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Household Hints
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As most crafters know, sometimes we would rather be working on one of our projects instead of house cleaning. So, we might put off doing the cleaning to work on one of our works of art. Sometimes this can be embarrassing if someone comes to visit unexpectedly. But, I have the perfect solution for this problem. Always right before you get started working on your project, bring the vacuum cleaner and place it in the middle of the living room. This way no matter how bad the house looks, your visitor will know that you had just started cleaning.
Here are a few of my favorite household hints. Be sure to check the links at the bottom of this page.
LAUNDRY:
Don't despair if you
get ink on an article of clothing. Spray the ink spot with hair
spray, rub gently, and rinse with water. Then, laundry as usual.
Hydrozen peroxide is
good for getting blood stains out of clothing.
NO MORE PRESSING
CLOTHES. Spritz them with a little bit of water and throw them in
the dryer for a few minutes.
When washing sheer or lace
panel curtains, fluff them for just a few minutes and hang them while
they are still damp. This prevents them from wrinkling.
To remove grease from clothes: Empty a can of Coke into a load of greasy clothes, add detergent, and run through a regular cycle. The Coca-Cola will help loosen grease stains.
GENERAL CLEANING:
Use baking soda on just
about any cleaning job when you need some extra help but don't
want a harsh abrasive.
Keep a paint brush on
hand to help out with the dusting. A paint brush is perfect to
get down in crevices and get the dust out. I also keep a stencil
brush when the paint brush doesn't do
as good of a job as I would like. It's a little stiffer and seems to
work better to get dust out of some places.
When silk flower
arrangements get dusty, spray them with hair spray to renew their
appearance. It gives them more body and makes them like new.
When the shutters on
the front of your house get dull, renew their appearance with Son-Of-A-Gun
(or any vinyl protectant found in the automotive department).
Spray on and rub with an old rag. If shutters are in really bad
condition, it may take two applications.
To clean a toilet, pour a can of
Coca-Cola into the toilet bowl and let the "real thing" sit for
one hour, then flush clean. The citric acid in Coke removes stains
from vitreous China.
To remove rust spots from chrome car
bumpers: Rub the bumper with a rumpled-up piece of Reynolds Wrap aluminum
foil dipped in Coca-Cola.
To loosen a rusted bolt: Apply
a cloth soaked in Coca-Cola to the rusted bolt for several minutes.
Use Coca-Cola to clean road haze from your windshield.
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. You can do this on dirt or concrete, etc. See for yourself. (They won't cross a line of Comet cleanser either.)
To prevent egg shells from cracking add a pinch of salt to water before boiling.
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.
ORGANIZATIONAL HINTS:
Roll towels instead of
folding. They take up much less space. Fold them in half, then
fold in half again. Starting at one end roll them. I just put
mine on a shelf but you could also store them in a basket.
When I fold sheets, I
fold the fitted sheet, the flat sheet, and one pillow case. I
then place these folded sheets inside the pillow case that is
left and fold it over the sheets. This keeps all four
pieces together and ready to go on the bed when needed.
I hang jeans on children's clothes hangers. The children's hangers are shorter thus making them stronger than regular hangers. The jeans do not weigh the hanger down and cause it to break.
JUNK MAIL:
Reduce the number of catalogs you receiving by tearing off the name/address label and mailing it back to the catalog company with a "please remove me from your list" note.
Other junk mail can be stopped by writing to Mail Preference Service, DMA, P. O. Box 9008, Farmingdale, NY 11735-9008. Include your name and address and a request to be removed from all list. Click here to visit their website.
And, finally, stop pre-approved credit card offers by calling Trans Union at 1-888-567-8688 and request your name be removed. They have the options to remove your name for two years or permanently. They share data with Experian and Equifax so you won't have to call them to make the same request.
Here's a website you can also visit to remove your name from pre-approved credit card offers https://www.optoutprescreen.com/opt_form.cgi .
It looks like the U.S. Postal service is going to be raising the postage every year now. So, join me in fighting back. Save on postage by signing up for bank draft for all your monthly bills.
Hope you have found some household tips that will help make your life a little easier. Now you can go back to my homepage and pick a new hobby to fill your extra time. If you have a household tips, email me, and I will add it to this page along with your email address.
Household Hints Updated 3/20/09