Kathy Zengolewicz

For those of you who celebrate with live Christmas trees there are a few special fire safety precautions you need to take. When you are selecting your tree, make sure that is fresh. The needles on a fresh tree should be green and hard to pull back from the branches.

The needles should not break off if the tree has been freshly cut. The trunk should be a little sticky to the touch. To check and see if your tree is fresh, bounce the tree trunk on the ground. If few needles fall off, then the tree is fresh and not considered a fire hazard.

When setting up your tree, do not place it near a heat source, including a fireplace. The heat will cause the tree to quickly dry out. A dry tree can be easily set aflame by heat or a spark. Don’t put the tree up too early, it shouldn’t be up longer than 2 weeks. Keep the tree watered at all times.

Contact your local government to see what steps you need to take to dispose of your tree properly. Most cities or townships pick up discarded trees on specific days, different from your regular trash pick up day.

If you are using an artificial tree, make sure that it is flame retardant. Never use candles on or around your tree. Inspect your holiday lights yearly for frayed wires or broken or cracked sockets. Only use lights that are UL approved. Do not over load electrical sockets. Use only nonflammable decorations.

Take the time to make your holidays happy and safe.

Take care. I’ll talk to you soon.

Post from: Keeping the Castle

sxc.hu

When you use scouring soap pads like Brillo or SOS, if you’re like me you never seem use the entire pad and it sits on your sink and rusts. From now on when you buy soap pads cut them in half and use half at a time. It keeps your sink cleaner and your soap pads last twice as long.

Here’s a great tip for removing blood from fabric. Take a little bit of milk in a saucer and an old toothbrush. Pour a little milk on the stain and brush with the toothbrush. Rinse in cold water and launder as usual. All of the blood will be gone.

Do you have a lot of artificial plants at home that get very dusty? Try this: spray the leaves of the plant with hair spray. That will keep the dust from accumulating.

Here is a tip to save you time, especially if you have a two or three story home. When emptying waste baskets in your bathroom, bedroom or family room, before putting the clean bag in the basket, put in a few extra bags and a fabric softener sheet. That will save you time and keep your baskets fresh. If you don’t like using fabric softener sheets then take a man’s old white handkerchief and put a little bit of lemon, almond or vanilla extract on it and place that in your basket to keep it fresh smelling.

Have a coffee bean grinder? A great way to clean that is to grind some rice in it. The rice will make it fresh and clean.

When you store left over spaghetti sauce in a plastic bowl it is hard to get that stain out. Try making a paste of cream of tartar and water. It takes a little bit of elbow grease, but it will remove the stain.

I’ll have more household tips for you in the coming weeks.

Take care. I’ll talk to you soon!

Post from: Keeping the Castle

sxc.hu

There are plenty of commercial product on the market to extinguish offensive smells, but I would rather use ordinary everyday solutions.

If you have an offensive smell in your house you will need to first find out where it is coming from before you can dispel it. Lots of times that is easy to do, especially when the odors come from cooking. The worst cooking smells come from broccoli, cabbage and fish. If you set a small bowl of regular vinegar on your kitchen counter it will absorb those odors. I have a cooktop range so I place the bowl of vinegar close to the range top.

Make sure that your garbage is emptied daily. Rotting garbage is one of the worse smells. Clean your trash can regularly with a strong detergent and rinse. After drying place a sprinkling of baking soda in the bottom, before putting in a bag, to keep it stench free.

To keep your kitchen cabinet smelling fresh, place a couple of vanilla extract soaked cotton balls in a sachet bag and place in the back of the cabinet. I also place a sachet bag in my freezer. Don’t like the smell of the vanilla, then use lemon, orange or peppermint extract. It will keep your cupboard fresh for weeks.

Take care. I’ll talk to you soon!

Post from: Keeping the Castle

sxc.hu

Here are a few tips to help you spend your time wisely.

Create a schedule and stick to it. It will be hard to do at first, but will become easier; make it a habit.

Prioritize chores and activities daily. Do the most pressing job first and get it out of the way. Then you won’t seem so bogged down.

Concentrate on one project at a time. Don’t start a second chore until the first one is completed. Establish a routine, do specific chores on designated days and don’t falter from that practice. Once it becomes a routine, you will breeze right through it.

Get your children to help out. If your kids are a little older, delegate explicit duties to each of them. Even if they are six or seven they can dust and empty the small waste baskets in the bathroom, laundry room and family room. Helping will make them feel grown up and they probably won’t complain right away, so enjoy that while it lasts.

Don’t waste any of your time. If there is one thing that I do faithfully it is to try to keep myself on my schedule. If you have a doctor’s or dentist appointment, while waiting make up your grocery list or balance your checkbook. Keep paper and pencil in your purse and when you have a free minute you can always set up your schedule for tomorrow.

I hope these tips have been helpful.

Take Care. I’ll talk to you soon.

Post from: Keeping the Castle

* Find out how to make your own baking powder, brown sugar, coffee creamer, non-stick vegetable spray, sour cream, and potato chips over at Your Coupon Buddy.

* Creative ideas for making your own soap, stickers, finger paint, sidewalk chalk, also at Your Coupon Buddy.

* I love this collection of unique and creative sofa designs featured at Freshome.

* Here’s an easy recipe for Penne with Chicken, Spinach and Tomatoes with Balsamic Vinaigrette at Making a House a Home.

* Get your kids to help you clean up their clutter with this tip from Declutter It.

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* Marye, at Baking Delights, made some Old Fashioned Cloverleaf Rolls

* Cyndi shares her gelato experiments at Busy Family Meals

* What can you do with s’mores? Find out at Chocolate Bytes.

* Jennifer wants to know whether you’d toss unfolded towels in a pretty basket, to save time. Let her know at Declutter It.

* Simply Thrifty Katelyn shares how she keeps her grocery budget at $40 a week.

* The Tree Hugging Family tells us how to turn old sneakers into a playground.

* Linette at Mother’s Earth Garden shares some tips for planting fruit trees in the fall.

* MomGadget Gayla gives us a look at the handyman’s helper magnet wristband, a very useful gadget for DIYers.

* Too much zucchini in your garden? Robust Cooking has 21 ways to use them up!

* Get your hot raspberry cider recipe at She Knows Parties!

* One Book, Two Book has been giving out prizes everyday for several days now. Today’s giveaway is a package of three books! Hurry, the deadline is midnight tonight, August 31.

Post from: Keeping the Castle

* tenderize meat? Rub the meat with baking soda and let is sit in the refrigerator for 3-5 hours. Rinse before cooking.

* bake better beans? A pinch of baking soda will reduce the bloating and gas that results from consuming baked beans.

* make omelets fluffier? For every 3 eggs, add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda.

* deodorize your garbage can? Use a a wet paper towel dipped in baking soda to clean the inside of the trash can. Rinse with a clean damp towel or rag, and let dry. Sprinkle some baking soda inside the can before putting in a new liner.

These tips and many many more are in Reader’s Digest’s compilation of Extraordinary Uses for Ordinary Things. This is a mega-list that is sure to provide with hours of reading, and tons of useful information. I haven’t even begun to scratch the surface of this treasure trove of tips. Take a peek and share your most surprising finds with us!

Post from: Keeping the Castle

There have been reminders going my way about the coming school year: back-to-school sales, which I’ve been taking advantage of, as you should; my son’s list of things to bring to the first day of class. Everything he needs would fit nicely in a backpack. Not so for the college student, especially one who will live away from home for the first time.

To help you along, here’s a list of basic essentials:

For your comfort:
bedsheets (at least 2 sets, one to use and one to launder)
pillows
blankets
bed risers (to increase under-bed storage)
mattress pad/cover
alarm clock
fan
night light
pajamas
storage containers

For your nourishment:
silverware
cups/glasses/mugs
plates/bowls
dishwashing liquid
microwave
paper towels
mini-fridge
breakfast food
snacks
water bottle
juice
energy drinks
quick meals
(If you are able to cook, you’ll also need cooking utensils and cookware.)

For cleaning and laundry:
laundry detergent
fabric softener
hamper
vaccum
dusting supplies
iron
ironing board
trash bags
disinfecting wipes
paper towels
multipurpose cleaner

For your hygiene:
towels
washcloths
shower caddy
shower shoes
toothbrush
toothpaste
mouthwash
soap/body wash
shampoo and conditioner
deodorant

For your health:
pain reliever
allergy relief
cold/sinus relief
bandages
antibacterial ointment
contact lens solution/eyeglass cleaner

For studying:
desk lamp
calendar/planner
pencils/pens
notebooks/binder
notebook paper/filler
calculator
desk organizer
highlighters
dictionary
tape
stapler and staples
three-hole punch
backpack
surge protector
computer and accessories

For your social life:
cell phone and charger
digital camera
memory cards
batteries
address book

adapted from Sam’s Club newsletter; Creative Commons image by Conor Lawless on Flickr

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I picked the winning comment using random.org. And the number that was picked was:

#85! Congratulations to Patti!

Patti
Jul 30, 2008 at 6:26 pm

This magazine is wonderful. I’ve picked it up a few times, but don’t subscribe! Thanks for the chance!

I hope you enjoy this magazine as much as I do. I will send you an email about the details.

Post from: Keeping the Castle

* 101 green changes to save some green (written for small business owners, but totally applicable to the home) at Greener Assets

* No-bake Mango Griddle Scones from Baking Delights

* Turn old uniforms into a cool diaper bag, at Craftster (thanks to Tangled Thread!)

* 30 ways to use baskets for storage at Declutter It

Post from: Keeping the Castle