HANDY HINTS
For a cheap carpet freshener, fill an old carpet freshener container with Bicarbonate of Soda and add two drops of lavender or rose oil, shake well, then allow to stand for a day, shaking the container two or three times over the day. Sprinkle some over carpet, leave for 10 minutes or so then vacuum as normal. (For a stronger fragrance add another drop or two of the oil)
To remove greasy stains from carpet, sprinkle liberally with bicarbonate of soda. Using a stiff nail brush, scrub into stain. Leave stand for two or three hours, then vacuum. Repeat if necessary till stain is gone.
For handy disinfectant kitchen wipes, into a 25oz (739ml) gladware container*, put 150mls water and 50mls of household disinfectant. (generic brand is fine) Cut generic brand chux style wipes into halves, fold into quarters and put into container with diluted disinfectant. Place lid on top and place on bench or sink ready to use. The cloths can be washed out, dried and re-used quite a few times. Change the disinfectant twice a week. This is much cheaper than buying the ready to use ones and much more environmentally friendly. Cleaning vinegar can also be used instead as it is a good disinfectant as well.
*(well washed rectangular margarine container can be used instead)
Keep a container with some strong, spring type plastic pegs in it, in your kitchen. Perfect for closing open frozen vegetable bags, chip packets, bags of biscuits etc. Simply fold in the sides to form a point at the top then fold down a couple of times and clip with a peg. Much easier than twist ties that never seem to be long enough for most things.
Do you use a vegetable/fruit juicer? Don't throw out the left over pureed flesh. Place it in plastic freezer bags or containers and freeze. Next time you make a chicken and/or vegetable soup, add it with the rest of the vegetables. Makes the soups taste lovely and makes them thicker as well, and your not wasting money by throwing out part of the vegetables. Don't worry if there's apple in there as well, it just adds to the flavour. It can also be added to carrot cakes instead of just grated carrot.
Blue or black ink on something? This works most of the time so long as you do it straight away. Put the ink stained part of the cloth into a basin with kitchen paper under the stain and pour about 10 mls of milk over it. Let stand for 10 minutes then rinse under cold water. Repeat 2 or 3 times, then spray with a stainer remover or rub with a stain removing soap both sides, stand for for 2-3 minutes then using a soft nail brush scrub softly at the stain, then wash as normal. (won't work on ink from permanent markers or old stains)
Do you buy bunches of shallots with the roots still on them? Don't put them in the fridge, replant them in the garden. They will stay alive and you will have fresh shallots for ages.
Cheap backpacks from discount stores are great for storing toy cars with car mats, action figures and all their accessories, lego etc. making it easy for the children to find them in the toy box and take them out to play. Also easier when it comes time to pack up, if you stick a picture on the outside, of what goes in each bag.
Plain glycerine is wonderful for dry skin. For very dry hands, before going to bed, rub a liberal amount onto hands and put on a pair of cheap cotton gloves. Overnight your skin will absorb the glycerine, leaving them feeling soft by morning. For daily use, wet hands lightly and rub a small amount of glycerine into your hands, then pat dry. This is good for those with sensitive skin as there are no perfumes or chemicals. This also works well on your feet and stops those dry, cracked heels. Once a week, just smother your feet before bedtime with the glycerine and put on an old pair of socks.
If you have young children, keep a bag in the car with colouring books, pencils, picture and story books etc for those long car journeys. Whenever you go on a journey with the children they will always have something to do in the car, and because they don't go on long journeys all the time, the books will seem like new ones! Also keep a bag with outdoor toys in it, (frisbies, footballs, rounders bat and ball, cheap collapsible kites etc.) in the boot of the car. This way when you go on picnics to a park or something you don't have to search the house for toys for the children to play with while they're out. Also, on those long journeys, these allow the children to work off some energy, when you make a rest stop! (I speak as someone who has made a lot of 14-15 hour trips with young children over the years, because my parents live over 1000 km away.)
Do your children watch too much tv or play computer games for too long? This idea worked so well for my sister in-law I tried it and it does work so long as you stick it out. At the beginning of the week she wrote $5 at the top of a weekly chart. 1 hour of tv cost 50c, so her son had enough credit to watch 10 hours of tv a week. He had to ask her permission to watch tv (turning the tv on without asking, cost double the amount as well as the tv being turned off), and each time he did 50c was deducted, and the tv timer was put on. At the end of an hour the tv turned itself off, and he had to part with another 50c to watch more tv. It didn't take him long to realise that if he used all the credit early in the week, there would be no more tv for the rest of the week. After four months he was actually reaching the next week with credit left from the previous week. His mother used the same system when he got his gameboy and then his N64.
When you clean out your fridge, fill a bowl with 3 cups water, 1 cup of cleaning vinegar and 2 teaspoons of vanilla essence and use to wipe the surfaces. This will disinfect them and deodorise at the same time, and is environmentally friendly. A small plastic container filled with baking soda placed in the fridge will absorb odours in between clean outs. |
