What Is your weirdest Household/timesaving tip

[Mary Kay]

Since I am basicly lazy, unless it's something I want to do, I thought I would ask for tips. I have read and mostly ignored all the tried and true..give me your strangest, wackiest most loved tips.
I will start the ball rolling. If you have baked on food, like macaroni and cheese or meat drippings on a broiler pan, don't scrub! I give it to my tiny little maids to clean. Red Ants! In Florida there are gabillions of nests just waiting to send out the guards to bite you. We get rid of all of them but one. That one is not close to the house and under a bush so it's not likely to be stepped in. I plop my pan or roaster down and wait a day or three to go get it, clean as a whistle. Those gals even got some stuff I could never scrub off! They work cheap and never need vacations.
I suppose any type of ant will do, but our red "fire ants" are really aggressive. I don't guess Auzzie and New Zealand "Jack Jumpers" would be a good idea come to think of it. Maybe not the "Army Ants".
Yes, I do know to spray pam on the pans before baking..I manage to burn it on anyway lolol
Mary

 

[ritalee76]

If you have baked on food, like macaroni and cheese or meat drippings on a broiler pan, don't scrub! I give it to my tiny little maids to clean. Red Ants! In Florida there are gabillions of nests just waiting to send out the guards to bite you. We get rid of all of them but one. That one is not close to the house and under a bush so it's not likely to be stepped in. I plop my pan or roaster down and wait a day or three to go get it, clean as a whistle. Those gals even got some stuff I could never scrub off! They work cheap and never need vacations.

That's a great tip!!! We have tons of those here and now maybe I can put them to good use! LOL

 

[Wildsky]

My dog will clean anything with food on it! (Including the kids!)

My tips and tricks are mostly about saving $$$. I do HATE spending money! I go so far as to make my own laundry detergent, gave up on those wet wipe things, and use cloth rag with a spray bottle with bleach and water mixed.
Vinegar is also your best friend when cleaning....

 

[karenrcg]

Foget all these posh clothes you can buy the best thing for polishing windows and tiles is good old newspaper

 

[Mary Kay]

Wildsky, what happened to your corset?
Vinegar is a girls best friend! Along with a news paper for window cleaning. And a husband to do it! Sometimes it is GOOD to be short.
Hi Karen, alas newspapers are getting scarce. They are going out of business right and left. I guess it's due to 24 hour a day news on cable and the net.
nice to meet you.
Here's another:
Newspaper weeds away:
Start putting in your plants in the ground, work the
nutrients in your soil.
Wet Newspapers: put layers around the plants
overlapping as you go
Cover with mulch and forget about weeds.
Weeds will get through some gardening plastic
they will not get through wet newspapers.
(sorry about the color..it was just my blue phase)
Rita, Great picture!
Mary

 

[Sexi]

Wildsky, what happened to your corset?
Vinegar is a girls best friend! Along with a news paper for window cleaning. And a husband to do it! Sometimes it is GOOD to be short.
Hi Karen, alas newspapers are getting scarce. They are going out of business right and left. I guess it's due to 24 hour a day news on cable and the net.
nice to meet you.
Here's another:
Newspaper weeds away:
Start putting in your plants in the ground, work the
nutrients in your soil.
Wet Newspapers: put layers around the plants
overlapping as you go
Cover with mulch and forget about weeds.
Weeds will get through some gardening plastic
they will not get through wet newspapers.
(sorry about the color..it was just my blue phase)
Rita, Great picture!
Mary

The newspaper trick also works for the entire garden LOL. I hate weeds, but I also hate pulling this pesky buggers & a tiller only gets so close. Any watermelon, cucumbers, or anything that vines on the ground. When the plants are about 4 or 5 inches tall I use the newspaper in the same way to keep weeds out. Water & air can get to the ground, but weeds can't get back up....... & the newspaper doesn't cook the plants like some black landscape mulch in really hot weather.

 

[DMacRae]

I have a husband who spilled red wine all the time, so here is my favorite cleaning tip EVER: Hydrogen peroxide with a drop of dish detergent like Dawn in it will get red wine stains out of carpets and fabrics. Be sure and test an inconspicuous area first, but I have never had this fail.

 

[DMacRae]

The newspaper trick also works for the entire garden LOL. I hate weeds, but I also hate pulling this pesky buggers & a tiller only gets so close. Any watermelon, cucumbers, or anything that vines on the ground. When the plants are about 4 or 5 inches tall I use the newspaper in the same way to keep weeds out. Water & air can get to the ground, but weeds can't get back up....... & the newspaper doesn't cook the plants like some black landscape mulch in really hot weather.

Cardboard boxes also work. They're better around shrubs and large areas. I did whole shrub borders in cardboard with mulch over it last year and it still looks great with no weeds!

 

[Wildsky]

I need to do something this year so I'm not pulling weeds out my garden. We have such high winds here I'm thinking if I put newspapers down, they'll end up in the next county! LOL

 

[CssReb]

believe it or not we do have skunks roaming around our neighborhoods here in the big city.
So, walking the dogs at night can become a nightmare especially nights when garbage is at the curb for morning pick up.

My dogs have gotten sprayed a couple times 8-o

Forget about tomato juice it doesn't work, the only thing it did was turn my bichon's hair pink.

Best remedy for removing skunk odor is peroxide and baking soda.

1 quart of 3% hydrogen peroxide
1/4 cup of baking soda
1 teaspoon of liquid detergent.

(this solution also works on urine odors)

lather it up and leave it on for about 10 minutes

Follow bath with a tap water rinse.

Peroxide has a bleaching effect so, if your dog has dark hair it may lighten the color.

 

[firebrat75]

The newspaper trick also works for the entire garden LOL. I hate weeds, but I also hate pulling this pesky buggers & a tiller only gets so close. Any watermelon, cucumbers, or anything that vines on the ground. When the plants are about 4 or 5 inches tall I use the newspaper in the same way to keep weeds out. Water & air can get to the ground, but weeds can't get back up....... & the newspaper doesn't cook the plants like some black landscape mulch in really hot weather.

The other good thing about newspaper in the garden, is as it starts to break down, it turns into simple sugars that attract red worms, which in turn fertilizes your garden also...

Jason

 

[Wildsky]

The other good thing about newspaper in the garden, is as it starts to break down, it turns into simple sugars that attract red worms, which in turn fertilizes your garden also...

Jason

which in turn will feed the chickens - who in turn will make breakfast!

 

[Caesarea]

To get rid of white water rings on polished wood, dampen a cloth with olive oil and dip it in cigarette ash, gently massage the white marks away...

But now I'll need to pop round to a neighbour's to borrow an ashtray!

8-o

Shall need a clothes peg on nose as well....

 

[Wildsky]

To get rid of white water rings on polished wood, dampen a cloth with olive oil and dip it in cigarette ash, gently massage the white marks away...

But now I'll need to pop round to a neighbour's to borrow an ashtray!

8-o

Shall need a clothes peg on nose as well....

The cig ash also works if you color your hair and get marks on your skin - rub in the ash to remove.
I don't color my hair anymore, but I used to work as a stylist many years ago and we did this to our customers

 

[Caesarea]

The cig ash also works if you color your hair and get marks on your skin - rub in the ash to remove.
I don't color my hair anymore, but I used to work as a stylist many years ago and we did this to our customers

Scary - but handy to know!!! (So that's why my stylist smokes!!!)

 

[AnglVapin]

All some very interesting tips! I wish I had read about the newspaper a week ago. I just had my whole yard landscaped and weeds are already coming through the mulch.

QUESTION: Does anyone know of an effective way for me to chase these disgustingly weird lizards into my neighbor's yards???? I am terrified of them. I think they are Brown Anoles with collars and something prehistoric looking running along their backs.

My yard is invested to the point I hire someone to pull weeds and no longer enjoy my yard. 8-o

 

[Malicedoll]

ok.. i have one..

how to get pet hair off of carpets .. we have a lot of cats here.. none of them are mine.. but..

put some liquid fabric softener (like downy) in a spray bottle.. i use like a third or so.. and fill the rest with water.. give the carpet a good spray.. let it sit for like an hour or until it dries.. and then vacuum... works like a charm..

 

[gep]

All some very interesting tips! I wish I had read about the newspaper a week ago. I just had my whole yard landscaped and weeds are already coming through the mulch.

QUESTION: Does anyone know of an effective way for me to chase these disgustingly weird lizards into my neighbor's yards???? I am terrified of them. I think they are Brown Anoles with collars and something prehistoric looking running along their backs.

My yard is invested to the point I hire someone to pull weeds and no longer enjoy my yard. 8-o

Lizards are the good guys!!!! They eat other insects. I'd rather have a load of lizards than mosquitos, spiders (Yech!) etc.

Try to get used to them. Make a lot of racket and they'll stay away from you.

But if you MUST be rid of them: You have to get rid of their food source, which means killing all the insects along the outside your home and in your yard. I'm sure there are some organic types of insecticide if you would prefer, but I don't know much about that stuff. I just let them be.

 

[ShimmyPrincess]

All some very interesting tips! I wish I had read about the newspaper a week ago. I just had my whole yard landscaped and weeds are already coming through the mulch.

QUESTION: Does anyone know of an effective way for me to chase these disgustingly weird lizards into my neighbor's yards???? I am terrified of them. I think they are Brown Anoles with collars and something prehistoric looking running along their backs.

My yard is invested to the point I hire someone to pull weeds and no longer enjoy my yard. 8-o

keep a bigger lizard there...LOL..(seriously though, Chameleons do eat anoles) I've had 7 old world chams, they are quite beautiful

I have really enjoyed this thread, nothing to add, except if you have pets, have hardwood floors and leather furniture....get a garden hose, a Voilia' clean

 

[gep]

keep a bigger lizard there...LOL..(seriously though, Chameleons do eat anoles) I've had 7 old world chams, they are quite beautiful

I have really enjoyed this thread, nothing to add, except if you have pets, have hardwood floors and leather furniture....get a garden hose, a Voilia' clean

I LOVE THAT QUOTE SHIMMY! I used it as my sig on my email for a couple of years.