that I’d washed out, torn off the label and cut the bottom ajar – making a hinge.  How about that – pull one out and VOILA – another one ready to pull out.  COOL! I taped the bottom of bottle shut and set it on the counter.  I found no other vessel available that I could play this garbage bag pop up game.  So, I moved the flattened grocery bags to the dining room table and trotted back to bed to try to sleep.  At some point I must have I fallen asleep as I was awoken at 6:30 a.m. by the cat that was hungry.  So, I did get some sleep – not much.  I’d forgotten chocolate had that effect on me.  I won’t forget it in the near future.

         Now, I am probably the last person to know this little trick – because some people say to me – “ Teri, you just don’t get out much – do you?”

         But, I intend to share it with the world for those of you, like me, who have been living under a rock or something. Below is the link for anyone who wants to give it a test drive. 

This morning after my first coffee, I located more vessels to put the rolled bags in and I have them staged throughout the house – nice and neat.  I need to do one for the trunk of my car also.

         Now, while I am thinking of it, I better get those alarm clocks out of the sweater cupboard and the drawer.

         Have fun learning this trick. https://youtu.be/X_cLIgnDr3M