The Household Hints & Tips Thread...

[christie]

If you are a crocheter or knitter, you can make a washable, reusable swiffer cover out of cotton yarn. I've not made one, but have seen a couple of patterns that are for beginners. You could also try ebay or etsy.

I've been known to take a cloth diaper and use it on the swiffer when I was out of the pads. I've since upgraded to a mop system that has washable replacement heads...

[Princess]

Everyone probably already knows this one but its one of my faves and i did it just today...

An easy way to clean the microwave, squeeze a half of a lemon into a bowl with like a cup of water, and i actually leave the lemon in the water as well. Pop it into the microwave for about 4 minutes. Let it sit for two. Open the door and just wipe away the mess. The steam from the lemon water releases the tough food stuffs AND it makes the microwave smell clean

[Dominique]

Baking soda has to rank as the most inexpensive/multifunctional product sold. (I do not bake)

Baking soda; White Vinegar

I buy the least expensive no name brands and the largest quantity I can find and do every drain in the house 2 or three times a year.

Remove hair catcher from drain opening. Dump baking soda into the drain, and pour white vinegar on top of the
baking soda. The object of course, is to get the vinegar into the drain, so aim for the center of the baking soda. Pour vinegar slowly. This will foam up! When the foaming action subsides, add more vinegar, again pouring slowly.
Eventually this will all fall down into the drain and continue cleaning as it goes. (you'll hear it working) slowly add more vinegar until you no longer hear the fizz.

Let it sit for approx half an hour and then run water to flush the pipes through.

[Dominique]

I've been following this *paper bag flooring* concept for
five years. The process has been much improved, but the end result still looks the same. I haven't tried it yet but I'm darn close. Consistently I keep reading/hearing you can recover *LARGE* spaces for a $100 investment plus time. I'm attaching what I think is the most informative
tutorial, however, like everything we do, watch as many as you can to pick up as many tips possible. (sorry, long sentence)

[LaDivina]

Originally Posted by Dominique

I've been following this *paper bag flooring* concept for
five years. The process has been much improved, but the end result still looks the same. I haven't tried it yet but I'm darn close. Consistently I keep reading/hearing you can recover *LARGE* spaces for a $100 investment plus time. I'm attaching what I think is the most informative
tutorial, however, like everything we do, watch as many as you can to pick up as many tips possible. (sorry, long sentence)

Interesting! It looked sort of like concrete to me. I wonder how it would look if you tore the paper in long strips, like plank flooring.

[Dominique]

Originally Posted by LaDivina

Interesting! It looked sort of like concrete to me. I wonder how it would look if you tore the paper in long strips, like plank flooring.

I have an art studio/office type of room that I majorly double fucked up the carpet in. First,
I knocked a bottle of ink off the drawing table (splaattt). Then serious ruin came when I put a triple espresso on top of an imaginary table . That espresso stain covers 6 feet. So I'm going to cut the center square carpet out of the room and cover it with this paper floor. It can NOT look any worse than the way it's looking now.

I'm thinking about LaDivina's suggestion. Why couldn't I make faux planks? Cut planks and draw wood like patterns (with a sharpie maybe ??) assorted grains and knot holes. It's an art room....if it looks awful, as the youtube tutors have said, add another layer and cover it.

I imparted from one lady (on u tube) {read the comments} she did a bedroom, then a cement entryway, then furniture....she used welbond from micheals instead of elmers and suggests satin waterbased verathane for the *clear coat floor finish* dries quicker, less V.O.C's and holds up better.

I'd finish off the project by using some kind of wood to tie the carpet edges into my faux floor.

I'm open to suggestions....I love to tap into peoples imaginations............................

[christie]

I, like Novela, am loving the paper bag flooring idea! I'm pretty handy, and after having restored an 1860's house, am pretty fearless about trying new things. Worse comes to worse, just be prepared to pay a professional to complete something if I am in over my head...

That being said, I googled this for a couple of hours after I saw Dominque's post... WOW... there are a lot of applications for this idea... one woman has done not just floors, but also a counter-top... and seeing her followup posts and pictures, she has shown how its held up after 6 months or so of use... I will be heading to HomoDepot to find supplies to experiment with... will let you know how it turns out and if we decide to try it on a room...

Sorry about the slight derail, but I can be hyperfocused when it comes to something that combines DIY AND the craftiness in me!

Back to cleaning... I tried the white vinegar as a rinse aid in the dishwasher yesterday... I was really pleased with the results!

For air-freshening... we have a bagless vacuum and place ground cinnamon in the canister before we vacuum... its pretty cost-effective if you get the mondo-size at Costco!

I also use lemons/limes/any citrus in the garbage disposal... run some hot water while you are grinding them up and it is an instant blast of freshness!

[DapperButch]

Glad you started this thread, as I have had 3 people now PM me for the laundry soap recipe I mentioned in another thread.

http://www.diynatural.com/homemade-l...etergent-soap/ You can add a 1/2 cup oxy-clean.

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Water and white vinegar cleans most things. Baking soda is also a very multi functional product. TF is more versed on this stuff, than me, however.


For TF and I, homemade products are less about cost (but that is nice), and more about getting away from chemicals.

Although not a cleaning topic, over Christmas she tried her hand at deodorant, body/face lotion, and lip balm. Good stuff. I appreciate her taking the time to do this to keep us healthy. Laundry soap and the rest of the items I just mentioned are important because they are all products that leak into our skin. Nasty chemicals we don't need. Additionally, always remember to wash your new clothes before wearing.

[Butchsecrets]

And it works on week-old exploded fish in the microwave, doesn't it princess