Household Hints and Tips

Pedrini Black & Satin 6-Piece Kitchen Gadget Set
*Grapefruit Knife will Cut corn off cob and section Oranges.
*Melon Baller's will Core an Apple and Scoop Cherries and Olives from the Jar.
*Turkey Basters will Water Small Plants and Water Christmas Trees with no Spillage.
*Ice Cream Scoops can Measure Muffin Batter, all the muffins will the same Size!
*Pancake Turners can Stir soup (the flat bottom works better than a round spoon)
*Jumbo Muffin Tins Make perfectly rounded individual melon salads.
*Pizza Cutters Cut Brownies, Separate slices of Bacon, and cut Biscuits (Pat the batter square and use Pizza Cutter to make square biscuits.
Why NOT?
Cut the Salt Dough for your Creative Gifts (I Googled Salt Dough & got the recipe.

I make it a point to always have a Quality Pizza Cutter, always wash and dry it right away to preserve it for a long time.
I also use a Quality Kitchen Scissors to Cut the Pizza!!

My son and friends were playing on the Computer in the basement. As I was scurrying around packing for a work related trip the next day, my son called "MOM, I see a bug". Impatiently I responded, "Can't you just get a shoe?" He then said, "I think it's too big for a shoe". I thought, "must be a mouse", we hadn't had any but I thought that fit the description and fear in his voice. I walked down the steps, and hanging on a curtain right above the Computer Desk where the kids were playing was a BAT!
Never in my life has a Bat inhabited my home. Fortunately, Animal Protection came over and was able to grab him alive (Barny Fife we called him (the bat catcher), put the bat in a used fast food soda cup with a lid, and set it on the dining room table) Eeeewww!! He was flopping around while the "Animal Cop", asked me questions for the form he had to fill out. I had to sign it under the VICTIM line!!
We figured he must have gotten in through the Fire Place, the flue is not closing all the way anymore in this old house. That was in March, in the Mid West 2006. In March 2009, my daughter and I walked in from a day out, she has her bedroom in the basement, as she started down the steps, she saw something fly! We immediately shut the basement door and put a towel on the floor covering the gap between floor and door. A good tip for anyone with that problem. Tighten up the spaces so he can't get to you.
Well this time, it was Sunday night and no Animal Protection on duty. I refused to go to sleep wondering if it was a Bat or a Bird. We have had both.
To figure that out I had to play with the lights. Since it was Evening, I turned on the lights in the basement and tuned off the lights up stairs, if it was a bat it would fly to the darkness upstairs. Well, That dang bat took the bait, and oops I forgot to close all doors on first floor to bedrooms and bathrooms which made my job harder, I had to run around and wait till he flew from one room to another and shut one door after another as he ducked in and out of each room. After that he was just flying around while my daughter put a blanket over her head on a chair by the front door. I was determined to get it out.
My weapon, the Kitchen Broom (DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME) I wasn't thinking about the dangers like, if you go after a bat IT WILL more likely attack you, get caught in your hair and worse, bite you. I chased him around and gave it a good whack and it fell on the floor...totally gross with that little sparrow head sticking up. After only a few seconds, the ugly thing flew up again!! After hitting him about 4 times (screaming at him, daughter screaming under covers, he still wouldn't stay put. I opened the front door and took the broom and created a wind like push behind him,,,,he flew out! I will never do that again, I was so revved up and angry that another one got in that I forgot about safety and was on a mission.
Telling my story to a friend and about the flue not being tight enough (those gross things can get in a matchbook size opening) he remembered a Wonderful Remedy that would cure my fears and seal the flue. He said that Bats Hate Steel Wool, I waited for my girlfriend Julie, who grew up in the country, to come over and together we stretched the steel wool pads and filled all the gaps in the flue..I sleep better now.
I also think the windows in the basement might have gaps so, I will get more Steel Wool and use some carpet pieces I have to fill the window area as tight as I can, NO GAPS! Hopefully that will keep us from ever getting another disgusting rodent in our safe haven and spend very little to do it.

Plastic Reusable Spray Bottle

One of eight children we all had cleaning duty on Saturday Mornings. My Mother was a cleaning machine!!! However, she loved bleach and certain store bought cleaners that sometimes ruined floors, scratched surfaces and so on, you get the picture. I have learned over the years that I don't have to spend a fortune on cleaning products that leave odors and if used incorrectly can cause damage to your precious home and belongings.
Tip 1. Vinegar and Water Mixed in a spray bottle will clean just about anything and never ruin it. At first the smell while mixing is a little overwhelming but it dissipates quickly. I use that for cleaning mirrors, fingerprints on wood cabinets and doors. YES it's safe on All Wood. I have a friend with a Bamboo Wood kitchen floor, the only way to clean it is with a damp (just damp not much water on cloth) and the mixture of vinegar and water. With that said, any hardwood floor can be cleaned with this method without damaging the floor, baseboards or wood furniture.
Tip 2. However with wood I prefer a mixture in a spray bottle of Murphy's Oil Soap and water (it is concentrated so it's a must to dilute it) for my wood floors and furniture. They leave a nice finish that the vinegar and water won't.
Tip 3. My absolutely favorite Fix the Scratches in wood trick came from my Sister who sells homes and was educated on how to spruce up the home for sale.
Liquid Gold in a can! Spray it on a rag and wipe a clean wood floor, door or table and the scratches magically disappear. It's an amazing trick. It only takes a little on the rag and goes a long way...it's highly concentrated also, so I always make sure I have a dry rag to go over so no one slips if I've done the floor.
Tip 4. I take a small spray bottle and pour some Spray & Wash, Shout It Out, or what ever is on sale and put it in my Bathrooms. This way, before the stained clothing goes into the hamper, I can spray it right away giving it a longer time to soak and have found that most stains come out completely if I spray them and let them sit for awhile instead of spray and throw in washing machine...it really works!!
Now, this stuff is inexpensive in the long run because it lasts a long time. I like color coding so different colored spay Bottles are attractive and efficient for me. I usually take a Sharpie Pen and mark the bottles as well.
Tip 5. For rags, I take Tee Shirts I would normally send to good will and cut them up. The material is perfect and washable. Of course in the kitchen I use Paper Towels due to health reasons.