[Sara Arell]

CLEVER IDEAS WORTH KNOWING.........
Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store. If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.

Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil. It will stay fresh much longer and not mold.

Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating. Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.

Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef. It will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking.

To really make scrambled eggs or omelets rich add a couple of spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream in and then beat them up.

Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste of garlic and at the end of the recipe if you want a stronger taste of garlic.

Reheating refrigerated bread - To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.

Newspaper weeds away - Start putting in your plants, working any additive nutrients into your soil. Wet the newspapers, then put layers around the plants, overlapping as you go, then cover with mulch, and forget about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening plastic, but they will not get through wet newspapers.

Broken Glass - Use a wet cotton ball or Q-tip to pick up the small shards of glass you can't see easily.

No More Mosquitoes - Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away.

Squirrel Away! - To keep squirrels from eating your plants, sprinkle your plants with cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the squirrels won't come near it.

Flexible vacuum - To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum hose. It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.

Reducing Static Cling - Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing pantyhose. Place pin in seam of slacks and .. TA DA! ... static is gone.

Measuring Cups - Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.

Foggy Windshield? - Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car. When the windows fog, rub with the eraser! Works better than a cloth!

Re-opening envelopes - If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Viola! It unseals easily.

Conditioner - Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's cheaper than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it in your hair.

Goodbye Fruit Flies - To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass, fill it 1/2-inch with Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dish washing liquid; mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!

Get Rid of Ants - Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it 'home', can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, especially if it rains, but it works and you don't have the worry about pets or small children being harmed!

INFO ABOUT CLOTHES DRYERS - The heating unit went out on my dryer! The gentleman that fixes things around the house for us told us that he wanted to show us something and he went over to the dryer and pulled out the lint filter. It was clean. (I always clean the lint from the filter after every load ofclothes.) He told us that he wanted to show us something; he took the filter over to the sink and ran hot water over it. The lint filter is made of a mesh material. Well ..... the hot water just sat on top of the mesh! It didn't go through it at all! He told us that dryer sheets cause a film over that mesh, and that's what burns out the heating unit. This is also what causes dryer units to potentially burn your house down with it! He said the best way to keep your dryer working for a very longtime (and to keep your electric bill lower) is to take that filter out and wash it with hot soapy water and an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least every six months. He said that makes the life of the dryer at least twice as long!
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[teecee]

This is some good stuff to know Sara. Thanks for posting!

[naninca]

Great info!
I'm going to try the safety pin trick.
Thanks for sharing!
Nancy

[Pab]

These are some good tips, Sara!! I have not used fabric softener sheets for years. I make sure any washer we buy is able to add the liquid softner to it at the beginning of the cycle. I had seen that tip on TV years ago... I wonder did you try the newspaper tip yet for the weeds? I can't help wondering if it's really true... weeds seem to grow no matter what you use...

[no_idea]

Thank you Sara, there are a few that I didn't know about! I'll be counting the bumps on peppers from now on! The conditioner tip works, it's the best way to use up those little bottle of conditioner from hotels.

[no_idea]

Pab, on 28 March 2011 - 11:22 AM, said:

These are some good tips, Sara!! I have not used fabric softener sheets for years. I make sure any washer we buy is able to add the liquid softner to it at the beginning of the cycle. I had seen that tip on TV years ago... I wonder did you try the newspaper tip yet for the weeds? I can't help wondering if it's really true... weeds seem to grow no matter what you use...

Patsy, I have a friend who has used newspaper in her vegetable garden for years. She lays it between the rows, she's never had a weed there.

[Sara Arell]

no_idea, on 28 March 2011 - 11:27 AM, said:

Pab, on 28 March 2011 - 11:22 AM, said:

These are some good tips, Sara!! I have not used fabric softener sheets for years. I make sure any washer we buy is able to add the liquid softner to it at the beginning of the cycle. I had seen that tip on TV years ago... I wonder did you try the newspaper tip yet for the weeds? I can't help wondering if it's really true... weeds seem to grow no matter what you use...

Patsy, I have a friend who has used newspaper in her vegetable garden for years. She lays it between the rows, she's never had a weed there.

Thanks, Karen. I have not tried it yet but I thought it might be a good idea! We shall see if it works!

[Belle]

Thanks for the tips Sara. I have heard quite a few, but now all. We eat a lot of bananas so I am going to try that one.

Foggy Windshield? - Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car. When the windows fog, rub with the eraser! Works better than a cloth. You could also just cut a potato in half and wipe the window with that. No more misting up. Works on bathroom mirrors as well.

[scrapperbess]

Good info, Sara! Thanks! I just used the one about fruit flies. I always have a large bowl of fruit on my counter. Just in case you didn't know, you should always eat fruit on an empty stomach (before any other food that is) to get the full benefit of the nutrients! Also, a cup of green tea first thing in the morning is good for you and you also get the best benefit from the antioxidents if you drink it first thing in the morning. I always start my morning off with a cup of green tea! Have a blessed day. And, if you have time and feel up to it, let me know what is going on with your eyes. Lots of hugs.

[mbechtloff]

i think i received an email with this a long time ago, but I love the reminder ... great advice!

[LaLo1103]

These are cool! If I could just memorize some, I'd be a hit at cocktail parties!

[scrapperbess]

Thanks, Sara! I knew about the dryer filter and the newspaper in the garden, and the squirrel remedy. But you gave me a lot of others I did not know about. The only thing I would say about the newspaper idea, is that the Terminix man said that the paper would draw termites! So if you use this idea, keep the paper away from the walls of your house. I used bed rocks against the walls of the house, fence and garage. It gives it a buffer and the termite guy said that was a good idea.

[Sara Arell]

LaLo1103, on 08 February 2012 - 04:13 PM, said:

These are cool! If I could just memorize some, I'd be a hit at cocktail parties!

Heeheeee! For me to remember I'd have to take this with me! My brain will just not retain all it needs to know!