Around the House

Household Tips

We all appreciate a good tip that will help us save time, money and energy around the house! Here are some great tips that we want to share with you! If you have a good tip you want to share, email us! Stuff a miniature marshmallow in the bottom of a sugar cone to prevent ice cream drips.. Use a meat baster to "squeeze" your pancake batter onto the griddle. Perfectly shaped pancakes every time.. To keep potatoes from budding, place an apple in the bag with the potatoes. To prevent egg shells from cracking, add a pinch of salt to the water before hard boiling.. Run your hands under cold water before pressing Rice Krispies treats in the pan; the marshmallow won't stick to your fingers.. To get the most juice out of fresh lemons, bring them to room temperature and roll them under your palm against the kitchen counter before squeezing.. To easily remove burned on food from your skillet, simply add a drop or two of dish soap and enough water to cover bottom of pan, and bring to a boil on stove-top - skillet will be much easier to clean.. Spray your Tupperware with nonstick cooking spray before pouring in tomato based sauces - no more stains.. When a cake recipe calls for flouring the baking pan, use a bit of the dry cake mix instead - no white mess on the outside of the cake. If you accidentally over salt a dish while it's still cooking, drop in a peeled potato - it absorbs the excess salt for an instant "fix me up". Wrap celery in aluminum foil when putting in the refrigerator -it will keep for weeks. Brush beaten egg white over pie crust before baking to yield a beautiful glossy finish. Place a slice of apple in hardened brown sugar to soften it back up. When boiling corn on the cob, add a pinch of sugar to help bring out the corn's natural sweetness.. To determine whether an egg is fresh, immerse it in a pan of cool, salted water. If it sinks, it is fresh - if it rises to the surface, throw it away. Cure for headaches: Take a lime, cut it in half and rub it on your forehead. The throbbing will go away.. Don't throw out all that leftover wine: Freeze into ice cubes for future use in casseroles and sauces.. If you have a problem opening jars: Try using latex dishwashing gloves. They give a non slip grip that makes opening jars easy Potatoes will take food stains off your fingers. Just slice and rub raw potato on the stains and rinse with water.. To get rid of itch from mosquito bite: try applying soap on the area; instant relief.. Ants, ants, ants everywhere ... Well, they are said to never cross a chalk line. So get your chalk out and draw a line on the floor or wherever ants tend to march - see for yourself.. Use air freshener to clean mirrors: It does a good job and better still, leaves a lovely smell to the shine.. When you get a splinter, reach for the scotch tape before resorting to tweezers or a needle. Simply put the scotch tape over the splinter, then pull it off. Scotch tape removes most splinters painlessly and easily. Take your Alka-Seltzer out of the dark medicine cabinet! Clean a toilet, drop in two Alka-Seltzer tablets, wait twenty minutes, brush, and flush. The citric acid and effervescent action clean vitreous china.. Clean a vase - to remove a stain from the bottom of a glass vase or cruet, fill with water and drop in two Alka-Seltzer tablets into a glass of water and immerse the jewelry for two minutes. Clean a thermos bottle - fill the bottle with water, drop in four Alka-Seltzer tablets, and let soak for an hour (or longer, if necessary). Unclog a drain - clear the sink drain by dropping three Alka-Seltzer tablets down the drain followed by a cup of Heinz White Vinegar. Wait a few minutes, then run the hot water.. Onion smells on your hands disappear when you rub your hands on stainless steel. A quick rub on your tap faucet will do the trick!

I scan the fixtures in the bathroom each time I use the bathroom. Since I am the only one in the house who doesn't need to lift the seat to use the toilet I need to do that to be sure it is clean under there. It only takes a half a minute to give the bowl and the seat parts a wipe. I use a paper towel with some of my home made cleaning mixture. I also wash the sink bowl with my hands after I have washed them. I then just rinse anything down the drain and I always take the towel and wipe the sink top and the fixtures. I don't like spots and my twenty-five year old sink fixtures look new. I also use a bathroom bleach spray cleaner on the tub shower walls. I do it before I am going to take a shower and then after I am done I can see if anything needs extra attention. My bath isn't too large and I find doing the floor with a few paper towels and my home made mix does the best job and I can see the corners and make sure I get all the stuff.
Home-made Cleaning Mixture
I take a quart size spray bottle and add about a half pint of rubbing alcohol...I get the wintergreen...and then add about a full pint of ammonia and then finish topping the bottle with water. It gets all the grime and leaves tile floors streak free the way I do them and I use this cleaner on gloss woodwork, mirrors, kitchen formica counters... lots of cleaning for very little money.
Submitted by Janet (IJANET1)

I like to try to plan meals ahead of time...So if I know I will go ahead and chop or cut any veggies I can ahead of time...putting them in plastic bags or tupperware ready for the cooking..
Submitted by Janice (JANR1)

I do a load of laundry before the children arrive each morning - if it is in the dryer before they come, then I can fold it either at naptime or at the end of the day.
Submitted by Ruth (RUTHJRC)

I use the crockpot several times a week for our family mealtime. This way, dinner is ready to put on the table when I am done for the day and it keeps us from grabbing fast food.
Submitted by Ruth (RUTHJRC)

I like to make one or two meals a week that are double. That way we use them again the next night for leftovers or I freeze half for the next week. Easy ones are double spaghetti sauce, double stews in crock pot, Chili, homemade soups, and casseroles.
Submitted by Sherry (SHERRANN)

Another thing I do is count. For some reason 30 is my number. I will walk into a room and do 30 things for a pick-up. Take care of 30 things and the room is usually done. Cups, dishes taken to kithen, socks or shoes put away, trash out, straighten etc. I really like doing my dishes at night this way. I can easily get the kitchen done in 2 or 3 commercials this way.
Submitted by Sherry (SHERRANN)

I made a list of the aisles in my store in order, and then made a master shopping list on the computer to check things off on.
Submitted by Beth (RYJACK16)

When I make coffee for hubbs I put a new filter in the thingy when pouring the finished coffee in the pot. (Then I just have to take the coffee and water, and unlike hubbs I wont have to clean the filterholder for green stuff because of forgetting the old one....)
Submitted by Berit (PURRYCAT)

Putting washingpowder for the laundry ready in place when done for the day, just stuff the clothes in and your ready, same goes for dishwasher.
Submitted by Berit (PURRYCAT)

I fix lunches and lay out clothes the night before on weekdays.
Submitted by Berit (PURRYCAT)

I have a tendency to let the items that need to go upstairs, sit on the steps until I am going up and can take them. I can't be running up and down all day... poor old knees can't take it. But it saves my knees and time.
Submitted by Sherry (SHERRANN)

When I have a job to do that seems overwhelming......and I really hate to start it, I will set the timer or alarm, knowing that if I work hard for XX amount of minutes then I can stop. Usually by that time I've made a dent and feel so much better I'll continue. If not, then at least I've started, take my break and can have a go at it again later.
Submitted by Sherry (SHERRANN)

I often plan meals ahead of time like when the children are eating afternoon tea I will chop vegetables.
Submitted by Allison (ALLISONJW)

Cleaning as you are preparing a meal is time saving too.
Submitted by Sherry (SHERRANN)

When having errands to run, make a list so the travel time is shortened with the route you take. So there is no back-tracking, overlapping etc.
Submitted by Sherry (SHERRANN)

I empty the dishwasher in the morning, where it is done for the day, and run it as I go off to bed. I also fill the dispenser with soap in the morning, then I just have to hit the button at bedtime.
Submitted by Sharon (GRITS4EVR)

Keep the mirror cleaner under bathroom sink with a roll of paper towels, clean it as you leave the room for the day.
Submitted by Sharon (GRITS4EVR)

I make huge salad when doing it, that way there is enough to send in mine and dh lunch following day, as I put away food, I box the salads. Sunday I cooked 4meals, and put them away in portions, where on nights I am tired, dinner can be zapped. We have pot pie, chicken tacos, lazagne, and stuffed shells for this week.
Submitted by Sharon (GRITS4EVR)

I bring in the clothes from the line while the kids are having their nap and the instead of just folding the towels I roll them and they fit better on the shelf.
Submitted by Carlyn (CARLYNR)