"Good Things" Tips

“…if there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report, or praiseworthy we seek after these things.”
13^th Article of Faith

The following is a list of "good things" shared during last month's Relief Society Meeting:

• Get sharpie pen out of fabric and off of you by using Rubbing Alcohol
• Encourage your kids to read (esp. in summer) by having them earn TV time by reading and then buy TV time
• Make a binder for everything regarding an upcoming trip
• Buy cheap underwear to throw away on a trip so you don’t have to pack it home (or if you just don’t have enough to make the whole trip). Or save old garments that you were going to dispose of anyway and bring them with you and dispose of as you travel.
• Use the Magic Eraser on pretty much everything, but NOT on the TV
• Kitchen Lysol Antibacterial Spray to get out stains on carpet, clothes etc.
• Go to search.blogger.com to search for blogs an all sorts of topics (Crafts, journaling etc.)
• To get rid of the drip, drip sound on a leaky faucet tie a ribbon or string around it and let it dangle down. The drip will drip down the yarn instead of making a loud dripping sound.
• Use cotton gloves to dust small and delicate items
• In the dark, find your keyhole in your front door by finding it with your left hand first, move it slightly to the side, and then put your key in with your right hand.
• Use Aquanet (or other cheap, lacquer based hairspray) to get out ballpoint pen from fabric
• Get Car Grease out of fabric by rubbing in Crisco until it’s light grey, then launder
• To save money shop monthly and you can freeze most things. Freeze milk, thaw and shake well. Freeze bread double wrapped for freshness.
• Use beeswax for stuck zippers and to keep long thread (while sewing) from tangling and knotting.
• Can cut a perfect Cantaloupe, but needs to be demonstrated. Ask her for demonstration or email Jill Walker about a video of it.
• Use Advanced Radiance by Cover Girl, Age Defying makeup. It’s the best
• “Lucy” for pants and shorts. They are stretchy and comfy. “Hillside” Pant # 224118
• Use the Essential Mormon Cookbook
• Put a bar of soap in a mesh bag to use while camping
• Put your SOS pad in a plastic bag and throw in the freezer to keep it from rusting
• Ripen a cantaloupe by putting it in a paper bag with an apple or banana
• Dishwasher Soap to get tomato stains out
• Boil dishwasher soap in bottom of pan with a little water to get burned stuff off the pan
• Zigzag over pearl cotton and then pull to gather.
• Put salt in a bag with artificial plants and shake to clean them
• Run hands under cold water to handle rice crispy treats without sticking
• Put mail in freezer for 2 hours to unseal and reseal mail without being caught.
• Recipe for low sugar choc cookie with peanut butter cups, see her for recipe
• Yummy pie filling – Frozen peaches and berries, 1 C Sugar, ¼ Cup flour.
• Read the book Little Women.
• Check out the book I am A Mother by Jane Clayson Johnson
• Window cleaning solution so no streaks: Mix a little dawn, water and Windex.
• Soup Shortcut – Make big batch and then freeze in individual portions
• Make roll dough, roll in balls, freeze on sheet, then put in bag in freezer to have home made “Rhodes Rolls” anytime
• Favorite Quote – “Such is Life!”
• Grease on shirt when cooking – put dish soap on it immediately to get out.
• Hand cleaning-use nail brush, keep one at every sink
• Give yourself permission to take a day off and/or do only one thing, and go from there
• Keep a list with events you did and there dates as a sort of journal for quick and easy reference
• Remember to play with kids and make daily tasks fun.
• Most people are low in Vitamin D3. Take it in big amounts every day to help from getting the flu
• Keep a book of thoughts, and write yours down!
• Make a “Grandma Bag” of special things (books, tea set etc.)
• Buttering popcorn – Butter, oil, salt on stove top
• A spoonful of sugar will take away a spicy aftertaste
• Take the pedals off of a bike instead of installing training wheels
• To store kid’s clothes that are outgrown, take a box, cut a hole in the side, and then stack so the holes are facing out. Makes for easy putting away, and getting things out too!
• Go to Safeway in the early morning, especially on Mondays, to take advantage of all of their Red Sticker mark downs.
• If you like to use the Safeway $10 off coupons, FYI they come in the paper on Tuesdays. You can also get it if you don’t get the newspaper from the Ala Carte that is delivered for free weekly. If you are not getting yours, contact the Mail Tribune or your paper delivery person.
• Live on food storage for one month to see what you really need. Did this and found especially needed yeast, spices, and bouillon
• Take a bucket of water, ½ bottle of Jet Dry, and use this to wash windows. Spray with a hose afterward and you’re done. No need to dry! (only works outside)
• At first of the year take a minute to jot a list of all events of note from the past year
• Keep a book/journal with your scriptures to write down thoughts, impressions, etc. while you are reading your scriptures.
• To warm up your sheets in the winter before you get it bed use the blow dryer!
• Use daily medicine boxes for earrings, necklaces etc. Especially good for traveling.
• To remove corn from cob without getting it everywhere take a bundt cake pan or angel food cake pan and put the cob in the middle (in the hole). Scrape the cob and all the kernels will be caught in the pan!
• If you don’t have muffin tins, use cleaned out tuna cans
• If you have sour smelling towels wash them with 1 cup vinegar in the rinse cycle, then wash again to make sure there’s no vinegar smell
• To remind yourself of something in the future use your cell phone organizer to set an alarm and note for yourself
• At Halloween sneak out candy from the kids at night and freeze it and use it in their stockings at Christmas
• Be a One Minute Manager. When you remember something that needs to be done, stop, go do it, and then return to what you were doing.
• Make an “Emergency Kit” to give to out of town visitors when they leave. Can include things like a map, snacks, water, dollar store toys etc.
• Go to tv.com and eztv.com to watch TV shows for free that you may have missed
• To have perfectly warmed tortillas put tortillas in plastic wrap and then heat for a few seconds in the microwave
• Drywall screen will get rid of ring in the toilet (can get it at hardware stores)
• To get rid of hiccups take a spoonful of white sugar and some lemon juice, put it in your mouth and “savor” for a moment, then swallow. Works on anyone, any age, any time!
• Use the produce bags your produce comes in to chop on and then all of garbage is on the bag to easily throw away. (If worried about germs, turn the bag inside out and use the inside)
• Break up leftovers from dinner into single servings on a plate so you can just remove from the fridge, warm, and eat. Food gets eaten up more this way.
• If you have chipped/cracked/damaged plates you want to get rid of, use them one last time and then just toss without washing.
• Buy ground beef in bulk, cook it all up, and then freeze in 1lb portions for easy use later
• Make crock pot dinners, using the Crock Pot Recipe Book to save you time and hassle. Use Recipe Book “Fix it and Forget it”
• Buy fruit in the summer, dry it and then eat later for a healthy snack (better than fruit snacks for kids!)
• Make cookie dough, roll it into a log, and freeze to cook later just like store bought dough.
• Buy a magnetic strip (at kitchen store or IKEA) and place on wall to store knives
• Ultra Era for stain remover. Put in small squeeze Bottle
• Mrs. Stewart’s Liquid Bluing makes whites whiter and gets out yellow sweat stains.
• Take a dry old rag washcloth and put a dab (whatever is stuck to the lid) of liquid fabric softener on it and then use it in the dryer as a dryer sheet. Your rag will eventually turn the color of the softener.
• Put clothespins by laundry hamper and then clip your socks together so you always have socks already together that match
• Can cut sugar and butter by 25-50% in almost all cookie recipes without affecting the taste or consistency
• go to amazon.com to check reviews before you buy an item, even if you aren’t buying it from that website
• Push kids down slight hill on their bike to teach them balance
• Get the Itzbeen Baby Care Timer for ALL moms with babies. Keeps track of diaper changes, feedings, sleeping, which side you last nursed on, also includes flashlight and clips on to your clothes. Find it at target.com or Google it and find it MANY other places.
• Cloth Diapers are awesome! Not the cloth diapers of yesteryear. Check outkellyscloset.com for all sorts of styles. Current favorites are: BumGenius and SmartiPants. Ask her for advice/info on cloth diapers and save yourself time and money every month
• Rub hands on stainless steel to get rid of onion/garlic smell
• Can make books at blurb.com. Can upload your blog into a book automatically using their software, and it’s free. Just pay to print the book.
• Woot.com for one deal of the day, usually on electronics. REALLY good deals. Also has a link to kids woot where you can get great cheap stuff for kids
• Clip a metal safety pin to your hem to ground static electricity
• Use clips on a clean shoestring and keep in your purse. Clip to any napkin wherever you go for an instant bib (similar idea to bib used at dentist office).
• Use paper clips (in cute shapes and colors) as book marks so don’t lose them
• Rub shaving cream on mirror, then clean off and mirror won’t fog up while in the shower
• Make a seed packet book for next year’s garden with left over seeds. See her for pattern.
• Shared great quote on attitude by Winston Churchill
• IF you can laugh with it, you can live with it. Emma Bombeck
• Rubber band socks together for laundering and keeping together
• Make a sewing kit in a large canning jar and make the lid into a pincushion
• Drink tonic water each night for a week to get rid of leg crams
• Salt water before you boil eggs
• Cider vinegar and Drop of dish soap in a dish to attract and kill fruit flies
• Use hair bows for wrapping baby gifts. Cute and functional!
• Use an apple peeler corer, they’re awesome!
• To make homemade brown sugar combine 1 Tablespoon molasses and 1 Cup white sugar. Mix and let sit in airtight container.
• Miracle Cleaning Solution: In a gallon jug, fill half full with water. Using a funnel, add 1/4 cup soda, 1/2 cup borax, and 1 cup ammonia. Shake well. Let it sit a while for the bubbles to go away. Fill it up with water. Hint: If you let the water run down the side of the jug, you won't get more bubbles developing. Write the recipe on the container too for the next time you need to make it. Be sure to label it as well. I use it in a squirt bottle and refill from the big jug. I have found this works best on carpets and upholstery. Saturate the spot, and then blot it up with a clean rag. It also works well on lifting grease from kitchen surfaces.
• Use a tomato/strawberry corer tool to make life easier
• Ivory Soap takes out many stains.
• Graze all day long to avoid sugar highs and lows so you don’t overeat
• Take 2 capsules of Vitamin E every day for naturally beautiful skin
• When you roast a chicken for dinner (or buy a Costco one for $4.99) don’t throw away the carcass/skin/juice. Throw it all in the crock pot with a quart or two of water and set it on low overnight or even through the next day. Once the chicken is all falling apart scoop out everything and pick any salvageable meat that’s left out for another meal like chicken pot pie. Strain the remaining chicken broth into quart jars and put them into the fridge for whenever you need chicken broth. When you get ready to use it cut the fat off the top for a mostly fat free broth. With one chicken you get two meals and a couple quarts of broth!
• For chicken enchiladas put your whole chicken breasts into the crock pot with a packet of enchilada sauce mix and whatever liquid the packet calls for. Leave it on low all day (or over night) and after about 8 hours you have enchilada flavored chicken that just pulls apart. Use that to make the rest of your enchilada dish or whatever. You could make up a big batch and make some enchiladas in the freezer for a quick dinner later on too.