*~My Personal Tips & Tricks~*

~My Personal Tips & Tricks~

~These are my own tricks that I thought to made my life easier when I do them.

Hope they will make yours easier also, if you choose to use them too.~

1. Spraying Pam, or other: I open the dishwasher and hold my pan, or whatever, inside my dishwasher and I spray it in the dishwasher. The grease sprays in the dishwasher not in my kitchen.

;2. Prevent Botulism when grilling: To make my spatula botulism free while using and re-using it, I place the spatula part in the grill, handle outside the grill, and I close the grill's cover. Thus re-use of my spatula does not spread botulism.

3. Smelly drain: I pour Kitchen Clean-ups, or pure bleach in the drain, let it soak a while then open the faucet to drain.

4. Brown Sugar staying moist: I empty the bag in a Food Saver container (a tight container would work the same) and I place a small empty margarine cup on top of the brown sugar, and I add a few drops of water on a folded paper towel and place it in the little bowl. Your brown sugar will stay moist. You can also wrap the damp paper towel in plastic wrap not completely sealing the plastic, if your brown sugar container is too small.

5. Cannot open a new Jar?: Hit the edge of the jar's cover (not too hard) until you hear a click sound, the seal has been broken and the cover will be easier to open.

6. Hallow bottle to clean: Pour gravel inside bottle, add water then shake the dirt off the wall of the bottle. Do not use soapy water for it makes too much suds and the pebbles gets soft, thus does not scrap the dirt off. Use soapy water when no more dirt is in the bottle.

7. Dusting my furniture: I use the hand held Swiffer duster (amazing) and I dust one room then I go shake off the dust in the bathtub, closing the shower curtain so the dust stays in the bathtub. I do that to every room. You will be surprised what the duster picks up as it is left in the tub. I then spray Scrubbing Bubbles to wash the bathtub and rinse it, the dust goes down the drain!

8. Sweeping the floors: I use the Swiffer wand (amazing). I sweep one room and then I vacuum the swiffer cloth with the vacuum wand cleaning the swiffer cloth for another room. Also, I re-use the same cloth for another time I sweep by turning the cloth on the other side and do the same process. If the cloth is not too dirty, or broken it can be used another time, saving double the amount of cloth, money saver.

9. Spraying Spray Net: When I use spray net on my hair I spray my hair towards the bathtub, the sticky spray falls in the tub, not on the floor.

10. Have knee pain: To ensure my knee is warm at all time, especially in the cool/cold time of arthritis, I cut the foot area of a tube sock and pull the sock on over the area where the pain is most sensitive. Tube sock uppers do not choke the leg area.

11. Smear free cleaner: I use one small/smallest bottle of vinegar in a gallon of water solution for my windows, mirrors, stove, counter top, anything I would use glass cleaner on. I personally like the aroma, smells clean.

12. Smear free floors: The water and vinegar solution is really good for linoleum floors too, no soap smears, the floors shines. I use it in a spray bottle for my bathroom floor and for touch up everywhere. It is an excellent rinse after I have to wash my floors with detergents; it cleans the suds residue and leaves the floors shiny.

13. Prevent one messy oven rack: Whatever I bake in the oven I always take the top rack out, this keeps that one rack clean.

14. Freezing food in Fluff containers: I like to freeze food in Fluff marshmallow containers because it's a perfect one meal size container for two. After the container is full, to the line, I put the cover and press the cover take out as much air as possible. With a piece of "Glad Press 'n' Seal" plastic wrap I press it on the cover and sides so to take as much air as possible, I then wrap Masking Tape around the container, below the cover.

15. Stay warm toast till you eat them: When I'm done spreading whatever on my toasts, I put the plate on top of the hot toaster, until I'm ready to eat my toasts. I usually put the spread back in the fridge, clean my counter top, then I sit and eat. This way my toasts stays warm! :)

16. Cookie Jar: I found a way to have my cookies last longer than ever in my cookie jar. I place a "Storage Baggies" -the ones with twist ties- inside my jar then I place my cookies inside the bag, then I twist the top of the bag close (no tieback) before I put the cover on the jar. My cookies stay moist longer.

17. Heating Pad: My left knee has a knife wound under it, and in the cold months the arthritis attacks prevents me to fall asleep at night. One night I thought of placing my heating pad at the knee area on my mattress and turn it to high, let it warm my mattress and blankets for an hour right before going to bed. Well that did the trick. I have scoliosis and was told I have to lie on my stomach for 30 min. in order to relax my neck muscles, and since I heat the mattress before I lie down, my knee is not on a cold mattress this way. An electric blanket is too hot for me, the whole bed gets hot, that's why I thought of a heating pad for my knee only.

18. Grocery bags: I put the empty grocery bags in an empty tissue box, the slot helps for ease of taking one at a time.

19. Fresh "longer" bread: I twist the "tail" -all the way to the end- of the bag real tight every time I use it, I twist a tieback, and turn the tail under my bread, air has no chance to go in. I found that the bread stays moist much more longer.

20. Bookmark: When I'm reading a book and have to stop, I leave the bookmark's face on the page I will continue when I read again, and I put the top of it as close to the paragraph I will start reading again.

21. For safer meats: I use examining/latex gloves whenever I prepare meats. Works wonders when making patties and meatballs, and for cutting off fat off meats and cubing meats. Your hands do not smell meaty wearing gloves. Prevents spreading E.Coli Fabulous!

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