Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Helpful Tips............

An email certainly worth reading:

GREAT TIPS:

1. Reheat Pizza

Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove , set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy microwave pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it really works.

2. Easy Deviled Eggs

Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg. Just throw bag away when done easy clean up.

3. Expanding Frosting

When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar and calories per serving.

4. 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.

5. Newspaper weeds away

Start putting in your plants, 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.

6. Broken Glass

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

7. No More Mosquitoes

Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away.

8. 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.

9. 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. It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.

10. 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 panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and ta da! static is gone.

11. 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.

12. 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!

13. Reopening envelope

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

14. Conditioner

Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's a lot 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...

15. Goodbye Fruit Flies

To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass fill it 1/2" 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!

16. 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 & you don't have the worry about pets or small children being harmed!

17. 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 clothes.) He told us that he wanted to show us something; he took the filter over to the sink, ran hot water over it. The lint filter is made of a mesh material - I'm sure you know what your dryer's lint filter looks like. 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 that's what burns out the heating unit. You can't SEE the film, but it's there. It's what is in the dryer sheets to make your clothes soft and static free - that nice fragra nce too, you know how they can feel waxy when you take them out of the box, well this stuff builds up on your clothes and on your lint screen. This is also what causes dryer units to catch fire & potentially burn your house down with it! He said the best way to keep your dryer working for a very long time (& to keep your electric bill lower) is to take that filter out & wash it with hot soapy water & 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!

How about that!?! Learn something new everyday! I certainly didn't know dryer sheets would do that. So, I thought I'd share!

Note: I went to my dryer & tested my screen by running water on it. The water ran through a little bit but mostly collected all the water in the mesh screen. I washed it with warm soapy water & a nylon brush & I had it done in 30 seconds. Then when I rinsed it the water ran right Thru the screen! There wasn't any puddling at all! That repairman knew what he was talking about!

PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO OTHER PEOPLE IN YOUR ADDRESS BOOK. NOT ONLY COULD IT SAVE SOMEONE'S HOME, BUT IT COULD SAVE SOMEONE's life.....

 

16 comments:

Cathy said...

Thanks, Betty, for all those neat, helpful hints. You know, I remember my mother used to like to read those books with hints in them.

Hope said...

Hi Betty,
Thank you so much for my award. I finally had some time to pick it up today. My little Josie is home and doing great! Come by and see me and read all about it!

Hugs,
Hope

Betty said...

That is some very good hints, Betty. Thank you for sharing. It is worth the read.

Mary said...

Betty,

These are all terrific tips. I know the dryer sheets do repel bees and mosquitoes. Many children's summer camps recommend sending a box of dryer sheets with the kids.

I did know the one about the vinegar and dish soap for fruit flies, but had never heard the one about dryer sheets and the lint catcher. I'm going to try that.

Thanks for all the tips. Michelle had her surgery today and is resting comfortably. She was awake when I went to see her and trying to eat a bit of jello and broth.

Blessings,
Mary

marmielu said...

Hi Betty! I am new to your blog, but I just wanted to thank you for all these tips. Some I knew, but not all. I am going to try the conditioner/shaving tip next time I shave my legs, and will definitely remember the dryer sheet and the mosquitoes this summer! Good stuff!

Mary Lou

dot said...

Great tips Betty! Thanks for your visit today.

Unknown said...

Using conditioner for shaving, now that just makes sense! Why hadn't I ever thought of that one!??

Susan said...

Interesting information.
Susan

Sue said...

Betty,
I just wanted to stop by and personally let you know that Aaron is doing so well that they are planning on letting him go home on Friday. You have been such a faithful encourager that I wanted to let you know asap.
Hugs,
Sue

Anonymous said...

I love this!

Anonymous said...

Those are great tips, Thanks.

Linda said...

Hi Betty, thank you for all the neat tips #s 1-7-11-14 are sure to help me and I could have used #13 earlier today. Hugs, Linda

Reflection Through The Seasons said...

Dear Friend Betty........

I’m so impressed with your list of tips...... I’ve printed it off for future reference, they will be pasted into a book I keep for interesting snippets like this..... maybe one day my grand daughter’s will find them useful too.

Do you, or any of your readers have any tips for repelling months apart from the usual moth balls that leave a very distinctive smell, I've also used camphor wood balls, but I thought there may be simpler solution someone finds effective, Marion

Jeanette said...

Hi Betty, theres a lot of very usefull tips here i think ill print them out for future reference,,, Warm hugs Jen

Rhondi said...

Thanks for the great tips Betty. I am sure they will come in handy.

Kathi said...

These are wonderful tips. Very helpful. Thank you. Kathi