I am kind of late in getting hooked on Pinterest. I like how easy it is to find interesting recipes, cool ideas for the house or even household tips. Thought I would share some of my favorites I’ve discovered.
#10: Space-saver hang drying — We have several shirts that we hang dry and it seems no matter how you put them on the hanger they always get messed up. So, I use those plastic hangers that skirts or pants are on when you buy them. Just clip the shirts to the hangers upside down. They dry nicely and the shirts come out just fine.
#9: Sparkly glasses from the dishwasher — Instead of buying the stuff to make glasses shine and a couple of tablespoons of white vinegar.
#8: DYI Glass Cleaner — I’ve been trying to find non-chemical and cheaper alternatives for cleaning products. For a glass cleaner I take a spray bottle and fill it with equal portions of water and white vinegar. To make it smell better add about 10 drops of essential oil.
#7: Waffle-Maker Hash Browns — I was kind of surprised there are so many uses for the waffle maker. This is one we liked.
1 package of frozen hash browns, thawed.
Vegetable oil
Cooking spray
Salt, Pepper or other seasonings.
Squeeze potatoes by the handful to release as much moisture as possible.
When the iron is hot, fill the bottom half with 1/8 inch vegetable oil (about 1 tablespoon). Spray top of waffle paper with cooking spray.
Squeeze the grated potato mixture between your hands again to release any excess moisture. Combine the potato mixture and seasonings of choice.
Place half of the mixture (about 1 cup) in the iron, brush the top of the iron with vegetable oil, close it, and cook until the hash browns are golden brown and crisp, about eight to ten minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve. Repeat with the remaining mixture.
#6: Chemical-free microwave cleaner — This is so easy and cool. Wish I had thought of this one.
Cut a lemon in half, squeeze into a small microwave safe bowl of water.
Zap on high for about 4 minutes.
Allow to sit for about 10 minutes before opening.
#5: My favorite lemon cleaning trick — This is one of my ideas or so maybe I didn’t come up with it but learned somewhere a long time ago.
Use lemon to clean the garbage disposal. I usually cut the lemon in half or just run a piece through the disposal after I used it. It gives the kitchen a nice lemony smell. Oh, lime doesn’t work the same, it doesn’t smell very good.
#4: Cost Saving Tips — I found a way to reduce our use of paper towels. I get a big package of bar mops from Sam’s or Costco and we use those instead of paper towels as much as possible. They are white so I just bleach them and use them until they fall apart or stained too badly. The Big Guy found this saves us about $200 a year. We also use cloth napkins instead of paper ones or paper towels. Just don’t like the paper ones.
#3: Bacon cooked in the oven. — Cook bacon in the oven on a baking sheet lined with parchment or foil. We discovered that lining the sheet enough foil that it makes slight ridges to rest the bacon on makes the bacon less greasy.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper or foil then lay the bacon strips flat, making sure pieces do not overlap. Bake until crisp and browned, 15 to 18 minutes, or desired doneness, rotating the sheets once. Transfer strips to a paper towel to drain.
#2: Scum Cleaner/Bathroom Cleaner: Another great idea. We actually use it as a bathroom/general cleaner.I’ve made a few adjustments from the original post.
When using as a general cleaner use just a small amount. Otherwise it will be hard to get all the soap off.
#1: Homemade Fabric Softener: After doing some research I’ve found the recipe for fabric softener I like. One version I found was a just a mixture of baking soda and vinegar which turns to salt. Wasn’t too thrilled about washing clothes in salt water. Another one I tried was vinegar and essential oil. Didn’t get the clothes soft enough and missed the nice smell of fabric softener. The one I like is a mixture of water, vinegar and conditioner.
6 cups of hot water
3 cups vinegar
2 cups conditioner
30-40 drops of essential oil
Heat water and conditioner until conditioner is dissolved. It works better if the water is hot before adding the conditioner. Next add the vinegar and mix well. Turn off heat, allow to cool and pour into container. I add the essential oil once I have put the mixture in the container. Be sure to shake it well before
The Dee Zone 