Holiday Contest - Household Tips!

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Keltin

Keltin

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The Holidays are upon us, and as they say, tis the Season for giving. So, after conferring with Doc, NCT is giving you the chance to win a great prize package. The lucky winner of this contest will win:

1 year Site Supporter Status
1 Herb Box (4 jars) from Penzys

If you are already a Site Supporter, Doc will extend your membership by one year.

The spices are here:

http://www.penzeys.com/scstore/giftboxes/new/herbGift4jar.html

That is the prize package, but what is the contest? Simple, submit your best Household Tips!

Your tips can be anything for around the house from cleaning, to cooking, to organization, etc.

For example:

“Go to the Dollar Store and buy a pack of clothes pins. You can use them to close open potato chip bags, bags of beans, cereal, rice, etc.”

Got a hot tip, submit it here! Further, you can submit as many tips as you like, as often as you like. No limit.

The contest is open until December 15.

On that day, the contest will close, and then Doc and I will be tasked with picking the Top 10 Tips. Once the Top 10 has been decided, we will open a public poll, and everyone will vote on their favorite Tip thus picking the #1 Tip and the winner.

All of the Tips that are submitted will be compiled into a single easy to read list, and perhaps made a sticky for reference, and maybe even be included in the upcoming NCT Cookbook.

Everyone is eligible to participate, including Mods.

So there you have it. Now, lets all put our thinking caps on and start submitting those time saving, ingenious, and oh so valuable Household Tips!

Good luck everyone!! :thumb:
 
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Thanks for coming up with the concept for this contest Keltin and getting it kicked off. Good job!!!!!!! :tiphat: :clap: :clap: :clap:

This should be fun and informative. :thumb:
 
Oh, cool!

Okay, I have one!

You do not have to use dryer sheets in your clothes dryer for static cling or for softness. I ran out dryer sheets around 4 years ago, and continued to do laundry, that dries nice and soft, static-less ever since!

The clothes smell faintly like the laundry detergent, which is a nice, clean scent!

Lee
 
Mine don’t count obviously, but, if you run out of Stainless Steel cleaner for your SS pots and pans, and you want to get them shiny and clean on the inside, pour in a little straight white vinegar to just cover the bottom and then put the lid on and let it sit for 5 minutes. Now wash it in hot soapy water and it will be perfectly clean with no discoloration or streaks. It really works!
 
It's probably not such a big thing, but I always use Dawn dishwashing liquid and a little bleach in hot water to clean my entire kitchen.

It cuts right through any grease or grime on stovetops, work surfaces and floors too.
I used to buy several different cleaning products, but those two combined will save you pennies in the long run.
 
#2

I put cooking oil/olive oil in a spray bottle..that way when i have to spray a pan or baking dish i only have to mist it and not coat with oil.
 
Sass Muffin said:
It's probably not such a big thing, but I always use Dawn dishwashing liquid and a little bleach in hot water to clean my entire kitchen.

It cuts right through any grease or grime on stovetops, work surfaces and floors too.
I used to buy several different cleaning products, but those two combined will save you pennies in the long run.
Click to expand...

Piggybacking off of Sass's tip: Dawn (the blue variety) is an excellent laundry spot-remover, too!

Lee
 
I invested in a steam mop and I love it - no need to purchase floor cleaner or use a bucket anymore. I sweep, then the steam from the mop loosens and picks up dirt and stains. Works great.
 
I keep my batteries inside the refrig. door. Heard they last longer.

Before I bought a funnel, I refilled my herb/spice jars w/ a sheet of paper rolled in a cone shape. Less messy & diposable.

I roll my meatball mixture in a log, & break off pieces as I go - less rolling, the balls are more uniform/even in shape & cook more evenly, imo.
 
Keltin said:


“Go to the Dollar Store and buy a pack of clothes pins. You can use them to close open potato chip bags, bags of beans, cereal, rice, etc.”

Click to expand...

I use binder clips. They're small, clip tightly and (shh!) you can steal them from work =)
 
I have a section of a cabinet dedicated to Asian ingredients, on a lazy Susan. I can spin it to see what I have and I don't have to look through all three cabinets that comprise my pantry to find what I need for some type of Asian dinner.
 
I have a plastic bin, without the lid, in my refrigerator, filled with Asian condiments - oyster sauce, sriracha, fresh ginger, soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, fish sauce, etc. I can pull out the bin to find what I want for Asian dinners.
 
I keep fresh ginger in a jar of sherry in the refrigerator. It keeps forever, as long as the ginger is covered with sherry, and I can use ginger-flavored sherry in recipes, too. Just keep topping off the sherry as needed.
 
I keep an exacto knife or a sewing seam ripper in the kitchen to quickly open those hard to open plastic packages!
 
Every few months I put together a sink full of hot water mixed with plenty of vinegar. I put all of my copper utensils, bowls, etc and soak. A quick scour with a green pad and they are clean and shiny.
 
When making biscuits, pat dough in a square or rectangle, and cut square biscuits out with a knife.

This saves you from having to re-roll dough that makes the second cutting tough.
 
When peeling garlic, or chopping onions, or other prep work; do the entire garlic clove or onion and freeze the excess in a zip lock bag for later use. You can use toss them into meat loaf, stews, soups, casseroles, etc without defrosting.

I keep lots of bags of frozen garlic, onions, celery, green peppers, etc. handy for the next meals in a special part of the freezer so I can locate what I need at a glance.
 
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Rather than canisters I use old aqua glass canning jars to store all of my dry foods from beans to sugar to spices. I keep vinegars, wine for cooking, etc in old aqua glass bottles.

Cheap, decorative, colorful, and vermin proof storage. And you don't have to worry about running out of them. I even use them in the refrigerator for left overs.
 
I keep the old amber glass bottles and jars I find for other things.

Plastic Mrs. Butterworth syrup bottles make great unique bubble bath, dishwashing liquid/cleaning liquid bottles for the kitchen or the bath. The glass bottles are great to hold mouthwash, alcohol, and other necessities.

Amber glass jars of all types are useful for holding cotton balls, Q tips, and any number of other items.
 
For general cleaning of counter tops, cutting boards and appliances, I have a spray bottle filled with about 1/3 each of lemon juice, white distilled vinegar and water. The juice and vinegar cut through grease and loosen spilled stuff and the combination leaves a nice fresh scent in the kitchen.
 
If you are in a hurry to cut up strawberries or other soft fruit and you don't care if the pieces are all perfectly the same use a pastry blender.
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Just throw the fruit in a bowl and press with the blender. Easy and FAST.
 
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