Saturday, March 31, 2012

Tips and Tricks- March!

It's almost April? What? Where did March go?? It seems like this month has flown by, and with all of that amazing weather it was so nice! Now its back in the 40's and I'd like those 70 degree days back please!

Anyways, enough whining- on with the goods!

1. When you have a pair of sweats or a hoodie that has a tie- stick a small safety pin through the string on the inside of the seam at each opening.  That way, the string will never get pulled half way in during washing or wearing; and you cant see the pin from the outside.

2. To get pet smells out of carpet, mix half vinegar and half water in your carpet cleaner and shampoo carpets.  Make sure you get the carpets good and saturated with the vinegar- then make sure you vacuum up the water really well.  Then once it dries a little bit sprinkle baking soda all over the area and let it dry completely, 100% totally dry. Once all dry, vacuum it up and the smell should be gone.  This works great if you happen to move into a place where the previous owners thought it was cool to have their pet use the living room as a potty.

3. I found this idea from Karen from the wonderful blog The Art Of Doing Stuff via Pintrest. When making a salad (or anything for that matter), you can chop the onion super small by using a a POTATO PEELER.  Holy freaking amazing. According to her, you can chop all kinds of stuff using the peeler- and if you ask me shes a genius.



4. Also found on Pinterest- from Wins.Failblog.org- use a staple remover to open up a key ring. Saves your nails and your finger tips! I cant agree with them more, this is an epic win.



5.  This one came from the super cute blog- 7th House on The Left. To magnify the volume on your ipod/iphone put it in a drinking glass. I use this on the treadmill, I just pop the phone into a glass and slip it into the cup holder- no need for headphones or speakers!

 6. Since spring is coming and some of you may be planting some pretty flowers- Real Simple gives us the tip to line the bottom of your flower pots with coffee filters.  The water gets out, but not the dirt!

7. A sweet reader, Alanna, sent me this tip in an email for when you are cooking ANY sort of fish, ie. lobster, salmon etc. at home. Just pour about a half a cup of white vinegar into a bowl and sit it on your counter and leave it there for a few hours.  There will be NO fish smell whatsoever in your home.  I tried this last week and I must admit, it worked amazing!!

8. Kristen, fellow momma and overall sweetheart, shared a natural remedy for cradle cap. At bath time she busted out the strawberry yogurt and warmed it a bit, then rubbed it into her little guy's scalp for 10-15 minutes. Then wash out and bath and brush hair as normal. The strawberry works as an exfoliant, and after one application she could see a huge improvement.  She suggests using it once a week to keep the flakes at bay! Thanks Kristen!

9. Summer is coming, and that means picnic season! The awesome blogger at Why Not Do It Yourself had this idea floating around Pinterest, and its sheer amazingness. Use a cut out 2 liter pop (I'm from Pittsburgh, its pop to us!) bottle to catch the drips from the drink dispenser!!


10. When Grayson was teething sometimes he just wanted something cold on his gums, but he didn't like any teethers that I could find.  I got an idea after looking at his binky- its a Gumdrop, and its the kind where you can put your finger in and he can gnaw on it. So I simply filled it up with water and propped it up in the freezer to solidify. Then when he cried, I would pop the frozen bink in and he was instantly happier. Now if I could have only realized that before I bought 15 teethers that he didn't like...

11. This month Pintrest came through with one of the most simple and brilliant packing tips ever. It came from Select Study Abroad's blog- and all you need to do is put a small piece of plastic wrap over the top of the bottle, then screw the cap back on.  No leaks in the luggage, and no need to buy travel sized bottles!



12. It wouldn't be right if Martha Stewart didn't have a good idea for us. This one is pure amazing. When wrapping a present, put an extra fold in the paper to act as a pocket to hold the card. No more loosing cards in the car or them falling off on the gift table! Click the picture to get taken to her step by step directions!


13. A sweet reader left me a comment that Hairspray (any kind) will get kool aid stains, permanent marker stains, and other stains out of surfaces. Worth a try when the little one learns to drink kool aid!!

14. Jessica of Ginger Tea and Fairies commented on Tips and Tricks 2 and left me not one, but TWO, tips from a great grandma! The first was to get rid of a splinter by using the sticky part of a band aid, putting it over the splinter, and head to bed. The next morning the splinter will come out when you take the band aid off. She also used vinegar to help cool and heal burns, any kind of burns- and according to Jessica it works wonders!!

15. A sweet reader left me an idea for all of those lost socks. She uses her husbands and sons old socks to cover her good shoes to avoid scratches. Um, yes please!

16. Lifehacker.com taught me that we should use baking soda and vinegar to fix funky towels. Over time, and with many washes, your bath towels will build up detergent and fabric softener residue, leaving them both unable to absorb as much water and smelling kinda funky when they do. Rather than give Target another lump sum, run them through the wash once with hot water and a cup of vinegar, then again with hot water and a half-cup of baking soda, as wikiHow suggests. That strips the residue from them, leaves them smelling fairly fresh again, and makes your post-shower experience a dryer one, at that!


17. My hubs uses this one at work, when light colored linoleum has a scuff you can fill it in with white toothpaste and buff it really well with a soft cloth. Sometimes doing this will save the customer from having to replace the section of floor, which is pretty awesome if you ask me.

18. Real Simple had a recipe for getting stains out of tubs. Combine equal parts baking soda and cream of tarter together and make into a paste with some lemon juice. Place onto the stain and let sit for 30 minutes, then rinse away!

19. With Easter coming this tip will come in handy! From thekitchn.com- Add baking soda to the water when you hard boil eggs. It raises the pH of the water and makes them easier to peel by reducing the albumen's ability to stick to the shell.


20.  A girl I work with swears by using mayo as a conditioner for her hair. She puts it on, lets it sit for five or so minutes, then rinses off in the shower.  I gotta say, she does have the nicest, shiniest hair Ive ever seen- so I think Ill be in the shower with a jar of mayo myself!

That's all for this month- since it slipped by so fast! I promise to have more for next month!

23 comments:

  1. Great tips! I'll be sure to try some of these soon. Loved the one about putting a piece of plastic wrap over the tops of bottles for traveling. On a similar note, if you're traveling on the water, it's always a good idea to wrap electronics or place them in plastic bags. I'll occasionally do this with my phone when fishing.

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  2. If you don't mind lit candles around the house, a lit one near the stove while cooking, also keeps the smells away too. I'm pretty sure that it's the eggs in the mayo that makes the hair nice and shiny. When I was young there was a bottle of egg creme rinse that you were to put on your hair for a few minutes and then rinse out.

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  3. Hand sanitizer can work in a pinch on most stains. Also hand sanitizer gets permanent marker off dry eraser boards.

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  4. I love the carrot peeler idea, I also use it for potatoes and fruits (apples, pears, kiwis) works wonders. Also to magnify sound with any cellular phone, you can use any type of ceramic, i believe. I usually use just a normal cereal bowl and I can hear it almost across the house :)

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  5. Putting vinegar in the water when you're making hard boiled eggs does the same thing :)

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  6. My great aunt lived to be 90 and had beautiful black shiny hair;
    She used two beaten eggs to wash her hair and rinsed with rain water;
    This was when there were no coloring agents (except bleach) for hair so
    it had to be the eggs that kept her color and shiny hair.

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