Household Tricks: Part 4

 This is the last part in my series on household tricks. Catch up on the first three parts here: 1  2  3

1. Rubbing alcohol cleans dry erase boards 

One of my best purchases this year was a laminator. What started out as a quest to make an activity binder for my daughter turned into making an activity binder for piano lessons and creating my own dry erase activity sheets. A good idea is dangerous so be careful how you run away with it.

With that said, some of the dry erase markers we had were brand new and also nearing 15 years old. Did they write? Amazingly, they did. Unfortunately, they did not erase easily, so after my daughter scribbled all over the activity sheets I made her, I had the painstaking job of wiping it off with a tissue. It did not wipe off clean and I contemplated getting rid of these markers.

We didn’t have dry erase board cleaner just lying around the house so I did some trials of my own. I tried water with no luck, then Windex with no luck either. After that, I did some quick searching online and found rubbing alcohol. Sure enough, it did the trick. 

Since then, I’ve made a system of letting her draw on the sheets twice a week and wiping them all at the end of the week in preparation for the following week. I’ve attempted to turn cleaning them into a game...that didn’t work out as well as I thought it would. 

2. Lens cleaner cleans cds from skipping 

I’m about 15 years behind on this trick as cds are becoming more obsolete with online streaming and podcasts. However, we’re traditional and I love my cds, especially now that we have kids. My friend had given me a brand new book with companion cds to go with it that she never used. I was so excited to come home and play it for my daughter. 

Here was the catch: the cd came in a vinyl pouch on the inside of the book cover and it had never been opened before. With all the years of the pouch being closed, the cd was essentially stuck to the vinyl. I had to carefully pry away the vinyl from the cd and pull the cd out carefully at the same time. I did a great job separating the cd from the vinyl to remove.  However, when I removed the cd, it made contact with the adhesive from the vinyl pouch, and of course, resulted in adhesive residue on the important side. 

I tried wiping it off with a cloth and some water. There was some residue visibly left on the surface but I popped it in the player to try anyway. It played fine until we reached track 43/50. The cd got stuck and would repeat the same syllable over and over again. If I got annoyed with it, I’d manually press the button for the next track. If I was walking around preoccupied, it would keep going until it could make it to the next track itself. 

After about a week of this, I finally got tired of hearing na na na na na na na na for a minute straight so I did a quick google search and lens cleaner came up. Luckily, we actually have lens cleaner. It worked like magic. What’s actually in lens cleaner that makes this happen? Rubbing alcohol, water, and a drop of dish soap.

In the future, I may make myself a small bottle and use it for glasses/screens, but for this task, I’m glad we had an actual bottle of lens cleaner. 

3. Don't shock nonstick pans with cold water

This one isn't really a trick....but moreso a lesson we learned the hard way. When we got married, we received a nonstick skillet pan as a gift and it was wonderful. We used it for many years and loved it. 

Suddenly, this summer, it started sticking. Foods I used to cook with ease started sticking to the bottom, and although I could wash the pan clean after each use, it made cooking a nightmare. I started doubting my cooking skills (which really aren't bad!) and was constantly discouraged in the kitchen.

This summer, we finally gave in and bought an entire new set of pots and pans...because, well, the pan I wanted as a replacement was $60-$80 alone, and I could get a whole new set for $150. Frugal? No. But I won't need to buy new pots and pans for years and years to come because many of them are still sitting in the box new in a closet waiting for their turn. Don't worry, they'll get their turn.

I was talking to a friend during this ordeal and I learned that you can't shock nonstick pans with cold water when they're still hot or it will kill the nonstick surface. Oops. I've probably done that more than once when I wanted to get the washing process started....🙈 lesson learned. Wait until a hot nonstick pan cools before you try to wash it.

***

It’s been a strange year with the majority of my time spent at home, but I’m glad I was able to learn new tricks and tips to file away in my brain for the future. Hope you were able to learn something new from the series. You never know when you might need to use one! 

Thanks for reading. 🙂

Household Tricks: Part 3

This is the third part in my household tricks series. If you want to catch up on part 1 or part 2, feel free to do that first!

Today's tips include some more laundry tricks that I've discovered over the years. I really thought most of this was common knowledge and I was just discovering it on my own, but after talking to some friends, it's actually not. Who knew. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I’m not the most eco-friendly person who ever walked the earth, but I do value reusing, repurposing, and salvaging when possible  

 1. Air dry new clothes after the first wash after washing in cold water.

We all know washing in cold water prevents shrinking. But air drying after the first wash does too! I discovered this when we washed out baby clothes for our first baby. I'd buy it in one size, wash it, and then feel like she was outgrowing it already. It was also obvious when I looked at hand-me-down clothing vs new clothing we'd air dried after the first wash in the same size. The ones we'd air dried really looked an entire size larger. By air drying my kids’ clothes after the first wash, they keep their original size and we can wear them for much longer. This sounds like a lot of extra work, but the key is to remember it only applies after the first wash. Once you wear it and wash it again, you can feel free to chunk it into the dryer willy nilly without having to pick out each specific item to air dry. 

For clothes we’ve bought new and carefully air dried, I’ve been able to keep my kids in them for two sizes! (My 18 pound 8 month old baby boy can still wear size 6 month clothes, but he can also fit in size 12 month clothes hand me downs which have shrunk.)

2. Air dry clothes with stains after washing just in case the stain did not come out.

I used to just give up after one wash if a stain didn't come out and either throw the piece away or live with it stained. Then I realized if I didn't dry the clothing after, it would give me another chance to remove the stain. If I've washed it twice following careful instructions and it still doesn't come out, then I count my losses and move on. 

Pretty sure these had stains and were air drying after a wash. Some pieces are going through a second hurrah with us right now with little brother 🤗

3. Separate stained or new clothes into a laundry washing bag.

There's a lot to remember if you have to pull out specific pieces from the washing machine to keep them from being tossed in the dryer. A trick I use to make my life easier is to throw them into a laundry washing bag before going into the washer. Then, when it's time to dry, I pick out the bags and toss everything else into the dryer. This way, I'm not trying to filter through each wet, entangled piece of clothing to make sure I've found all my pieces to hang dry. 

This may seem like a lot of work to go through, but to me, if it means I get more use out of the same clothing, I’ll take it! 

Stay tuned for the final part of my household tricks series. 

Household Tricks: Part 2

Today's household tricks will be tricks I've found in the kitchen. If you didn't read part 1, you can find it here. 

1. Wash grapes in baking soda.

I've always liked grapes, but I've always hated that waxy coating on the outside that never seems to come off. I've never bought any fancy fruit and vegetable washes, but recently, I bought grapes, and I really wanted to get the waxy coating off. So I did a quick search online and found my answer: baking soda. 

Before: waxy grapes from the store straight out of the packaging

I give the grapes a quick rinse first and then I pour some baking soda on them and shake the grapes around. After that, I rinse off the grapes and they're ready to go. The waxiness on the outside is visibly gone and they actually taste different. I can't not wash my grapes in baking soda anymore before eating. It makes that big of a difference.

After: look how shiny they are. And they actually stay this shiny!
It's not reflection from water.

2. Wash strawberries in vinegar.

Strawberries are a huge hit at our house. In the summer during strawberry season, we average four pounds of strawberries a week. Next summer we're going to have four people eating strawberries at our house. 😳

I can't taste the difference in this one, but I've done this religiously since I first learned about it. I know tik-tok had a viral video about soaking them in salt so the fruit worms come out...I don't know if that's completely necessary. If someone has done that with organic strawberries and still seen the worms come out, I wouldn't worry about it so much.

3. Remove coffee and tea stains from mugs with baking soda.

Baking soda is a bulk purchase in our house. We buy the 15 pound bag from the wholesale store and it lasts us years. I'm never buying the small 1 pound boxes from the grocery store ever again. This trick I discovered on my own with some prior knowledge. After the weather turned cold, I pulled out a mug I hadn't used in a while to make some tea. Upon inspecting the inside for cleanliness, I noticed dark stains adorning the inside of the white ceramic mug. My first attempt at washing it with dish soap did not work and then I remembered baking soda. I poured in some baking soda, scrubbed it a bit, and voila! Back to its original color!

I could elaborate on baking soda for so much more, but we use it to clean everything: our stovetop, our sink, the oven, removing stains from unsealed countertops, in our laundry, and so much more!

Let me know if you've ever used these tips or if you have any of your own! Stay tuned for part 3 coming soon!

Household Tricks: Part 1

2020 has been one wacky year. At some points, it was terrible. At some points, it was ok. But mostly, it's a wash for the books. My mind is mentally stuck somewhere around May and June...so the fact that I have two mobile children eating real food still phases me at times.

Despite all of the unsettling, upsetting, and plan-ruining 2020 has ushered through, believe it or not, there has been time for personal growth and learning as well. Primarily for me, there's been a lot of household tips and tricks I've added to my mental collection. Here are a few of the ones I've specifically learned in the year 2020.

These are my top tricks I use at home for removing stains.

1. Dawn takes out grease and oil stains on clothing.

One day when I was cooking, I swirled the pot to coat the meat with the slowly thickening sauce. As I swirled, one of the pieces of meat rolled around the pot and splashed a nice circular pattern of grease onto the shirt I was wearing. Do I have aprons? Of course I do. Was I wearing it at that time? Sadly, no. Who knew spending 10 seconds swirling a pot of simmering meat in sauce was going to cause me over 10 minutes of extra work. 

It wasn't a special shirt or anything, but it wasn't one I was willing to give up or wear stained. I have three long-sleeved t-shirts that are my go-to at-home comfy shirts in the winter. They're not too formal to where I'd wear them to work, but they're also not too casual to where I couldn't leave the house in one. This was one of them. 

I rinsed the shirt under water and soaked it in a bucket before the next load of laundry. After washing, I hung it up to dry so the stain wouldn't set in case it didn't come out. It didn't come out. That's when I googled how to get grease stains out of clothing and discovered Dawn! Or maybe just dish soap. I lathered up my shirt on the stain with my Dawn and washed it again. 

And the stain came out!

And then I also realized I should have tried spraying it with my stain remover spray I use on the baby's clothing. But now I know. If you don't have stain remover, try Dawn!

2. Saline solution (or contact solution) removes blood from fabrics and stuffed animals. 

My daughter woke up with a nosebleed in the middle of the night. Of course, being two, she freaked out and rubbed it all over her face and it dripped everywhere and I was trying to get her to hold still and stop moving. And, of course, it got onto her favorite stuffed animal on the part of his fur that is white. So what did I do? I grabbed some tissues and my contact solution and started dabbing her penguin. Cause let's be honest. Nobody cares about the clothing or the bedsheets. The most important article to clean? The stuffed animal, hands down. 

And it worked great. It worked so well that the next morning when her daddy looked at the penguin, he couldn't even tell where the stain had been. High five for mommy! 🙌

So the next time blood gets on a precious stuffed animal (or precious clothing if that's your thing,) grab some contact solution and dab away! Keyword: dab.

Stay tuned for more tricks around the house next time!