Great Tips & Tricks for around the House

Now, half of these I have this “duh” moment when I read them….like why didn’t I think of that.  I got this list in an email & to save it…I’m blogging it here.  Enjoy!

The simplest way to slice a bunch of cherry tomatoes is to sandwich them between two plastic lids and run a long knife through all of them at once!

Keep brown sugar soft by storing with a couple of marshmallows

Install a regular coat rack low down the wall to store shoes safely off the floor

Organize jewellery on a corkboard for easy viewing when deciding how to accessorize an outfit

Create a thrifty watering can by puncturing holes in the top of a used milk bottle.

Remove pet hair from furniture and carpets with a squeegee.

Flip a toaster on its side to make grill cheese

Water  straight from the tap becomes cloudy when frozen. To make ice cubes crystal clear, allow a kettle of boiled water to cool slightly and use this to fill your ice cube trays.

Use a large muffin tin to cook stuffed peppers in the oven – it will help keep them upright.

To prevent potatoes budding, add an apple in the bag.

Add half a teaspoon of baking soda to the water when hard-boiling eggs to make the shells incredibly easy to peel off.

WD40 can be used to remove crayon marks from any surface!

To tell if eggs are fresh, immerse them in a bowl of water. Fresh eggs will lie on the bottom, while stale eggs will float to the surface.

To clean a wooden chopping board, sprinkle on a handful of Kosher salt and rub with half a lemon. Rinse with clean water and dry to ensure it is clean and germ-free.

Use ice-cubes to lift out indentations made by furniture on your carpets. Via North Carolina Charm

Prevent soil from escaping through the holes in the base of flowerpots by lining with large coffee filters

To sharpen scissors, simply cut through sandpaper.

Use rubber bands to help open a jar easily: place one around the jar lid and another around the middle of the glass. The rubber provides friction to prevent your hands from slipping.

To prevent your eyes watering while chopping onions, wipe the chopping board with white vinegar (which won’t affect the taste of the onions)

Store bed sheets inside their pillowcases for easy storage and access

Drop a couple of denture cleaning tablets into the toilet bowl at night to clean off stubborn stains.

Use cupcake cases to cover drinks glasses in the summer and prevent flies from dropping in

Use egg boxes to store delicate Christmas tree decorations

This has to be the simplest way to open those annoying blister packs!

Use a cut potato to easily remove a broken lightbulb

Use chalk to remove grease stains from clothes. Simply rub white chalk on the affected area and wash as normal – the chalk will absorb the grease and be washed away in the cycle.

Use a rubber band to rescue a stripped screw

Wrap rubber bands around the ends of a coat hanger to prevent dresses from slipping off.

Yet another use for drinks can ringpulls! Use to create a hanging loop for picture frames by screwing into the back.

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I searched Pinterest for ideas on what to do for end of the year teacher gifts.  I found a cute idea here & decided that was easy enough.  I simply bought to clay pots Michael’s for next to nothing (I think they were $1.50 each).  I used Rustoleum’s blackboard spray paint to do the exterior of the pots.  Once I had 2-3 coats on the pots, I then covered the top portion with some latex craft yellow paint I had already (but can easily be purchased at Michael’s).  I then used a tape measure to mark of the inch marks on the top & used a Sharpie Pen to do the actual numbers & to finish off the lines.  I then used a chalkboard pen which I had purchased from Ben Franklin Crafts to write the teacher’s names.  These pens are nice, because if you mess up the name or don’t like how you wrote the name, you can simply wipe it off & start over.  It won’t rub off like a normal piece of chalk would, but get it wet & it comes right off.  This project was SO easy to do…and rather inexpensive.  The most expensive part was the flowers themselves. I did have to use about 6 coats of the yellow paint (to cover the chalk board spray).  And one item I would NOT skip is to spray the INSIDE of the pots.  I used Krylon acrylic crystal clear cover.  You want to use this so that when the flowers are watered, your paint doesn’t bubble.  Normally, clay pots allow moisture to come right through the clay, so if you skip this step, say bye-bye blackboard! I also added a sticker that said “Thanks for helping (insert name) to Grow” on Avery labels (front & back).  Then I used those plastic lawn stakes that companies like TruGreen or Chemlawn use to advertise their work.  I borrowed mine from a neighbor that had just had their lawn treated.  You could easily skip this step & use the chalk board pen to write your child’s name on the pot itself. Here’s the final project:

 

Teacher Gifts: End of the Year

I searched Pinterest for ideas on what to do for end of the year teacher gifts.  I found a cute idea here & decided that was easy enough.  I simply bought to clay pots Michael’s for next to nothing (I think they were $1.50 each).  I used Rustoleum’s blackboard spray paint to do the exterior of the pots.  Once I had 2-3 coats on the pots, I then covered the top portion with some latex craft yellow paint I had already (but can easily be purchased at Michael’s).  I then used a tape measure to mark of the inch marks on the top & used a Sharpie Pen to do the actual numbers & to finish off the lines.  I then used a chalkboard pen which I had purchased from Ben Franklin Crafts to write the teacher’s names.  These pens are nice, because if you mess up the name or don’t like how you wrote the name, you can simply wipe it off & start over.  It won’t rub off like a normal piece of chalk would, but get it wet & it comes right off.  This project was SO easy to do…and rather inexpensive.  The most expensive part was the flowers themselves.

I did have to use about 6 coats of the yellow paint (to cover the chalk board spray).  And one item I would NOT skip is to spray the INSIDE of the pots.  I used Krylon acrylic crystal clear cover.  You want to use this so that when the flowers are watered, your paint doesn’t bubble.  Normally, clay pots allow moisture to come right through the clay, so if you skip this step, say bye-bye blackboard!

I also added a sticker that said “Thanks for helping (insert name) to Grow” on Avery labels (front & back).  Then I used those plastic lawn stakes that companies like TruGreen or Chemlawn use to advertise their work.  I borrowed mine from a neighbor that had just had their lawn treated.  You could easily skip this step & use the chalk board pen to write your child’s name on the pot itself.

Here’s the final project:

 

FBI Child ID App

 

Are you a parent?  Then you need to download this app!  I just saw this on the news & quickly downloaded it.  What’s so great about it?

God forbid your child EVER go missing, but in the event they do, time is of the essence.  The app allows you to upload your child(ren) photographs, pertinent info (height, weight, eye color, birth marks, nicknames, etc.), and your contact information.  Let’s just say your child goes missing, just hit the “Emergency” button on the app (it will allow you to call 911 or the National Crime Information Center (NCIC).  You can then easily transmit the information you’ve entered into the app & email it to anyone (think police, FBI, NCIC).  In an emergency, you can’t think about details (I’m not in an emergency typing this & I have no idea without looking it up how much either of my kids weigh or how tall they are).  When minutes are of the essence, who has time (or the where with all) to go find that information?  Why not gather it (and store it within the app) when you are not in panic mode?

DOWNLOAD THE APP BY CLICKING HERE

 

Federal Reserve in 7 minutes

Who’s got 7 minutes to learn who’s controlling this country’s money supply? Think its the government? Think again…