This page is for those time-tested tips you wish you had known before you spent umpteen years doing it the hard way!
The secret to getting melted crayon out of your laundry!!!
From Crayola, whom you would expect to be very interested in whether MOMYS get all frustrated with their products and throw them all away, vowing never to replace them --
Place the stained surface down on a pad of paper towels, spray
with WD-40, and let stand for a few minutes. Turn the fabric over and spray the
other side. Apply liquid dishwashing detergent and work it into the stained
area. Replace towels as they absorb the stain. Wash in hot water with laundry
detergent and bleach for about 12 minutes (use "heavy soiled" setting
if there is no minute timer on your machine), and rinse in warm water.
WD40 also works to remove crayon from walls and such...just spray
and wipe away and then go over affected area with dish soap when finished
lifting the stain to remove the greasy look.
General Household Tips
LaNel: I use canning jars and jelly jars for our everyday glasses. They can get dropped on the floor and won't break.
We use cloth napkins... I got this great idea from a local "Karen's Country Kitchen" restaurant... calico fabric just *ripped* into 18" squares! No sewing! They throw some threads the first few washings, but now have a nice little fringe around the edges. A great use for fabric scraps and old curtains and shrunken table cloths!
How to make cheap icepacks...I
thought this was a great idea for those of us pregnant....for the bottom....and
for all the boo boo's that kids get...
Take a ziplock bag....put 2 cups water in it....then add 1/3cup alcohol..this
can be rubbing alcohol or like vodka...make sure the proof is at least 80 if you
do the liquor....mix together--freeze!!! This makes those wonderful gel type
icepacks that are so expensive in the stores...you can add food coloring to them
too -- pink or blue or purple...boy, it could be fun!!! You could adjust
the amounts to make smaller bags too. I would think that freezer bags would be
better because they are thicker...oh, and another note, snack size bags
leak...just so you don't try that one!! You could even
hold the top over a flame and melt the top together if you think a little one
may try to open it and eat it...Make sure to mark on the bag that it is and ice
pack...do not eat me :o)
Housecleaning Tips
LaNel writes: I would also suggest hiring a babysitter to watch the kids while YOU do the
cleaning... it's MUCH cheaper that way! I don't know what the going rate is for a cleaning lady in the rest of the country, but out west it's at
least $45 per visit! And the kids trash it in a few days, anyway!
OKAY LADIES, I couldn't resist when read-only subscriber Lisa wrote to me with the instructions for getting crayon out of laundry -- I had to go see the Crayola site. You would not believe the little "tree" they have for getting different kinds of Binney-Smith/Crayola products out of ALL kinds of surfaces -- I laughed out loud when I saw it!! I am putting a link here to Crayola's Stain Removal Tips site. It's worth the time it takes to surf this site for information.
Kitchen Tips
Toss lemons into the microwave for 15 sec. before squeezing to get more juice out of them.
Spray your Tupperware with nonstick cooking spray before pouring in tomato-based sauces. No more stains.
Wrap celery in aluminum foil when putting in the refrigerator - it will keep for weeks.
Use lifesaver candy to hold candles in place on your next birthday cake! Kids love them.
Poke an egg with a small sewing needle before hard-boiling, and the egg will peel with ease! And hold that needle in place with a magnet refrigerator clip.
Stuff a miniature marshmallow in the bottom of a sugar cone to prevent ice cream drips.
Zap garlic cloves in the microwave for 15 seconds and the skins slip right
off.
Use a meat baster to "squeeze" your pancake batter onto the hot griddle perfectly shaped pancakes every time.
Always spray your grill with nonstick cooking spray before grilling to avoid
sticking.
To prevent eggshells from cracking, add a pinch of salt to the water before hard-boiling.
Use a pastry blender to cut ground beef into small pieces after browning.
Sweeten whipped cream with confectioners' sugar instead of granulated sugar. It will stay fluffy & hold its shape better.
For easy "meat loaf mixing", combine the ingredients with a potato masher.
If you don't have enough batter to fill all cupcake tins, pour 1 tablespoon of water into the unfilled
spots. This helps preserve the life of your
pans.
To easily remove honey from a measuring spoon, first coat the spoon with nonstick cooking spray.
Run your hands under cold water before pressing Rice Krispies treats in the pan. The marshmallow won't stick to your fingers.
Mash and freeze ripe bananas, in one-cup portions, for use in later baking. No wasted bananas (or you can freeze them whole, peeled, in plastic baggies.)
To quickly use that frozen juice concentrate, simply mash it with a potato masher. No need to wait for it to thaw! A wire whip works also.
To get the most juice out of fresh lemons, bring them to room temperature & roll them under your palm against the kitchen counter before squeezing.
To easily remove burnt on food from your skillet, simply add a drop or two of dish soap & enough water to cover bottom of pan, and bring to a boil on stove-top-skillet will be much easier to clean now!
Transfer your jelly to a small plastic squeeze bottle-no more messy, sticky jars or knives! This also works well for homemade salad dressing.
To aid in washing dishes, add a tablespoon of baking soda to your soapy water-it softens hands while cutting rough grease.
Save your store-bought-bread bags and ties-they make perfect storage bags for homemade bread!
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 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".
Next time you need a quick ice pack, grab a bag of frozen vegetables out of your freezer - no watery leaks from a plastic baggie.
When making bread, substitute non dairy creamer for the dry milk - it works just as well!!!
Rinse cooked, ground meat with water when draining off the fat -
this helps "wash away" even more fat! Use HOT or warm water so fat won't congeal.
Slicing meat when partially frozen makes it easier to get thin slices.
Instead of throwing away bread heels or leftover cornbread, use them to make bread crumbs. For use later, store them in the freezer.
Substitute half applesauce for the vegetable oil in your baking recipes. You'll greatly reduce the fat content! (Example: 1/2 cup vegetable oil.)
To ripen avocados and bananas, enclose them in a brown paper bag with an apple for 2-3 days.
Brush beaten egg white over pie crust before baking to yield a beautiful, glossy
finish.
Place a slice of bread 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.
When starting your garden seedlings indoors, plant the seeds in eggshell halves. Simply crack the shells around the roots of your plants & transplant them outdoors - the shell is a natural fertilizer.
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.
Use of soap wrapper: Don't throw away the wrapper after removing a bar of soap. Place it inside your shoe cabinet or shoe box. It's a cheap way of filling the air with a nice smell.
If your polished furniture has small scratches: Try rubbing them with a shelled walnut. You'll see the scratches just disappear!
Are your shoes smelly: Here's a solution. Put some tea leaves into a pair of stockings & stuff each into a shoe. Leave for a day or two & the smell just vanishes.
If you have problem opening jars: Try using latex dishwashing gloves.
Tips for stamp collectors: Place the envelope in the freezer for a few hours. You'll then be able to easily lift the stamps off with a pair of tweezers.
To keep buttons from dropping off, dab a drop of clear nail polish onto the thread that secures the buttons. This will harden & make it more difficult for thread to break off.
Joan P. contributes: When ground beef is on sale (<$1/pound here),
we buy large quantities (20 lbs. or more). That lasts us around 4 months
or longer. I make some immediately into meat loaves, meat balls, etc.,
(some baked and some just assembled--if recipes are requested, I will send them
in) and then brown, rinse, & freeze the remainder in 2-cup (approx. 1 lb.)
baggies placed inside a larger freezer bags (to be used in sloppy joes,
spaghetti sauce, tacos, etc.). Doing the browning ahead of time eliminates
the need to make a medium-sized mess every time you make a recipe with browned
ground beef in it. It does mean you've made a slightly larger-than-usual
mess once, but then it's over for the duration of your ground meat supply.
I will often sub part ground turkey or chicken mixed in with the beef. The
family doesn't even know! Anyway, the latest thing I've learned about
doing this is (drum roll, please)...
After the meat is browned, drained, and rinsed (in a mesh colander under the
hottest tap water you have) to remove every speck of grease, use a pastry
blender to pulverize the beef into even finer particles (for lack of a better
word). This makes it stretch even farther. My children are notorious
for leaving chunks of beef on their plates after we have spaghetti, lasagna, or
whatever. Since I've been using the pastry blender to break up the cooked
meat, hardly any has been left behind. I use a little less, too, but it
doesn't seem like it.