The Living Room Staple Most People Should Clean More

Life-saving emergency features on your phone, why you should ditch your meatloaf pan, and more. Life-saving emergency features on your phone, why you should ditch your meatloaf pan, and more. January 18, 2022 [View Online]( Good morning! We all have blind spots when it comes to cleaning things around the house, and one of them is the focus of Today’s Good Thing. It was inspired by my own moment of realization that I hadn't cleaned mine in ages, which is rarely a good sign. Also in today’s newsletter, there’s a new Tech Tip Tuesday for you about some very important features on your phone. They can make all the difference in an emergency situation, so pass the information along to your loved ones too. Jillee P.S. Can I ask for a quick favor? Did this email arrive in your inbox, promotions tab, or junk folder? Reply and let me know. TODAY'S GOOD THING The Living Room Staple Most People Should Clean More [Photos of Jillee's throw blanket.]( Your favorite throw blanket is always there for you—make sure you’re caring for it in return. If you’re like most people, you may not know the last time you washed your throw blankets, despite the fact that they ought to be cleaned once a month (or closer to twice a month if they are around food or pets). And since these blankets keep us cozy during the bitter cold of winter, the least we can do is treat them well in return. How to wash your throw blankets: The safest way to clean a throw blanket is to follow the care instructions on its tag. (If you can’t remember how to interpret laundry hieroglyphics—AKA care symbols—on the tag, [refresh your memory here](.) If your blanket doesn’t have a tag, just follow these guidelines, which are gentle enough for most throw blankets: • Wash your throw blankets alone. • Select a short, delicate cycle with cold water. • Use a small amount of your normal detergent in the wash cycle. (Too much detergent and your washer won’t be able to rinse it all out—you may want to run an extra rinse cycle just to be safe, if you have the option.) • Don’t use fabric softener. (Many delicate and synthetic fibers don’t play well with fabric softeners, and they can actually make your blankets feel less soft over time.) How to dry your throw blankets: The safest way to dry a throw blanket is to let it air dry, but that can take a long time. I prefer to speed things up by partially drying my throws in the dryer. Just dry them on a no-heat or low-heat setting until they’re about 80% dry, then air dry them the rest of the way—it’s a good compromise between safety and speed. [See the full tutorial ➜]( Related • [Expert Advice On How Often You Should Wash Everything]( • [15 Easy Ways To Make Your Living Room More Organized]( ⚡️QUICK TIPS⚡️ • It’s crucial to have an emergency food supply, and these strategies for rotating your supply will ensure it stays fresh. [Read more ➜]( • There are all sorts of reasons to keep baby oil on hand, like stretching shower gel, silencing squeaks, and more. [Read more ➜]( • If the inside of your water kettle is coated in powdery hard water residue, find out how to descale it the easy way. [Read more ➜]( NEVER MISS A TIP! Using Gmail? One click will make sure my emails always arrive in your inbox. On desktop, click the arrow icon next to the subject to tell Gmail an email is important so they always go to your inbox: On mobile just click the three dots in the top right and then click "Mark as important", like this: TECH TIP TUESDAY Know Your Phone’s Emergency Features [An image of two phone screens displaying the Emergency SOS feature and settings.]( Thanks to new SOS features, your phone is now even more invaluable in an emergency. We’ve all heard stories about how 911 calls or phone location data have helped save lives in emergency situations. Your phone can do the same if you’re ever in a bind, as long as you take the time to set up your phone’s Emergency SOS features and learn how to activate them. Since the release of iPhone 8, all iPhones have come with Emergency SOS features. One way to make an Emergency SOS call is to press and hold the screen lock button and either one of the volume buttons, and an Emergency SOS slider will appear that you can use to call the local emergency number. Another option is to press the screen lock button 5 times in quick succession, which will initiate a countdown before automatically calling the emergency number. Both of these options can be enabled or disabled in Settings > Emergency SOS. Using Emergency SOS will also alert your emergency contacts of your current location. You can designate your emergency contacts in the Health app. (Tap your profile picture > Medical ID, then scroll to Emergency Contacts.) These features could save your life in an emergency, so take the time to set them up! Android Users: Android devices have similar SOS features, including emergency calls and SOS messages. You can set these up by going to Settings > Safety & emergency > Emergency SOS. Read more about setting up emergency features [on Android Help here](. COOKING The Merits Of Shaping Meatloaf By Hand [A photo of a meatloaf being shaped by hand on a baking sheet.]( Whether you’re a fan of meatloaf or not, ditching the pan can be a life-altering experience. [Since Roman times](, meatloaf has been a great way to use up whatever meat scraps or portions of ground meat you happen to have on hand. And while today most people make it in a loaf pan (or a muffin pan, à la [meatloaf cupcakes]() to give it shape and structure, back in the day meatloaf was always shaped by hand. But far from being a relic of a bygone era, there’s at least one good reason to try out the “old school” method of shaping meatloaf by hand. Without a pan covering most of its sides, your meatloaf will have more of its surface area exposed in the oven, giving it a deliciously caramelized crust on the outside. As long as you have an adequate amount of binding agent in your meatloaf (usually egg and/or breadcrumbs), it should hold together just fine on its own. Line a baking sheet with tin foil or parchment paper, shape your meatloaf into your desired shape, then bake as usual for crusty, caramelized meatloaf goodness. JILLEE'S PICK Fictional History In Carnegie’s Maid [The front cover of ]( For those who enjoy historical fiction as much as I do, [Carnegie’s Maid by Marie Benedict]( puts an interesting twist on the concept. ”Fictional history” feels like a more fitting descriptor for this story, which centers on Clara Kelly, (the fictional) maid to the mother of (the real) Andrew Carnegie. Clara, a poor Irish immigrant, develops an unlikely romance with young Andrew Carnegie, which has an “upstairs/downstairs” dynamic that will be very familiar to fans of Downton Abbey. In this fictional world, it is Clara’s influence on Andrew that steers him away from life as a ruthless magnate and towards philanthropy. In addition to drama and romance, Carnegie’s Maid explores the lives of domestic workers in the 1800s, the challenges faced by immigrants, and the class divide between the poor and wealthy. I enjoyed the story as a whole, but it's the level of historical detail that makes this one worth a read. [See Carnegie’s Maid by Marie Benedict on Amazon ➜]( POLL OF THE WEEK Social Survey Q: Which social media platform is your favorite? (Click one of the options below to submit your response.) 1. [Facebook]( 2. [Instagram]( 3. [Pinterest]( 4. [YouTube]( 5. [TikTok]( 6. [I don’t use social media]( Results from last week's poll: I'm happy to see that I'm in the majority for preferring "the great indoors" when it's snowy out. Over 1,900 of you weighed in on the question “What’s your favorite thing to do when it snows?” Here's how you responded: • 50.1% said “Enjoy it from inside where it's warm” • 24.5% said “It doesn't snow where I live” • 15.6% said “Snowshoe or go on a walk” • 9.7% said “Ski or snowboard” A FEW MORE THINGS... Can I Interest You In A Synonym: It’s Thesaurus Day, an unofficial celebration of the favorite reference book of writers everywhere. It falls on January 18 in honor of Peter Mark Roget, the 19th-century physician who published the [Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases](, considered the first modern thesaurus. Roget was born on this day in 1779, and I, for one, praise his inestimable benefaction. Asteroid Passing: Today a large, rocky asteroid called [(7482) 1994 PC1]( will [pass by Earth]( at a distance of 1.9 million kilometers—about 5 times the distance between Earth and the moon. The asteroid itself is 1.1 kilometers wide, or 2.5 times as tall as the Empire State Building. Today’s “flyby” will be the closest the asteroid comes to Earth for at least 200 years, according to calculations of its orbit. What did you think of today's email? [Not good]( | [Just okay]( | [Loved it!]( 🏠[Visit the By Jillee Shop]( 🤗 [Join OGT Free]( Let's connect! [facebook]( [instagram]( [pinterest]( [youtube]( If you have thoughts, comments, questions or a tip or trick you'd like to share, I'd love to hear from you! My inbox is always open, so just hit "reply" and let me know what's on your mind. See you tomorrow! Sending you bright ideas and simple solutions to help you create a home and life you love. My mailing address is: One Good Thing by Jillee 841 S. Main St. Heber City, UT 84032 If you're not happy please reply to this email to tell me why. You can [update your email preferences]( or break my heart and unsubscribe . View our privacy policy [here](.