July 19, 2008

Did You Know??

Always interested in chemical-free remedies, I tend to come across all kinds of great ideas and little wisdoms, I would like to share.
These are really useful.

Peel a banana from the bottom and you won't have to pick the little "stringy things" off of it. That's how the primates do it.

Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store.
If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.

Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating.
Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.

Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste of garlic and at the end of the recipe if your want a stronger taste of garlic.

Reheating Refrigerated Bread
To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.

Reheat Pizza
Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm.
This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. As seen on the cooking channel, it really works.

Expanding Frosting
When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar and calories per serving.

Newspaper Weeds Away
Start putting in your plants, work the nutrients in your soil.
Wet newspapers, put layers around the plants overlapping as you go cover with mulch and forget about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening plastic they will not get through wet newspapers.

Broken Glass
Use a wet cotton ball or Q-tip to pick up the small shards of glass you can't see easily.

No More Mosquitoes
Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away.
or *Mix 1 cup hydrogen peroxide with 1/2 cup distilled water. Now add 7 drops each of: cinnamon oil and mint extract. Mix well and add to a sprayer bottle.
or*Mix thoroughly in a sprayer bottle:
1 tablespoon cedarwood fragrance oil or essential oil
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1/4 cup white vinegar
3 drops citronella oil
2 cups water.
It's ready for use after 24 hours settling on your counter-top.

Flexible vacuum
To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.

Reducing Static Cling
Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and ... ta da! ... static is gone.

Measuring Cups
Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.

Foggy Windshield?
Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car. When the window s fog, rub with the eraser! Works better than a cloth!

Reopening envelope
If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Viola! It unseals easily.

Hair Conditioner
Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's cheaper than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it in your hair.

Goodbye Fruit Flies
To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass, fill it 1/2" with Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dish washing liquid; mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!

*Greatest Crab Grass and Weed killer

...and it's probably in your kitchen now! Fill a large watering can with pickling white vinegar...you can also use the less-acidic regular white vinegar but it might take 2 applications.
Pour the vinegar directly on the crabgrass and weeds you want to get rid of. In a day or two the unwanted vegetation will turn straw yellow and will be easy to remove with a rake, etc.

*Eco-friendly Shower/Bath Cleaner
Mix in a large sprayer bottle: 2 cups plain white vinegar, 3 tablespoons of your fave Method (or other earth-friendly dish soap), and a few drops of your fave essential oil. Mix thoroughly and allow to stand for an hour or so.
After you shower, spray your shower walls and glass liberally with this wonderful spray. Your walls will stay shiny and clean and the limescale will be a thing of the past! This costs about 50 cents to make and will last weeks. The one you can buy at the store costs $4.00 and is not earth-friendly!



* Special thanks to "Auntie Barbara", my most innovative Yahoo!360 friend!

3 comments:

Flower Power said...

Hey Natali! ;)

I can comment now. Yay! :P

Thank you for this blog.

I especially like the part about the mosquito repellant. I have been looking for an eco-friendly alternative. I think I will try this one.

I have heard that hydrogen peroxide does not really harm the wildlife.

Take care. :)

natali said...

I have yet to try this mosquito solution, but I agree that it is certainly more eco-friendly than your regular bug-spray, as long as you use the household 3% solution, as recommended by Green living Tips. (http://www.greenlivingtips.com/articles/64/1/Hydrogen-peroxide-tips.html)
Thank you for your patience, I do appreciate your comments!

Anita said...

Wow! What great tips! I'm putting your blog on my blog list. There's so much great stuff here.