Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2011 14:21:43 GMT -5
I haven't done this since I was a kid and I was forced to hang the clothes out in winter. I still consider it child abuse to make a kid hang clothes on the line when she has to wear her snow suit to do it! Anyway, I washed my bathmat but the washer does not do a good job getting the water out of the matt. So I hung the matt over the railing on my deck and when it froze I knocked all the ice off then brought it in and put it in the dryer. Have you got any old school tricks like this?
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rubyslippers
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Post by rubyslippers on Jan 28, 2011 17:59:59 GMT -5
I hate to say that I've ever left a load of laundry in the dryer, but I have on occasion. When the clothes are a little too wrinkly, I throw in a wet wash cloth for a few minutes to get the wrinkles out.
Another time I almost burned the house down when I put some dishsoap and a little water in a very dirty skillet and forgot I turned the stove burner on. I went to take a shower and DH came home and yelled, "what the h*** is going on?" I had to cancel my plans that night in order to stay home and wash curtains, walls, coats etc... That's a good trick for baked on foods if you don't leave the kitchen.
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janenyc
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Post by janenyc on Jan 28, 2011 22:40:47 GMT -5
Hand sanitizer can sometimes take out stains in a pinch, as well as baby wipes. A can of aerosol hairspray takes out inks and other stubborn stains. That all I got... LOL
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donnafreedman
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Post by donnafreedman on Jan 29, 2011 5:45:59 GMT -5
"Boil" a mug of water in the microwave. The steam will loosen any dried-on food so it's easy to wipe out. Not that any of US would have dried-on food in our microwaves, or anything...
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2011 17:54:46 GMT -5
Grandma didn't have a dryer ;D or I bet she'd have used it! Apropos to cleaning your nuke box: please please please don't ever decide to clean your nuke box and remove the light bulb (or to merely replace the light bulb) without unplugging the microwave first. In 1990 my work partner at the cube farm took a personal day to deep clean her kitchen and was going to replace the bulb in her microwave. She was electrocuted ETA: I forgot to tell you my cleaning trick: vacuum the crumbs and cooked-on gook from your oven. Vacuum also works well to clean out the bins in your fridge, too, and the "floor" of the fridge when you take out the bins.
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patchwork150
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Post by patchwork150 on Jan 29, 2011 18:17:55 GMT -5
Grandma didn't have a dryer ;D or I bet she'd have used it! You have GOT to meet my OCD grandmother then! She's 72- works full time- has every appliance on the face of this earth, her own newly built home, 2 garages, etc... and hangs ALL of her laundry outside- even in the upstate NY winter. She also irons all of her clothes, including socks though. lol She's a huge saver/couponer, that's how she affords the big stuff- in cash. She's a great person for me to look up to.
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upstatemom
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Post by upstatemom on Jan 29, 2011 19:46:10 GMT -5
Grandma didn't have a dryer ;D or I bet she'd have used it! You have GOT to meet my OCD grandmother then! She's 72- works full time- has every appliance on the face of this earth, her own newly built home, 2 garages, etc... and hangs ALL of her laundry outside- even in the upstate NY winter. She also irons all of her clothes, including socks though. lol She's a huge saver/couponer, that's how she affords the big stuff- in cash. She's a great person for me to look up to. Karma for Grandma
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2011 20:15:38 GMT -5
Well, even when we still lived in The Tundra I didn't hang my laundry out in the winter and had to quit hanging it out in summer because TGH had allergies. I love the smell of freshly-washed sheets that have been hung outdoors in the sunshine. Ahhh(choo).
And I still iron, just not socks or unders. I like my pillowcases ironed, but I don't iron sheets anymore. We used to iron everything when I was a kid, even my dad's boxers.That was in the days before permanent press.
I don't usually work 40 hours unless somebody runs out of day before they run out of housework. Maybe I only work 20-30 hours. But I'm not 72. Yet.
And, you ask, what am I doing this weekend? Why, I'm turning the collars on three of DS's dress shirts. He only buys really spendy dress shirts that usually last 7-8 years, but by year 4-5, the collars fray. Howzat for frugal? I'm grateful that the cuffs don't need to be turned, too.
Now do I get a karma? ;D
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2011 20:30:06 GMT -5
LOL karma for you rigby. And there's another one in it for you if you tell me what it means to "turn the collars".
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chiver78
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Post by chiver78 on Jan 29, 2011 20:43:52 GMT -5
I hate to say that I've ever left a load of laundry in the dryer, but I have on occasion. When the clothes are a little too wrinkly, I throw in a wet wash cloth for a few minutes to get the wrinkles out. Another time I almost burned the house down when I put some dishsoap and a little water in a very dirty skillet and forgot I turned the stove burner on. I went to take a shower and DH came home and yelled, "what the h*** is going on?" I had to cancel my plans that night in order to stay home and wash curtains, walls, coats etc... That's a good trick for baked on foods if you don't leave the kitchen. yikes! bet you never did that again, right? I have an electric stove w/coils, and the spill pans/coil ringers get pretty gross after a while. I'll do the dish soap thing too - slather on some dish soap, and just let it sit. leave it long enough, and you can just scrape off the crap with a heavy plastic spatula. no heat or water needed. oh, and snerdley - some of us do clean like our grandmas. my Nana was a SAHM and SAH-grandma that lived with my fam when I was a kid. I still routinely take a feather duster to the slats on the door to my utility and laundry closets, the blinds, and the tops of both baseboards and door frames. not just when I "company clean" either.
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merryheart
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Post by merryheart on Jan 29, 2011 21:29:55 GMT -5
YIKES, Miss Rigby! I do know what it means "to turn a collar" and I don't think I would do it. I karma'd you for that!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2011 21:45:01 GMT -5
Oy! How do I splain turning a collar? Rip out the stitching that holds the collar. Remove the collar and press what was the wrong side but will now be the right side. Reattach the collar to the shirt...only now the frayed part of the collar will be the underside and the collar will look new again. Gotta restitch carefully, especially with button-down collars so that the buttonholes will match up with the buttons. Of course, DS only has button-down collars They are a PITA. If the cuffs have to be turned, the stitching has to be taken out, the buttons removed, and the wrong side of the cuff from the left sleeve becomes the right side of the cuff for the right sleeve; right sleeve cuff becomes the cuff for the left sleeve. Re-attach cuffs, sew the buttons back on, and voila! the cuffs have been turned and nobody ever knows the difference. I am counting my blessings that the cuffs don't need to be done because they're a bigger nuisance than collars. Anyway, can't see pitching a pricey shirt because the collar is worn, when the rest of it is still quite nice.
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ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ
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Post by ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ on Jan 29, 2011 22:24:09 GMT -5
I used to turn the collars on DH's dress shirts. It was a lot of work though and he didn't wear them every day and only had about 4 good white shirts, so he'd just buy new ones when they started to show wear. The old ones then became painting shirts (smocks) for me. When I get lost in my art, I can get messy, so it was a good trade-off.
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cronewitch
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Post by cronewitch on Jan 30, 2011 1:47:29 GMT -5
I rarely hang things outside to dry but if I am washing lots of heavy things like blankets, jeans, comforters and sheets I will hang them out. Then I use the dryer still for small things like towels and clothing my dryer takes longer than the washer so pulling out the bigger and heavier things lets it keep up. I only do those sort of big laundry days occasionally like everything from the mattress pad up on a king sized bed is a lot of laundry.
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NastyWoman
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Post by NastyWoman on Jan 30, 2011 2:23:38 GMT -5
Oy! How do I splain turning a collar? Rip out the stitching that holds the collar. Remove the collar and press what was the wrong side but will now be the right side. Reattach the collar to the shirt...only now the frayed part of the collar will be the underside and the collar will look new again. Gotta restitch carefully, especially with button-down collars so that the buttonholes will match up with the buttons. Of course, DS only has button-down collars They are a PITA. If the cuffs have to be turned, the stitching has to be taken out, the buttons removed, and the wrong side of the cuff from the left sleeve becomes the right side of the cuff for the right sleeve; right sleeve cuff becomes the cuff for the left sleeve. Re-attach cuffs, sew the buttons back on, and voila! the cuffs have been turned and nobody ever knows the difference. I am counting my blessings that the cuffs don't need to be done because they're a bigger nuisance than collars. Anyway, can't see pitching a pricey shirt because the collar is worn, when the rest of it is still quite nice. Wow. That took me back to when I was a little girl. My mom used to do that. My cleaning trick is much easier: to clean those glass and stainless steel coffee and tea pots, I fill them with hot water and a few denture cleaning tablets in them.
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NastyWoman
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Post by NastyWoman on Jan 30, 2011 2:24:30 GMT -5
Oy! How do I splain turning a collar? Rip out the stitching that holds the collar. Remove the collar and press what was the wrong side but will now be the right side. Reattach the collar to the shirt...only now the frayed part of the collar will be the underside and the collar will look new again. Gotta restitch carefully, especially with button-down collars so that the buttonholes will match up with the buttons. Of course, DS only has button-down collars They are a PITA. If the cuffs have to be turned, the stitching has to be taken out, the buttons removed, and the wrong side of the cuff from the left sleeve becomes the right side of the cuff for the right sleeve; right sleeve cuff becomes the cuff for the left sleeve. Re-attach cuffs, sew the buttons back on, and voila! the cuffs have been turned and nobody ever knows the difference. I am counting my blessings that the cuffs don't need to be done because they're a bigger nuisance than collars. Anyway, can't see pitching a pricey shirt because the collar is worn, when the rest of it is still quite nice.
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NastyWoman
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Post by NastyWoman on Jan 30, 2011 2:32:10 GMT -5
I am not sure were my message went, only the quote shows up on my computer, so I'll try again. :-P
The collar /cuff turning description took me back a long time -- my mom used to do this when I was a little girl. My cleaning trick is filling the coffee and tea pot with hot water and then I add a few denture cleaning tablets to it. Works like a charm, and since that is the only use I get out of these tablets I buy the brand that has a good sale (like get them free or for a few pennies)
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sammi
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Post by sammi on Jan 30, 2011 9:21:58 GMT -5
Pour a little isopropol alcohol on a small pad of TP and wipe the water spots and fingerprints from the sink fixtures. A q-tip dipped in the alcohol will help get all the hard to reach places.
Best cleaning tip for a cast iron skillet is a hot fire. Put it in the fireplace or woodstove when starting the fire, so it heats up with the fire, and remove when the ashes are cool. All the gunk that accumulates on the outside will be burned off. It will look like new and will need to be re-seasoned. It should be done every year or so, but I've gone lots longer than that when we didnt have a fireplace or stove. I've had my skillet since the late 70's and use it almost every day. --- if yours has a wooden handle or other non-iron parts be sure to remove them first!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 30, 2011 9:46:17 GMT -5
Okay, Later. I splained how to turn a collar. Where's the karma you promised?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 30, 2011 9:50:36 GMT -5
LOL There you go.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 30, 2011 13:43:01 GMT -5
Alright, I'm trying the dish soap on burnt on food one. I have a cookie sheet I just love and it has become pretty much useless to be because of baked on food.
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dividend
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Post by dividend on Jan 30, 2011 14:15:07 GMT -5
You can clean dirty dish sponges by putting them in a dish with some water in the microwave for a few minutes until the water is boiling. It sterilizes them. I always forget to buy new ones. Also, Bar Keeper's friends is AWESOME for cleaning stainless steel pots and pans, or aluminum baking sheets.
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steff
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Post by steff on Jan 30, 2011 14:36:28 GMT -5
If you have a casserole dish that has a hard baked on ring around the edges, fill the dish with hot water and put a used dryer sheet into the water.... let sit for a couple of hours (overnight works best).... the baked on crud will wipe right off....
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Post by Deleted on Jan 30, 2011 17:42:18 GMT -5
If you're pressed for time and your blinds need dusting in a bad way, turn your hair dryer on high speed on the cool setting and blow the dust off. Blow toward the window, then use your duster to dust the frame and sill. Or do this if you simply hate dusting the blinds.
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Post by kadee on Jan 30, 2011 18:10:52 GMT -5
I hang out when ever possible. I did yesterday & today! I have a relatively new dryer (last Jan.) but it sure saves a LOT on the electric bill! The electric water heater & dryer are the 2 most expensive appliances to use in terms of electrical use! I "fluff" all my line dried clothes in the dryer for about 10-15 min.
Removing shoes will save LOTS of cleaning since studies have shown that 90%+ of the dirt in our houses comes in on our shoes!
Forgot to add...dryers will also wear your clothes out faster.
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Frugal Nurse
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Post by Frugal Nurse on Jan 30, 2011 18:50:32 GMT -5
I hang out when ever possible. I did yesterday & today! I have a relatively new dryer (last Jan.) but it sure saves a LOT on the electric bill! The electric water heater & dryer are the 2 most expensive appliances to use in terms of electrical use! I "fluff" all my line dried clothes in the dryer for about 10-15 min. Removing shoes will save LOTS of cleaning since studies have shown that 90%+ of the dirt in our houses comes in on our shoes! Forgot to add...dryers will also wear your clothes out faster. I have a drying rack that i use when it isn't freezing outside. I leave it in my garage though, so the neighbors don't see all of our laundry drying! It still gets that nice, fresh, air-dried smell. I wish I could do it in the winter, but the clothes seem to take forever to dry when it is cold.
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Sharon
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Post by Sharon on Jan 30, 2011 22:02:14 GMT -5
The clothes line also does not seem to have the craving for socks that my dryer does. This summer I started line drying all our clothes. The electric bill dropped by 10%. I can't wait until it is dry enough to start doing that again. I had hoped to continue through the winter since I had fashioned a clothes line of sorts underneath our covered deck but we just have too much moisture in the air. The sheets had been outside 4 hours and were still wet at that point I gave up for the winter.
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startsmart
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Post by startsmart on Jan 31, 2011 0:18:15 GMT -5
One old favorite for baked on pan scum: soak in warm water with borax for a few hours then throw in the trash when no one is looking :-p
Now I like to use Mr. Clean Magic Erasers for a lot of cleaning, the rust stain on the corian countertop, gunk on my stove hook and calcium deposits on faucets. Not old school but works well.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2011 7:47:51 GMT -5
The dish soap didn't work on the burnt on stuff. What else you guys got?
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Post by justwhoever on Jan 31, 2011 8:27:59 GMT -5
It's a lot of work and I hate when I see a pan that needs it. But S.O.S. pads will get a lot of burnt junk off. Just know that it's gonna be a long work out on your arms.
I had some room mates last year and her crock pot...oh dear! She bought it used from a yard sale like that?! When I got done it looked new.
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