Category Archives: Misc. Tips

Plastic jars

I wash and reuse my peanut butter jars and mayo jars that are plastic.  I put them in my husband’s work area in the shed.  They hold nails and screws and other loose small items.

Instead of just sitting the jar on a shelf in his work area, I cut some 2x4s that fit between the studs in the shed.  Before attaching the boards to the studs, I attached the lids to the bottom of the 2x4s.   I put a screw in the middle of the lid (on the inside of the lid).  Once I put two or three on the board, I then screwed/nailed the 2×4 between the studs.  So you are basically creating shelves but the jars hang from the bottom of the shelves.    Leave enough space between the shelves so you can screw and unscrew the bottom part of the jar.

Also, the mayo jars are great for storing food that you might want to refrigerate or even take to someone’s house or for packing in your lunch.   I save leftover soups and chili in the containers.

Another Use for Windex

Picture this.  A large dog food bowl sitting inside a larger bowl–actually, the larger bowl is an aluminum turkey pan.  The water is put into the aluminum turkey pan about two inches deep.

I told you previously how I made a moat around my dog’s food dish and put dish detergent in the water of the outer bowl to keep the ants out of the food.  Well, the problem with that was the dish detergent was slippery and the dish kept moving to the side of the outer pan and then the ants could crawl into the dog food.  I tried adding glass cleaner to the water instead.  I have done this now for over a week and no ants and no sliding bowls.

Anesthetic Gel Uses

I am forever getting ant bites.  On two acres, it would be difficult and costly to kill all the ants.  I have found Amdro works great for the ant piles.

I was lying in bed the other night and I had one ant bite on my thumb knuckle that was hurting/stinging.  I wasn’t even sure it was an ant bite but it was bothering me so much, I couldn’t fall asleep.

I went to the medicine cabinet and saw some pain relief, anesthetic gel and I figured if it can numb a tooth ache, it was worth a try.  I applied a small film on the knuckle and it only took a few minutes and it felt better.  I don’t know if it actually numbs it, but I did fall asleep right away.

Now I am not a doctor and I am not recommending doing this for everything but it did work for me.  There was no open wound.  And if you can put it in your mouth, it seemed safe enough.   I guess when you are desperate, you seek out unconventional ways to relieve your pain.  I just try to be resourceful of the things I have in my house.

Recycle your pine tree bark

We live in Florida where there is a lot of lightning striking the trees.  We have actually lost 5 trees in 13 years on our two acres.  We had over 300 trees but we cut them down and only left about 12 scattered on our property grouped in threes.

I buy bark chips for my flower beds.  So when the last tree was hit, we did not immediately cut it down.  The bark started falling off in big chunks.  I collected it and broke into smaller pieces for my beds.

Another benefit of leaving the tree up, the wood peckers love to peck on the dead trees so we enjoyed more birds in our yard.

Horse Manure – making my life easier

I mentioned before my neighbor, Gail gives me her horse manure over the fence….into a wheel barrow/wagon.   I found another purpose for the manure.  She has two large horses now so there is an abundance of manure being thrown over the fence.  lol

We live on two acres that use to have over three hundred pine trees planted on it.  We had the trees cut down and were paid for the timber which was great.  Unfortunately, the roots are composting/rotting away under the soil.  Thus, we have low spots in our yard.

We started filling the holes with the horse manure and now after more than a year, we have great grass growing in those low spots.   The horse manure Gail gives to me has a lot of wood chips and straw in it from the barn area.

The reason it makes my life easier is I can now walk outside and not fall into low spots in my yard and it sure makes it easier to mow the lawn when the yard is level.

We still have a lot of low spots to fill but Gail assures me that as long as she keeps feeding those horses, the manure will continue.

Tips for long distance Grandmothers

I only see my grand daughter two or three times a year.  She is now 7 years old.

This year when I went to my son’s house for Thanksgiving I took a few craft items to share with Madison.   We had so much fun.  It also helped me to stay focused on her.  Making memories !!!!!

I bought a artificial wreath to decorate.  We went to the park and collected tiny pine cones and some of the Sycamore balls.  We painted them with glitter paint and let them dry.   We attached them with green pipe cleaners.    I also bought some very small red jingle bells that I attached together in bundles of three with the green pipe cleaners and attached to the wreath.  Then we added some candy canes for some extra color.

I also bought a pottery kit which was $20 on sale.  It was great.   We made one large and two small bowls…cups???  They air dry and then you paint them.  Great for sitting on your dresser and putting hair accessories or change, etc.   My daughter had taken a pottery class so she was a lot of help and enjoyed the time with her niece also.  Now I am thinking I want my own real pottery wheel.   Retirement is right around the corner…plenty of time for that stuff.

I also bought a few of the foam Christmas ornaments to put together, with glue.   Also, we painted some sun catchers.

My grand daughter cried when I left and it broke my heart.   It also made me feel good that she didn’t want us to leave.   I am looking forward to retiring and being able to go visit more often.

I love you, Madison.   I am very blessed to have such an intelligent, beautiful grand daughter and three great kids and an exceptional daughter-in-law and son-in-law.

Tax time coming up

Just a reminder to get your tax deductible items to the Goodwill and Salvation Army.

If you need to do any repair jobs or additions to rental properties, you can purchase the items before the end of the year and do the work in 2009.

It’s a good idea to get medical receipts and charity receipts together now, too.  I can’t tell you how many times I find receipts after I do my taxes.

I am looking forward to a NICE tax refund.  Woo Hoo

Vinegar as a weed killer

I read in my Mother Earth News magazine that you can take diluted or full strength vinegar and pour on the weeds growing in cracks in your cement driveway or between your bricks or stepping stones. Boy, that has to be cheaper than the weed killers you buy in the store. I haven’t tried it yet since I do not have a sidewalk or concrete driveway out in the country. lol

A lifestyle change…Weight Watchers

The new year began and I promised myself I would eat better and exercise but it was now February and no changes in my life. Time for action…instead of talk.

My daughter and I went to a meeting on February 1 and joined Weight Watchers. Bonnie has a girlfriend whose whole family is doing the program and losing weight. There is a special right now where you don’t pay a registration fee and you can pay $39.95 a month and have access to the e-tools on the computer. We have been using the e-tools a lot.

Our second time at Weight Watchers, Bonnie lost 4.4 pounds and I lost 4.2. Wow. We are very impressed with ourselves and the program. It didn’t feel like a diet because we could still eat whatever we wanted. We are using the point system instead of the core system. It is really teaching us portion sizes and making us more aware of our water intake as well as fruits and vegetables. I didn’t realize how few fruits and vegetables I normally eat. No wonder I am overweight. Bread and meat and desserts seem to be my main diet.

The meetings are great, too. The book says people who attend the meetings are likely to lose 3 times more weight. The meetings are very motivational. People sharing cooking ideas and tips they have learned on their own.

A lifestyle change is what I needed and now I see a way to get there. If you want to lose weight and change your eating habits, join Weight Watchers. I know I have gone twice but I feel so good about it….and me. Can’t wait to get on the scale this week.

Removing the yellow on your headlights

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.