Tips For Homemakers

We own a l997 Eagle and the headlights were yellowed. I looked online and saw different ideas how to clean them. All looked like a lot of work. So, I tried one of my favorite cleaning agents.

I bought some Bar Keepers Friend liquid cleanser today at Wal-Mart. In fact, it was on sale for $1.00 for 26 ounces. Well, you know I have to buy it if it is a bargain. I normally buy it in powder form.

After dinner tonight, I asked my husband if I could try it on the headlights over in a corner (in case it did some damage). I put a little on a washcloth and rubbed. Wow, it did great so I continued to clean the first headlight and then the other. It was easy and instant. In five minutes I had cleaned both headlights and was walking back into the house. It looked 100 % better and my husband is so pleased. I was very careful not to get it on the new paint job we had gotten on his car.

If you decide to try it, remember to try it in a corner and do not get it on your paint job. I will check tomorrow to make sure it still looks as good as it does tonight.

I hope it works for you guys, too.

If you are a young person who hasn’t purchased a new car very often you might not know this. I shared this information with my daughter in Atlanta and she got a really good deal on a car.

The best time to buy a car, or so I have been told, is the end of the year. I suppose the dealerships are trying to get rid of inventory for that year and make their sales/profit look good on paper. If you can’t wait that long, then go shopping for a car at the end of any month.

Also, you can check monthly at the dealership and see what kind of specials they have that month. Sometimes, the car you want to purchase has a special deal on the interest rate or a rebate.

Make sure you do your research though. When I recently looked at a used vehicle at a Toyota dealership, they even had a laptop computer that I could look up the Kelly Bluebook price of the car I was interested in purchasing.

I have also heard it is better to sell your used car yourself. If you do trade your car in, make sure you know what your car is worth. Again, use Kelly Bluebook online. Trading in a vehicle sometimes makes you unsure if you really got a good price on the new car.

My husband bought a car and he had two different dealerships fighting over his business. He went to one and got a price for the car he wanted. Then he went to the other and got a price for the same car. It took a while for him to go back and forth trying to get one to undercut the other but in the end, he got the car for the price he wanted to pay. You may not be able to do this if you live in a small town. We have a lot of dealerships nearby.

Another time Calvin bought a car, he didn’t want leather seats. The dealership ended up throwing in a CD player to seal the deal. If the car you want doesn’t have cruise control, you could use that as a bargaining chip, too. If you decide you are willing to pay the price the dealership is charging, then say…I will buy this car today if you put cruise control on it free.

I bought a used car…Camry…and the dealership wasn’t going to fill the tank up before I purchased the car. I told them I wouldn’t buy the car unless it had a full tank. They said they didn’t do that for used cars. I said I am paying $xx.xxx for a car and you can’t fill the tank up. I can’t remember what I paid for the car because it was in 1999 (it was a 97 car) but I did leave with a full tank.

One more thing, I must put in a plug for Toyotas. I have put 200,000 miles on my Camry. I have NEVER had a problem with my air conditioner, transmission or engine problems. The only problem I ever had was a belt broke a couple years ago. I change my oil every 3000 miles (or close to it). My husband had a Toyota that he drove for 300,000 miles and it was still running when he gave it away to a relative.

I am looking into buying a Toyota Sienna van as my next car. I would love to have a new one but I have heard a car loses a lot of its value the first year so I keep thinking I will end up buying one that is at least two years old.

My brother, Jerry is in the carpet business and he and his wife are full of information about cleaning carpets. They live in Tennessee which is a good distance from Florida, needless to say. I wish they lived closer because they are both so fun to be around but also because I could get some good deals on carpet for my place. lol

Teenie, his wife is the one who told me how great Windex works to take stains out of carpet. Just spray it on and then dab the stain out.

Jerry and Teenie rented a house and the previous renters had a pet. The house had an odor when the house was closed up all day. Teenie sprinkled fresh coffee grounds (not used) on her carpet before she went to bed and then vacuumed it up the following morning. It absorbs the odor like baking soda does. Now I wouldn’t suggest you do this to a light colored carpet. Just make sure no one tracks across the floor with wet shoes or anything. You don’t want to stain your carpet with coffee stains. Her carpet was a darker color and again, she put it down during the night (or you could sprinkle it down right before you left out for your work day).

I would much rather smell coffee than a lot of other odors. In downtown Jacksonville, Florida there is a Maxwell House factory. When I go downtown with my husband, we often smell the aroma of the beans being roasted (I guess). MMMMMM…

Well, you know that bird I told you about that was sitting on my mirror of my car and pooping all over the side of the car and the mirror? Well, he/she is still there sitting on the mirrors and doing his/her thing. It is so aggravating. We put the owl out on a post and I keep chasing it with my bb pistol but he/she is fearless. The darn thing keeps coming back for more.

I covered the mirrors with plastic bags for awhile there but he/she just decided to sit on top or sometimes on the hood of the car. Anyone got any ideas?

Are you anticipating a refund this year? I bet you already have the money allocated for something special. This year we are wanting a set of mattresses and maybe one of those thin HDTVs. Last year, the refund went toward my daughter’s wedding.

Gathering all the tax stuff together is always such a pain. I tell myself every year that I will be better about putting everything all in one place so I can just grab the stuff and sit down and get it done. I use Turbo Tax myself. If you haven’t tried it, you should look into it. It is so simple. They ask you questions that you probably wouldn’t have thought to even put on your taxes.

Maybe a shoe box would work good. I could just throw all the receipts in there. The man that I work for just throws everything in a grocery paper bag and then carries it to an accountant. I imagine she loves that. I can picture her dumping the paper bag out on her desk. lol

I guess I should have made a New Year’s resolution about my taxes, too. Get more organized. Keep everything in one place.

I never did get my stuff to Goodwill or Salvation Army so that is one tax deduction I lost. I got it into bags and boxes but I just didn’t get it there. Actually, I kept thinking I would take the clothes to the shelters instead. Our bank does a “sweater drive” every year. I was thinking it should have been a “coat drive” until I realized I live in Florida.

So, I guess my only tip would be get organized early this year.

Do you make resolutions each year? I know I do. Almost every female probably figures a few pounds shed this year would be a good idea.

Also, I make resolutions to:

Talk to my children more often. Emailing just isn’t the same.

Save more money…some years, any money would be nice.

Go to church more often.

Get more involved in my community, do volunteer work.

Either expand my own business or get a full-time job.

Wow, I could go on and on. I didn’t realize there were so many things I was unhappy about. lol

The truth of the matter is, it is all up to me or you if they are your resolutions. There is a saying that it takes 21 days to form a habit. I guess if I went to church 21 times in a row, it would be easier to make myself get up and get my lazy butt out of bed. It just becomes part of your routine.

A New Year’s Resolution is a GOAL. Now, I know about goals…heard about them for years. Let’s see, you write them down and keep the list on your refrigerator where you will see it every day. You break it down in small attainable goals…daily, weekly. Sounds simple enough.

Losing weight should be so simple. You certainly can break that down into small attainable goals. You can control it daily. But, it is so hard. I try to keep junk food such as chips, candy and cookies out of the house so I am not tempted. I am working on portion control, now. Even if I splurge and eat a piece of chocolate, at least it isn’t 5 chocolates.

Discipline….I don’t like that word. Maybe part of my problem is………I think I am all grown up and can do whatever I want.

When I was growing up and mom made a cake, I loved to lick the bowl as we called it. I remember thinking, when I grow up I am going to make a cake and just eat the batter. I actually tried that and it was pretty good for the first teaspoon or two. It tastes better on the finger or spatula than it did by the spoonful. Too much of a good thing, I guess.

So, in closing I will say: Whatever your resolutions are, make sure you make time to make great memories, too. With my Dad’s passing, I find myself remembering so many good memories about him. I hope someday, my kids will do the same about me.

Happy New Year folks.