In more than 30 years of “keeping house” I have learned a few tricks to make housekeeping easier. I decided to write this little blog about household tips I have actually used that actually worked. Consumer tested tips, if you will..
I have a crystal box someone gave me that I love. I keep jewelry in it. One of my kids drew a line on it with a sharpie. REALLY ticked me off. My kids were adopted at 13 and 10 – so we’re not talking toddlers here.
For some reason, one day I recalled a trick. I took the box lid and cleaned off the black mark with toothpaste! Yep. Worked like a charm. Toothpaste cleans crystal, and likely glass…
I have also noticed when I am trying to get a price sticker off something like photo frame glass, that rubbing alcohol works. Or you can use good bourbon, but I would hate to waste that stuff..
Speaking of booze, did you know that using vodka to clean your icy windshield works well? Put the rotgut cheap vodka in the container that holds your windshield wiper fluid. It works well. Learned this from my driver in Kazakhstan. Nothing like vodka fumes to wake you up at 8 in the morning.
If your toilet is clogged, put in some baking soda and then pour in some white vinegar. After the bubbles stop, flush. Then use the plunger. Repeat as necessary. Or call a plumber, if you have the money.
Or do what my brother did, buy a book about plumbing and teach yourself.
My grandmother believed in boiling water to clean stuff. If you have a tough to clean spot on your kitchen counter, pour some boiling water on it, then wait a minute and scrub. Note: years ago when we moved to this house I bought a Krups electric tea kettle. Love that thing. Works like a charm. I drink tea every day…
Shakespeare kills palmetto bugs. Biology and chemistry textbooks work well too. Basically any big bug that’s hard to kill, drop a 5 lb. book on that sucker and it will usually do the trick. [I learned this while visiting by BFF at her dorm at Emory years ago. Thank God the RA was pre med and studying Chemistry that night because a 4 inch long palmetto bug had me pretty much hysterical. Thank god nobody had a video camera or I would have been a YouTube sensation or an involuntary meme…]
Of course, first you can spray bugs with hairspray. White Rain is great for that. I try not to use bug spray because my mom has asthma.
Want to keep your child’s nice clothes clean? Or your husband’s clothes? Hide them. Mom used to buy nice shorts and shirts for Daddy in preparation for vacation, and hide them. Otherwise, he would wear brand new clothes to change the oil in the car, spread manure in the garden, etc. If she hid them until time to pack, there was a chance they would stay looking nice, at least until we got back from vacation..
If you have a dog that gets on the furniture (like Lola, my bassett hound) the sofa tends to get really hairy. Wrap your hand in duct tape and use it to peel up the hair. You can also use scotch tape, but it doesn’t work as well. Brushing the dog occasionally helps too, but let’s not get crazy.
If you are cooking and you need to thicken a soup or stew you can add potato flakes. I am horrible at using flour and water to thicken gravy. Potato flakes work. Uncle Ben’s. Generally, I prefer real potatoes, of course…
I have learned that instead of stressing out about finding lids to little plastic containers when I am trying to save leftovers, just popping a piece of tinfoil over the bowl works fine. Then I take a sharpie and write on the foil what is in the bowl. That way my kids won’t be looking for applesauce and accidentally pull out the peas. Etc. Oh who am I kidding? I do it for ME, okay. Identifying glops of cold food is just much easier if there’s a foil lid with the name of the food on it.
Do you hate having to wash your dishes before you put them in the dishwasher? Scraping food off plates is yucky. However, you can simply put the plate on the floor and let the dog lick it. Problem solved. [Don’t give me any crap about it being bad for the dog. Our dogs have been licking plates since 1959 and they have all lived far longer than what the books predict, and been healthier.]
Spilled food on the floor? Let the dog clean it up.
Need to lose weight? Take the dog to walk. [See dogs are so necessary to life...]
Does your spouse hug the covers on a cold night? Train your dog or cat to sleep with you. Cuddling animals works. Just have to bathe them a bit more often..
Do you worry about cleaning your shower curtain? Here’s what I do. When the shower curtain starts looking nasty, I go to Walmart and buy a new shower curtain. I put the old one in the recycle bin.
My final tip is pure gold so listen up y’all: if you are wondering how to fix something or get something clean, go to You Tube. Seriously. Everything in life you need to know is right there.
this is the sunporch/office at my condo where I lived for 6 years...
