I read a lot of books to learn shortcuts and uncommon ways of doing things around the house, I frequently get emails from friends and family concerning their ideas and what they use and I go online to find tips and useful information for myself. I had accumulated and collected a few that have worked well for me in the past and found some recent ones that I have used with great success. Try them for yourself and see what you think of them.
First up, a few tricks for your indoor plants. Here is something you can do with the water you just boiled your eggs in. Instead of dumping the water down the drain, let the water cool and water your plants with it. This water now contains growth stimulating minerals for your plants, crushed eggshells in the soil also provide nutrients. During the winter months snow contains many trace minerals your plants can use, just melt and let it come to room temperature. Collecting rainwater and using it for your plants with give the leaves an extra sparkle.
Have a musty smell in your home. Since you have to vacuum anyway, put a few drops of eucalyptus oil in the vacuum bag before you clean the carpets. Rubbing half a lemon on your cutting boards after you have cleaned them will cut down on the odors it collects, especially if it is plastic or wood. To keep you disposal smelling good, grind three quarters of a lemon down there occasionally. I always wash the cans I empty for meals before I put them into the trash, this eliminates odors and does not attract insects into my kitchen. In case you do not use your dishwasher on a daily bases, put a dish of baking soda on the bottom to absorb odors. If you have silver, do not dry it on a rubber mat because the silver will get darker if you do. If you have a crack in a piece of china, boil some milk and let it cool slightly then place the china into it for a few minutes. The crack will disappear. China with gold trim should always be cleaned in cool water so the gold does not come off.
I keep my fragrant soaps unwrapped in a basket in the bathroom to make the room smell better, I find it also makes the soaps last longer because doing this reduces the moisture in the bars. When I painted the bathroom, I used a high-gloss finish paint because it cleans easy and repels dirt, it also stands up to steam better than other paints. Each week drop a palm-sized handful of baking soda down your shower drain and follow it by a small quantity of white vinegar, wait about ten minutes and flush with hot water. If you have a few children but too many toys, try rotating the toys every six months so boredom with their toys will not set in. To encourage your kids to hang up their clothes, lower the closet rods to their height and mount a battery operated light with an easily accessible switch for them. For vinyl flooring in the a bedroom or playroom, place a washable carpet over the largest area for them to play on and the keep the room warmer. To keep pets odor free, brush baking soda into their fur between baths. To rid pet beds of fleas, a few drops of essential lavender oil will do the trick and to keep the litter box smelling good, a thin layer of baking soda in the box before the litter is added will help.
Some people have a wood burner or wood stove and like us have searched and searched for ways to dispose of all the ashes. After some research I found out that a good fire needs a two inch carpet of ash under the grate. Turns out this helps the fire start faster while helping to radiate heat into the rooms. Ashes are also an excellent deterrent in the garden as well when you pour it around plants vulnerable to insect attacks; makes a great fertilizer too by helping to neutralize acidity in soil. I have taken to adding some of my dried fragrant herbs to my kindling to make the whole house smell like Autumn in the Winter! I collect pine cone, buy cinnamon sticks and dry citrus peels to add to my wood burner, this alleviates the need for store bought fragrant sprays to freshen my home. Since I am new to the whole wood stove thing, I do not burn wood that is too green because it burns cooler and causes a buildup of dangerous creosote. Treated wood should also never be burned, it create dangerous gases and ashes.
Now, how about some inexpensive recipes for basic cleaners around your home. Germs and bacteria love moisture! So if you keep surface clean and dry that will go along way in reducing the growth of unwanted friends attaining a foothold in your kitchen and other rooms in your home. Although store shelf disinfectants kill bacteria and most most, they do so for a short time period making it necessary to constantly clean and dry surfaces more susceptible to contamination. To clean your both toilet tank and bowl , sprinkle a three quarter of a box of baking soda in the tank and leave it overnight. Put a quart of very hot water and one plus one third cup of powdered laundry detergent into a three-quarter gallon plastic container, mix until fully dissolved. If foam develops, skim it off and gradually add a cup and one third of pine oil or pinesol and stir. To use as a bathroom disinfectant cleaner, put one part solution to one part warm warm; for toilets you can use it full strength. Store the solution in a well sealed container away from children.
This mixture can be used with a brush or sponge to clean tiles, just mix together both three quarter cup of baking soda and white vinegar, a cup ammonia and two gallons of warm water. If you use a plastic tablecloth you should be aware that they have an odor all their own and not a very pleasant one. Soaking it in a mixture of baking soda and water overnight will get rid of the smell. You can also use baking soda as an ice remover in winter and for more traction, add sand to it. To make an inexpensive indoor air freshener, mix equal parts of scented bath salts and baking soda. Adding a third cup of soda to your rinse cycle will eliminate the need to purchase fabric softeners at the grocery store and you will have very soft clothes for your family to wear. My last one is for homemade toothpaste! A tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda and of table salt, three quarter cup cold water and three teaspoons of vegetable glycerin from the local pharmacy. Make a thick paste of the ingredients in a bowl adding water as needed, a few drops of peppermint or spearmint will improve the flavor; use a sealed container for storage.
