April is often a time of renewal. Recycling, cleaning, and re-organizing our lives are often the first signs of spring. We at TEAM have been organizing many of your household hints from the Christmas cookbook draw into categories to share.
More readers’ hints
- I have a great holiday gift giving idea. Most specialty shops use expensive gift bags to wrap your purchase. These often have the store logo. Simply spread glue over the logo in an attractive arrangement to suit the occasion. Perhaps it would suit to spread glue in a butterfly shape for a birthday gift or in a tree shape for Christmas. Then shake on glitter to fill in the design. This is an instant, attractive and inexpensive recycling idea. Ñ S.B., Vermilion, Alta.
- I have a small white board, with a back magnet, attached to the outer fridge door where I record grocery items as I run out of them. I also use it for recording the menu whenever we are hosting a party. It comes in handy for helpers so they know what food items are to be placed on the table, and we are less apt to forget salads.
- To host a stress-free event, keep in mind food safety requirements and prepare as much in advance as possible. Make lists.
Read Also
Restaurant blends zero waste, ancient farming
A Mexico City restaurant has become a draw for its zero-waste kitchen, which means that every scrap of food and leftovers is reused for other purposes.
Grocery shop and do major housecleaning a few days before the event so that just a brush-up is required the day before.
Do as much preparation as possible in advance, keeping the day before the event to get the last few things done, and try to find time to put your feet up and get a nap so that you can enjoy your company.
- The main cleaning products in our home are baking soda, vinegar, non-sudsy ammonia and laundry detergent.
Use baking soda to clean sinks, bathtubs and arborite kitchen counters.
Use baking soda and vinegar to clean the sink and tub drains.
Use laundry detergent to clean sinks when they become greasy.
Use non-sudsy ammonia and water to clean mirrors and windows.
- I am asthmatic so any product with odours cannot be used. I use a damp cloth to dust the furniture. It picks up the dust without scattering it around. Then I pop the cloth into the washing machine to be washed.
- Pop the pillows into the dryer weekly to freshen them up. Ñ D.L., Morrin, Alta.
- To clean windows in warm weather, use a 16 cup (four L) pail, put 1Ú4 cup (60 mL) of vinegar and a drop or two of dish detergent. It works better than a lot of expensive window cleaners. Ñ J.C., Dodsland, Sask.
- Have you ever had your teenager come home from school and tell you his pen exploded in the pocket of his new jacket? I was able to completely clean the jacket by soaking it in milk.
Place the garment in a bowl or pan and completely cover the ink stain in milk. Let it sit for a couple of hours. Drain off the milk and dab away at the stain with a paper towel. Cover again with fresh milk and let it sit. Each successive batch of milk will lift some of the ink. Continue until clean. Wash the jacket, but do not dry it in the dryer in case there is still some ink residue that will set. Ñ M.M., Outlook, Sask.
- Lick your envelope problem. Your bill is ready to be mailed. You’ve made sure the company’s address is peeking through the window, and you’ve stuck the stamp in the right hand corner and sealed the envelope Ñ but you’ve forgot to put in the cheque. No problem. Just put the sealed envelope in the freezer for a few hours, and then slide a knife under the flap. You can put your cheque in and reseal the envelope.
To eliminate refrigerator odours, pour some vanilla extract on a cotton ball and place it in the fridge.
To eliminate coffee and tea stains from your countertops, do a good rubbing with baking soda and water made into a paste.
To have dust cloths for free, don’t throw away used fabric softener sheets when you’re unloading your dryer. They make great dust cloths. Ñ H.P., Austin, Man.
- Use this mixture to clean walls and take wax off floors.
1 cup ammonia 250 mL
1Ú2 cup vinegar 125 mL
1Ú4 cup baking soda 60 mL
1 gallon water 4 L
Ñ D.O., Hays, Alta.
- Enclosed are some cleaning and home management hints. Whenever I hear of the latest ones, I jot them down in a booklet.
Make your own less expensive fabric sheets by putting a teaspoon of liquid fabric softener on a clean rag and throw it into the dryer with the rest of the laundry. Your clothes will be as soft as if you were using store-bought dryer sheets.
Buy an extra shower rod, install it in the middle of the shower parallel to the original rod at the same height. Whenever you do laundry, just put the dripping clothes on hangers, and hook the hanger over the spare drying rod.
Stop the itch of poison ivy with powdered milk. Make a thick paste of water and powdered milk and spread it on troubled spots. It should end the itching quickly.
An old egg carton is perfect for storing golf balls.
To display your beautiful coloured eggs, take an old washed and dried fishbowl. Layer the eggs gently inside. They look fantastic and beautiful.
Here are some ideas for emergency ice scrapers for your window: an expired plastic credit card; a plastic or Teflon-coated spatula; a plastic putty knife from your garage.
To clean tough stains in china cups, fill each cup with warm water and drop in a denture tablet. When the bubbling stops, the cups will be clean.
Don’t toss out your old mismatched white cotton socks. After they are laundered, a sock makes a terrific bath mitt.
Wipe windows squeaky clean with a little vinegar on a clean cotton rag.
Make patent leather shoes and purses shine by rubbing petroleum jelly on the surface and buffing with a soft cloth.
Use a clear plastic medicine bottle to store earrings. Make sure the bottle is clean, and store the bottles in your drawer. At a glance, you will see which ones to wear and there is no clutter.
Clean tiny grooves in jewelry with an old soft toothbrush. Dip the brush in jewelry cleaner, and apply directly to your bracelet, pendant or earring. Brush gently, then rinse with warm water and buff dry.
A refreshing drink for cut flowers is a mixture of two tablespoons (30 mL) of vinegar, one teaspoon (five mL) sugar and one quart (one L) water.
To keep cut flowers fresh longer, add a solution of two drops of household bleach, one teaspoon (five mL) sugar and one quart (one L) water to the vase. Ñ K.W., Theodore, Sask.
- One day I was sitting at our kitchen table, and looked up at my Lavender Rose china tea set in the china cabinet. Something caught my eye. The cream and sugar tray was sitting at a funny angle. Low and behold, it had broken in two pieces just sitting there. I was puzzled. Later that week, I was talking to the owner of a gift shop in our local town, and he said that china may do that when it gets very dry. One of his buyers says we should wash our china at least twice a year, even if it is not being used, just to keep it from drying out too much. So I decided to take my china out of the cabinet more often.
Correction
In the April 14 column, there was an incorrect number for the Food Safety Information Society. The correct number is 800-892-8333.
Barbara Sanderson is a home economist from Rosetown, Sask., and one of four columnists comprising Team Resources. Send correspondence in care of this newspaper, Box 2500, Saskatoon, Sask., S7K 2C4 or contact them at team@producer.com.
