Category: Around the house

Fake Febreeze

What You Need:

  • 2 cups warm water
  • 1/4 cup liquid fabric softener
  • 1 tsp. baking soda

Simply mix these three ingredients together in a spray bottle, shake well, and get spraying! The great part about this recipe (aside from how well it works and how much money you can save) is that the scent isn’t terribly strong or overpowering. Our home smells like clean laundry for a short time, then the scent quickly dissipates taking any bad smells with it!

Great idea via Homemade Mamas

Etch a Long Mirror for a Great Gift

You will need:

  • A long, floor mirror
  • Armor Etch and the supplies it calls for.
  • Sticky back letter stencils

Directions:

  • Center your design near the top of the mirror and secure it. We like the phrase “Lookin’ Good”.
  • Use the Armor Etch, per instructions.
  • Give as a gift to your Valentine!

Wash Your Dryer Lint Filter

Did you know that cleaning your lint trap with a dryer sheet can ruin it? Dryer sheets cause a film over that mesh that’s what burns out the heating unit.

You can’t SEE the film, but it’s there. It’s what is in the dryer sheets to make your clothes soft and static free, and smell good. You know how they can feel waxy when you take them out of the box? Apparently that stuff builds up on your clothes and on your lint screen. This is what causes dryer units to potentially burn your house down with it!

You can test it by running the lint trap under water. If the water goes through you are good. If not then you need to clean it.

The best way to keep your dryer working for a long time (and to keep your electric bill lower) is to take that filter out and wash it with hot soapy water and an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least every six months.  via

Vaccuum in Cracks and Crevices Easily

Plug in your vacuum cleaner near the tight areas you need to clean. Adjust your vacuum as needed so that you can use the hose attachment, and equip the hose extension wand if one comes with your particular vacuum cleaner.

Affix the empty paper towel tube or gift wrap tube to the end of the hose or extension wand. There are a couple of ways to do this; if you don’t want to use duct tape, scrunch one end of the tube so that it will fit inside of the hose or wand opening. This won’t provide a completely airtight seal, however, so you will lose some suction power if you do it this way. For more power, hold one end of the tube up against the hose or wand opening and connect them using duct tape. Wrap the tape around several times until you have an airtight seal.

Use the cardboard extension to reach in all kinds of tight places like beneath the fridge, in HVAC ducts and behind heavy furniture. Since the cardboard is flexible, you can easily push it against firm surfaces to get the tube to bend around corners. You can also pinch and fold the opening, if needed, to get into even tighter spots.

When you’re done cleaning, remove the tape and prepare the vacuum cleaner for normal storage. If the tube isn’t too bent or dirty, you can store it with the vacuum to use again for the same purpose. via