Household Tips

Do you know you can use ice cubes to remove gum on clothing? Rub this on it a couple of times, till the gum is hardened, then just scrape it off with a spoon or any other utensils.

Do you know you can fluff up creases and dents in carpets with ice cubes? When a carpet is pinned down by heavy furniture, rub some ice cubes ont he spot or better yet, let it melt away. When it is a bit moist to dry, pick it with your fingers or toothpick. It will go back to its normal form in no time.

Do you know that you can keep the keep your pet’s water bowl fresh with ice cubes? This is useful especially in the hot summer months.

Do you know that ice cubes help remove splinter with less pain? Rub on the injured finger gently and feel it getting numb. Once that happens, then pick the splinter away! You will still feel something but it won’t hurt anymore.

Do you know you can make leftover rice more fresh with ice cubes? Put a couple on top, slide the rice in the microwave. The ice cubes will keep it moist.

Do you know ice cubes are useful when you do indoor gardening? Instead of pouring water on your houseplants, which can get messy, put ice cubes instead. It will slowly melt away but at least, there is no mess. If you have plants hanged in higher places indoors, drop a few ice cubes to it, too.

Do you know ice cubes can help your diet? Drop some on your soup. If it has too much oil, the ice cubes will heal congeal it and then you can scoop the fat out later as you enjoy your food.

Aside from giving you minty fresh breath and a sparkling smile, what other uses do toothpastes have? I enumerate these below:

• Make metals shiny suing toothpaste when you’ve got no polish around the house. Use this for cleaning silverware or jewelry along with a good soft brush.
• Clean out glass stains and scratches with toothpaste. Use the non-gel kind as it contains a mild abrasive. Use this on windows and any other type of glass ware.
• Clear up acne with a toothpaste, especially the ones that have already flared up. It will help acne dry faster.
• Make the white on your piano keys sparkle in white if these are already turning yellow. Use as little as possible though. Don’t let paste get stuck in between the keys.
• White leather gets a fresh look when cleaned with a non-gel type of toothpaste. Use this with white leather shoes, for instance.
• Temporarily hang art on the wall, without putting holes in it, with a dab of toothpaste. It’s easier to remove this later because there are no marks and you would just have to wipe the wall to clean it.
• CD scratches and smudges are easily removed with a non-gel toothpaste.

The Atlanta Based home improvement retailer, Home Depot, is cutting down 7,000 jobs, reports CNN Money.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Home Depot, the No. 1 home improvement retailer, announced Monday that it is shutting down its high-end decor EXPO business and shrinking its support staff, with both moves resulting in a reduction of 7,000 jobs.

Atlanta-based Home Depot (HD, Fortune 500) said the staff cuts impact 2% of its total workforce. The company said the the latest job cuts will not affect any customer service positions in its Home Depot stores.

“Exiting our EXPO business is a difficult decision, particularly given the hard work and dedication of our associates in that business and the support of our loyal customers,” Home Depot CEO Frank Blake said in a statement. “At the same time, it is a necessary decision that will strengthen our core Home Depot business.”

The company said in a statement that its EXPO business has not performed well financially and is not expected to anytime soon.

“Even during the recent housing boom, it was not a strong business. It has weakened significantly as the demand for big ticket design and decor projects has declined in the current economic environment. Continuing this business would divert focus and resources from the company’s core [Home Depot] stores,” the statement said.

Over the next two months, the closure of 34 EXPO Design Center stores, five YardBIRDS stores, two Design Center stores and a bath remodeling business known as HD Bath will impact 5,000 jobs, the company said.

Additionally, the retailer said it will reduce support staff, impacting about 2,000 employees and resulting in a 10% reduction in the company’s officer ranks.

“A leaner organization has to start at the top,” Blake said in a conference call with analysts to discuss Monday’s announcement.

Home Depot currently operates 2,274 with a total of 300,000 employees.

The transparent tape… one of the most important things I keep around in the house, mainly because I pack and ship stuff all the time and would need this to seal the goodies. But do you know there are several other uses for the transparent tape? Below are just some of it:

• Cutting Bangs - this is most useful when it comes to children, who can’t stay still when you’re trying to trim part of their bangs. Simply wet the area and then tape down the bangs. Cut it just right above the tape, using the edge as the guide. Doing it this way eliminates uneven cutting.
• Repair Curtains in the Shower - With torn shower curtains that you don’t wanna throw away yet, cover this with scotch tape to prevent the hole from getting bigger.
• Hemming Jeans - If you don’t like to use push pins like I do…because I’m too clumsy and will most likely pierce myself, use transparent tape instead of it to hold the hem in place. Fold the jeans to the length you desire, then tape it down.
• Keep Cats Off - Cats apparently do not like the feel of sticky tape and if you have one of them on the kitchen counter all the time, put a few strips of tape on the counter to discourage them from climbing up atop it.
• Keep Off Labels - Irritated by the label on the back of your shirt? Instead of cutting it out, let it lie flat by putting a tape on it.
• Bird Feeder - Set down strips of tape inside out by your window sill. Sprinkle this with bird seed and watch bird flock to it. In no time, this will become their favorite spot.

If this house looks familiar to you, it’s because you’ve probably seen it watching The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. It’s such a strong presence in the story, isn’t it? Here’s an interesting read for the day regarding the sale of the house the Benjamin Button “grew up” (or down?) in. Follow it after the cut…

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As with many American families, peanut butter is a popular daily food choice. With the recent salmonella outbreak, keeping it in the pantry for possible contamination and poisoning is understandably a big concern in many households that some families have actually been reported to have started tossing peanut butters out of their pantry. Reports say that about under 500 people have already become ill of it and less than 10 have already died from complications.

In order to help consumers the FDA has set up a database where they can search if the peanut butter products they have at home are safe, or must be thrown away.

Head to this site to check. Make sure you have the brand name and the UPC code of the product you have at home.

The cause of the contamination has not yet been determined at this point. Investigation are still underway.

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As the whole world has seen it, yesterday was the day the Obama Family moved into their new address 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. They left this wonderful house in Chicago’s south side (photo, right) for the time being.

How did the Obama’s prepare for moving day? And how did they make their new home, the White House, the home of the American President, comfortable especially with two young daughters living in the very famous address?

The Obama’s have chosen Michael Smith to be its premiere decorator. He is in charge of designing the First Family’s private rooms. Smith’s reputation in Los Angeles is impeccable. Many of Hollywood’s most famous have enlisted his services for their mansions and palaces. Smith is also into antique pieces that can blend well in the modern setting, mixing expensive with fun and affordable. His is a style Michelle Obama feels very comfortable with.

According to reports, Smith has chosen to mix pieces from Target, Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie. The Congress has set aside $100,000 every four years for this renovation. There is also a ready made warehouse for historical antique pieces designers choose from.

Instead of getting your little girls the EZ Bake Oven, why not consider this new toy from Discovery Paper Recycling Studio? With it, the kids actually learn how to recycle paper and produce their own objects with it, starting them very early about learning to conserve the environment.

The toy features the following:

• Recycle and craft paper that’s uniquely yours
• Discover how to embed objects and paint with pulp
• Learn the history of paper making
• Paper features six different shapes, interesting textures and cool colors
• Get artistic, add color and small objects to paper
• Fun and educational

The kit includes:

• Manual paper blender
• Plastic tray
• Paper presser
• Mesh screen
• 6 design deckles
• 2 cleaning cloths
• Instruction manual

It is currently on sale at under $18 at the Discovery Store. Ideal for children 8 years old and above.

Via Core77

When the husband mentioned this to me the other day, I couldn’t believe it. But it is actually happening. Circuit City, the largest electronics retailer, has just filed for Chapter Eleven bankruptcy and will be closing down its 500+ stores nationwide.

Circuit City to liquidate remaining US stores

Circuit City Stores Inc. says it has reached an agreement with liquidators to sell the merchandise in its 567 U.S. stores after failing to find a buyer or a refinancing deal.

The second-biggest electronics retailer in the nation says in court papers it has appointed Great American Group LLC, Hudson Capital Partners LLC, SB Capital Group LLC and Tiger Capital Group LLC as liquidators.

Calls to the Richmond, Va.-based company and the liquidators were not immediately returned.

Circuit City filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Huennekens gave the company permission to liquidate if a buyout was not achieved.

Source

People used to go about their lives without the convenience of what we call the refrigerator. Back then, they ate everything fresh and stored everything else in cupboards. When the refrigerator was invented, life did become easy. But farming, grassroots living, was pushed farther away out of “civilization”. and then living arrangements became more complicated.

Did you ever long for a time when life used to be very simple? Would you want to go back to living like that? This is the very idea behind the iGreen,  a kitchen design by Veneta Cucine and Nilay Shah, a designer from India. The iGreen has no room for the refrigerator. Instead, everything in the kitchen is made of trays from wood and biodegradable materials.

With the iGreen, you only have to store food that will be consumed for a few days, never in excess. It is a proactive way to help preserve the environment because there is less waste and energy produced with a kitchen like this.

Some men have a panty hose (nylon stockings) obsession. Women’s obsession have to do with need, such as… we need to wear them for support; we need to wear them to hide our ugly-leg days; we need to wear them for work (if you have a corporate career). But other than these, nylon stockings have several other uses, particularly the stockings that are no longer wearable.

Here are just some:

PACKING TIGHT. Going on a business trip? A leisure tour? They say that the most efficient way to pack is to roll up clothes instead of folding them. But aside from that, slide these rolled up clothes into precut stockings. This will keep it from unrolling. You’ll have your clothes pack neatly all throughout the trip.

GARDENING. I often see this in my grandma’s garden. She uses stockings to tie up young, tender plants in trellises to keep it from damaging itself as it grows. My grandmother also uses stockings as “teabags” for manure her plants feed on.

HOLDER, STUFFER. Use pantyhose to stuff craft projects. Or even mothballs (tie this in the closet rod). Or keep gift wrapping paper in crisp condition, if you have several rolls most especially.You can also stash onions in stockings to keep it fresh, cool and dry.

TUG TOYS FOR PETS. Tie or braid ruined panty hoses together and make your dog a his very own tug toy.

HAIR NET. When working outdoors during one windy day, tame your hair with home-made hair net from stockings. It doesn’t look so silly as it sounds.

This beauty appliance I learned has far more uses than just taming my hair in style. Here are some other things you can do with a hair dryer —

• Your toddler has made the walls his very own coloring book huh? The wallpaper is ruined and you of course would want to clean this off but it isn’t as easy as crayons are made of wax. Heat this with a blow dryer before wiping it off with a paper towel, to that it doesn’t leave any residue. Use the same thing to remove wax drops on furniture or kitchen counter tops.
• Because you can’t iron plastic, your shower curtains will naturally stay wrinkled long after you have hang them out to dry after cleaning. If you’re like me and wouldn’t want to store wrinkled plastic showers in the cabinet, use the blow dryer first. The heat would have unwrinkled the shower curtains out in no time.
• Cleaning out the bathtub? Removing the decals? Loosen it up first to avoid breaking your back and tiring your hands out from scrubbing too much by blow drying this out first.
• In the cold weathers, car engines sometimes won’t start. Spend a few minutes blow drying the carburetor to warm it up. You’ll see that the car will rev up in no time.

Yellow is apparently the color of the year, if you’re thinking of repainting your house’s interior walls. Yellow is warm, fresh, cheerful. Yellow is also the color of energy.  It is a very nurturing and calming color that inspires positive thinking. At these times when the whole world is in transition, we do need a dose of optimism, don’t we?

Changing wall colors is a serious decision. It’s making a commitment that should stay with you for several years, as you cannot change the colors of your wall every time. So, before deciding on it, make sure you’ve laid out the plan very well and have carefully thought it over. Sometimes, you don’t have to necessarily color every walls in one color. You can mix and match hues and even colors, for a more desired effect.

I keep a stock of baby wipes handy, even as I do not have a baby to take care of. I find that baby wipes make great cleaning agent for some things other than a baby’s bottom —

• Use baby wipes to clean your computer keyboard or calculator. These don’t leave any smudges nor destroy keyboards because no liquid can seep through the cracks.
• If you can launder baby wipes (with some brands, it is possible), you can recycle this as dust clothes. The fabric used to make baby wipes is very effective in gathering dust.
• Some baby wipes come in bulky containers which you can reuse to store pins and needles, pens and pencils and other items. Organize your knick knacks in fun colors with it.
• I use baby wipes if I don’t have a hand sanitizer with me. After eating at restaurants or in public places, I sometimes need not go to the restroom to wash my hands. I use the wipes instead.

…you can use this to remove broken glass safely. Press the bread over the area where the glass broke and the tiny slivers will attach to it. Throw the bed away after, of course.

…you can use this to clean the meat grinders before putting it in the dish washer. The bread acts as sponge and will absorb the grease and tiny chunks, which would have been hard for the dish washer to clean.

…you can freshen up stale marshmallows. It’s a trick someone told me — if you’ve got old marshmallows, store these in a bag together with a few slices of bread. In the next couple of days, the marshmallow would have become softer and fresh tasting. It’s the same thing for cookies.

…you can use this to clean suede shoes or coat. The stale bread works better.