Tricks of the Trade Tuesday Posts

Onions- You want an onion to feel firm. The papery skins should be dry. Avoid onions that have soft spots or discoloration.  

Peppers- Make sure the stem on peppers is bright green. You want firm bell peppers with tight skin.

Potatoes- Avoid potatoes that are soft or have wrinkled skin. Firm potatoes are best. You definitely don’t want to buy potatoes with sprouts, or a green tinge. The green is an indicator that it isn’t ripe yet. If possible, buy them individually because when buying in the bag you can get bad potatoes.

Corn- Looking at the outside of the corn cob you want tight, bright-green husks. The silk should be moist and a golden brown color. Avoid the dark brown silk. When you pull back the husk, you should see tightly packed, juicy kernels.

Cucumbers- If possible, don’t buy the waxed cucumbers. You will know it is waxed because it will have a shiny sheen and you can feel the wax. Cucumbers should be firm without wrinkles and soft spots. They can have variable color from light to dark green. The best ones are around 6 inches long.

Summer Squash- Whether you are selecting the yellow or green variety, choose squash that is about 5-6 inches in length. The bigger it is the more watery and fibrous it becomes.  You want firm, smooth, and shiny squash.

Lettuces- Most people do quite well selecting lettuce. Avoid the brown, wilted lettuce.

Beans- You want firm, spot free, wrinkle free, bright pole beans. When you bend them they should snap.

What other tips do you have for vegetables that I have not included?

I am one who tires of hearing I want candy..... All day every day until it is gone. So, here is what I do.

I make sure my kids eat a healthy, normal dinner before they head out. While we trick or treat they can eat 2 pieces of candy (that I inspect first). Once we get home they get to go through their candy and share with mom and dad (my favorite part). If it is a school night they may eat a few more pieces and then it is off to bed. When it is not a school night, like this year, I let them eat to their hearts (and stomachs) content. The next day whatever is left gets put into a big bucket and the candy is then used as rewards for various things. I potty trained my son with his Halloween candy as the reward. I put the candy out of site with the hope of out of site out of mind. Sometimes there is enough candy leftover for Christmas stockings.

It is ultimately up to you the parent to decide how much and when your children get to eat their candy. There is one big thing you should do though to eliminate any whining and complaining about the rules you impose. Lay down the rules and make sure each child understands before they even head out the door.

What do you do with all of the candy? Do you let your children eat it whenever or do you ration it out?

And don't forget to turn off your porch light if you are not handing out candy, not home, or out of candy. This will keep trick-or-treaters from ringing your doorbell all night.

• Small toys- Take a few of their small toys that they can play with. My son loves to take his Hot Wheels while my daughter likes ponies or babies. Remember to sanitize the toys when you leave to clean off any germs they picked up.
• Crayons- Take crayons and stickers to decorate the paper on the exam table in the room.
• Books- You might consider taking some books that your children like to read.
• Snacks- Depending on when your appointment time is, it might run over into a meal or snack time. If you have snacks on hand you can avoid the melt downs associated with hunger. Make sure it is a snack that won't leave a big mess.
• Magazines- Most offices have a stack of magazines. I sometimes hand each child a magazine and send them on a scavenger hunt to find different objects in the magazine. For example: find a purple flower, a ball, or a red car. This can keep them entertained for a while just make sure the objects aren't too hard to find.

These are just a few of the things I have tried.  I want to know what you do to help pass the long waits.  Please share your thoughts and ideas.

1. Always treat the stain as soon as possible. Dab or rinse with cold water if you cannot pre-treat it right away.
2. Know the type of fabric you are working with. If it is dry clean only then that is what you should do.
3. Know the type of stain. Water temperature can make a big difference in stain removal.  Some stains come out with hot water while others are made permanent with hot water.
4. Work from behind the stain. Turn fabric inside out and place on a clean cloth or paper towel to prevent further spreading.
5. Allow chemicals time to work. Some take time and rushing the process could lead to inadequate stain removal.
6. Do not rub excessively; this will lead to the fabric wearing down.
7. Test whatever chemicals you use on an inconspicuous place for color fastness. Don't use chemicals that will harm your clothing.

• Grass stains- Blot with cold water as soon as possible.  Use a pre-treating agent (Spray and Wash, Shout, Oxi-clean), rubbing alcohol, or vinegar. Let it soak overnight. Rinse with water. Rub normal laundry detergent on the spot and then wash as normal.  My favorite pre-treater is Oxi-Clean.
• Spaghetti Sauce Stains- Wet fabric and sprinkle with powdered dish detergent. Scrub gently with toothbrush. Rinse and launder as usual.
• Blood Stains- Pour hydrogen peroxide on and rinse with cold water.
• Ink Stains- Before washing blot with rubbing alcohol. I have heard that hair spray will work too.
• Berry Stains- Dab with lemon juice and flush with water.
• Deodorant Stains- Oxiclean is my favorite but you can also soak the garment in equal parts ammonia and water. Add a few Tablespoons of liquid dish soap and soak overnight.
• Soiled Collars- Take a small paint brush and brush on some shampoo to the soiled area. Shampoo was created to dissolve body oils.

These are just a few. I want to know, what are your favorite stain removers?

Mondays- wash the kitchen rags and towels

Tuesdays- wash the kids colors

Wednesdays- wash the adult colors

Thursdays- no laundry because this is my errand day.

Fridays- wash the whites

Saturday- wash the bath towels and rugs.

Sunday- day off.

It doesn't matter how you choose to do your laundry but here are some tips everyone could use.

• Laundry baskets- make sure everyone has their own basket for putting dirty clothes in. They also help for putting folded laundry in to carry to the rooms. My kids all share one that is in a central location of the bathroom since that is where most of the clothes end up. My husband and I have 2 baskets in our bathroom, one for colors and one for whites.
• Have a basket or bucket in the laundry room for wet items or items to be washed soon. I have a bucket for the rags and a mesh basket for the clothes that inevitably end up downstairs.
• Have shelves above the washer and dryer to hold laundry items like soap, fabric softener, and stain remover.
• Have a place to hang up clothes that go on hangers immediately after they get out of the dryer. I have an over the door clothes hook.
• Create a space to fold laundry and fold it as soon as it comes out of the dryer, this prevents too many wrinkles from forming.
• Most importantly, FINISH the laundry by putting it away immediately.

I will have a post next week about stain removers that work. If you have any great ones please let me know.

• If you have crayon on walls, furniture, any hard surface the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser works magic. You just get it wet and wipe. I would test it on a small part of what you are cleaning first just to make sure it won't ruin it but I haven't had a problem yet. You can get a free sample here as well as read how other people use it.

  

• On Carpet that is 100% polyester/rubber back/short pile spray it with a little WD-40 and then wipe clean with a soft cloth.
• For Carpeting scrape off as much crayon as you can with a knife or a spoon. spray the area with WD-40 and let sit. Work the stain out with a stiff bristle brush and then rinse out with liquid dish detergent and water.
• For clothing spray the area with WD-40 let stand and spray the other side. Apply liquid dish detergent and rub and work into a lather. Blot away the stain with paper towels. Wash clothing in hot water for 12 minutes with laundry detergent and color safe bleach.

If these tips don't work on your surface or you have a question about a particular surface or type of crayon you can visit Crayola and find a complete listing.

There are few things I hate but I can honestly say that I hate grabbing a dishrag to wipe down a table or counter and having it have that horrible, awful smell. You know what I'm talking about. I thought everyone knew how to get rid of the smell but I was mistaken. I was at a family member’s house and went to help out with the dishes. I grabbed the dishrag that was already out and instantly my nose hairs curled. I got a clean one out of the drawer and got it wet and the stink was there as well. That smell my dear friends, is the smell of bacteria. If you wipe things with rags/sponges that smell you are only spreading the bacteria around. So, how do you get that smell out?  Good old fashioned Bleach.