Of tire rotation & cut flowers
Volume III, No. 25 (February 5, 2006)
Copyright © Deborah Michelle Sanders 2006 -- All rights reserved.
“One of the most desirable [character traits] is to be able to totally overlook a slight or an injury that one has suffered at the hands of another person, & to rid oneself completely of even the minutest trace of resentment.” (This is something way beyond me – dms.)
Rabbi Abraham J Twerski, MD
LIVING EACH DAY, p 406
HOUSEHOLD HINTS:
Rotate your automobile’s tires each season. Each time, move the tires clockwise. Include the spare in your rotation series, as tire number 5.
A good place to buy fine furniture for a fraction of its original selling price is at a designer’s studio, after a show has ended.
Some folks think that writing “For deposit only” on the back of a check payable to them will provide sufficient protection. “It ain’t so, Joe.” What you actually need to do is to write. “For deposit only to account number X.”
When you buy new flooring, be sure to purchase an additional 2 square yards, so that you have material to mend with in case of damage to the original flooring. The same principle holds true for home fabrics that the seamstress plans to use for soft furnishings (curtains or draperies, bed covering & shams, perhaps a hassock) – add 4 square yards to the TOTAL yardage that you have calculated. (You need more because you may need to sew new curtains if you move.)
If you buy ready-to-eat cereals, save the waxed paper bags that line the box. They are great for freezer storage! Just be certain to rid them of all crumbs, lest they attract vermin.
When you’re ready to paint a wall or ceiling, obtain a scrap of wood that is a bit longer than the diameter of your paint can. Hold it against the bucket each time you pull your brush out & wipe the brush against the wood. This economizes on the amount of paint you use.
Be aware that all of your laundry appliances are likely to give up the ghost at approximately the same time. The life of a washing machine is 11-13 years. The life of a gas dryer is 13 years, & the life of an electric dryer is barely better at 14 years. The prudent consumer sets aside 10% annually ( in an emergency fund) of the cost of a new washer & dryer, so as to be able to pay cash for these purchases, instead of incurring interest, the demon of those who don’t look ahead.
Instead of carrying a small sewing kit around against the emergencies of a button that has come off or a hem that has fallen, it is much simpler & far less time-consuming to carry a number of small brass safety pins.
Do you keep a cruet of olive oil in your pantry? (I keep most of the oil in the fridge, so it won’t turn rancid.) Place the cruet on a larger plastic lid, such as from a coffee can. No more messy shelves to clean! (Try this with honey or syrup, too.)
Rubber gloves often die before their time because the index finger gets poked through on the hand that is dominant. To prevent the speed of this defeat, stuff a cotton ball into the index finger of the glove on the dominant side; it will absorb stabs by your working fingernail.
Keep a tin of aspirin in your car’s glove compartment, & not just for 1st aid for your body. It also can get you to the nearest service station in case of battery failure. Just (VERY) carefully drop 2 aspirin tablets into the battery itself.
We all have our rituals. Mine on Sundays (when I do not have a home healthcare aide) is to eat a couple of franks for lunch. I find that I put too much of each condiment on my plate normally. So I have adapted the system of stirring together the ketchup & mustard (&, you can add relish if you like it) into a custard cup & dipping each piece of the hot dog as I cut it, into the dish. (Obviously, this does not work if you use hot dog buns!) The custard cup remains quite full for more than 6 weeks!
Before leaving the house to do errands, eat a hearty meal. You won’t be tempted to spend money eating out. And bring a snack & water with you, just in case.
Do you have only soggy lettuce in your fridge? Don’t toss it out! Instead, put it in a bowl of cold water & add the juice of 1 lemon to it. Put it back in the fridge for an hour. Then dry the leaves carefully, & you’ll have crunchy lettuce again!
Liquid fabric softener beats the price of dryer sheets hands down. To best use it, put about a teaspoon onto a dry washcloth & toss it into the dryer along with your wet clothes.
To keep cut flowers fresh, add a teaspoon of sugar to the water. For an even cheaper solution, add a (copper) penny to the water (which is, of course, recyclable!).
Copyright © Deborah Michelle Sanders 2006 -- All rights reserved.
“One of the most desirable [character traits] is to be able to totally overlook a slight or an injury that one has suffered at the hands of another person, & to rid oneself completely of even the minutest trace of resentment.” (This is something way beyond me – dms.)
Rabbi Abraham J Twerski, MD
LIVING EACH DAY, p 406
HOUSEHOLD HINTS:
Rotate your automobile’s tires each season. Each time, move the tires clockwise. Include the spare in your rotation series, as tire number 5.
A good place to buy fine furniture for a fraction of its original selling price is at a designer’s studio, after a show has ended.
Some folks think that writing “For deposit only” on the back of a check payable to them will provide sufficient protection. “It ain’t so, Joe.” What you actually need to do is to write. “For deposit only to account number X.”
When you buy new flooring, be sure to purchase an additional 2 square yards, so that you have material to mend with in case of damage to the original flooring. The same principle holds true for home fabrics that the seamstress plans to use for soft furnishings (curtains or draperies, bed covering & shams, perhaps a hassock) – add 4 square yards to the TOTAL yardage that you have calculated. (You need more because you may need to sew new curtains if you move.)
If you buy ready-to-eat cereals, save the waxed paper bags that line the box. They are great for freezer storage! Just be certain to rid them of all crumbs, lest they attract vermin.
When you’re ready to paint a wall or ceiling, obtain a scrap of wood that is a bit longer than the diameter of your paint can. Hold it against the bucket each time you pull your brush out & wipe the brush against the wood. This economizes on the amount of paint you use.
Be aware that all of your laundry appliances are likely to give up the ghost at approximately the same time. The life of a washing machine is 11-13 years. The life of a gas dryer is 13 years, & the life of an electric dryer is barely better at 14 years. The prudent consumer sets aside 10% annually ( in an emergency fund) of the cost of a new washer & dryer, so as to be able to pay cash for these purchases, instead of incurring interest, the demon of those who don’t look ahead.
Instead of carrying a small sewing kit around against the emergencies of a button that has come off or a hem that has fallen, it is much simpler & far less time-consuming to carry a number of small brass safety pins.
Do you keep a cruet of olive oil in your pantry? (I keep most of the oil in the fridge, so it won’t turn rancid.) Place the cruet on a larger plastic lid, such as from a coffee can. No more messy shelves to clean! (Try this with honey or syrup, too.)
Rubber gloves often die before their time because the index finger gets poked through on the hand that is dominant. To prevent the speed of this defeat, stuff a cotton ball into the index finger of the glove on the dominant side; it will absorb stabs by your working fingernail.
Keep a tin of aspirin in your car’s glove compartment, & not just for 1st aid for your body. It also can get you to the nearest service station in case of battery failure. Just (VERY) carefully drop 2 aspirin tablets into the battery itself.
We all have our rituals. Mine on Sundays (when I do not have a home healthcare aide) is to eat a couple of franks for lunch. I find that I put too much of each condiment on my plate normally. So I have adapted the system of stirring together the ketchup & mustard (&, you can add relish if you like it) into a custard cup & dipping each piece of the hot dog as I cut it, into the dish. (Obviously, this does not work if you use hot dog buns!) The custard cup remains quite full for more than 6 weeks!
Before leaving the house to do errands, eat a hearty meal. You won’t be tempted to spend money eating out. And bring a snack & water with you, just in case.
Do you have only soggy lettuce in your fridge? Don’t toss it out! Instead, put it in a bowl of cold water & add the juice of 1 lemon to it. Put it back in the fridge for an hour. Then dry the leaves carefully, & you’ll have crunchy lettuce again!
Liquid fabric softener beats the price of dryer sheets hands down. To best use it, put about a teaspoon onto a dry washcloth & toss it into the dryer along with your wet clothes.
To keep cut flowers fresh, add a teaspoon of sugar to the water. For an even cheaper solution, add a (copper) penny to the water (which is, of course, recyclable!).
posted by THE PENNY ORCHID -- "Thrift with Flair" at 3:56 PM
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