The women of Spokane Baptist put together this list of tips and
ideas at a recent “Titus 2 meeting” to help other women.
We hope these are a blessing to you!
• Read a Proverb every day. Start on the 1st of the month with
Proverbs 1 and go through the entire book reading one a day. A few
of my favorites:
o Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own
understanding (3:5)
o The fear of the Lord is the begining of wisdom and knowledge
of the Holy One is understanding. (9:10)
o He (she) who walks with wise men (women) will be wise, but
the companion of fools will suffer harm. (13:20)
o ...But happy is he who is gracious to the poor.(14:21)
o A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up
anger. (15:1)
o A joyful heart makes a cheerful face (15:13) In other words,
SMILE!!!
o Pleasant words are a honeycomb sweet to the soul and healing
to the bones. (16:24)
o Even a fool when he keeps silent is considered wise; when he
closes his lips, he is counted prudent. (17:28)
o Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old
he will not depart from it. (22:6)
o Do not boast about tomorrow for you do not know what a day
may bring forth.(27:1)
o Riches are not forever, not does a crown endure to all
generations.(27:24)
o Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears
the Lord, she shall be praised.(31:30)
• Cut dryer sheets in half; that is plenty to soften your clothes.
• Gardening: Plant rhubarb and enjoy it for many years. Always take a
start of a perennial when a friend or neighbor offers it. Plant a few
perennials every year and they will grow and multiply. Plant a lilac
bush.
• Read the "Help Meet" book from cover to cover and then start over
again.
• Read to your children from a very early age and they will learn to
appreciate books and reading.
• My favorite word when it comes to diet and exercise is
"moderation".
• When shopping, ask yourself if you really need it, or do you simply
want it. Buy classic styles that will last for many years; trendy things
go out of style quickly.
• Vacation- When getting ready for vacation use a laundry basket to
store the things that you are going to take as you gather them the
weeks prior. A laundry basket is also a good way to carry your food
when you are going to pot lucks or picnics. You only have to make
one trip to the car.
• Leftovers-My favorite storage containers are the glass Pyrex with the
plastic lids. You can get them in sets or buy them individually. My
favorite size is the 7x5 (3cup). It works great for making up individual
servings with leftovers. Label them with masking tape and a Sharpee
and put them in the freezer. Use them when you are in a hurry or
need a quick meal. You can also take them in your lunch and
microwave them at lunch time. The round ones work good for
individual servings of leftover soup.
• Greeting Cards-Micheal's has nice packs of note cards for 10 for
$1.00. If you watch through out the year you can get some really
cute ones. Put them in a box and you will be ready for any occasion.
You can even get rubber stamps that say: Happy Birthday, Thank
You, Happy Anniversary, Get Well etc. Stamp just the right saying for
your occasion.
• Cleaner-Add a few drops of essential oils (lemon, orange,
peppermint) to baking soda and make your own sink cleaner.
• If you are baking and have run out of eggs, you can substitute eggs
with cornstarch;
• One egg = 2 Tablespoons Cornstarch
• Also, for extra moist cakes & brownies, add 1/4-1/2 cup of
applesauce.
• Humming bird Feeder Pest Control: To help eliminate yellow jackets,
wasps, and other flying insects landing on your hummingbird feeder,
dip a q-tip in a scented powder (body powder works well) and cover
the entire surface of the part of the feeder that has the feeding
portals. Just be careful you don't get any of the powder in the holes.
I usually don't put any of the powder on the "flowers". The little
critters don't like the feel of the powder on their footsies. But it
doesn't bother the hummers. Seems to work well. Just need to
apply occasionally.
• Also,a dob of Vaseline around the hanging wire (string, chain, etc).
will stop ants and other insects from crawling down onto the feeder.
• Using hydrogenperoxide on blood spots on clothing gets it out
• Buy in bulk- buy large quantities of non-perishables and things you
use often. You can often get a case discount.
• Buy fruit and vegetable seconds. They are usually reduced in price
significantly. They may need to be used sooner, but still taste just as
good.
• Check the temperature of your freezer for maximum shelf life of
frozen foods. To maintain top quality frozen foods should be
maintained at 0F or lower. Remember that frozen foods, when
thawed, spoil quicker than fresh foods.
• To store seeds from year to year put the seeds in a canning jar (with
some of those moisture absorbers that come in vitamin bottles), seal
tightly and place in the refrigerator.
• If you want to buy fancy bar soap you can keep if from getting gross
and grimy by cutting the original bar into several smaller pieces.
Then you can just use one smaller piece at a time.
• Old toothbrushes work great for cleaning hard to reach places.
• Old Fashioned Christian Radio is an online radio of sacred music. You
can also find good CDs in the accompanying store.
http://www.oldchristianradio.com/
• Be consistent. For instance I wash sheets every Wednesday. It works
well to pick a day of the week and stick with it so it gets done
regularly and becomes automatic.
• How to tell if your (past dated) eggs are fresh. Fill a glass with water
and place the egg inside. If the egg sinks to the bottom it is still good
and will be for a while. If it floats to the middle of the glass it is still
good but you should use it soon. If it floats all the way to the top you
should throw it away.
• Liquid kitchen waste (fat, grease, etc.) can be put in a container and
frozen until garbage day.
• If you buy a foaming soap you can reuse the bottle. It saves you on
soap since you need to fill it about 1/8 with soap and the rest with
water.
• Fels-Naptha, a bar soap you find with the laundry detergents at the
store is good for stains. Just wet the area and rub the bar of soap
onto it.
• When you fold your sheets if you put them in one of the pillow cases
the set will stay together.
• Use the library. You don't have to subscribe to magazines because
the library does. You can read them at the library or check out past
issues (I usually try to get the issue from the same month 1 year
prior.) Also if the library doesn't have a book you want, you can
request it and they may purchase it.
• Walmart will accept all competitors’ coupons and will price match if
you bring in another store's ad. http://walmartstores.com/7655.aspx
• Something I've started doing recently, since I like writing notes on
any little scrap of paper, is making a blank To-Do list and then either
laminating it or covering it with contact paper. Then I can write my
notes with a wet erase marker and try to cut down on the little paper
scraps everywhere.
• Freeze corn with the husk on. Keeps great that way.
• Use Basic H to treat burns
• Before purchasing something, check the local prices (can do some of
this online) and then check online at Ebay or Amazon. Often you can
get a much better price. Some ebay sellers offer free shipping and
Amazon has free shipping on many items. I often check Amazon’s
buyers reviews of products to see what the best one might be.
• Before buying anything online, right before I purchase, I do a search
for coupons for that online store. Often I will find free shipping or a
10% off coupon! Here’s one site you could use:
http://www.retailmenot.com/
• Cook bacon in the oven- is so much easier and less messy. Cover
bottom of pan with low sides with foil. Place bacon in single layer.
Bake at 400 until done. Pour grease off into old can. Discard foil and
pan is easy to clean. Make extra cooked bacon and store in
refrigerator. Reheat to use.
• Throw your used coffee grounds around your rhododendron bush.
They like it and it improves the soil.
• Sign up for a Google account (even if you don’t want to use the
email) and use the Google calendar. It is one of my very favorite
things to keep me organized. You can share a calendar with others if
you want (husband, kids) and if one makes a change the other will
get the change, too. Josh and I use that for keeping track of church
stuff. You can have lots of different calendars within your calendar,
all nicely color coded. I have personal, church, birthdays, gardening
and special events calendars. And I can easily search for things this
way. It also has a task list that I really like.
• Use allrecipes.com If you can decide what to make, do an
ingredient search (of items you have on hand) and get ideas.
• Never beat egg whites in a plastic bowl- there’s usually some residual
grease and they won’t whip.
• If you have lots of tomatoes from your garden and not enough time
to deal with them, just wash them, put them on trays and freeze
them. Then put in bags and freeze whole. Then in the winter when
things are slower you can make your tomato sauce.
• If you have something you want to get rid of, but it’s old or broken or
too heavy to move easily, list it on Craigslist in the Free section and
usually you’ll get someone to come the same day and happily take
your item. Saves on time, labor and disposal fees!
• Hair conditioner works great to make shaving your legs easier.
• Use a drip system with a timer to water your containers outside. You
can then water them two or three times a day and keep your plants
happy even in hot weather.
• Buy a rotisserie chicken at the store for less than $5 and have an easy
meal for that night, use the leftovers for another meal and then
simmer the carcass covered in water in a pot for about an hour.
Remove carcass and refrigerate broth. Remove any fat that has
hardened after broth is cold. Freeze for use whenever recipe calls for
chicken broth. It has lots of flavor and not all the added salt.
• Use the water-pick like attachment that goes in your shower to keep
your gums healthy. It’s inexpensive, not messy, and doesn’t take up
counter space. Check them out at Amazon.com, search for oral
irrigators. I use the shower breeze type.
• Back up the files on your computer. Try carbonite.com for about
$50/year and get lots of peace of mind.
• Keep your computer in a public area and keep the door to the room
open to help users avoid temptation to visit sites that are
inappropriate.
• If you have trouble staying on top of the housework, commit yourself
to having someone over each week. This keeps you motivated to
clean up those troublesome spots that you would otherwise ignore.
It also makes you a hospitable person
• Drinking 16 ounces of ice water requires the body to burn 17.5
calories to warm the water up to body temperature. The
recommended daily intake of water is 64 ounces (eight 8-ounce
glasses). The body will burn 70 calories if this amount is consumed as
ice water.
• To retrieve something dropped down a drain, use a pencil or a piece
of yarn with a dab of superglue on the end. Place it in the drain, wait
a few seconds for it to bond, and voila!
• Instead of Windex, use ¼ cup vinegar diluted in 2 quarts of warm
water for streak free windows.
• Always have your keys in your hand before heading to your parked
car. Not only does this save you from standing vulnerable next to
your car fumbling around in your purse, but if you were attacked you
could use your sharp keys as a weapon. Most attackers are looking
for an easy target. If you fight back even slightly, they’re likely to
move on.