What to do about stains on clothes.

If you get a stain on clothing that needs to be dry cleaned, this includes children's suits, be careful. Take to dry cleaners. Hand washing such fabric could ruin item!!

For clothes that don't need dry cleaning or don't have special cleaning instructions:
Wash out stain as soon as possible. This makes a difference! I recommend doing a load of laundry right away but at least wash stain with soap in cold water and let soak. For blood stains my mom used to soak the stain overnight in milk. Sometimes this worked, sometimes the item just smelled of milk. Be careful with any fabrics you do this with. I take no responsibility. That said I can recommend something my sister, sister-in-law, two of my friends and I use, it’s Carbona. They have different spot removers for different stains. Look for their little bottles in the detergent aisle of your grocery store. This stuff has worked for me.

To get rid of oil spots on driveway.

I've tried this remedy myself many times. For fresh oil spots on asphalt driveways.
1- Get to oil spot as soon as possible.
2- Pour liquid dish washing soap on the oil spot.
3- Use an old toothbrush and scrub spot.
4- Wash with spray hose.
5- Clean spot again with liquid soap.
6- Scrub.
7- Rewash.

When to Vacume up Potted Soil on Carpets

If your kids (or dog) has gotten wet planter soil on your carpet: First, if you have kids or dogs I highly recommend if you have wall to wall carpets to get them stain mastered. You still might have to clean up stains with a stain remover but it will be a lot easier. A friend recommended that with wet soil you should let it dry completely before vacuuming. If you don't you risk the soil smearing across the carpet, thus making it harder to get out. After her two puppies pulled a potted plant apart in her living room I was allowed to test this advice. I let most of the soil dry for 24 hours. The other soil I vacuumed up right away. My friend was right. The wet soil which was vacuumed up straight away smeared this way and that into the carpet. The soil needed to be removed with a cleaning agent. However, when I vacuumed the dry soil it did not stain the carpet.

Home Tip- For Candlestick Wax

My sister-in-law told me about this one. For wax that has melted on candlesticks. Put candlestick in the freezer for an hour or two. (Make sure you can put your candlestick in the freezer without ruining it.) When wax has frozen on the candlestick it is easy to pick off. Or you can try putting an ice cube against the candlestick wax. Let wax harden. Then flick it off carefully from candlestick. I take no responsibility if your candlestick gets ruined or breaks! Mine haven't ever gotten ruined by doing this, but you're on your own.

2 in 1, Science Day and Household tip

Combination science experiment and household tip. I had a friend who hated to polish her silverware. (Which is something I'm not keen about doing either.) She tried different products that promised easy silver cleaning. None worked to her satisfaction. Due to this she was going to give away a silver tea set a friend gave her to a school rummage sale. Since she was just going to give it away I suggested she first try a polishing tip I heard about. With her child present we did this experiment. This experiment is for older children since it involves a pot of hot water. And use only silverware and silver cups that if ruined in any way, even slightly, you won't be upset. In other words don't try this first on your great-grandmother's silver coffee pot. Some people like this polishing technique, others do not, saying it's too harsh on silver. Due to oxidation tarnish appears on silver. Sometimes you can wipe it off with hard wiping with a soft cotton cloth. This baking soda technique helps take tarnish off without all the hard work, but wiping is safer for silverware you cherish. I take no responsibility for the outcome of your silver with this experiment. Thus, if you're worried about your silver, buy an old cheap silver plated spoon that you don't care about at a garage sale and try this experiment with it.

Put aluminum foil on the inside bottom of a two gallon pot. Fill with water. Heat to a boil. Mix a quarter cup of baking soda with the two gallons of water. Using a tong, you as the parent, ease in silver tea cup and saucer in the pot and any silver forks and knives that fit. Remember: Dip items down, fully. You will see the foil darken and the tarnish disappear on the cup, saucer and silverware. "It's like magic!" my friend's child exclaimed. Once tarnish is off (do not leave in pot too long) take items out with tongs and put in sink to wash. The silver will be hot so let cool before washing with dish soap.

Home Tip- Uses for Food Containers

Put used yogurt and other food containers (glass baby jar, plastic cottage cheese container...) to good use. After food in containers are gone, thoroughly clean them and put meal left-overs inside. If any container isn't see through, put masking tape on the lid and write what's in it. Plastic baby food containers make great snacks containers for lunches. Also, play it safe. If your child has food allergies (peanuts) make sure he does not eat any new food from the peanut butter jar.
Other uses for food containers: When your child paints put water in a couple of old food containers to clean brushes. Use big yogurt containers as tubs for organizing colored pencils and markers, even pens. You can also keep spare dog food in one (be sure to mark it) to have at Grandma's when/if your dog stays there overnight.

Home Tip

Do you get a Sunday newspaper? If so, save the comic section. It makes colorful, fun wrapping paper for presents, from birthdays to holiday. Plus, you'll be recycling paper and saving trees. But before wrapping clothes with newspaper, make sure you wrap them first in tissue so there's no chance that ink from the newspaper can get on the clothes.

Learn about Composting

Composting is great. It's terrific for your roses and fruit trees. And if you do it you'll be teaching your children (or grandchildren) the benefit of recycling certain waste. Some cities offer free compost bins. Call your local waste management agency for more information. If they aren't helpful call your councilperson.

What should you put in your compost bin? Different people put in different things. I know of one person who puts in almost everything left over from their family's dinner plates. But that same person has problems with rodents trying to get into their compost bin. I don't recommend putting meat or fatty foods in your compost. Or butter, or foods with oil on them. I know a green thumbed gardener who has amazing compost. This is what he puts in his compost bin: Old vegetables, used coffee grinds and tea leaves, flower petals, tree leaves, grass clippings (But go easy on grass. A variety of things is best.), hay, and fruit (Though not banana peels. I was told they can take up to five years to disintegrate. This makes sense. Both my sister-in-law and I have seen banana peels rotting in our composts after six months). Whenever my greened thumbed friend adds anything new to his compost he gets a shovel and mixes everything together, digging down deep. He lets the very lowest layer of his compost decompose for six months before he uses it. Here's a tip to get things to decompose faster in your compost pile- wet it down every week (Unless it rains or snows. The compost bin tops I've seen have holes to let rain in).

More information: Other people have told me they put stale bread and cereals in their compost. I personally don't. And I wouldn't recommend putting in any sugary items (surgery cereals, granola bars with chocolate, or desserts) or any food that has honey on it. The bin might attract bees or ants. Also, don't put in sticks. They don't rot fast enough and it can clog up the compost at the bottom where the bin door is. (This happened to my sister.) And from my own personal experience I find that egg shells don't seem to break down very fast, so I don't put them in the compost either.

Help to Organize Your Home

Has clutter added up in a random room in your house? Do you have a junk room because you don't have the time or the energy to decide where items should go? If so, let's fix that.

The cluttered room:
1)Pick a day when you have a lot of time free. Then roll up your sleeves and go through the clutter. It's great to do it with a friend because you'll have someone to talk to and, hopefully, egg you on to give up things you hate to give up. "Barbara, honestly that leg lamp might be funny, but well, to be honest it's tacky. Since you're not tacky you should get rid of it." Have two piles. One pile is for things to keep. The other pile, which should be bigger, is for items that are out of date, unnecessary, broken, or you really will never use. You can give this stuff away or throw it away. And/or have a garage sale. The proceeds of which can go into your bank account or towards a piece of furniture you always wanted and have space for. If you hate to part with an item, take a picture of it and let it go. It's better to have an album full of pictures of things you want to remember than a room full of stuff you will never use that get in the way.

2)Have a vision for the room for the way you want it to look. Draw a picture of it. Take measurements of furniture before you move them to make sure they fit where you would like them to go. Also, you might find you don't need five arm chairs and two sofas in the same room. Space things so that people can move around freely. The room will appear larger.

3)If you have a batch of magazines and hate to part with them because they have pretty pictures, or are expensive or useful you can A) have only two rows on a bookcase dedicated to your favorite, most resent issues, and/or B) give the rest or all of them away to your eye doctor, family doctor, or if applicable your child's school (for cut and paste projects). You will feel good knowing others are enjoying them. But call first and see if they would actually like your magazines.

4)For items that you would like to keep that don't fit in the room- put them in boxes or big plastic bins. Remember to label the boxes/bins so you'll know what's inside. You can store the bins on a shelf in your garage or put them in the attic. I personally like plastic bins. They are more likely to keep pesky rodents out. Plus, they keep the items inside from getting wet. Either from rain coming through the roof or from water on the ground.

5)If the room you are organizing is the kitchen. Organize the drawers and cabinets wisely. Put all cups and saucers on one shelf in a cupboard. Have corresponding salad and dinner plates on another shelf in that same cupboard. All dinner silverware should go in one drawer. If some don't fit, and they're expensive or heirlooms, put them in a dinning room drawer. The others get rid of. And I mean it. How often do you have thirty-three people over? Unless you have a large family or are quite the socialite you don't have a good reason to keep lots of cheap mismatching silverware around. And if you were a socialite you'd be using your good silverware from the dining room drawer anyhow. Keep utensils down to a minimum. Look at the utensil. Do you ever use it? Do you even know what it does? If no, release it to the trash or another person who will use it. Or give it to charity.

6)If you have receipts or other papers you need or want to keep, put them in piles with themes. Receipts for furniture. Work receipts. Letters from friends. Pictures kids painted. Use folders, shoe boxes (you can ask your local shoe store for them) or small plastic bins to put the corresponding paperwork in. Stack the bins/shoe boxes in a closet. The folders should go in a drawer or a filing cabinet. You can always buy a folder organizer to put in a bottom drawer of a desk. That way you can have several folders handy for other paperwork.

7)After you organize a room, vacuum it or wash the floor. Plus, dust. Even the mini-blinds. And wash the windows. Open them and let in fresh air. If the room is musty smelling, you can use Febreeze. I also spray it on curtains, but make sure you can use it on yours. If dust has been gathering on the drapes/curtains for years, have them cleaned or clean them yourself if you can. Or treat yourself to new ones. Wait and see how much money you make from any items you plan to sell at your garage sale. Then buy new drapes/curtains.

Home Tip- Save old socks

For dusting I find old socks perfect. They fit on your hand like a glove and it's easy to wipe dust away using them. Also, they can be washed and reused. For furniture polish I like orange oil best. It smells nice and gives your wood furniture a nice shine. If you can't find orange oil at your local hardware store ask an antique store. I've seen some stock it.

Home Tip- Plastic bags

Do you get plastic bags from your local grocery store? You can recycle the bags if your local store has a recycle bin for them (if not, go green and ask your store to start a recycle bin). Or you can use these plastic bags in small trash cans in your bathrooms and bedrooms. The plastic bags keep the trash cans clean (keeping gum and other yucky stuff from sticking to the can). But do not use plastic bags in bedrooms with children under the age of five. Tell your children the danger of plastic bags. If they are placed on a head it can suffocate a person/kid if air can't get in.

Need a place to put all your plastic bags? If you get milk in half gallon containers, save one. Wash it out really well and cut a big hole in its side. Put your plastic bags in this hole for easy access. Place masking tape around the hole's edges so you and your children don't cut yourselves when you put your hand in the container.

Help for a stinky bathroom

If your bathroom has a less than pleasant smell try this natural alternative: Buy some lavender or if you have some growing in your backyard cut some (the amount- two fingers thick). Tie together with a pretty ribbon. Place on window sill or hang upside down from a nail on wall. Before it starts getting too dry and falls apart, replace with new lavender. Also, by airing out your bathroom everyday (When it's hot out do it in the early mornings to get cool air in. The heat makes smells worse.) it will help with stall smells that linger in the bathroom. Wet articles of clothing/towels can make a bathroom smell funky so wash clothes and replace smelly towels when you can.