Housekeeping Tips

Here's some housekeeping tips

- To remove candle wax from the bottom of a votive candleholder, leave it in the freezer for about an hour. The wax will come right off.

- If your drinking glasses are cloudy, soak them for an hour or so in slightly warm white vinegar then scrub them with a nylon sponge.

- Catsup can polish copper pots. Just rub a liberal amount of catsup on the copper and leave for five minutes. Rinse with hot water and dry.

- To remove fingerprint marks, sprinkle cornstarch on furniture and let it stand for a few minutes before wiping off.

- Make your own kitchen freshener. In a saucepan, bring water to a boil and add cinnamon sticks and orange peel. Simmer under low fire, and let the scent fill your kitchen.

- Remove nasty urine odors on mattresses with borax. Dampen the affected areas with cold water, and sprinkle borax over them; rub the borax vigorously over the affected areas and let dry, brushing off any remaining powder.

- Remove wallpaper easily with the help of vinegar and warm water. Mix equal parts of vinegar and warm water and roll over the paper until thoroughly soaked. The paper peels off after two applications of the solution.

- You can reduce the time you need to clean your bathroom walls by steaming the bathroom first to soften the molds and other buildups sticking to the walls.

- To keep your garbage bins smelling fresh, place a cut-up lemon in it. The lemon scent will keep your bins smelling fresh.

- Remove white knots from sweaters and clothing by using a regular razor. Shave as if you were shaving your face or legs, it won’t harm the fabric.

- A paste of butter and cigarette ashes do a good job of removing white water stains. Spread onto spot and rub with a damp cloth.

- To prevent ruining delicate clothes when washing inside a washing machine, place garments inside a pillowcase and wash on a gentle cycle.

- To remove crayon marks from walls, try dabbing small amounts of toothpaste on the marks and then rubbing them off with a clean cloth.

- Regularly set aside a time each year to clean out storage areas. Discard of anything you don’t need anymore.

- Placing contrasting elements together establishes visual dialogue in a room. For instance, a polished wood dining table could have upholstered chairs accompanying it.

- Mirrors are best cleaned with newspaper. After wiping with a rag soaked in soapy water, rinse and wipe dry with crumpled newspaper. The mirror will be squeaky clean.

- Schedule once-a-week chores to save on time and electricity. Iron at the same time instead of one piece at a time, de-frost once a week, go to the supermarket once a week to save on fuel.

- To keep the kitchen free of spills and sticky drippings, transfer condiments, salad dressings, jelly and other messy items into plastic squeeze bottles.

- Never store opened canned foods in the fridge. Transfer the contents into plastic or ceramic containers. The lead in the can cause poisoning.

- Practice the first-in-first-out principle in the kitchen, especially with food items. Arrange the stocks in the pantry such that the older purchases are within easy reach.

- Prepare a monthly budget to find out where cost-cutting must/can be done. Record all purchases for three months (one quarter) to get the average spent on food, toiletries, cleaning items, medicines, power and other regular/necessary expenses.