|
|
'Tis the season for cleaning
Cream of Tarter cleaner: I recently purchased a large aluminum stock pot at a thrift store. The inside of it was all blackish looking and I couldn't get it clean. A friend of mine came by one afternoon and found me scrubbing away...again. She asked me if I had any Cream of Tarter in the house.. We dug it out of the cupboard, put 1 heaping Tablespoon of the Cream of Tarter powder in the pot and filled it with hot water to just over the top of the black line. She then told me to boil the mixture for half an hour and see what happened. My pot is now clean... and no more scrubbing. No mildew in jars: When you wash out your canning jars, before you store them away, put a piece of crumpled up newspaper inside it. The paper absorbs any extra moisture so you don't end up with mold or mildew in them...especially if stored in a basement or cellar. Dishwasher cleaner: Kool-aid lemon mix or lemon aid powder cleans the mineral deposit buildup in your dishwasher. Just put a package of the drymix in the machine's soap dispenser and run it through a cycle... it comes out 'clean as a whistle.' Carpenter carry-all: If you cut the top off of a gallon jug across from the handle, you can use the jug as a carrier while doing carpenter work. String your belt through the handle on the jug and it will ride on your hip comfortably. It's lightweight, flexible and best of all... free. Computer cleaner: Anyone with a computer understands the problems of crumbs and dust getting between the keys. I personally don't like to use the cans of duster air spray because it seems to just pack the junk in the corners... really tight. A friend told me to try a strip of plain clear tape, right off of the roll. Just get a strip off you can handle and slide it between the rows of keys. You will be shocked at the amount of 'dust and crud' taht comes away on the tape. Grandparents gifts to grand children: Christmas is past, but one of the ideas sent to us here at PennyWise made such sense that I'm rephrasing it a little for birthdays and other special occasions.. Are your grandchildren interested in family history?? Use a copier to run off some pictures of great-grandparents and back further if you have them. Write up the stories you've had passed on down to you so they can continue as part of family lore. (yes, even if Uncle Jack was hung for a horse thief!) Do your grandchildren like to cook? Use some of those inexpensive 'Journal' books to copy family favorite recipes in to so they can be passed on down. I was lucky enough to know some of my husband's aunts and uncles. His aunts passed on to me many of the old family recipes that even his mother didn't have.... My daughters are using them now and appreciate the history behind them. Are your grandchildren old enough to appreciate family heirlooms?? If so, write up a short history of the particular item and present it to the grandchild. It's a way to pass-on-down family items and you make sure your wishes are carried out by gifting it to the person of your choice. Thrift store bonanza: We like to hit the thrift stores along about the middle to end of January. They are always filled with the neatest stuff!! My kids find all kinds of 'new' clothes there, many with the tags still on them. (Our theory is that folks are cleaning out closets and dresser drawers of last year's loot/haul from Christmas because they need the room for this year's haul). At any rate... my son got a whole stack of t-shirts for little or nothing (25 cents each). Most were new, having tags still on and one had the price tag of $14.98 still attatched. Soapy savings: When a bar of soap gets thin and down to almost a sliver, just wet a new bar of soap real good and stick the two pieces together. They will stick together like they've been glued in place and this way you get to use all the soap instead of part of the bar. Magnetize it: One way to 'corral' those odds and ends in the junk drawer is to put a couple of good ,strong craft magnets in the bottom of the drawer. All will find the magnet so they can easily be sorted. Correction fluid corrects chips: You can use top quality typewriter correction fluid to cover over chips/cracks in the finish of your cast iron sink or the enamel on stoves and sinks. An office supply store should have the color you need. Speical spray: My elderly aunt recieved at least 3 dozen bottles of colognes, body sprays, etc. last year for Christmas. She gifted my college-aged daughter with the most of them, telling her "Just use the spray instead of room freshener, at least they will be put to good use." Julie did so and says her rooms smells better than any of the others on the floor. Algae killer for stock tanks: One way to keep algae from growing in a stock tank or in your outside fountain or fake stream... is to try putting in a few pieces of copper pipe in the water. The copper will dissolve a little bit over time and kill the algae that causes the moss. Date: 12/11/07
Copyright/Privacy
Copyright 1995-2012. High Plains Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Any republishing of these pages, including electronic reproduction of the editorial archives or classified advertising, is strictly prohibited. If you have questions or comments you can reach us at High Plains Journal 1500 E. Wyatt Earp Blvd., P.O. Box 760, Dodge City, KS 67801 or call 1-800-452-7171. Email: webmaster@hpj.com |
|
