Economizing Tips – Your Body

Dear TEAMS,

Here is the last installment of practical tips that will help you economize financially by saving you money, mentally (by saving you stress and time), physically (by improving the quality of your life), and/or spiritually (because it will help you with other more important disciplines).

To see the story that inspired this series (Peeing on Your Toothpaste), go here.

1. When buying liquid hand soap, extend it before using by mixing it with water, 2 parts soap to one part water.  It will still get the job done well.
2. If you have static cling, put a thin application lotion on your body under that area and it will stop.  I even do this through the hose/tights (when they’re in style).
3. Hydrogen peroxide is a cheaper tooth whitener and has no artificial sweetners.  Use in a 1:1 water dilution in the morning and at night after you brush.
4. The best antacid is 1/2 tsp. baking soda in a glass of warm water.
5. If you have a poison ivy reaction or bad bug bites, run the area under as hot a water as you can stand.  It will “scratch” the itch for you, bringing relief, and the heat will allow the release of the histamines causing the itch. 
6. For bad breath, put a pinch of baking soda on your tongue with a few specks of ginger and swish around.  Then, put just a few drops of vinegar in your mouth and let it fizz while you swish around. Spit out.  This will deodorize the mouth tissues, but if you ate strong garlic, etc., you might still find you have mouth odor coming from the stomach.
7. Baking soda placed under sweaty armpits will work wonders to keep body odor from forming, if you are unable to get in the shower right away.
8. Exercise at least 5 days per week in a way that gets you out of breath where it's harder to talk for 40 minutes total (can be divided up).  If your normal activities cause this, it counts as exercise.  This is like buying an insurance policy, and every minute you spend on exercise now will be tens-to-hundreds of dollars you don't spend on medicine later in life.  Exercise creates health for all tissues and organ systems of the body, wards of dementia, heart problems, creates stronger muscles, etc..
9. Keep sugar intake limited to natural fruits and vegetables if at all possible.  You gotta live a little and eat your birthday cake, but the damage sugar does in the body is terrible.
10. Eat the way I taught you, having a green salad with supper on top of everything else, even on pizza nights.  Of course, I don't like processed food, but we had mouths to feed and only so much to spend.

In that I’ve noticed my readership has gone up, I am opening comments for other people to contribute helpful hints they’ve adopted.  Please let these comments be related to personal health, hygiene, or anything related to the body.  There are previous posts concerning Overall Concepts, General Household, Laundry, or Kitchen (click any one of those words to be taken to that posting to leave comments about that specific area there).

Economizing Tips – Laundry

Dear TEAMS,

Here is the fourth installment of practical tips that will help you economize financially by saving you money, mentally (by saving you stress and time), physically (by improving the quality of your life), and/or spiritually (because it will help you with other more important disciplines).

To see the story that inspired this series (Peeing on Your Toothpaste), go here.

1. For an article of clothing that gets an odor (musty from storage, perspiration, etc.) that doesn’t come out when laundered, soak it in about 1 gallon of water with ½ C. baking soda dissolved in it for up to 24 hours.  Then, add ½-1 C. vinegar and let sit another 24 hours.  Make sure you 1) have it in a large container, and 2) let the kids add the vinegar when it’s time and watch it.  If you want, hold an empty jar upside-down over the reaction, close but not touching the liquid, and then “pour” the “air” over a candle and watch the flame go out.
2. If a grease-based product is set into clothes when getting them out of the dryer (or if the lip balm got washed and dried with the load of laundry), put dish soap on the spots and let sit overnight.  Work them into the spot in the morning, and run hot tap water through the spot by placing it right under the spigot with the material stretched out.
3. For a white/colorfast item of clothing that has a small spot on it, dip a cotton swab in pure bleach and dab.  As soon as the spot fades, rinse the spot thoroughly with plenty of running water until the fabric no longer smells like bleach.
4. For spots non-colorfast items, a highly diluted bleach batch will fade the item, but also blend in the stain or spot.  If the item will still look okay with the altered color, then it’s better than throwing the item out.
5. For tiny bleach spots on colored items, buy a fine tipped permanent marker and dot the spots to color it in.  Make the spot darker if necessary, to better blend it in.  (Dark spots on dark are less eye catching than light spots on dark.)
6. You don’t need all the laundry detergent called for by the manufacturer.  Usually, there is enough residual detergent after many loads that the water will still foam up if you forget the detergent.  I use half the amount prescribed.
7. Use vinegar instead of fabric softener—works just as well, unless you are addicted to the smell of the bought product, which your sister, E, is!

In that I’ve noticed my readership has gone up, I am opening comments for other people to contribute helpful hints they’ve adopted.  Please let these comments be related to Laundry Tips.  There are previous posts concerning Overall Concepts, General Household, or Kitchen (click any one of those words to be taken to that posting to leave comments about that specific area there).

Love, 

Economizing Tips – Kitchen

Dear TEAMS,

Here is the third installment of practical tips that will help you economize financially by saving you money, mentally (by saving you stress and time), physically (by improving the quality of your life), and/or spiritually (because it will help you with other more important disciplines).

To see the story that inspired this series (Peeing on Your Toothpaste), go here.

1. Putting a bay leaf in your flour canister keeps weevils out.
2. Putting rice in your salt shaker/storage keeps it from caking in humid conditions.
3. After steeping your teabag, press out the excess tea and allow to dry out in a small bowl .  Re-use with another saved teabag in a cup of hot water.  It will not have the same nutritional value (and definitely not the same amount of caffeine—which is either good or bad, depending on the five years cycle the medical reports issue with this), but I am guessing you aren’t drinking tea for its nutritional value, anyway.
4. If onions make you cry when cutting them, put it in the fridge for an hour before cutting.
5. When you cut an onion, garlic, or anything in the allium family, wet your hands and scrub them all over your chrome faucet to remove the odor.  Rinse and repeat and voila! No smell!
6. Orange peels can be put down the garbage disposal to make it smell good.  Or, place in a small saucepan on the stove to simmer for air freshener.
7. Reuse pickle juice when the initial pickles are gone by putting sliced cucumbers (E adds raw carrots) in the juice.  Replace lid and let soak 30 days for “refrigerator pickles.”
8. Buy in bulk.  You can have 8 weeks of suppers here.*
9. Tomatoes and bananas that are overripe (but not rotting) can be placed in the freezer whole.
10. For casseroles or entrees, turn off the oven 15 minutes before the cooking time is complete.  If you don’t open the oven door, the food will finish cooking fine.  For baked goods, you can turn off the oven 5 minutes early.
11. Cook in cast iron, and you can turn off your burners 15 minutes before completing cooking as well.  From a Nutritionist’s standpoint, an argument can be made that you also supplement your food with additional iron, but I’m really not convinced you uptake that much more, when it all comes down to it.  HOWEVER, I would much rather you have elemental iron in your body than chromium or aluminum.
12. Clean the dishwasher every month by placing ONLY a dime-sized amount of dish soap and a little bleach in it and running a normal cycle.  If you pour more than a dime-sized amount, remove the excess or you will be calling a plumber.
13. Hard boil eggs the day before you need them to make them easier to peel.  Then, before crackling them all over, run them under cold water.

In that I’ve noticed my readership has gone up, I am opening comments for other people to contribute helpful hints they’ve adopted.  Please let these comments be related to the Kitchen.  There are previous posts concerning Overall Concepts, and General Household tips.  Upcoming posts will be on Laundry, or Personal Hygiene/Body.

Love,

Spring Cleaning Checklist -- Part II

Dear TEAMS, 

Here is the continuation of our Spring Cleaning checklists:


Music Room

• Windows and screens, inside and out.  (It’s best to remove screens and hose off outside and let dry.)
• Wipe down trim around window (include top horizontal surface) and windowsill
• Pull all furniture to middle of room and vacuum baseboards.
• Wash all baseboards with vinegar/lemon water.  Be sure to scrub marks.
• Wipe under furniture/what sits on the floor to remove all cobwebs, dustbunnies, and accumulated dust.
• Wash floor around perimeter of room, all the way up to the rug’s border.  When dry, replace furniture.
• Remove all wall hangings and dry damp wipe front and back; replace
• Check room for visible dirt on walls (particularly around door) and spot clean.  If something needs spot repainting, note it on black board.
• Wipe all light switch plates.  If necessary, remove and use cotton swab or toothpick for any cracks.
• Wipe down door, especially around knob and the top of the 6 panels, which tend to collect dust.
• Wipe down crown moulding
• Vacuum every inch of ceiling fan, including hard-to-reach places.  Remove glass shades and wash.  Wipe down light bulbs and dry damp fan blades and fixture.
• Remove all cushions from sofa and vacuum front and back of cushions and sofa.  Replace cushions.
• Place all thrown pillows in dryer on high heat for 20 minutes and replace neatly.
• Remove all items from end table and dry damp dust all surfaces, including underneath of top.  Evaluate what is on end table and remove unnecessary items and either find new homes or recycle.  Dust what you are replacing and then replace neatly.
• Damp wipe all guitar cases and dry.
• Remove all items from piano table and dry damp dust all surfaces, including underneath of top.  Evaluate what is on table shelf and remove unnecessary items and either find new homes or recycle.  Dust what you are replacing and then replace neatly.
• Remove all items from coffee table and dry damp dust all surfaces, including underneath of top.  Evaluate what is on end table and remove unnecessary items and either find new homes or recycle.  Dust what you are replacing and then replace neatly.
• Wipe down all surfaces of drum kit and dry.  This includes wires, etc.  Remove from red carpet and vacuum carpet.
• Vacuum rug.  Roll up without pad.  Vacuum pad.  Roll up.  Vacuum floor where rug sits.  Flip over rug pad and unroll, so bottom surface area is now showing and vacuum.  (If floor gets anything on it, vacuum up.)  Flip pad back over and vacuum.  Unroll rug and vacuum again (rolling can bring deep down dirt to the surface).

Big Room 

• Windows and screens, inside and out.  (It’s best to remove screens and hose off outside and let dry.)
• Wipe down trim around window (include top horizontal surface) and windowsill
• Pull all furniture to middle of room and vacuum baseboards.
• If any of the walls are dusty at top, be sure to wipe down with damp cloth and rinse.
• Perimeter of ceiling should be vacuumed, even the peaks.
• Wash all baseboards with vinegar/lemon water.  Be sure to scrub marks.
• Wipe under furniture/what sits on the floor to remove all cobwebs, dust bunnies, and accumulated dust.
• Wash floor around perimeter of room.  When dry, replace furniture.
• Remove all wall hangings and dry damp wipe front and back; replace
• Check room for visible dirt on walls (particularly around doors) and spot clean.  If something needs spot repainting, note it on black board.
• Wipe all light switch plates.  If necessary, remove and use cotton swab or toothpick for any cracks.
• Vacuum every inch of ceiling fans, including hard-to-reach places.  Remove glass shades and wash.  Wipe down light bulbs and dry damp fan blades and fixtures.
• French doors into homeschool room should be scrubbed around knobs and visible dirt removed.  Panes should be vacuumed, focusing on the horizontal bottom surface of each pane’s trim.
• French door windows should be cleaned.
• Catwalk door should be scrubbed around knobs and visible dirt removed.  Windows should be washed, inside and out.
• All door trims should be wiped down, even the very tops.
• Top of antique armoire should be vacuumed and wiped down.
• Everything removed from coffee service and all wood wiped down.  All items on top of service are wiped down and dried and returned neatly to the top.
• Bookshelf is vacuumed with brush attachment, including tops of books and spines of books.  This seriously should take a while!
• Everything removed from Entertainment Center and all wood and plastic protector is wiped down.  All items on top of Center are wiped down and dried and returned neatly to the top.  Rectangles in front of Center are wiped well, particularly the bottom horizontal line.  Same with the bottom trim.
• Remove all cushions from sofa, loveseat, and chair-and-a-half and vacuum front and back of cushions and sofa.  Replace cushions.  Be sure “pillows” are vacuumed.
• Waterhog mat in front of catwalk door is vacuumed well, then taken outside and hosed off.
• Recessed lighting is wiped out and light bulbs are dusted.

 
 
Love,

 

Spring Cleaning Checklist -- Part I

Dear TEAMS,

We are in the midst of trying to get our once a year/heavy duty cleaning done, and instead of yet again writing out the checklists for each room for you to do, I have wised up and am placing them on the computer.  In this group of posts, I have cut and pasted them all.

When you are doing your own home, I hope this will bring back fond (HA!) memories.  And finally you will torture your children as greatly as I have.  And you'll be shaking your head, blessing me under your breath for all you learned while cleaning without even realizing it.

Dining Room

• Windows and screens, inside and out.  (It’s best to remove screens and hose off outside and let dry.)
• Wipe down trim around window (include top horizontal surface) and windowsill
• Pull all furniture to middle of room and vacuum baseboards.
• Wash all baseboards with vinegar/lemon water.  Be sure to scrub marks.
• Wipe under furniture/what sits on the floor to remove all cobwebs, dust bunnies, and accumulated dust.
• Wash floor around perimeter of room.  When dry, replace furniture.
• Remove all wall hangings and dry damp wipe front and back; replace
• Check room for visible dirt on walls (particularly around door) and spot clean.  If something needs spot repainting, note it on black board.
• Wipe all light switch plates.  If necessary, remove and use cotton swab or toothpick for any cracks.
• Wipe down crown moulding
• Remove glass from chandelier and wash, vacuum and dry damp clean rest of chandelier
• Remove all items on top of learning center and dry damp dust each one
• Remove all items on top and shelf of teacart and dry damp dust each one
• Remove glass from fixture over door and wash; wipe down rest of fixture and replace
• Wipe down front door, especially around knobs

Hallway

• Wash all baseboards with vinegar/lemon water.  Be sure to scrub marks.
• Wipe down all four doors, especially around knob and the top of the 6 panels, which tend to collect dust.  Open doors and wipe down that skinny part of the door.
• Wipe down all trim, including very top piece.  Scrub if necessary.
• Wash floor around perimeter of room. 
• If any of the walls are dusty at top, be sure to wipe down with damp cloth and rinse.
• Perimeter of ceiling should be vacuumed.
• Check room for visible dirt on walls (particularly around door) and spot clean.  If something needs spot repainting, note it on black board.
• Wipe all light switch plates.  If necessary, remove and use cotton swab or toothpick for any cracks.
• Wash floor.
• Vacuum baseboards. 
•  

Homeschool Room

•  Windows and screens, inside and out.  (It’s best to remove screens and hose off outside and let dry.)
• Wipe down trim around windows (include top horizontal surface) and windowsill
• Pull all furniture to middle of room and vacuum baseboards.
• Wash all baseboards with vinegar/lemon water.  Be sure to scrub marks.
• Wipe underside and backs of furniture/what sits on the floor to remove all cobwebs, dust bunnies, and accumulated dust.
• Wash floor around perimeter of room.  When dry, replace furniture.
• Remove all wall hangings and dry damp wipe front and back; replace
• Check room for visible dirt on walls (particularly around doors) and spot clean.  If something needs spot repainting, note it on black board.
• Wipe all light switch plates.  If necessary, remove and use cotton swab or toothpick for any cracks.
• Clean low ceiling with dilute Mr. Clean, focusing on can lights.  Remove light bulb and wipe down and let dry thouroughly.  Clean metal trim around hole of light.  (These get dusty and fly spit accumulates on them.)
• Wipe down all of trim that surrounds the opening into the old house.  Be sure to get top, horizontal surface.
• Remove everything off the chest and wipe down chest.  Replace items and wipe them down/dry before returning to top.
• French doors into office and big room should be scrubbed around knobs and visible dirt removed.  Panes should be vacuumed, focusing on the horizontal bottom surface of each pane’s trim.
• French door windows should be cleaned.
• If any of the walls are dusty at top, be sure to wipe down with damp cloth and rinse.
• Perimeter of ceiling should be vacuumed.
• Vacuum underside of homeschool desk counter.

Love,