Household Hints - Pets - Making Cat Litter Cleaning Easier

Here are some helpful household hints to make cleaning the cat litter easier!

1. Clean the litter everyday. It's far easier (and a less yucky) job if you clean the litter on a regular, consistent basis.
2. Use scoopable litter - it makes your job simpler AND it seems that most cats prefer the feel of the softer scoopable litter on their paws than the old-fashioned gravel type litter.
3. Sprinkle soda - baking soda that is! After you've completed the cat litter box cleaning, sprinkle a generous amount of baking soda into the litter to absorb odors. It's a natural air freshener.
4. Lampe Berger to the rescue! I use my Lampe Berger to clean the air everytime I've cleaned the cat's litter box. It works unbelievably well and completely soaks up odors and leaves things smelling pleasant. Love it!!

Household Hints - Knives - Don't Put Knives in the Dishwasher

Question: Can good quality knives be cleaned in the dishwasher?

Answer: Well...answers on this one can vary. For example, fine knife makers like Wusthof say right on their website that technically you CAN clean their knives in the dishwasher. BUT - handwashing any fine knives is always recommended. In fact, even if you only have regular old cheapy knives, it's still going to maintain a sharp blade far longer if you carefully handwash these in the sink with some soapy water.

Why? The high temperature and bleaching agents in the dishwasher detergent cause damage to the knife's surface. If you've invested in quality knives by Wusthof, Henckels or Global, then take the time to wash the knives in some soapy water - by hand. You'll be taking much better care of your investment.

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I LOVE Kitchen Gadgets!
(Including fine knives...)
See my favorites at:
http://kitchengadget.blogspot.com/
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Household Hints - Cooking Hints - Freeze Leftover Stock or Broth into Cubes

Freeze leftover homemade stock or broth in an ice cube tray, and then transfer the frozen stock cubes into baggies for storage. This makes it so easy to add a little bit of homemade stock to recipes that call for stock or broth cubes - you can use your delicious homemade stock instead!

Make sure to label the baggies so that you know what type of broth you have frozen inside.