Household Hints - Pistachio Nuts - Recycled Nuts Ideas

Recycle those old nut shells, including pistachios, walnuts, peanuts and other nuts. Once you're done eating the delicious nuts, break them up and use to line plant pots or use as mulch for your garden! (A great tip I just saw last night on the Food Network -- Unwrapped)

Helpful Hints: Keep a Reusable Bag in Your Purse

Keep a reusable bag in your PURSE (not the car) all the time. We all have good intentions to use canvas bags, but if we don't carry them with us, we usually end up leaving them in the trunk. And that doesn't help us - or the environment - much at all!

Household Hints - Kitchen Hints - Opening Tight Jar Lids

Tight jar lids got you down? Try a few of these helpful household hints to open a tight jar lid:

- My favorite is to tap along the edges of the jar lid with a butter knife. It seems to break the seal, and then you can easily open the jar.

- Wear a pair of rubber gloves! The extra grip will make loosening a tight jar easy!

- Run the jar lid under hot water...again, this seems to help loosen the tight seal.

- Use a Jar opener to open the jar. There are specialty jar openers available that make opening tight jars a breeze. Great gift for anyone with arthritis, too. Here are just two available on the market:








Do you have any other ideas to share on how to open a tight jar lid? If you do, please post a comment!

Household Hints - Cooking - Found a great way to soften brown sugar

It's pretty frustrating when you open up the canister of brown sugar and find that it's somehow become a huge, organic, solid lump. Sort of like a sandy rock, and totally impossible to use! I'm a big fan of a slice of bread stuck inside to keep the brown sugar nice and moist.

But, what can you do when the brown sugar is ALREADY completely hardened?

I put the canister (microwave safe) right into the microwave and microwaved on high for about a minute. I'd heard of this tip before, but had never tried it. It worked!! I could get out the brown sugar I needed. It's definitely the fastest way I've ever tried to soften brown sugar. Hope it helps!

Household Hints - Cleaning - Sweeping Tips

Here's a handy hint to help with your household sweeping...

Spray a little furniture polish on the bottom of your brooms bristles. It'll make it easier to sweep stuff up, and dirt, pet hair and other gunk won't as easily accumulate on the bottom!

Household Hints - Cleaning Hints - Easy Lemon and Boiling Water Trick to Clean the Microwave

This is my new favorite way to clean the microwave. And it's so easy and all-natural, with no chemicals for cleaning!

1. Pop a quarter or half lemon into a microwave safe mug or bowl filled with water. (Whatever old lemon you have left in the fridge will work just fine.)
2. Set power to high and microwave for about 5 minutes or so - long enough to get a good boil happening.
3. Let the steamy bowl or mug stay in the microwave for about fifteen to twenty minutes without opening the microwave door. All of that glorious steam will make cleaning the microwave super simple later on.
4. Dunk the lemon into some salt or baking soda and use as a little scrubber in the microwave to remove any burnt on bits of food. (Be careful - the lemon will still be a bit hot!)
5. Finally, wipe all the gunk and mess away with a moistened sponge or cleaning cloth. And enjoy your beautifully clean new microwave oven!

Want more housecleaning hints? Visit http://www.happyslob.com for the Happy Slob's Guide to No-Hassle Housecleaning...Housecleaning for the rest of us.

Household Hints - Saving - Change Jar to Save Money

Here's an easy way to let your pennies, dimes and quarters accumulate into larger savings! Have a family change jar, where every member of the family dumps their extra change every week or so. Have the kids roll up the coins, and take the coin rolls to the bank. Use the extra money for savings, or towards a family vacation or special dinner out. It's a great way to teach kids (and adults too!) how small savings can really add up over time.