Of painful galoshes & slippery soles
Volume III, No. 26 (February 12, 2006)
Copyright © Deborah Michelle Sanders 2006. All rights reserved,
The force that drives all flesh, exalts You, our Sovereign, always.
HOUSEHOLD HINTS:
Do you – or does your child – have galoshes that are a pain to get on & off? Try this solution. Insert a grocery-sized plastic bag for an adult, or a produce-sized plastic bag for a child, into each boot. Put on the galoshes. Any excess plastic will automatically be scrunched down into the boot. Both insertion & removal will now be a cinch!
My home health-care provider, Margarita Recinos, taught me this trick. When ready to clean a pot that contains food residue, such as a pot of oatmeal, sift its contents through a sieve, & then tap the sieve against the inside of your trash can. Then rinse out the sieve. (I keep mine hanging above the sink.) This is much easier than having to clean out the drain stopper of your sink. Some people (like lucky me!) own a sieve that has a handle that spans the distance between the sink wall & the dishpan.
Are you sewing baby’s all-in-one’s? Special fabric for the soles is very expensive. Instead, cut up 1 or 2 bathtub appliqués to fit the soles.
Homeowners! If you have a leaky roof that is less than 15 years old, you need not replace it. All you need to do is to patch the part of the roof that is leaking. To be safe, use binoculars to inspect the roof, so that you don’t have to transverse all of the roof in the vicinity of the leak, to see where repair is necessary. Leaks generally start higher up on the roof than the ceiling position of the leak would indicate.
You don’t have to buy expensive car windshield wiper fluid. Just mix together 2 quarts of isopropyl 70% alcohol (bought on sale @ about 60 cents a quart), 1 cup of water, & 1 tsp of powdered laundry detergent.
It is important when you go grocery shopping to make sure that you know the price of each item & the running total. Only in this way is it possible for you to ensure sticking with your budget, but you can also spot scanner error (before you leave the store). There are 2 ways to mark the prices. Either take along a roll of masking tape & mark each item, or bring along a clipboard holding a spreadsheet that you have already made of each item you plan to buy, any loss leader prices (special sales), & the value of any coupons you have. Reserve the final column for your net cost for that item. Whether you choose the masking tape or the spreadsheet choice, be sure to bring along a calculator . Only with it can you tell whether you have remained within budget.
Two little-known coffee tricks. First, if you only have circular (cheap) filter bags instead of the conical ones, you can make do. Just fold the circle into a semi-circle. Then, fold in the 2 corners about 1”. There you have it! As to coffee grounds, did you know that they are a more effective odor-absorber than baking soda? Use them in a shallow dish anywhere that you need odor prevention, such as in your fridge.
Give yourself a helping hand while driving in nuts, bolts, & screws. Just apply some kind of wax to the hardware – candle, lip gloss or beeswax (which seamstresses often own). The wax will smooth the hardware’s way!
Make clean-up easy of a pot or pan with baked-on or burned-on food. Just -- & yes, I’m not crazy – put the cookware in the freezer for 3 hours or so. When you take it out, it should be a breeze to clean!
Are your hands always freezing when Old Man Winter does his thing? Put rubber gloves on under your regular gloves, & the insulation will warm your hands up fast!
You know that, before you paint a wall, you need to carefully choose its color. After using the paint chips for all that they are worth, buy a pint that looks promising. INSTEAD of painting a section of the wall, paint an opened cardboard box that you can affix to the wall with masking tape. You will then avoid the labor & expense of restoring the wall to its original color should you decide to leave well/wall alone.
I wasn’t familiar with ALL of the ways that identity theft can occur until I read
US Social Security Administration Publication No, 05-10064. Here’s the low-down:
· As we already know, by stealing wallets, purses, & your mail (bank & credit card statements, pre-approved credit offers, telephone calling cards & tax information.);
· Stealing personal information you provide to an unsecured site on the Internet (any site that does not have a “lock/key” icon at the lower right-hand corner), from business or personnel records at work & personal information in your home;
· Sorting through trash for personal data;
· Posing as someone who legitimately needs information about you, such as employers or landlords; or
· Buying personal information from “inside” sources. For example, an identity thief may pay a store employee for information about you that appears on an application for goods, services, or credit.
When you buy a new broom, the 1st thing you should do is to immerse it in a bucket of water to which you have added a cup of salt. After 20 minutes, you can hang the broom up to dry. (You DO know that setting a broom on its straws is a no-no because the bristles will splay that way.)
Are the soles slippery when you purchase new shoes? Instead of going to a cobbler for rubber soles, try sanding 1st Just sand from right to left, in a series of rows.
Copyright © Deborah Michelle Sanders 2006. All rights reserved,
The force that drives all flesh, exalts You, our Sovereign, always.
HOUSEHOLD HINTS:
Do you – or does your child – have galoshes that are a pain to get on & off? Try this solution. Insert a grocery-sized plastic bag for an adult, or a produce-sized plastic bag for a child, into each boot. Put on the galoshes. Any excess plastic will automatically be scrunched down into the boot. Both insertion & removal will now be a cinch!
My home health-care provider, Margarita Recinos, taught me this trick. When ready to clean a pot that contains food residue, such as a pot of oatmeal, sift its contents through a sieve, & then tap the sieve against the inside of your trash can. Then rinse out the sieve. (I keep mine hanging above the sink.) This is much easier than having to clean out the drain stopper of your sink. Some people (like lucky me!) own a sieve that has a handle that spans the distance between the sink wall & the dishpan.
Are you sewing baby’s all-in-one’s? Special fabric for the soles is very expensive. Instead, cut up 1 or 2 bathtub appliqués to fit the soles.
Homeowners! If you have a leaky roof that is less than 15 years old, you need not replace it. All you need to do is to patch the part of the roof that is leaking. To be safe, use binoculars to inspect the roof, so that you don’t have to transverse all of the roof in the vicinity of the leak, to see where repair is necessary. Leaks generally start higher up on the roof than the ceiling position of the leak would indicate.
You don’t have to buy expensive car windshield wiper fluid. Just mix together 2 quarts of isopropyl 70% alcohol (bought on sale @ about 60 cents a quart), 1 cup of water, & 1 tsp of powdered laundry detergent.
It is important when you go grocery shopping to make sure that you know the price of each item & the running total. Only in this way is it possible for you to ensure sticking with your budget, but you can also spot scanner error (before you leave the store). There are 2 ways to mark the prices. Either take along a roll of masking tape & mark each item, or bring along a clipboard holding a spreadsheet that you have already made of each item you plan to buy, any loss leader prices (special sales), & the value of any coupons you have. Reserve the final column for your net cost for that item. Whether you choose the masking tape or the spreadsheet choice, be sure to bring along a calculator . Only with it can you tell whether you have remained within budget.
Two little-known coffee tricks. First, if you only have circular (cheap) filter bags instead of the conical ones, you can make do. Just fold the circle into a semi-circle. Then, fold in the 2 corners about 1”. There you have it! As to coffee grounds, did you know that they are a more effective odor-absorber than baking soda? Use them in a shallow dish anywhere that you need odor prevention, such as in your fridge.
Give yourself a helping hand while driving in nuts, bolts, & screws. Just apply some kind of wax to the hardware – candle, lip gloss or beeswax (which seamstresses often own). The wax will smooth the hardware’s way!
Make clean-up easy of a pot or pan with baked-on or burned-on food. Just -- & yes, I’m not crazy – put the cookware in the freezer for 3 hours or so. When you take it out, it should be a breeze to clean!
Are your hands always freezing when Old Man Winter does his thing? Put rubber gloves on under your regular gloves, & the insulation will warm your hands up fast!
You know that, before you paint a wall, you need to carefully choose its color. After using the paint chips for all that they are worth, buy a pint that looks promising. INSTEAD of painting a section of the wall, paint an opened cardboard box that you can affix to the wall with masking tape. You will then avoid the labor & expense of restoring the wall to its original color should you decide to leave well/wall alone.
I wasn’t familiar with ALL of the ways that identity theft can occur until I read
US Social Security Administration Publication No, 05-10064. Here’s the low-down:
· As we already know, by stealing wallets, purses, & your mail (bank & credit card statements, pre-approved credit offers, telephone calling cards & tax information.);
· Stealing personal information you provide to an unsecured site on the Internet (any site that does not have a “lock/key” icon at the lower right-hand corner), from business or personnel records at work & personal information in your home;
· Sorting through trash for personal data;
· Posing as someone who legitimately needs information about you, such as employers or landlords; or
· Buying personal information from “inside” sources. For example, an identity thief may pay a store employee for information about you that appears on an application for goods, services, or credit.
When you buy a new broom, the 1st thing you should do is to immerse it in a bucket of water to which you have added a cup of salt. After 20 minutes, you can hang the broom up to dry. (You DO know that setting a broom on its straws is a no-no because the bristles will splay that way.)
Are the soles slippery when you purchase new shoes? Instead of going to a cobbler for rubber soles, try sanding 1st Just sand from right to left, in a series of rows.
posted by THE PENNY ORCHID -- "Thrift with Flair" at 2:18 PM
<< Home