Household hints!
Apr. 30th, 2010 09:52 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
eruthrosI sometimes feel I've missed entire pockets of knowledge growing up -- that there are all these things nobody told me about taking care of a house or about personal care or about makeup or whatever, probably because they thought my mom would tell me.
So! In that spirit, here are some household + body care things I have learned in the past few years:
1. If I put skin lotion on right after I get out of the shower, it makes my skin happier and less dry! I have been going to dermatologists since I was eight, and not one of them has mentioned this -- they all gave me steroids and asked me if I used lotion before bed, which I did. And then someone told me this, and it's like a miracle, it works better than using steroids in the morning, it's cheaper, it's better for me, and I can use the steroids as-needed.
2. Cleaning venetian blinds is really hard. The easiest way is to take them off and spray a hose at them, or wash them in a shower, but if I'm too lazy for that those floor-cleaner pads work, and so do disinfecting wipes.
3. If you have a slow-draining drain and you don't have or don't want to use chemical drain cleaners, try pouring in a cup of baking soda and then several cups of boiling water. If that doesn't work, try it again and pour some vinegar in after the boiling water. (Some people say put the vinegar in after the baking soda and then seal the drain, but I've never tried that.) If that doesn't work, agitate it with a plunger, and then run more boiling water. If that doesn't work, call your landlord. :)
4. I have very pale eyebrows, so pale that they're basically invisible, so an eyebrow pencil always looks kind of hilarious. However! I now know that I can use a mascara brush dipped in eyeshadow to just color the hair in the eyebrows. Who knew! (Probably you.)
5. Butter keepers are amazing.
6. If you have ever had to wear a brace that holds moisture in and found some red rash under it with little raised dots? Surprise, you might have diaper rash! If you don't have allergies to creams, some over the counter steroid cream can help. And you can prevent it (sort of) with diaper rash cream like A+D. It smells like lanolin, but it makes life better.
If you have adulthood hints you've recently learned or amazing and brilliant solutions -- things that make cleaning windows easier or that help you figure out which pants are likely to fit or that fixed your broken cuticles or whatever -- please comment and share! Eventually I'll learn how to be an adult by osmosis.
So! In that spirit, here are some household + body care things I have learned in the past few years:
1. If I put skin lotion on right after I get out of the shower, it makes my skin happier and less dry! I have been going to dermatologists since I was eight, and not one of them has mentioned this -- they all gave me steroids and asked me if I used lotion before bed, which I did. And then someone told me this, and it's like a miracle, it works better than using steroids in the morning, it's cheaper, it's better for me, and I can use the steroids as-needed.
2. Cleaning venetian blinds is really hard. The easiest way is to take them off and spray a hose at them, or wash them in a shower, but if I'm too lazy for that those floor-cleaner pads work, and so do disinfecting wipes.
3. If you have a slow-draining drain and you don't have or don't want to use chemical drain cleaners, try pouring in a cup of baking soda and then several cups of boiling water. If that doesn't work, try it again and pour some vinegar in after the boiling water. (Some people say put the vinegar in after the baking soda and then seal the drain, but I've never tried that.) If that doesn't work, agitate it with a plunger, and then run more boiling water. If that doesn't work, call your landlord. :)
4. I have very pale eyebrows, so pale that they're basically invisible, so an eyebrow pencil always looks kind of hilarious. However! I now know that I can use a mascara brush dipped in eyeshadow to just color the hair in the eyebrows. Who knew! (Probably you.)
5. Butter keepers are amazing.
6. If you have ever had to wear a brace that holds moisture in and found some red rash under it with little raised dots? Surprise, you might have diaper rash! If you don't have allergies to creams, some over the counter steroid cream can help. And you can prevent it (sort of) with diaper rash cream like A+D. It smells like lanolin, but it makes life better.
If you have adulthood hints you've recently learned or amazing and brilliant solutions -- things that make cleaning windows easier or that help you figure out which pants are likely to fit or that fixed your broken cuticles or whatever -- please comment and share! Eventually I'll learn how to be an adult by osmosis.
no subject
Date: 2010-05-01 06:37 am (UTC)-When you're washing windows, scrunched-up newspaper is the absolute best. Spray on vinegar (or glass cleaner, if you swing that way), then scrub with newspaper. (You can toss the papers into your compost pile later, too.)
-To clean out water bottles, throw in some coarse salt, a few ice cubes, and a slice of lemon. Shake vigorously for a minute or two and rinse well. (You'll probably still want to use dishsoap, but this will get out the scum that sometimes accumulates in the corners.)
-Dr. Bronner's soap is magical. No, really. It does a great job of pretreating laundry and makes floors shiny. If you garden, spraying some diluted soap over your garden will keep away many common pests. If you're going outside and would prefer not to be eaten by bugs, dilute some peppermint or lavender Dr. Bronner's, then use a cotton pad to wipe it over your arms, neck, and other exposed skin. It's not perfect as a bug repellent, but it's about as effective as Skin So Soft or Off.
-If you have sensitive skin, consider making your own deodorant. There are a billion recipes online (self-link: I have one on my blog, here) and, in my experience, it's just as effective as the storebought stuff.
-If you have mice and can find their holes, you can stuff the holes full of steel wool and the mice won't be able to get back through. (This only works, however, if you're *totally sure* that the mice are on the other side of the wall.)
-A piece of white chalk will absorb moisture--you can put it in with jewelry to help prevent tarnish, or tuck it into a shoe to help suck up some of the extra moisture from sweaty feet.
-If you have a metal showerhead--especially the cheapy kind that you find in most rentals--you can often greatly improve its performance by taking it off the spout and leaving it soak in a vinegar/water mix overnight. Clears out all kinds of mineral deposits.
-Magic Erasers (or the cheap knockoffs) are fantastic for a lot of things. They're basically super-fine-grain sandpaper, so they're reasonably safe to use on most things. They do a great job scrubbing rings out of tubs and toilets, and on more than one occasion, I've used them to scrub a burnt mess out of a pan.
-Lemon juice will often get out adhesive or gum. If you're allergic to peanut butter like I am, knowing this can literally be a lifesaver!
(Sorry for the double post--I misformatted the first time.)
no subject
Date: 2010-05-01 11:29 pm (UTC)My metal showerhead trick is to have my own! I had enough of crappy twenty-year-old no-pressure showerheads in rentals, so I got a handheld pressure-adjustment low flow kind from a hardware store and have installed it in three or four apartments in a row. Take THAT, extremely-low-flow-because-we-pay-for-the-water-never-mind-that-it-doesn't-get-the-soap-out-of-your-hair landlords! Actually so far none of my landlords have noticed.
no subject
Date: 2010-05-02 01:53 am (UTC)If you have issues with coconut oil, I'd imagine that any other oil or butter that's more-or-less solid at room temp could be used--I'm thinking shea butter or cocoa butter might work well.
I also have crazy allergies, which is why I'm on this quest. I'm hoping to get back into soap making this summer, and shampoo bars are on my to-do list. We'll see how that goes.
Your showerhead trick is much like my showerhead trick! I finally replaced my showerhead with this awesome one from Amazon--still low-flow, but it has two parts, one stationary and one hand-held. I can rinse my legs and still have water on my back! It's amazing.
Also, hey, I went browsing in your journal--do you mind if I friend you? You seem neat.
no subject
Date: 2010-05-02 02:06 am (UTC)And yes! I wish landlords understood that low-flow doesn't have to mean no-pressure.
Re: the deodorant, I may have to try that - I really love coconut oil. :)