Tips For Homemakers

I noticed the water running into my washing machine was taking longer and longer to fill the tub.  We recently had a problem with  our well and the water had been off a few hours.  If that happens, you always run water thru your water lines to let the minerals and dirt or whatever run out before you drink the water.  Well, I didn’t think about that same residue building up in the filter of my washing machine.

I pulled the washing machine out, unhooked the rubber tubing to the back where the water runs into the machine and sure enough, there was a filter.  Oh my gosh at the gunk.  I used a q-tip to remove some of it.  I also squirted water in the hole and held a bowl under the area for the dirt to drip out.

My washing machine fills quickly now and my laundry time has been cut in half.  I should have done that years ago.  I kept thinking something was wrong but I assumed my machine was dying on me.  lol

I was talking with my sister yesterday and she and her fiancee are starting a new diet.  It is a calorie counting diet.  While we were talking, I realized how many tips I have for dieters.  Let me point out that I am still overweight myself but I have the knowledge how to lose weight.  Just not the desire or the initiative, I guess.

So a couple of tips that you might or might not know:

First, put a time line for your dieting.  Anyone can diet for two weeks but when you say I am going to diet until I lose 10 pounds, it is too indefinite.

Second, if I wanted to lose 20 pounds or more, I found dieting Monday thru Friday and then giving myself a break on the weekend encouraged me to be better during the week.  So on the weekend, I might decide to have a slice of toast with my breakfast.  Maybe I would have a baked potato with a small amount of butter at dinner.   Or maybe you crave chocolate.   Have a piece or two only.  Feeling deprived only makes you want to quit the diet sooner.

Thirdly, I have found if I am craving something, I will eat all kinds of other foods trying to get rid of the craving and end up eating way too much.  So if I am craving potato chips, I just eat a couple.  Or if it is chocolate, I eat two Hershey kisses.  That will take care of the craving and I will stop eating everything I see that I think will satisfy my craving.  I also heard on Dr. Oz that niacin helps with cravings.  I haven’t tried that though.   I bought some but haven’t tried it.  I have awful sugar cravings.  My husband says I am a sugar addict.  I am sure I am.

Fourth, I think the buddy system definitely helps.  If you don’t have someone to diet with, at least have someone who is willing to be your shoulder to cry on or someone to confide in.  Look for a cheerleader type personality, not a critical person.

Fifth, before starting your diet, jump start your diet by cutting out or reducing your bread or pastries or sodas or sugars.   If you are needing to lose a few pounds, you can do it with this step alone.  My nephew lost 10 lbs in a month by just cutting out sodas.

Sixth, if you don’t have the crap in your house, you won’t eat it.  So be a good shopper and don’t bring things into the house that will tempt you.

Seventh, take a walk when you feel like you are starving and need to eat something.  Take a bottle of water with you and just get your mind on something other than eating.   A lot of time, you are just thirsty instead of hungry.

Weight Watchers helped me lose twenty pounds in about 3 months.  I used the point system and I could eat anything I wanted as long as I didn’t go over the  points I was allowed each day.  The points are figured based on fiber and fat, if I remember correctly.  It is a math equation so you can figure it out at the grocery store or they have a hand held chart that is small and can be cared in your purse.

Of course, the problem with any diet is that you have to continue your diet in order to keep the weight off.  That’s why eating really healthy during the week and then giving yourself some leeway on the weekend could help you keep the weight off.

And of course, your age really makes a difference in trying to lose weight.  Your metabolism has slowed down but so has your activity level.  And for me, food tastes better than ever.  I would rather eat my cooking than eating out.

Well, I hope some of this helps you if you are starting the new year off with a weight loss resolution.

This is the time of year you need to get your items to the Salvation Army or Goodwill and get your tax deductible receipts.

Also, start getting your tax information together.   You can total your medical and charity deductions.   I can’t tell you how many times I found tax deductions after I finished filing my taxes.

We have rental property so if we plan to do some work for next year, we can purchase the items before the end of the year and then do the work in the spring.

Don’t know about you, but I am looking forward to a NICE tax re

Have you ever made Rice Krispy treats and burnt the butter or the marshmellows on top on the stove?

I learned this trick when I was working for Golden Corral.

Put 6 tsp (3/4 stick) of butter or margarine (not soft substitute) and a bag of small marshmellows into a large glass/ceramic bowl.  Heat in microwave for two minutes.  Stir until all the lumps are out.  Then add about four to six cups of Rice Krispys.  Just make sure the mixture isn’t too dry.  I just keep adding the cereal until it looks right.

I have also found that the generic brand at Walmart actually makes the treats better because they stay crispier longer.  I have also used the soft margarine substitute and the treats were not as good.  Not as crispy and the taste is different, too.

There are a lot of different shelving ideas as well as containers for organizing your storage areas.  When my dresser drawers started filling up, I knew I needed a solution for too many clothes.

I started looking through my lingerie/underwear clothing and realized I had a variety of clothing that I seldom wore–example:  pantie girdles, slips, footies, pantie hose and so on.

In another drawer, I had pajamas for warm weather and some for cold weather.

I bought 2 of those $15 three-drawer plastic containers and slide them under my hanging blouses/slacks/jackets in the closet.  I stored my less-used items in the two containers.  There was a large wasted space under those hanging clothes.

Another idea is to look at your local thrift stores and buy a low dresser and put in your closet.

I love to put a roast in the oven before I go to bed and let it cook overnight on about 200 degrees.  I often put a frozen roast (London Broil or Rump Roast) with an inch of water in the pan and cover with aluminum foil.  Add spices of your choice…I use Nature’s Seasoning, garlic salt and beef bouillon and Worcheshire Sauce.  The roast is fall-apart tender.

Let the roast cool and refrigerate until dinner.  I add potatoes and onions and carrots and then put it back in the oven for another hour or so.

Well, my husband is a potato-eating man and I end up with a lot more meat leftover than potatoes.  So, I wash a couple of potatoes, poke holes in them and microwave them.  After quartering the potatoes, I drop the potatoes in the broth and meat to flavor while cooking.  Also, I reheat my roast in a skillet on top of the stove, often slicing the roast into smaller pieces to make it reheat faster.

If you are short on broth,  just add a couple beef bouillon cubes and some water.  And if you like it thicker than the au juis like gravy, add a mixture of one heaping tablespoon of flour to a cup of cold water that has been stirred well.   Upon heating, it will thicken.

I was struggling walking my daughter’s two dogs because they kept tangling up around each other.  My husband took one loop of the leash handle  and put it through the other one.  This meant I would be holding on to only one leash and the other dog could walk out farther from the first dog.   Thus, no tangling of the leashes.

I so appreciate the little things my husband does for me.  I thought I was going to fall on my face a couple times while the dogs ran circles around me.

I previously peeled potatoes over the trash can.  But for years now I have used another method.   I put a paper towel in the sink and then peel them over the paper towel.  When I finish I just fold the towel up and quickly throw it in the trash.  No sore back from bending over.  The sink is just the right height.

If you have looked around in Home Depot or Lowe’s in the flooring department, you have probably seen the peel and stick twelve inch squares.  I do remodeling and cleaning for someone and look for easy and quick remedies to correct the messes that tenants have made.

These tiles range from 36 cent to 99 cent per square at my Home Depot.  I particularly like the parquet-looking squares which were 75 cents per square.  There are real dark looking wood and then the lighter wood.  They are so quick and easy to install and if one gets damaged in the future, you just pull it up and put another one down.   Just be sure to fit them together snugly (like a puzzle fit)  so they don’t have room to slide yet not so tight that the flooring will buckle.

Cutting the squares is easy, too.  Just use a box cutter and cut across the top of the square.   All you need to do is score the top and then bend the square and it will break apart.  I have a large wooden cutting board that I lie the square on and then use a ruler to make the straight line.

I put the peel and stick squares in my bathroom this past weekend and it cost less than 20 dollars.  I was struggling to make the perfect cut around my toilet and bathroom cabinet so my husband volunteered to remove both.  I am so glad he did because the job looks perfect now.

Be sure and remove the baseboards.  The baseboards can cover a multitude of errors.  lol

Have fun…I love my new look in my bathroom.

I have been really busy lately, thus the lack of writing on this blog.

I have been doing some interior painting and my husband was trying to help.  I realized there are some tips I gave him that I could share with others.

First, painting is rolling paint on the wall….not scrubbing or pressing real hard.  When he painted with a brush, the brush looked like he had been scrubbing with it.

Another thing, when you start to roll paint on the wall make sure you start in the center of the wall.  If you start at the top or bottom, it is harder to spread the extra paint.  Your roller is full of paint and you need to spread it evenly.

I put newspaper down around the bottom of the floor.  It worked well because if I dripped paint, I could just lift the newspaper up and throw it away so I didn’t step in it and then track it on the carpet.  Also, I found I could push down on the newspaper around the edge and get down further on the bottom of the wall where the baseboard was going to cover.

The black sponges (that look like fudgsicles except smaller) work great for the trim work.  They get into the small little corners and work really well for window frames, too.  There are at least three different sizes and one fit perfectly for the inside of the window.

Keep a wet paper towel or two handy, too.  If you do drip on the floor or carpet, immediately wipe it up.  The semi-gloss latex scrapes right up off the floor if it turns into a dried spot. But the carpet needs a lot of water to get it up and not leave some residue.

That’s about all for now…I love painting.  Everything looks so fresh and new.