I have never claimed to be a “Martha Stewart” type, in fact, as many of you know, I have always said I am the “anti-Martha Stewart”.  However, now that I’m an empty nester, I have been coming across some things that I WISH I had known long before I got married and long before I had children.  It certainly would have made my life just a little bit easier.  So I thought I’d share some of this newfound knowledge with you, my readers,  You can thank me later 🙂

1. Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store. If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.

2. Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil. It will stay fresh much longer and not get moldy!

3. Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating. Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.

4.  Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef. It will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking.

5.  Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste of garlic and at the end of the recipe if your want a stronger taste of garlic.

6.  Expanding Frosting – When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar and calories per serving.

7.  Newspaper weeds away – Start putting in your plants, work the nutrients in your soil. Wet newspapers, put layers around the plants overlapping as you go. Cover with mulch and forget about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening plastic they will not get through wet newspapers.

8.  Removal of Adhesive Stickers – For stickers on glass use vegetable oil. Soak the item in oil for a couple of minutes to remove the sticker easily.

9.  Jewellery Polish – In a baking pan cover the bottom of it with aluminum foil. Sprinkle in 2 Tbsp. baking soda and pour boiling water over this. Mix. Lay your silver in the pan and it cleans almost magically right before your eyes.

10.  Use vertical strokes when washing windows outside and horizontal for inside windows. This way you can tell which side has the streaks. Straight vinegar will get outside windows really clean. Don’t wash windows  on a sunny day. They will dry too quickly and will probably streak.

11.  To keep potatoes from budding, place an apple in the bag with the potatoes.

12.  If you have weeds growing in the cracks of your patio, deck, or driveway. Kill them by spraying them with a solution of 1/4 cup of salt added to 1 gallon of water.

13.  To keep weeds from returning to the cracks of your patio, deck, or driveway keep salt in the cracks.

14.  Use leftover paper towel holders to store wrapping paper to prevent it from unrolling.

15.  To relieve (or remove) a sunburn soak a couple earl grey tea bags in water and let soak until the tea is dark black. Dip a rag into the tea and dab on your sunburn. Continue to reapply as the tea dries. Do not wipe off. Allowing the tea to sit on the burn over night and wash off in the morning. The burn should be barely visible if not gone completely.

16.  After you’re done cooking with grease, line a bowl with foil and pour the grease into it. Once the grease hardens just wad it up and toss it.

17.  Turn your yoghurt and sour crème cartons upside down in the fridge to avoid that runny, watery stuff that happens.

18.  Moths freak me out so I’m going to try hanging up by my front door a scent bag made from equal parts of ground  cloves, nutmeg, and caraway seeds.  Apparently this discourages them from hanging around lights that attract them.

19.  When you prepare corn on the cob, pasta, potatoes, or other vegetables, don’t pour the hot water down the drain. Instead, remove the food with tongs or a slotted spoon. When the water has cooled dump it directly onto a thirsty plant, or save it in a large container to take out to your garden later.

20.  To clean a moderately dirty toilet bowl, pour a can of cola drink into the bowl and allow to sit for 10 minutes or so.  Return to the toilet and clean with the toilet brush, flush to reveal a sparkly clean toilet bowl.  Eeeek.  Has me rethinking how much cola I drink in a day…just sayin’ 😦

Do you have any household, or helpful tips that you’ve tried?  Share them with me.  Leave a comment!