Household Tips

I didn’t know this. Did you know that it is legal to be denied employment because of a low credit score? Did you also know that your credit report might have information on it that is simply untrue? When I bought a rental house a couple of years ago, there was a mysterious loan on my credit report. No, I wasn’t the victim of credit fraud. But someone with a social security number only one number off from my social security number. It really wasn’t very hard to fix, but it was a good thing we found it. And speaking of finding mistakes, did you know that you can check your credit report for free online? You can go to www.experian.com to find out how. Read on for more tips on credit from, of all unlikely sources, Visa:

A Visa survey found that 42 percent of consumers 18 and older have never even checked their credit score and therefore can not know if they have a bad or good score. Men are significantly less likely to check their credit score, as are people over 55 years old.

Many employers have made checking a credit score a mandatory part of the job application process, just as drug testing and criminal background checks are now common requirements for jobs in many industries.

Additional key findings of Visa’s survey of 1,000 adults nationwide include:

— More women (59%) have checked their credit score than men (51%).
— Adults age 55 and up have checked their score at a far lower rate (43%) than those under 55 (62%).
— Only 22% check their credit score once a year.
— A small group of just 18% check their score two or more times each year.

Some key credit score tips include:
— Stick to your budget and pay all of your bills on time
— Keep your credit card balance low in relation to your available credit
— Make more than the minimum payment on your credit card and other loans
— Don’t open a lot of new accounts over a short period of time, especially if you have a short credit history
— Pay off credit card debt rather than moving it around to other cards
— Review your credit report regularly for errors and know your credit score: A free online tool to estimate your current credit score is available at http://www.whatsmyscore.org/estimator

Once, when I was about fourteen or fifteen years old, my brother and I were home for the summer and he was playing with something in the garage, or his models or some semi-dangerous machine. Whatever it was, I seem to have forgotten the specifics. However, a chemical, and I think it was gas, oil or some derivative thereof, splashed into his eye. He came running to me and we immediately flushed his eye with a lot of lukewarm water. His eye was burning a little bit but he could see and wasn’t in extreme pain.

I called the Poison Control Center! (great sister, eh?) I spoke to a really nice lady who walked us through what to do, rinsing the eye, staying out of the sun, taking it easy, monitoring the eye, going to the doctor if there were any changes. She was really nice and helpful and praised us for calling, and never once made us feel as though we had done something bad, because, dur! we hadn’t. What impressed me the most was that later that evening, around dinner time, the phone rang and it was for me. The same lady from the Poison Control call center was calling back to talk to me with the intent of checking on my brother*. I was really floored and have never forgotten how helpful and reassuring they were that day.

So, today, I take this time to pass on to you, fellow readers, a gentle reminder about chemicals in your home and where you keep toxic substances.

All of the information below can also be found online at the Poison Control Center Website…

Store Poisons Safely
• Store medicines and household products locked up, where children cannot see or reach them.
• Keep poisons in their original containers.
• Use child-resistant packaging. But remember — nothing is child-proof! You really must WATCH your children at all times.

Use Poisons Safely
• Read the label. Follow the directions on medicines and products.
• Are children around? Take the product or medicine with you to answer the door or the phone.
• Lock products and medicines up after using them.
• Is it medicine? Call it medicine, not candy.
• Children learn by imitation. Take your medicines where children can’t watch.

Teach Children to Ask First
• Poisons can look like food or drink. Teach children to ask an adult before eating or drinking anything!
If you think someone has been poisoned, call your poison center right away — 1-800-222-1222.

Just Facts:
92 percent of all poison exposures occur in the home
52 percent of poison exposures occur in children under the age of six

*Brother is very much fine right now. I doubt he even remembers this incident.

As punishment for having “blogger’s block” my internet cable went out last Tuesday and “the Cable guy” had to come run new cable to my whole house. I didn’t realize how frequently I was online until I spent five days with no internet connection.
The good news is I had a lot of responses to my plea for hints and questions and will be helping you out with those over the next few days.
Here’s an easy one, someone wanted to know how to get rid of unpleasant cooking odors. Vinegar is a great neutralizer. Place a small bowl in any room with funky smells and it will absorb and neutralize the smell. If you smoke up the kitchen, wet a towel with 1/2 hot water and 1/2 vinegar and wave it around until the odor is gone. If I cook something I know is funky smelling, I put a small sauce pan on the stove and simmer a cinnamon stick and a few cloves. This is a great use for spices that are beyond their shelf life, and overpowers most cooking smells. A pinch of baking soda or a dash of lemon juice will also neutralize many cooking odors without altering the taste of the food.

odors, vinegar, bakings soda, spices, lemon juice, cable guy

I’m always reading hints for the use of fabric softener sheets. Yes they are great to stash among stored linens and in empty suitcases to keep them smelling fresh. I rub them on my support socks after putting them on to keep my scrubs from clinging to my legs. Used ones are great for dusting furniture that are high dust attractors. However, one of the hints I see often is to use them to clean computer and TV screens. While this reduces the dust attracting static, it will also damage your screen because of the chemicals in them. Only clean computer screens and TV screens with a clean, dry cotton or linen cloth, or with wipes made specifically for that purpose. Don’t use those microfiber cleaning clothes either as they are made from polyester and will put fine scratches in the finish.

fabric softener sheets, computer screens, tv screens, static cling, dusting

I’ll be here giving tips and tricks to make managing a home a little easier. Some of these are things I learned from my Mom, but lots are things I learned through trial and error. Trust me, having been a homemaker for over thirty five years, I’ve had my share of errors. I’ll share these from time to time under “Things not to try”. Mostly these are just going to help save you time and energy.
I hope sharing these things will help you have a little time for YOU!!!!