I Tested 5 Paper Towels And One Was The Clear Winner

PLUS: The best solution for residue buildup on towels, a website that brings ‘70s TV to life, and more. PLUS: The best solution for residue buildup on towels, a website that brings ‘70s TV to life, and more. February 16, 2022 [View Online]( Good morning! In Today’s Good Thing, find out how a distressing experience inspired me to put 5 different varieties of paper towels to the test to see which would outperform the rest. (If you’d like to see more head-to-head comparisons in the future, let me know—paper towels could be the first of many!) Also in today’s newsletter, I’m sharing an old family recipe I recently rediscovered in my collection. This old fashioned oatmeal cake is not only delicious, but it’s sure to remind you of the classic homemade desserts you ate as a kid. Jillee TODAY'S GOOD THING I Tested 5 Paper Towels And One Was The Clear Winner [A photo of several different brands of paper towel.]( A recent mixup inspired me to put 5 popular varieties to the test in a head-to-head paper towel showdown. I don't use paper towels all that often, but when I do, I reach for my favorite Viva paper towels. I love how soft and strong they are, and I've even recommended them in my [DIY wipes tutorial]( on my blog. I've been getting them through Subscribe & Save on Amazon for a while now, but the Viva paper towels I received recently weren’t soft or cloth-like at all. I was surprised, distressed, and a little peeved—I had half a mind to call both Viva and Amazon and demand an explanation! I realized I ought to get my facts straight before I started making angry phone calls, and after searching for answers online, I learned that Viva now makes two kinds of paper towels. There's the new Viva Multi-Surface Cloth, and the old kind I like, which have been rebranded as Viva Signature Cloth. At this point, I was curious to see how the new type compared to my treasured Signature Cloth paper towels. But why stop there? I decided not only to put the two Viva varieties to the test, but include a few other brands of paper towel to make it the ultimate head-to-head paper towel showdown. And that’s exactly what I did! I’ve included all of the details about how I tested the paper towels, as well as a detailed explanation of my final rankings, at the link below. Check it out to find out which paper towel took the top spot in my first-ever paper towel showdown. [I Tested 5 Paper Towels And One Was The Clear Winner ➜]( Related • [Homemade Wipes - 3 Different Ways]( • [7 Things You’ll Clean Better Using A Microfiber Cloth]( ⚡️QUICK TIPS⚡️ • From a tasty trail mix add-in to the shell for homemade cannolis, you’ve never seen ice cream cones used like this. [Read more ➜]( • Buying in bulk can make storing and organizing things tricky, but these 12 bulk-buy storage solutions can help. [Read more ➜]( • This method requires a bit of time, but it works wonders for removing ground-in grime from linoleum floors. [Read more ➜]( WASH IT WEDNESDAY Use Vinegar To Remove Troublesome Residues [A photo of vinegar being poured into a washing machine.]( Detergent or fabric softener residue causing laundry problems? It’s nothing a little vinegar can’t fix. While baking soda is my go-to for eliminating odors, I always reach for vinegar when I’m dealing with buildup or residues. Any fabric can develop residue buildup if it doesn’t get rinsed enough in the wash, but it’s particularly common in towels. Eventually, a buildup of residue can form a waterproof film that detergent alone can’t fix. But vinegar is acidic enough to break down that stubborn buildup and restore towels to their formerly fluffy and absorbent state. Just load your musty, non-absorbent, or greasy-feeling towels into your washing machine with a small amount of detergent and 1/2 cup of vinegar. You can let the cycle run as usual, or you can pause the cycle a few minutes in and give the vinegar more time to dissolve the buildup. (Even a half hour of soaking would help!) In the future, you can prevent buildup becoming a problem in the first place by using the recommended amount of detergent for your load size and machine. (Today's detergents are highly concentrated, so you may not even need that much!) And if you think a load didn’t get rinsed very well, run another rinse cycle just to be safe. BEAUTY Why Hot Showers Aren’t Great For Your Skin [A photo of a shower.]( Nothing sounds better than a hot shower when you’re cold, but they may be doing more harm than good. There are some mornings when it’s so cold that as soon as I wake up, all I can think about is getting into a hot shower. Once I’ve finally emerged from my warm cocoon of blankets and gotten under the hot water, I’m like a lizard on a sun-warmed rock—content and extremely reluctant to relocate. But apparently my love of hot showers has worse consequences than running up my water bill. In the same way hot water rinses food grease off your dishes, it can have a similar effect on the natural oils produced by your skin. Hot water can sap your skin of its natural moisture, which can cause it to become dry, flaky, and irritated. For that reason, most dermatologists recommend showering in lukewarm-to-warm water instead. It may not be quite as satisfying as cranking your water as hot as it will go, but it’s better than dealing with dry, itchy skin all day! JILLEE'S PICK Old Fashioned Oatmeal Cake [Photos of oatmeal cake.]( Cake photo: The Pioneer Woman / [thepioneerwoman.com]( As you can see, this recipe for Oatmeal Cake is fairly old, but I recently rediscovered it in my recipe collection. I can’t remember who gave it to me, but I think it may have been a great aunt… but what I do remember is how delicious it is. If you love good old fashioned types of cake and desserts, this one is a must-try. Oatmeal Cake Start by cutting 1/2 cup of butter into pieces, then place the pieces and 1 cup of quick oats in the bowl of your stand mixer. Pour 1 1/4 cups of boiling water over the butter and oats and let stand for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, to a separate bowl, add 1 cup of granulated sugar, 1 cup of light brown sugar, 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon of baking soda. Whisk the dry ingredients together, then add them to the oatmeal in your stand mixer and mix. Add 2 eggs and mix again to complete the batter. Pour the finished cake batter into a greased 9x13" baking pan, then bake at 350°F for 30-35 minutes. When it's done, remove the cake from the oven and set it on a cooling rack for 10 minutes. Prepare the topping by adding 1/2 cup of butter, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, 1/2 cup of granulated sugar, 1/4 cup of evaporated milk, 1 1/4 cups chopped pecans, and 1 cup of sweetened coconut flakes to a saucepan and heat until the sugar dissolves. Spread the topping over the cake, then broil until the coconut is lightly toasted. WHAT IN THE WORLD WIDE WEB My ‘70s TV [An image of a laptop screen showing the My '70s TV website.]( No matter what decade you grew up in, you probably have some fond childhood memories of watching television. While my older kids reflect fondly on the cartoons of the mid ‘90s, for me it was all about ‘70s sitcoms like The Partridge Family and The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Needless to say, I was tickled to discover an entire website dedicated to ‘70s television, aptly titled [My ‘70s TV](. Simply press the Power button on the TV set to turn it on, then use the channel buttons to flip through far out and funky video clips from the 1970s. Use the Year knob to select a different year, or press the Shuffle button to shuffle clips from the whole decade. To the right of the TV, you can customize the types of videos you see, from cartoons all the way down to movie trailers. You can select or deselect as many types as you want to customize your ’70s TV experience. In just a few minutes of "channel surfing," I saw a performance by James Taylor from 1971, a Dodge van commercial from 1974, and other blasts from the past. Check it out! (The ‘70s weren’t your formative years? Try out [My ‘60s TV]( or [My ‘80s TV]( instead!) A FEW MORE THINGS... Go Nuts For Almonds: It’s National Almond Day, which is a true cause for celebration for almond lovers like myself. Almonds are not only a good source of vitamin E, magnesium, and fiber, but they're also used to make almond milk, a popular non-dairy milk alternative [you can make at home](. Treat yourself to your favorite almond-based food or drink today to celebrate! Full Moon: Today’s full moon is traditionally known as the Snow Moon, and it’s not exactly a mystery as to why—February tends to be a snowy month across North America. (I do find it interesting that if you wanted to go out and admire the full Snow Moon, you probably couldn't do it in a place where it's actively snowing.) 🤔 Wordle: [Solve today's 5-letter word](. 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. Update your email preferences or [unsubscribe]( [here](. View our privacy policy [here](.