Archive for the Category »Tips «

How to make perfect hard boiled eggs

1. Make sure that you use eggs that are several days old. Hard boiling farm fresh eggs will lead to eggs that are difficult to peel. If you have that problem, try putting them in the refrigerator for a few days; they should be easier to peel then.

2. Place the eggs in a single layer in a saucepan, covered by at least an inch or two of cold water. When you start with cold water and gently bring the eggs to a boil it will help keep them from cracking. You can add a tablespoon of vinegar to the water will help keep the egg whites from running out of any eggs that happen to crack while cooking (the vinegar could affect the taste). Adding a half teaspoon of salt could help both with the prevention of cracking and making the eggs easier to peel. Put the heat on high and bring the eggs to a boil. As soon as the water starts to boil, remove the pan from the heat for a few seconds.

3. Reduce the heat to low, return the pan to the burner. Let simmer for one minute.

4. After a minute, remove the pan from the heat, cover, and let sit for 12 minutes.

5. Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon and place them into a bowl of ice water or strain out the water from the pan, fill the pan with cold water, strain again, fill again, until the eggs cool down a bit. Once the eggs are cooled, strain the water from the eggs. Store the eggs in a covered container in the refrigerator. They should be eaten within 5 days.

ps.. Eggs used to be bad for you because of the cholesterol they contain but it’s been found that eggs also help the good cholesterol.

ps2.. You still shouldn’t eat them everyday. A couple times a week is good.

ps3.. Try not to use too much salt on them. Too much sodium is never good for you.

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Going down

I found the best diet pill/fat burner in the world. Here is how it works:

1. lose your job
2. stress over it
3. lose your unemployment
4. stress over it
5. be unable to find another job
6. stress over it
7. not have much money
8. stress over it
9. eat very little to conserve the food you have
10. stress over it

That’s how I lost almost 10 pounds in the last couple months. I went from 153 to 144 when I got on the scale this morning.

I just can’t wait till hubby gets paid on Friday.. maybe.. just maybe I can buy a little food. We still have bills to pay. I hate bills.

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Used dryer sheets

I take my used dryer sheets and use them to clean the lint filter before I use the dryer. The dryer sheets hold the lint and you can throw away the lint and dryer sheet in one shot. I also use them to clean off the dust/lint from the top of the washer and dryer. It works nicely.

Here are some other things you can use used dryer sheets for:

1. Use it to dust your television screen. They are anti-static and will help to repel dust and lint.

2. Use old dryer sheets to easily wipe up powder, flour, and other powdery type messes.

3. Used sheets usually have enough smell left in them so you can put them in tennis shoes, closets, laundry hampers and in your luggage or any place in your house.

4. Run a sheet over a piece of thread when you’re sewing. The thread won’t tangle up as easy.

5. Wipe pet hair off of your clothes with a used dryer sheet! It works on cloth furniture too!

6. Clean the dust off your computer screen by carefully wiping it with an old dryer sheet.

7. Do you have old, musty books? You can make them smell good again by placing the books in a sealed plastic bag with a used dryer sheet. Let the bag to sit undisturbed for a day or two, then remove the contents. The musty smell will be gone!

8. If you have mice… find where they are entering your house and stuff the hole shut with a used sheet. Mice won’t chew through the smelly material.

9. Put a used dryer sheet in the bag of your vacuum. Sweep your house, and, once you’re done, the air will smell as fresh as your
clothes do.

10. Dryer sheets are also supposed to be able to repel mosquitoes as well as other annoying, flying insects. Don’t rub it on you. Instead, stick a used sheet in your belt loop.

11. You can use dryer sheets to clean and polish the chrome on your vehicles.

12. Use an old dryer sheet to clean soap scum off of your glass shower door.

13. Place a few used dryer sheets under the seats of your vehicle to help deodorize your vehicles interior! No need to find someone with sales training to sell your stinky vehicle.

14. Use sheets to clean and polish the glass lens of your eye glasses. They’re not recommended for plastic lens!

15. Is your hair dry and full of static electricity? Gently wipe a used dryer sheet over your head to get rid of it. (I’ve done this.. it works)

16. Dryer sheets make great dusting cloths for your wooden furniture.

17. Put a used sheet inside every furnace/AC register in your house to keep dust and other contaminants out of your house. Make sure it covers the openings and replace once they are dirty.

18. Clean your window blinds by wiping them with used dryer sheets. This will help to repel dust and dirt.

19. Are your scissors not cutting as smooth as they should? Wipe the blades clean with a used dryer sheet to remedy this problem.

20. Use dryer sheets to clean and shine your chrome faucets.

From Kat:

You can also use a used dryer sheet to get off stuck on or burnt messes in a pot or pan. Put some hot water in the pan and 1 used dryer sheet. Let the pan sit for a minimum of 2 hours, and then wash as normal with dish detergent. The stuck and burnt on messes come right off and washing it cleans off any fabric softener residue so no worries about ingesting any chemicals.

I do this all of the time when I make bbq chicken legs because the sauce always burns and sticks to the pan. They come perfectly clean every single time.

Tips for boxes

Here are some tips on reusing shipping boxes. If you are like me and order online you end up with quite a few boxes laying around. You can reuse them to mail stuff to family and friends.

Not only can you reuse the boxes, the packing materials inside the boxes can be reused to save you money.

When you reuse a box for shipping be sure to remove all labels from the reused box, or use a black marker to completely cover the label, otherwise the machinery used to read the label could end up sending your package right back to you.

You can also use small boxes to put breakable things in and put the small boxes inside a larger box. It helps with cushioning and keeps fragile items from breaking in transit.

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Cardboard box or castle?

cardboardcastleIf you’ve just gotten a new appliance, like a washer or dryer, keep the box and make a castle for your kids. They can pretend they are going on Orlando vacations to visit “The Mouse”.

Cut off the top flaps and cut notches along the top to make the battlements (the notches on the top of the castle). Then make the drawbridge by cutting a door shape in one side either in an arched or squared off shape. Make sure you leave the bottom connected so the drawbridge can open and close. Connect the top of the drawbridge to the sidewalls with ropes on each side.

Cut out narrow window slits in the walls. You can let the kids draw stones and bricks on the walls. The kids can play dress up and be a princess and dragon slayer. They’ll have tons of fun with something you would just end up tossing away.

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Aluminum Foil

Do you know there are a ton of uses for aluminum foil? Well there are. You can use it for just about anything except for a substitute for a cell tower. You can wrap foil around the arms of your glasses when you dye your hair to keep from staining your frames. You can use heavy-duty foil to clean out your fireplace. Place a double layer in the bottom of the fireplace or just under the wood grate and when it’s full of ashes just fold up the foil and throw it away.

Foil can help you move furniture on a smooth surface too. Just put small pieces of foil under the legs, dull side down, and push the piece across the room. You can find lots more uses for foil here.

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Tips

Here are some tips that involve the use of magnets.

Keep a strong magnet on your workbench and if you spill a lot of small items like nails, screws, tacks, washers, etc use the magnet to pick them up quick and easy.

You can use a refrigerator magnet to place over the lock of you car in winter to keep the lock from freezing.

Put a magnet in your desk drawer to keep your paperclips together.

Use a screw to attach a magnet to your broom’s handle and then when you’re done sweeping just hang the broom on the side of your refrigerator between the fridge and the wall.

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Tip

Use rubber gloves when cleaning. I must remember this tip myself. I keep forgetting to use them and my hands get so dry, cracked, red and sore.

I heard another use for rubber gloves on TV awhile ago. I forget which show I was watching but they said to cover your hands in hand lotion, put on your rubber gloves and wash a sink full of dishes in the hottest water you can stand. When you’re done wipe off any excess lotion and your hands should be soft as a baby’s bottom.

I haven’t tried it.. I have a dishwasher. Maybe I should wash some by hand and give it a try.

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