by
Bibi on Sunday, October 11th, 2009 |
7 Comments
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
Who doesn’t like to make their life easier?
Wherever I go I keep looking for ways to my daily life easier…..for handy tips and great ideas to keep me on schedule and on budget.
I decided not to be selfish and share some of my tips with all of you….I decided to compile a list of 10 ordinary household items and 10 tips on how to use them to make your life easier.
I hope some of these household tips and ideas will help you like they help me. You might know some of them already.
Simple Household Items Making Life Easier
All of these simple basic household items are already hiding in your pantry, cupboard or medicine cabinet so why not give them more responsibilities….use them for double or triple duty…..they can handle it.
Baby Powder – to silence your squeaky hardwood floors sprinkle some baby powder on the squeaky area and sweep it into the cracks. Then wipe the floor. The baby powder between the boards will act as a lubricant and will stop the annoying noise.
Toothpaste – when your child comes from school with ink or permanent marker all over their clothes use white toothpaste to remove it. Just put a little bit on a soft cloth and rub it in in circular motions. Just let it dry and rinse it. Most toothpastes contain an abrasive that act like a stain remover.
Plastic Place-mats – if you are ready for new place-mats don’t throw away your old ones. Re-use them. They are perfect size to line your fridge drawers, under the sink cabinets, shoes racks. They are easy to make-to fit and clean up is a snap.
Baking Soda – you are ready for your daily cleaning chores and you ran out of scrub cleanser. Don’t despair just use equal parts of dish washing liquid and baking soda and make those sinks and counter tops sparkle.
Flour – if you spill oil all over your stove, counter or floor, don’t worry. Just sprinkle some flour on top of it then wait few minutes and wipe it off. The flour will absorb all of the oil very quickly and it will save you big clean up later.
Rice – you love to receive beautiful flowers and display them in your favorite, but narrow vase. After they are gone they leave behind a nasty residue. All you need is 2 Tbs. of uncooked rice with little bit of dishwasher liquid. Pour it inside and fill it with warm water about halfway. Cover it and shake like you never shook before. The tiny grains of rice will work hard like little scrubbers. Then rinse it off and Voila you have a sparkling vase waiting for more flowers.
Marbles – upset about your child leaving his marbles all over the house. Now you can use them too. Just put few marbles on the bottom of your double boiler and fill it with water. The marbles will alert you when the water level is low therefore saving you from burning another double boiler.
Cola – if you like scrapbooking and you want to make your pictures look like an antique use Cola. Just pour little bit of Cola in a dish and soak the picture in it (don’t use the original in case it won’t turn out the way you want it to). When your print has the look you desire take it out, pat it dry and dry it gently with a hair dryer.
Paper Plates – always keep a supply of cheap paper plates in your kitchen. They are perfect little cutting boards for pungent foods. Just toss them when you are done. No mess and most of all no stinky kitchen.
Salt – silk flowers and arrangements gather so much dust and they are nightmare to clean. No matter what you do eventually they start looking sad. You can give them fresh look instantly. All you need is to put some salt into a large plastic bag, place the flowers inside (make sure you don’t overcrowd them) and shake for few seconds. The grains of salt will remove the dirt from every little crevice.
l am always asking my family and friends for new tips and ideas to make my life easier. If you have any good household tips or ideas I would love to hear them and include them in my next list.
If you like this article, please share it with others by using the little handy share buttons below.
One more thing….I love COMMENTS like everyone else so go ahead and let me know how am I doing.I would love to hear from you.
Copy the code below to your web site.
Link to this page
Digg
StumbleUpon
Facebook
Twitter
Does the toothpaste only work immediately? I have a sweater I’ve worn a few times and just realized that I have ink on the elbow (from a pen that is more of a marker). I do this all the time and ruin so many shirts!
- Cougs
http://www.cougar-tales.blogspot.com
You can try it. I usually do it when my kids get home from school with the stains, but I did try one older shirt and it took it off pretty good. So maybe it depends on the fabric. I would give it a try….let me know how it works. I am very interested.
Great tips on all these household items.
Bibi, thank you for that great tip about the baby powder. I have been living with a squeaky wooden drawer for 12 years. Now after sprinkling a bit of baby powder in the places where the wooden drawer slides, voila! No more squeak. Thanks!
Shelly,
I am so glad I could help
WOW! Great ideas! I am going to try the baby powder one first, then go from there. Thanks!
Holly @ 504 Main
I never knew that toothpaste can remove ink and permanent marker. These are great tips.