Homemaking doesn’t have to be unbearable!

Clean and orderly homes make it easier to go and do all the other things

you would like to do with your family.

Putting things away when you use them,

cleaning up after playtime, and making sure everything has a place is essential

for well-run households.

Asking everyone to do their share is a good way to

teach your kids to be responsible for things.

Here are some household hints
that I have gathered up over the years.

Hope you enjoy them.

If you
have hints or ideas on how to do something better, please share it with us and I
would love to give you credit!

Here are some of my favorite hints.

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1. Before you start cooking, half fill your sink with hot soapy dishwater and start with a clean kitchen. This will minimize clean up after dinner when no one will want to do the dishes.
2. Use a teaspoon of bleach in your dishwater at least once a week to keep your dishrag, plastic ware, coffee, and teacups nice and clean.

3. Use a tablespoon of bleach in your dishwasher once a week. It will keep your dishwasher cleaner too, or a package of lime Koolaid. It also does a good job in your swamp cooler!

4. Have everyone get into the habit of turning clothes right side out for cleaning, especially socks

5. While taking your shower, take a minute or two to wipe it down and the real cleaning won’t be hard and for a shiny tub and sink, use a good dishwashing liquid once a week!

6. Don’t be tempted to keep items you would not use in a short period of time, like empty jars, bottles, and lids. Clutter makes it much harder to keep a neat house.

7. Twice a year gather up clothing, books, toys, dishes, and items that you can’t use anymore and donate them to your favorite charity.

8. For spot treating clothes, instead of buying the expensive spot treatments, use an empty dish soap bottle filled with good color safe laundry detergent!

9. For blood stains, while still fresh, take a bottle of hydrogen peroxide and soak the stain. Then launder in cold water. Never wash bloody clothes in hot or warm water always use cold first until the stain is out then you can use hot.

10. If you use the re-closable bags (the press together kind, not the “zip up” kind) for freezer items, when you take them out, don’t try to “pull” them open. Instead, take your hands on each side of the slide and rub gently, the slide will come open quite easily and not “tear” the bag! This works for icebox stored bags too!

11. To keep your microwave clean and new inside, and always wipe up any spills or splatters right away. It is easy to remove old spills or splatters by taking a large microwave-safe measuring cup filled with water, let it boil just a few minutes, let it stand a few more minutes and then wipe the inside clean. Be very careful not to burn yourself. Your Microwave will last a lot longer.

12. A can of coke is great for getting grease out of your laundry!

13. If you would like to save some energy and money and make your slacks or jeans look good, then get them out of the washer, take them by the seams, shake them till they are straight, and hang them up until they are almost dry. Then pop them in the dryer to soften them and you will have a nice crease down the side and save money too!

14. Rubbing a walnut over scratches in your furniture will disguise dings and scrapes.

15. Overhaul your linen cupboard – store bedlinen sets inside one of their own pillowcases and there will be no more hunting through piles for a match.

16. Remove crayon masterpieces from your TV or computer screen with WD40 (also works on walls).

17. Re-use a wet-wipes container to store plastic bags. . .

18.  Add this item to your beach bag. Baby powder gets sand off your skin easily – who knew?!

19.  Attach a Velcro strip to the wall to store soft toys. . .

20.  Look up! Use wire to make a space to store gift wrap rolls against the ceiling, rather than cluttering up the floor. Put 2 strands of wire from one wall to the opposite wall above in your closet!

21.  Gotcha! Find tiny lost items like earrings by putting a stocking over the vacuum hose.

22.  Forever losing your bathroom essentials? Use magnetic strips to store bobby pins (and tweezers and clippers) behind a vanity door.

23.  A tip for holiday packing. Store shoes inside shower caps to stop dirty soles rubbing on your clothes. And you can find them in just about every hotel or a dollar store.

24. Use egg cartons to separate and store your Christmas decorations.

25.  The little plastic bread tags make great “cord” identifiers (labels) for computers, tv’s, VCR’s, DVD players and such.

Handy things to keep in your kitchen!

1. Scissors, just a small pair that you can keep where the little ones can’t get to them. You can also use the large kitchen shears but I use my little 0nes so much more.

2. Rubber Bands, assorted sizes, and colors.

3. A large colorful calendar to keep your important dates on.

4. A small toolbox, paint it bright pink, with flowers or bunnies all over it! It won’t get borrowed as often! Put in a multi-bit screwdriver (the ratchet kind are great), hammer, pliers ( like needlenose and wire pliers), various sizes of small nails, screws, cup hooks, picture hangers, get a package of assorted washers and faucet parts for your sinks, small nuts and bolts and anything else you might think handy.

You can buy the “packages” of assorted nails, screws and such at Walmart, or make up your own. You can dip your tool handles in plastic-coat preferably a color that the guys won’t touch!

The toolbox idea is a great gift for your kids when they get to that age when they want to fix their own things like bikes, go-carts and such. You can make them up with the kind of tools they would use like computer tools, or mechanic tools depending on their interests.
Make them responsible to keep them put up and all together.

Here are some dandy hints and helps I received in an email, probably with 2 zillion other people but I thought they were handy so here they are:

Did You Know That? Drinking two glasses of Gatorade can
relieve headache pain almost immediately — without the unpleasant side
effects caused by traditional “pain relievers.”

Did you know that Colgate toothpaste makes an excellent
salve for burns.

Before you head to the drugstore for a high-priced
inhaler filled with mysterious chemicals, try chewing on a couple of
curiously strong Altoids peppermints. They’ll clear up your stuffed
nose.

Achy muscles from a bout of the flu? Mix 1 Tablespoon of
horseradish in 1 cup of olive oil. Let the mixture sit for 30 minutes,
then apply it as a massage oil, for instant relief for aching muscles.

A sore throat? Just mix 1/4 cup of vinegar with 1/4 cup of
honey and take 1 tablespoon six times a day. The vinegar kills the
bacteria.

Cure urinary tract infections with Alka-Seltzer. Just
dissolve two tablets in a glass of water and drink it at the onset of
the symptoms. Alka-Seltzer begins eliminating urinary tract infections
almost instantly — even though the product was never advertised for
this use. (Note: Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold Medicine is not the same..and
contains aspirin, which can cause stomach bleeding if you have ulcers.)

Honey remedy for skin blemishes … Cover the blemish
with a! dab of honey and place a Band-Aid over it. Honey kills the
bacteria, keeps the skin sterile, and speeds healing. Works overnight.

Listerine therapy for toenail fungus … Get
rid of unsightly toenail fungus by soaking your toes in Listerine
mouthwash. The powerful antiseptic leaves your toenails looking healthy
again.

Easy eyeglass protection … To prevent the screws in
eyeglasses from loosening, apply a small drop of Maybelline Crystal
Clear nail polish to the threads of the screws before tightening them.

Coca-Cola cure for rust … Forget those expensive rust
removers. Just saturate an abrasive sponge with Coca Cola and scrub the
rust stain. The phosphoric acid in the coke is what gets the job done.

Cleaning liquid that doubles as a bug killer. If
menacing bees, wasps, hornets, or yellow jackets get in your home and
you can’t find the insecticide, try a spray of Formula 409. Insects
drop to the ground instantly.

Smart splinter remover …just pour a drop of Elmer’s
Glue-All over the splinter, let dry and peel the dried glue off the
skin. The splinter sticks to the dried glue.

Hunt’s tomato paste boil cure .cover the boil with
Hunt’s tomato paste as a compress. The acids from the tomatoes soothe
the pain and bring the boil to a head.

Balm for broken blisters …To disinfect a broken
blister, dab on a few drops of Listerine … a powerful antiseptic.

Heinz vinegar to heal bruises … Soak a cotton ball in
white vinegar and apply it to the bruise for 1 hour. The vinegar reduces
the blueness and speeds up the healing process.

Kills fleas instantly. Dawn dish washing liquid does
the trick. Add a few drops to your dog’s bath and shampoo the animal
thoroughly. Rinse well to avoid skin irritations. Goodbye fleas.

Rainy day cure for dog odor … Next time your dog comes
in from the rain, simply wipe down the animal with Bounce or any dryer
sheet, instantly making your dog smell springtime fresh.

Eliminate ear mites … All it takes is a few drops of
Wesson corn oil in your cat’s ear. Massage it in, then clean with a
cotton ball. Repeat daily for 3 days. The oil soothes the cat’s skin,
smothers the mites, and accelerates healing.

Quaker Oats for fast pain relief. It’s not for
breakfast anymore! Mix 2 cups of Quaker Oats and 1 cup of water in a
bowl and warm in the microwave for 1 minute, cool slightly and apply
the mixture to your hands for soothing relief from arthritis pain.

Decorating ideas!

Spruce up a living room by using inexpensive sheets or blankets to cover your couch and chairs. They are very washable and you can change them often.

Buy the inexpensive plain lampshades for your lamps and then stencil brush a cute design on fast and easy.

You can do the same thing with the curtains! Buy a neutral color and then use stencils to make a design on them! Be creative!

If you have any more ideas for decorating please let me know! I would be glad to share and give you the credit!

Here is a great place to shop for new stuff for your home! I love their service and their prices. Check them out!

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