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:)

Monday, January 26, 2009

Just a few Tips...to Make Life Easier...and Safer

If you read no other part of this post...read the clothes dryer part. I didn't know this...but it is true! (so glad I read this email when it came in....thought I'd share it with you )

Peel a banana from the bottom and you won't have to pick the little 'stringy things' off 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.

Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil. It will stay fresh much longer and not mold!

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 a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef. It will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking.

To really make scrambled eggs or omelets rich add a couple of spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream; then beat them.

For a cool brownie treat, make brownies as directed. Melt Andes mints in double broiler and pour over warm brownies. Let set for a wonderful minty frosting.

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.

Leftover snickers bars from Halloween make a delicious dessert. Simply chop them with the food chopper. Peel, core and slice a few apples. Place them in a baking dish and sprinkle the chopped candy bars over the apples. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes!!! Serve alone or with vanilla ice cream. Yummm!

Reheat Pizza Heat 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. I saw this on the food channel and it really works.

Easy Deviled Eggs Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal; mash till they are all broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy; squeeze mixture into egg. Just throw bag away when done -- easy clean up.

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 and get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar and calories per serving.

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

Newspaper weeds away Start putting torn newspaper 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.

Squirrel Away! To keep squirrels from eating your plants, sprinkle your plants with cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the squirrels won't come near it.

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 (peanut butter, honey, etc.) 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 windows 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.

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!

Get Rid of Ants Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it 'home,' can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, especially if it rains, but it works and you don't have the worry about pets or small children being harmed!

INFO ABOUT CLOTHES DRYERS
The heating unit went out on my dryer! The gentleman that fixes things around the house for us told us that he wanted to show us something and he went over to the dryer and pulled out the lint filter. It was clean. (I always clean the lint from the filter after every load of clothes.) He took the filter over to the sink and ran hot water over it. The lint filter is made of a mesh material ... I'm sure you know what your dryer's lint filter looks like. Well ... the hot water just sat on top of the mesh! It didn't go through it at all! He told us that dryer sheets cause a film over that mesh -- that's what burns out the heating unit. You can't SEE the film, but it's there. It's what is in the dryer sheets to make your clothes soft and static free. You know how they can feel waxy when you take them out of the box ... well this stuff builds up on your clothes and on your lint screen. This is also what causes dryer units to potentially burn your house down with it! He said the best way to keep your dryer working for a very long time (and to keep your electric bill lower) is to take that filter out and wash it with hot soapy water and an old toothbrush at least every six months. He said that increases the life of the dryer at least twice as long! How about that!?! Learn something new everyday! I certainly didn't know dryer sheets would do that. So, I thought I'd share!
Note: I went to my dryer and tested my screen by running water on it. The water ran through a little bit but mostly collected all the water in the mesh screen. I washed it with warm soapy water and a nylon brush and I had it done in 30 seconds. Then when I rinsed it ... the water ran right thru the screen! There wasn't any puddling at all! That repairman knew what he was talking about!

23 comments:

artis1111 said...

Oh ,I have to take a coppy of this to the beauty shop. They love to find things out like this!! Kathy

Justine said...

Hey, there's some great tips in here. I'm going to clean my lint filter later today, for sure! And I never knew separating the bananas would make a difference. I wonder if that is true?

Justine :o )

Anonymous said...

Great tips! I really like the one about the clothes dryer...that makes sense though!

Also, good tip on making more canned frosting :-)

Bridget said...

Those are some really great tips. I don't use dryer sheets. I wonder if the add during the rinse cycle fabric softener causes the same problem. I will let you know what happens when I test my lint filter.
Thanks, Bridget

Michelle, All Home and Love said...

Wow, I'm going to have to check my dryer lint trap today! Thanks for all the great tips. I came over here from Kristen and I've enjoyed my visit!
~Michelle

Kristens Creations said...

Hi Tootsie, These were great tips! I'm glad you posted this. I will definitly go check my lint screen. We've had our washer and dryer for almost 10 yrs. so if I can keep them running a little longer that would be great! I gave you an award if you want to stop by and pick it up. Kristen

squawmama said...

Good Morning Tootsie.... I am copying all these great ideas and putting them into my Heloise folder... They are wonderful... Some of them I knew and a lot of them were new to me... I knew about dryer sheets and never have used them since... Thanks again for the tips... Have a fun filled Monday....

(((HUGS)))
Donna

Marty@A Stroll Thru Life said...

Wonderful hints. Thanks for sharing. Marty

YaYa's Funhouse said...

WOW! Thanks for all the helpful hints. I'm going now to check my dryer!!

Tamara Jansen said...

Hey, I'd better go try that too. I've always been scared of a dryer fire!

Helen said...

Professor Tootsie ....... my thanks for the lecture today.

Salmagundi said...

Great tips!! I had heard that about dryer sheets and the filter, but didn't pay any attention. Now, that Tootsie says so, I'm going to go clean mine. Have a great day. Sally

Lady Katherine said...

I just love all the tips! I going to the ant beds with the corn meal!

Betty said...

Thanks for sharing the helpful tips, I will have to copy it and keep it handy.
I had heard about the dryer but never tested it to see. I will remember to wash it from time to time.

Betty

~♥~ Monica S said...

Thanks alot.. lot's of lovely tips here!! :-)

HAve a wonderful day!

Monica

Lisa (aka) French said...

Oh these were really good I like the newspaper one and the conditioner one and the dryer one and so on (lol) French;)xoxox

momstheword said...

I am going to have to come back later and copy some of these!

Raxx - A day in the life said...

Really helpful tips here, I even read some aloud to my husband! The fruit flies can be a bother at times, and the conditionder one is interesting!

Jill said...

Some great tips! A couple of them I already knew about but I am printing this list out! NEver would have thought about the snickers over apples. YUMMY!!!!!!!!

Love you

Jill :)

Susan (Between Naps On The Porch.net) said...

Great tips! I need to print this out and stick it on my frig!

Sweetie said...

Tootsie, What an informative post. Thanks so much. I hope that your migraine headache is better. My granddaughter, Brooke, is only ten and suffers from them. I understand how debilitatingthey can be.
Hugs,
Sweetie

Wicked Gardener said...

I'm gonna try these, esp the dryer thing and crispy pizza.

Miss Janice said...

Lots of useful tips here and I totally believe the dryer lint filter thing...I've GOT to that !