Nail Polish for Nicks:
Vamp Sarah in New York writes: “Regarding white porcelain and tiles that have small nicks or chips: I bought white nail polish and very carefully filled a small chip/hole in a sink, layer by layer. Checked the remaining bathroom tiles and found a nick here and there and followed up with the polish, layer by layer, and the overall appearance is great. White-out is great for small spots here and there on white walls and moldings, too.”
Bathroom vent quick fix:
If you find your bathroom fan vent isn’t working well, it may be a matter of getting your motor running. Try removing the cover to the vent and spraying it with WD-40 when the fan is off. A better running motor won’t waste electricity like a poorly running one, and it’ll keep mildew to a minimum, requiring less cleaning with chemicals.
Conserving Water 101:
- Regularly check for leaks and drips and have a plumber repair them as soon as possible.
- Run your dishwasher and washing machine only when full.
- When washing dishes by hand, soap dishes first without the water running or with the sink about 1/3 full of warm water. Run the water only to rinse them.
- Don’t underestimate the power of the pre-soak. If a pan is in bad shape, pre-soaking it with soap and water first will reduce the amount of water you need to wash it later.
- If you let your sink water run first thing in the morning to clear out anything that may have settled at night, catch that water with your watering can for your plants or with your mop bucket for cleaning later.
- Turn off water while brushing your teeth.
- No matter what sink you use, you probably don’t need the water turned on all the way. Using less pressure generally doesn’t add any time to your washing routine.
- If you have the option, start a compost pile instead of using your garbage disposal, which uses a lot of water to run properly.
- Unless you’re cooking for a big crowd, boiling pasta usually doesn’t require a full pot of water. You just need enough for the pasta to be able to move around a bit.
Sheets for Keeping Food Warm:
Vamp Marilyn from New York shared this great idea for reusing old sheets that are too worn for donating to animal shelters and vets. Keep food warm that you’re transporting to a potluck by wrapping it in an old sheet. The fabric helps retain the heat longer than just aluminum foil.
Reuse that ash:
Reserve some of the ash from your fireplace for other places around the house. Let’s start with your . . .
Garden
Mixing ash with your soil and fertilizer helps reduce the acidity in your garden. Too much can be harmful, though, so be sure not to add too much. This works best for alkaline-loving plants like juniper and asparagus. Plants that are acid-lovers, like blueberries, cranberries, and azaleas will not do well with ash added to the soil.
Ash can also be used around the perimeter of your garden to keep pests like snails and slugs at bay. Simply sprinkle it around the edges of your garden. When slugs go through it, it will stick to their bodies and take away their moisture.
Front Steps
Ash can be used right alongside sand and salt in keeping your front steps from getting too slippery. Just be sure to wipe your feet well so you don’t track it all through your house!
Living Room
A mixture of ash and water can be used as a cleaning solvent, both on your wood furniture and your fireplace doors. For wood furniture that has stubborn stains left from wet or hot glasses, mix ash with water until a paste is formed. Rub on and off stains with a damp, clean cloth, and follow up with a traditional furniture polish. For your fireplace doors, the water-ash combination should be more diluted. Again, rub on doors and rub off with a clean, damp cloth.
And finally . . .
If you ever find yourself stranded in the wilderness with a canoe that has a hole in it and needs fixing, I learned from Bear Grylls that you can mix ash with resin from pine trees and make something that will help hold your patch in place.
Windowsills:
Make the most of your home’s natural sunlight during these short days by painting your windowsills white. The paint will reflect the light making your room appear brighter, and thus cutting your energy costs.
Welcome Baskets:
Being new to a community can be intimidating and isolating, which is why it’s so important to reach out to people who have recently moved nearby and welcome them to the place you’ve been calling home. A Welcome Basket is the most traditional way to do this, though there’s no reason you should feel limited to a physical basket. A tote bag that’s been made locally or that has the name of your city on it is a great alternative, or something else that could be reused — a gardening bag if you have large yards, a plastic beach bag if you live near the ocean – also work great.
What should go inside? Anything that will be helpful to someone who is learning her way around. Again, this will vary from place to place; in NYC, a stack of local take-out menus, recommendations for dry cleaners and laundromats, a subway map, and MetroCard are all appropriate. It’s also thoughtful to include “local specialties,” like your favorite bakery’s finest cookies, a jar of locally-made jam, or tea towels from the local linen shop. If you’re a baker, include something from your kitchen, such as this week’s delicious pumpkin bread.
The final touch should be a short note that personally welcomes your new neighbors and is signed with “It would be a pleasure to have you for dinner once you’re settled. In the meantime, please feel free to call with any questions or concerns about the neighborhood” and your phone number.
Ice help:
Dropping off frozen food for a sick friend? Instead of using a blue icepack, try a water bottle which your friend won’t have to return. Filling a water bottle (not all the way—remember the ice will expand) and freezing it allows you to reuse it as an ice before it’s recycled.
Donate your sheets and towels:
Vets and animal shelters always need towels and sheets for their furry patients and guests. The next time you clean out your linen closet, please consider donating your old ones to a local vet, animal hospital, or animal shelter instead of throwing them away.
Make your bed!:
Vamp Erin, my college roommate, taught me the very useful lesson that her mother taught her: if you make your bed, your whole room will look better, no matter how messy the rest of it is. This is a rule I live by. Making your bed beautiful in the morning starts when you put clean sheets on your bed. It is NOT necessary to iron all of your sheets! It is, however, incredibly helpful to iron your pillowcases and--if it's really wrinkled--the top bit of your flat sheet that you fold over. This can be a bit unwieldy and time-consuming, though, so I really recommend taking the time to fold your sheets tightly after you take them out of the dryer. (Martha recommends folding them when they're still a little damp.) Ironing your pillowcases, on the other hand, takes only about ten minutes and helps make the whole bed look crisper longer. I use a spray bottle of water to help with the deep creases, and if you have linen water, you can use that, too (you can also spray some over the fitted sheet after you've put it on your bed to help the sheets smell good longer). Decorative pillows can also make a big difference on a bed, but I recommend limiting yourself to two or three; a bed can get overcrowded beyond that. If you do use decorative pillows, a throw blanket at the foot of the bed in a matching color can help liven the plainest sheets. I have robin blue throw pillows that have ended up matching nearly every set of sheets we have, and I keep a complementary navy blanket at our feet.
