Saturday, March 15, 2008

Meme: Household Tips

Many moons ago The Duckling tagged me for this meme. I forgot about it until today when I was catching up on my blog reading and decided to go ahead respond because I just might know a thing or two that everyone else knows and needs reminding about.

1. If you cut up onions and can't stand the odor on your hands afterwards, rub your hands along a pipe (such as the kitchen sink faucet pipe), and as long as it's not aluminum it should remove the odor.

2. Dryer sheets can be used for so much more than just laundry. Use them to get the dust off of your tv sets, or to dust anything really. They're also great in a pinch if you have to wear panty-hose and your pants get static cling. Just rub the dryer sheet up and down your hose (after putting them on) and your pants should be cling-free for the rest of day.

3. Don't have time to iron? Just spray your jeans, shirts, dresses, slacks, etc. with a water bottle, shake the item out a bit, and you should be living a mostly wrinkle free lifestyle.

4. To keep your jeans from getting all wrinkly in the dryer, just fold them as if you were putting them in a drawer and place them in the dryer that way. It might not remove all the wrinkles but it will definitely minimize them.

5. Resolve, Resolve, Resolve. That stuff is amazing. It'll get everything from dog pee to red wine out of your carpets.

6. Choose the least important household cleaning thing to you and make a conscious decision to let it go. My own personal least favorite thing to do is fold clothes. When the clothes come out of the dryer they go into three separate baskets (separated for each family member) and let them sit. If a person prefers their clothes folded, they'll fold them. When I have time I'll fold mine but I refuse to stress over unfolded clothes.

7. But my most important tip is to not try to be perfect. It's impossible to get everything done that needs to be done so don't be ashamed to have people over if your house isn't perfectly clean. And by the same token, don't be ashamed to invite people in when your house is a mess. They've seen messes before and even if they judge you for your mess, it doesn't really matter because they're not the ones that have to live there. (And if you ever drop by my house and I allow you inside even if it's messy, please tell me if my house smells like dog. I have no idea if it does but I don't want it to so I won't be offended if you mention it to me.) My motto when dealing with household things is to, "Let it go." When you're dead and buried no one will remember if you kept a perfect house but they will remember how you spent your time and what you tried to do to make the world a better place.

8. My final tip, which is less a household tip and more a parenting tip, is to recognize as soon as possible in your child's life that the person s/he will become is most likely not the person you were imagining during your nine months of pregnancy. The earlier you recognize this the sooner you can help your child grow into the person s/he was meant to be all along.

Now for the tagging part. Pretty much everyone I know in real life has already been tagged so I think I'll tag some of my online friends and see how that goes.

David - Because he's my husband and he knows everything. And also because of science.
The Fiendster - Because she's awesome and a Jack of all Trades.
Heather - Because she survived a brain tumor so surely she knows something about real life.
JASB - Because he seems handy around the house.
Addie - Because she has two kids, runs a household, has a full-time job, a husband, and volunteers at her church.
Emerald Wave - Because she's a hippy and has her own chickens and everything.
Lisa - Because she's an ex-cop and could probably kill you with her pinky.
Patrick - Because he builds cool models and knows stuff about cleaning up messes.
OhioDave - Because he just made it through and awesome snow storm and is very resourceful.
Emilie - Because she also has two kids and she has survived that so far without too much mental trauma.
Sandy - Because he's a really good cook and probably knows some interesting kitchen tips.

2 comments:

greeneagles said...

I'm kind of jealous that I didn't think to post the first one on your list. I learned this one from my mom a few years ago. I believe it apply to any stainless steal object. She actually gave me a little stainless steal soap bar to use that works wonders. Great picks.

Gojiro said...

I don't have too many household tips, but here's one really good one:

Vinegar is an excellent cleaner for stainless steel. It dissolves calcium build up like you wouldn't believe and leaves your pots and pans looking brand new. Run it through your coffee maker every month or so, and the coffee will taste better -- plus, you won't be replacing the coffee maker as often!

Got a clogged drain? Instead of using harsh drain cleaners that are bad for the environment, try a cup of baking soda, followed by two cups of vinegar. Let it bubble and foam for fifteen minutes, then pour hot water down the drain. Not only will it clear most clogs, but the vinegar (an acid) and the baking soda (a base) react with each other to form harmless salt water!

Speaking of baking soda, it makes a great scrub. Use it to clean tub and tile instead of Comet. It's cheaper, just as effective, and better for the environment!