Archive Category: 'Household Tips'

• Easy Pet Brush Cleanup: Here’s a neat trick for easily removing hair from a pet brush: Instead of throwing out nylon stockings that have a run or two in them, cut them into strips that will cover the head of your pet’s brush. Carefully place the nylon strip over the pins and pull down until the pin heads poke through. Brush [...]
• Homemade Cat Toys – Free Crochet Pattern: Today’s feature is from Full of Fluff with a free crochet pattern: Happy Cat Candy I had been thinking about making toys for a while now and had been doing some research on the way the cats see and interact with the world. Cats do not see colors the same as people. Contrast and pattern are [...]
• Save Money Hacking Batteries: Hoax: Admin Edit: This turns out to be a hoax, I’ve left the videos below to watch if you’re interested. Here’s the confirmation from snopes: 6-Volt Battery Hack. The first video shows how to open a 12 volt battery to find 8 1.5 volt button cell batteries: Here’s the second video with how to hack a 9 [...]
• Once A Month Cooking: Tips & Resources: This is something I’d LOVE to develop more in our household, and some would say I’m a failure at it since I’ve been flirting with the concept for about six years now without fully participating on a regular basis–but I find it’s a worthwhile interest and pursuit no matter how much I can manage. Once A [...]
• How To Close A Bag Without A Bag Clip: Today’s feature is a cool video just sent in to Tipnut, it demonstrates a super easy way to seal a bag closed without knots or clips, very smart: Give the top a few folds then fold each end a bit to tuck the ends up into the folds–then fold under, watch the video to see [...]
• 10 ReaLemon Juice Household Hacks Plus Bonus Recipe: Garden Grit Hand Cleaner: Splash some ReaLemon in your hands and scrub in hot soap and water. Gets the grime off lickety-split. Laundry Booster: Toss in a half cup of ReaLemon (plus laundry detergent) when washing whites. Also a good stain pretreater (for whites), just spritz on some ReaLemon and soak before washing. You could also [...]
• How To Remove Wax From Pants (and other items): I received an email yesterday asking if I had any tips on how to remove wax drippings from pants (there was a candle/hot wax spill). Here’s the info I replied with based on my notes, hope it helps anyone looking to remove wax from clothing (and will work on carpet spills too–just use ice instead of [...]
• How To Make Pine Cone Bird Feeders: A little early for these yet since they should be set out when the weather is chilly enough for the peanut butter not to go rancid, but it’s nice to be reminded this time of year to snatch up all the pinecones you can–while you can get them free . Pine Cone Bird Feeders 6 large [...]
• Pulse Rate Chart: Resting Heart Rate Age Beats Per Minute (BPM) Babies to age 1: 100–160 Children ages 1 to 10: 60–140 Children age 10+ and adults: 60–100 Well-conditioned athletes: 40–60 *In general, the lower your resting heart rate, the more efficient your heart is and the healthier you are. Target Heart Rate During Exercise Age (years) Minimum–maximum heart rate (bpm) 15 123–164 20 120–160 25 117–156 30 114–152 35 111–148 40 108–144 45 105–140 50 102–136 55 99–132 60 96–128 65 93–124 70 90–120 75 87–116 Formula: 60% – 80% of Maximum heart rate (220) – Age Check pulse [...]
• How To Make A Guinea Pig Cage: Today’s feature is from Your Life! Magazine with instructions for Making Your Own Guinea Pig (Cavy) Cages: While searching for cages, I found listings on EBay for C&C cages. I was curious and began looking closer at this kind of housing. A C&C cage is a do-it-yourself cage. When the concept of writing about [...]
• Create A Craft Idea Digital Catalog File: Here’s a simple way to keep track of all those great projects and ideas you come across online, no special software necessary! Create a folder on your computer: Craft Ideas Inside that folder, create a folder for each category: Christmas, Easter, Gifts, Quilting, Sewing, Crochet (whatever works for you) Place a text file in each folder named: Index Whenever [...]
• How To Tap Maple Trees And Make Maple Syrup: Today’s feature is a pdf report from the University of Maine How To Tap Maple Trees And Make Maple Syrup (pdf): A tree should be at least 10 inches in diameter, measured at 4 1/2 feet above the ground, before tapping. Trees between 10 and 20 inches in diameter should have no more than one tap [...]
• Tipnut Mailbag – Traveling With Children Tip: Here’s another hot tip from the Tipnut Mailbag, it was sent in by Jennifer: I started doing this when my daughter was about 1. When traveling I always take a blow up beach ball. During rest stops or while waiting for a flight I blow up the beach ball and let her have some fun. We’ve [...]
• How To Make Perfume: I’m in the mood to hand out a freebie! Here’s a 28 page report on how to make perfume (pdf). I found this sitting in some long forgotten folder on my computer and saw it came with full rights to distribute as I wish (including give it away free). Since we Tipnuts love “How To” and “Do-It-Yourself” [...]
• Moss Starter Recipe: Today’s feature is from HeavyPetal with a recipe for Moss Starter: Quick Moss Starter Take a clump (a small handful) of healthy moss from your yard (or ask a neighbour for some if you don’t have any) and crumble it into a blender. Add 2 cups of buttermilk and 2 cups of water Blend at the lowest speed until [...]
• How To Dry Flowers: A Collection of Tips: After yesterday’s Homemade Potpourri information, I thought this collection of flower drying methods and tips was a perfect follow-up. Tips For Drying Flowers Collect flowers first thing in the morning (after the dew is gone) and at least two days after a rain. Handle them carefully so they don’t get bruised. Choose flowers that have reached near [...]
• Homemade Potpourri 101: The Three Components of Potpourri Fixative: These do the best job of absorbing the different fragrances so things keep smelling nice for a longer period of time. Potpourri fixatives are things like oak moss and orris root. Fragrance: Essential oils, fragrance oils. These are applied to the Fixatives so they’ll retain the fragrance for a longer period of time. [...]
• Curling Vinyl Tiles Fix: Use an old iron to heat up the vinyl tile to soften the glue underneath. Once the glue is softened enough to lift the tile a bit, apply fresh adhesive to the area underneath the curling spots. Reposition the tile on top and firmly weigh it down with something heavy (like bricks or cinder blocks). Lift the [...]
• Party Planning Tips: Maintain a Party File: Each time you entertain a large gathering of friends or hold a family bbq, maintain a Party File and keep a record of: Number of people that attended (specify how many children, how many adults) The type of event it was (a baby shower, anniversary dinner, Christmas party, etc.) The quantity and details of each item served (example: [...]
• How To Make Rose Water: Recipes & Tips: Rose water (also spelled Rosewater) can be used in cooking as well as a rich beauty aid. Try some as a facial toner or astringent, in your bath water or as a facial splash (refresher). Notes on Preparation: Rose petals must be freshly picked and have no pesticides or chemicals used on them. Pick the roses just after the [...]
• Ideas for Organizing Recipes: Whether or not you’re a serious recipe collector, organizing recipes in an efficient manner can be challenging. You have a few goals to accomplish, recipes need to be: Easy to find Easy to add to Easy to browse Kept clean (ideally) There are dozens of different ways to collect and organize recipes on a computer via software or online applications, but [...]
• DIY Homemade Dog Rope Toy: Two different sites for today’s feature tip, first from HGTV with instructions for Homemade Fleece Rope Dog Toys: Weave a sturdy rope toy that’s comfortable for you to tug and perfect for your dog to sink his or her teeth into. This rope is especially soft for dogs with new or sensitive teeth, but can be [...]
• DIY Cool Ice Treat For Dogs: There are dog ice treat kits to buy (see picks along bottom) but you can easily do-it-yourself with an ice cream pail, some water, and dog toys. Here’s how… Fill an ice cream pail 1/3 full with water and place a couple dog toys in it. Freeze. Fill with more water until 2/3 full, add a [...]
• Home Emergency Preparedness: Today’s feature is from Brocante Home with some good information about being prepared in case something extreme happens where you live, The Safe Box: This isn’t about scaremongering, it is about being prepared, so start by creating a safe box: Choose a lidded tin box and then choose a place it can live, well protected, but easily [...]
• Home Remedy For Diaper Rash: In the sunburn remedies post I mentioned a tip about boiling lettuce and using that water as treatment for relief. This same remedy (boiled lettuce water) is a home treatment for diaper rash that was passed on to me, but requires just a few lettuce leaves: Boil a few washed & cleaned dark green lettuce leaves in [...]