Handy tips

[Julie-Ann]

Do you have any little tips that just make life a little easier? Sometimes it is the simple things that make the difference.

I read ages ago that if you find bananas go ripe too quickly, if you separate them at the base they will last longer.

To clean makeup brushes use facial cleanser and rub it into the brushes. Follow up with a little hand disinfectant to kill all the germs.

I hope these little tips help to make your life so much better.

[TamnChad]

I recently purchased some 10 small baskets - 1 for each family member + a spare to have their folding up put in so that they can take their own folding up to their room and put their items away - well wishful thinking lol!! But they can be helpful.

[Lanne]

ohh great thread.

Shannon Lush gets the credit for this one - Buy one of those cheap plastic parmesan shakers from the supermarket and fill it with bicarb.. and then a spray bottle with vinegar... makes applying the two evenly OH so much easier.. Works brilliantly on cleaning an oven when done with .. wait for it.. a pair of pantyhose.. best scourer ever. Also works brilliantly in the shower etc..

I am also going to recommend a book called Paper Flow by MaryAnne Bennie (available at kikki k) for sorting out paper dramas..made my life 50 times easier! ps Remember the Milk did not... my only kikki k regret.. it is tooo much effort ..

My filing system on the computer works perfectly for me and anyone I share it with so i will share here too. I have categories like most people.. photos, do***ents, etc.. in each of those i have year folders. .2005, 2006 etc.
Then inside those.. i break it into quarters.. so one folder is called JanFebMar, another is AprMayJun etc.

I then dump into each of these. If it was someones birthday in Sept.. and I shot a lot of images.. i might make a sub folder Lochie Birthday but not all that often.

I do this in my business as well because the folder structure translates to quarters for BAS and tax returns etc. It also makes everything easy to back up and file, works for any file type and means everything is accessible without going down rabbit warrens of folder structure. Couple of clicks and there you are.

Hope that helps someone!

[Elements]

We usually, but not at the moment, do pencil cases in a safe for everyday expenses. Its not enough that its worth looking for the safe everyone.

As an example
We calculated the utilities electricity,phone,water,gas as an average and made it a weekly amount...around $30 week.
Rates, water, land...$25 week
Birthdays, $25 a week
Shopping $180 week
Christmas $15 a week

These amounts get put in our labeled pencil cases each week. This way we have the money put aside and we live forwards instead of backwards on a credit card.
We used to get frustrated every time the credit card bill would come in and so we felt like we were paying for everything twice. Once on the card and twice when the account came.....It was purely psychological but it works for us and we like knowing the money is there already.
It takes a couple of weeks for the amounts to build up but its all worth it.

[tracyel]

I hate cleaning the bathroom, especially the sinks with the little circle around the top of the drain. I have been using White King gel on the toilets for a while and noticed that they came up great every time, with very little effort.
I decided to try it on the sinks. I rinse the sinks down and then put the plugs in. I put a generous dollop of the white king toilet gel on a cloth and wipe it over the sinks. I let it soak for about 30 mins to an hour, then rinse. It works perfectly. Gets rid of any marks or stains and with having the plug in, the gel has a chance to sit around the top of the plug, giving it a good clean.

[Julie-Ann]

We used to do that Elements with little plastic containers which we kept in the fridge. Now money just goes straight from DH's salary into the credit card and most months that pays it off. But I hate paying the credit card too. It is always such a huge amount and then I feel guilty for spending all that.

I have the Shannon Lush system set up too Lanne.

Thanks for the tips.

[Elements]

If you have unexpected guest that you are not prepared for, hide in the bathroom, its more sound proof. Just kidding

No if you have unexpected guest drop by keep a bottle of lavender oil and water mix or your favourite deoderisor, it instantly smells clean when they walk in and the get a sense the house is clean even if its not.

[Julie-Ann]

Lol I will have to remember that tip Elements- the hiding in the bathroom one

[Rubyfig]

Freeze basil leaves to use later. They freeze nicely.

[Lorraine]

If you put some type of bleach, white king or domestos in the toilet sistern, leave it for a few hours then flush it does make the toilet clean. I have only tried this once, gone back to using the enjo for cleaning the loos.