Household Tips

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EASY WAYS TO BATTLE BACTERIA IN THE KITCHEN

Bacteria collects in kitchens, especially around sinks. Here's how to keep it at bay:

- Each day when you run your dishwasher, throw in sink drain stoppers, and the kitchen sponge.
- Change dish cloths daily.
- Always wipe up meat juices with a paper towel and soap, then discard the paper towel.
- After cutting meat on a cutting board, wash the board with a solution of one quart water/one tablespoon chlorine bleach solution. (Keep this solution on hand, premixed, in a spray bottle.)

-If you freeze casseroles for later use, line a casserole dish with foil before filling, then do as normal..  Once the casserole is frozen, pop it out. now your casserole is stackable in your freezer.
-Stuff a minature marshmallow in the bottome of a sugar cone to prevent ice cream drips.
-Use a meat baster to "squeeze" your pancake batter onto the hot griddle- perfect shaped pancakes every time.
-To keep potatoes from budding, place an apple in the bag with the potatoes.
-To prevent eggshells from cracking, add a pinch of salt to the water before hard-boiling.
-Run you hands under cold water before pressing Rice Krispies Treats in the pan- the marshmallow won't stick to your fingers.
-To get get the moist juice out of fresh lemons, bring them to room temperature and roll them under your palm against the kitchen counter before squeezing.
-To easily remove burnt-on food from your skillet, simply add a drop or two of dish soap and enough water to cover bottom of pan, and bring to a boil on stove-stop-skillet will be much easer to clean now.
-Spray your Tupperware with nonstick cooking spray before pouring in tomato-based sauces- no more stains.
-When a cake recipe calls for flouring the baking pan, use a bit of the dry cake mix instead- no white mess on the outside of the cake.
-If you accidentally over-salt a dish while it's still cooking, drop in a peeled potato- it absorbs the excess salt for an instant "fix me up."
-Wrap celery in aluminum foil when putting in the refridgerator- it will keep for weeks.
-Brush beaten egg white over piecrust before baking to yield a beautiful glossy finish.
-When boiling corn-on-the-cobb, add a pinch of sugar to hep bring out the corn's natural sweetness.
-To determine whether an egg is fresh, immerse it in a pan of cool, salted water.  If it sinks, it is fresh- if it rises to the surface, throw it away.
-Cure for headaches:  Take a lime, cut it in half and rub it on your forehead.  The throbbing will go away.
-If you have problems opening jars, Try using latex dishwashing golves.  They give a non-slip grip that makes opening jars easy.
-To get rid of itch from mosquito bite, try applying soap on the area.  Instant relief.
-Ants, ants, ants everywhere... Well, they are said to never cross a chalk line,  So get your chalk out and draw a line on the floor or wherever ants tend to march.  See for yourself.
-Use air-freshener to clean mirrors.  It does a good job and better still, leaves a lovely smell to the shine.
-When your kids get a spinter, read for the scotch tape before resorting to tweezers or a needle.  Simply put the scothch tape over the splinter, and then pull it off.  Scotch tape removes most splinters painlessly and easily.
-Now look what you can do with Alka-Seltzer:
Clean a toilet.  Drop in two Alka-Seltzer tablets, wait twenty minutes, brush and flush.  The citric acid and effervescent action cleans vitreous china
Clean a vase.  To remove a stain from the bottom of a glass vase or cruet, fill with water and drop in two Alka-Seltzer tables.
Polish jewelry.  Drop two tablets into a glass of water and immerse the jewelry for two minutes.
Unclog a drain.  Clear the sink drain bry dropping three tablets down the drain followed by a cup of Heinz White Vinegar.  Wait a few minutes then run the hot water.
-If your VCR has a year setting on it, which most do, you will not be able to use the programmed recording feature after 12-31-99.  Don't throw it away.  Instead, set if for the year 1972 as the days are the same as the year 2000.  The manufacturers won't tell you.  The want you to buy a new Y2K VCR.

If you have any tips, please E-mail them to me!

The 3 1/2 Minute Bathroom Clean Up:
1. Spray the mirror with glass cleaner and wipe dry with a clean cloth
2. Whisk hair out of the sink with a damp piece of toilet paper and discard
3. Give a light spray of disinfectant to the sink, counter, faucet and other
surfaces, then polish them dry with the soft cloth
4. Repeat same procedure on the tub and shower walls
5. Squirt disinfectant cleaner on your toilet brush and swish it around the
bowl and flush
6. Spray and buff outside of toilet bowl, working from the top to the bottom
as you did the sink and tub
7. Wipe up floor around the toilet (which will already be damp from the
spray) and just use the now damp cloth to wipe up the rest of the floor.
8. Put the dirty cloth in the laundry hamper
That's it, your done!
Family Circle August 3, 1999

From Don Aslett, cleaning expert:
The trick is to clean the way professionals do- that is, a quick daily cleaning rather
than a weekly or montly routine.  Cleaning every day (or even every other day)
meansthat dirt and soap scum won't accumulate.  For maximum efficiency, keep
the following items in every bathroom in your home: cleaning cloth, a nylon-backed
scrub sponge (for occasional heavy spots) and a toilet bowl brush.
Family Circle August 3, 1999

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