Clevercat Litterbox

If there were ever a fire in our place (God forbid), I might grab the new litter boxes first and the cats second.  Because I absolutely LOVE our new litterboxes, and don't really want the cats without the litterboxes. I'm joking, of course...

But I do really love these new boxes.  They were a little expensive, but so worth it.  They're a perfect example of Rules to Live By #2: Think vertically, and make having cats so much easier on the cleaning front, too.  

Picture a plastic tub with a snap-on lid with a kitteh-sized hole in it. Simple, but brillant.  They're actually called "Clevercat," and don't think that didn't give me pause.  "Crap!  What if our cats aren't smart enough to use them?"  But even our cats were able to hop in the opening in the top of the box, do their stinky little business, and hop back out.  

Due to the top entry hole, there's no way Miss Cider can whiz out the back as she used to have the nasty habit of doing, poor thing.  The top of the box also has ridges on it which acts as a great mat, trapping the litter from their paws.  No more litter scattered all over the laundry nook floor!  This also means no additional space is taken up by its "footprint" due to a mat out on the floor next to the box.  

And since the lid snaps on the very top, there is no seam midway to get all gucky like most covered boxes.  Nor can Master Newton kick litter and poo out of the hole, as he used to like to do.  Malicious and adorable, isn't he?

The box came with liners (and they sell refills) but we find that it works fine without them.  We got ours at PetSmart for about $30 and they're also available on the company's website.  All hail the mighty litterbox!

When Life Gives You Lemons...

Clean the kitchen!  

Okay, I know this isn't exactly a living large in small spaces thing, but I figure it's helpful, and it's been far too long since I posted!  Plus, part of keeping sane in a small space is keeping it clean.

I love the smell of fresh lemons, and have found that frozen lemons can do fabulous things for cleaning.  I like to take a lemon and slice it into quarters, then each quarter into half, and then thirds.  I drop the pieces into an ice-cube tray, squeeze some of the juice into all the compartments, then fill them up with water.  

Once frozen, they are great for a variety of uses.  I just keep 'em in a plastic baggie in the freezer door.  

For the sink disposal: toss two or three lemon cubes in to grind up and clean, sharpen and deodorize the blades and disposal.

For the microwave: drop one or two into a microwave-safe bowl, add water, and microwave for 2-5 minutes (depending on the wattage) on high power.  Let sit for another 5 minutes, and then wipe microwave down immediately.

You can also do something similar to this to help with the oven cleaning.

For hard water stains/boil marks in pots and pans: fill pot or pan with water, bring to almost boiling, let simmer and add a handful of the lemon cubes.  Cover with lid, turn off heat, and let steam.  This doesn't completely remove the stains, but it helps when it comes to elbow grease time.

And as a bonus, the lemon juice is good for freshening up your wooden cutting board, and if you really want to get all Martha-Stewarty, the lemon cubes make a "fabulous addition to any afternoon get-together" (insert creepy chuckle here).