House-keeping hints
(sharing the "benefit" of my experience)
Meal Management
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When watching the morning
news on television peel a bulk amount of potatoes. Make enough for two or more meals. Cook the potates very soon afterwards in the microwave oven or in boiling salted water on the stove top and then cover them and refridgerate them. They will be ready for baked dishes with ingredients like onions and stock etc, or to be made up as mashed potates with milk and butter and reheated in the microwave oven, or as the topping for shepard's pie or you could mix them with low fat mayonaise or salad dressing when they are still hot and make potato salad (store the potato salad in the fridge).
You won't feel guilty about the "wasted time" and you will be able to launch into the potato part of the meal straight away in the evening (when you may find the phone ringing, the children fighting with each other and other stressful events like excessive noise from the TV, CD player and the radio.)
The children are the major
source of all of this racket. This really happens in my house and my five "children" are from 25 years down to 18 years old.
Doing this early in the day will help you feel that "getting somewhere" with your housework. This is essential for some women who feel a bit lost with housework after being in a organised type of job like office work where there was a sense of order.
Constantly crying babies and whinging toddlers have a way of demoralising mothers, robbing them of their energy and derailing them in their work. A feeling of order will help the other work flow.
Peel large Pototes and wash, put them in a microwave safe dish and cook them on high for several minutes. Then cut them in half and put them into an oven roasting dish that has the roast chicken, beef, lamb or pork. Make sure that you have put a tablespoon of oil or margarine (to heat up) into the pan for about 10 minutes first. (Using the microwave first cuts down on the roasting time for the potatoes and lessens the risk of them burning on the outside before being fully cooked on the inside. They will need less cooking than normally).
Refridgerate leftover roast potatoes. When you are making the next meal make up a chicken gravy using packet mix and hot water. Make sure that the gravy is not too watery or too thick.
Place the roast potatoes and also frozen cobs of corn into roasting pans and pour the gravy mixture over them and reheat them in a moderate oven until hot. Also utilize the oven at the same time
for roasting chicken or meat
(or baking fish fillets.)
The roast potatoes can also be reheated with the chicken gravy in the microwave oven.
I really recommend to you a product which several companies make: an electronic steamer. This runs on electricity. You place a specified amount of water into the steamer. It is so easy to steam vegetables, including potatoes with clean washed skins. The small potatoes that you buy (at the supermarket) that are already washed. They usually come with an instruction/recipe book. My steamer has three tiers.
Kitchen waste management
Get a large glass jar with a metal lid. (This could be a jar which previously stored a sauce which you brought from the shop.) Pour the liquid fat into it after have cooked a meat meal in the oven. Put the lid back on. The fat will solidify in the jar. (Store the jar under the kitchen sink). Keep filling the jar with liquid fat until it is full and then dispose of the jar in the garbage bin. Do not throw this liquid fat down the kitchen sink because it solidifies in the pipeline and clogs it up and it is also really bad news for the environment. (The water supply will become more polluted).
A tip from my dentist
Gargling with hot salt water can reduce gum disease. My daughter who is a dental nurse told me that she sees many people with beautiful white teeth but terrible gum disease because they brushed their teeth well but did not know that the gums needs brushing too, so they will lose those beautiful white teeth soon. Important note: Discuss this with your dentist, in case he has special advice on the matter for you. Two more hints: If you have a dental problem pray for and to the Holy Souls in Purgatory and to St Appollonia to help you, as well as doing all that you can regarding the problem.
Laundry Management
Put a load of washing through the washing machine before going to bed at night. There will be no delay in hanging out the washing at the first opportunity in the morning.
Buy a small laundry airer. Place underwear, stockings, handkerchiefs and socks on it and place it under the clothesline as you put your washing out on the clothesline. If it starts to rain just pick up the airer and carry it inside and all the small items are quickly saved.
Make a habit of listening to the weather forcast each day. Sometimes it will not seem to you like there is going to be rain overnight but the weather forcast will alert you to this and it will motivate you to get the dry washing off the line when you are
tired and think that it is not going to rain and you can do that the next day. You will save your dry washing and free up your valuable clothesline space for
the next load of washing which you have to hang out. (This hint comes from experience).
Shopping Mangement
Make out a master shopping list (in large print) on your computer and print it out and make about 50 photocopies of it. (More copies can be made later on.) Place the copies in a labeled folder. When you are ready to go shopping take out one of the photocopies. Use a coloured highlighter pen and highlight only those items which you need on this particular shopping trip. A proper shopping list helps get rid of that lost feeling at the supermarket of "what should I buy?"
Update the list on a regular basis and make sure that it is made out in a systematic way e.g. with sections such as Fruits and vegetables, dairy products, hygiene needs etc. If you need ideas for what to put on the list go to one of the online grocery retailers websites and have a look at what they are selling or get ideas from the catalogues which are put in your postbox or make up the list as you walk around the supermarket.
Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
(for using up leftover uncooked
vegetables)
1 Kg. mince meat
Two 450g cans of tomatoes
1 or 2 cans of thick tomato soup
2 large onions (chopped)
Leftover uncooked vegetables (found at the back of the fridge).Only use vegetables which are mould free.
Any vegetables which children don't like e.g. spinach. Put the last two items through a food
processor. Put it all in a heavy (large) saucepan, bring to the boil and simmer for about 1 hour.
Optional: Put in half a cup of red wine if desired for more flavour. Serve over spaghetti or noodles. (Potatoes are not a suitable vegetable for use in this recipe).
Telephone Management
Before making a telephone call have all the topics and information written down which you wish to discuss so that you will not forget important points.
It will also stop other person from derailing you. When they talk to you about other topics you look at your list and then you will be
reminded of the real reason which you telephoned them for in the first place. You can then steer them back to the things which you need to discuss.
Recycling Management
Reuse large jars (which had
commercially brought sauces in them) with screw top lids to store cooked spaghetti and spaghetti sauce in the fridge.
How to make egg flip (drink)
1 cup of milk
1 egg
A small amount of Vanilla Essence
3 teaspoons of Sugar (add more or add less according to your taste preference)
Blend together until frothy.
The problem of eradicating Nits and Lice
This is a problem that can really go on for years and years. You can treat the problem, (month after month), with the recommended chemicals, and try to comb out the eggs with the special comb, and if anything can cause a mother to feel like an absolute loser, this is it! In some cases breaking the cycle seems to border on the impossible.
We would like to share with you, our experience in this area. (We are no experts in this field, but no one else is either!).
When you put the chemicals on the child’s hair, leave it for a bit longer than usual, and put a plastic shower cap over the hair.
The insects will try to escape when the treating chemical kicks in. However when we had the shower cap on our child, the insects could not escape. They suffocated and were found dead inside the plastic shower cap.
This was a turning point in years of trouble. Our child has not had any more trouble with nits and lice since then.
Also there is a little electronic zapper product that we brought from the chemist. It runs on batteries, and you run it over the hair and it zaps out the nasties.
You use this on a regular basis, if there is an on-going problem until the cycle is broken.
When using the chemicals on the child’s hair be careful and vigilant and take into account all the allergies and things that your child/children are subject too, and be careful to make sure that the child does not pull the plastic shower cap over his/her face. (Watch out for rashes or any other side effects from the chemicals).
Also put hair conditioner on the child’s hair when it the hair is clean and dry. Do not put it in conjunction with any other chemicals. Leave it in the hair for a while, and keep careful watch, that the child is ok and doesn’t eat the hair conditioner and/or get it in his/her eyes etc. Then rinse out the hair conditioner thoroughly.
As parents we all have to act responsibly in this and every other situation.
These are only suggestions. You must use your own judgement and be careful, and be responsible for what you choose to do regarding nits and lice.
Can you help two visitors to this page?
1. How do I clean my dishwasher?
The glasswear has a bad odor.
2. What are are the styles in managing a home?
3. How do i get rid of the bad odor of burnt popcorn from microwave oven?
4. I have a musty smell basement. What should I use to make it smell better?
If you can supply answers to
the questions above please send it to this web site by the
submission box at the top of the page
(Thank you from Mary Ann the owner of this web site)
Visitors to the website has supplied the following answers.
To clean a smelly dishwasher I used Bi Carbonate of soda and did a cycle on empty...I found this did the trick and my diswasher came out all clean and shiny. TT
The following advice was sent regarding the musty smelling basement. You could use a dehumidifier to get rid of the moisture in the air that's causing the musty smell. There are plenty of hints on the net if you put in the words 'musty smell' into a search engine.
Please use the tips on this website page with caution. The responsibility is yours. These tips are provided as suggestions only.
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