Handy Household Hints from Heloise: Hundreds of Great Ideas at Your Fingertips - Softcover

Heloise

 
9781605291987: Handy Household Hints from Heloise: Hundreds of Great Ideas at Your Fingertips
Softcover
ISBN 10: 1605291986 ISBN 13: 9781605291987
Verlag: Harmony/Rodale/Convergent, 2010

Inhaltsangabe

Do EVERYTHING Around the House
• Better
• Smarter
• Faster

Heloise is America's most recognized name for household advice, and she shares her innovative solutions for your most-pressing dilemmas. Whether you need shortcuts for everyday tasks, delicious ideas for quick meals, or ingenious tricks for the spills, accidents, and clogs in your day, just turn to Handy Household Hints from Heloise.

You'll learn how to:
• Clean a keyboard with a used dryer sheet.
• Remove hot pepper seeds with a grapefruit spoon.
• Lift scuff marks with plain, white paper.
• Corral electrical cords with a ponytail holder.

Discover Heloise's most creative ideas and tips for cleaning up, entertaining with ease, making repairs, getting organized, taking care of yourself, coping with nuisances, and keeping house. Filled with up-to-the-minute hints, you'll turn to this handbook whenever you've burnt the rice, stained your shirt, or splattered paint on your hands.

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Heloise is one of the most recognized lifestyle managers in the world. Her column appears 7 days a week in more than 500 newspapers in the United States and foreign countries, and she is a frequent guest on national television and radio, where she shares her insight for saving time, saving work, and saving money.

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

Chapter 1 Clutter Busters and Organizers

This chapter is all about getting control of your stuff. The first step is to get rid of clutter--the stuff you don't use and don't need. You will find loads of hints for reusing or recycling the items you don't want anymore. There are also creative ideas for using household items in new and different ways. You'll see tips on donating and selling things, too. Then, you've got to organize the stuff you have left, and you'll find lots of suggestions for organizing all around the house. So dig in!

Clutter Busting 101

Here are some ways to stop clutter from controlling your home and life. It seems every closet and room is filled with too much stuff!

First, learn my clutter-busting motto: "A few minutes or a few things." Every day, take just a few minutes to clean up or to pick up just a few items. You'll be surprised how easy it can be to keep on top of things.

Here are seven hints for stopping that clutter from taking over:

1. If you can't locate what you are searching for in several minutes, it's time to rethink where things belong. The more often you use an item, the closer it should be. 2. Enlist the whole family, not just Mom, to climb on the decluttering and organizing bandwagon. 3. If one room or area is beginning to look messy and cluttered, tackle it ASAP! 4. Give the living room, den, or common area a quick pickup before going to bed. 5. Toss out or put papers in the recycle bin every day, including newspapers and magazines. 6. Keep lists or inventories of what you already have. If you don't need it, don't buy it. 7. If something new comes into your home, many people say something old should go out.

BUST THAT CLUTTER!

Take little steps to get control of your life. Little steps throughout the week can add up to big changes (and less to do) in the long run.

. Clean one shelf in the refrigerator, freezer, or makeup or medicine cabinet. Throw out dated, old, smelly, or just plain bad items. . Write one thank-you, hello-how-are-you, or thinking-of-you note or letter a week. I mean a real letter or note that is mailed with a stamp and for which you hand-address the envelope. Not e-mail, but handwritten. It can be just a few lines, but it will be much appreciated and probably kept! . Take a few minutes each week to clean out and toss trash from a purse, briefcase, or auto glove compartment. I have one friend who cleans out her purse (sitting next to a trash can if possible) while waiting (and sometimes waiting and waiting) in a doctor's office. . Have a houseplant that needs a little extra care? Move it to a spot that you will see daily so you can give it the PLC (plant loving care) that it deserves. . Go through magazines and books and see which ones (even if only a few) can be passed on or recycled.

Pick up as you go. Never carry one item to its place without looking for others needing to be put away in the same spot. Whenever you leave one room to go to another, look around to see if there is anything you can take with you to another room. Always check, on your return, for items needing to go to your next destination. It will make picking up easier, and rooms will stay uncluttered.

Downsize now. Don't wait until you are forced to downsize in older age. Start doing it now. Once a year, go through jewelry boxes and take an inventory. Some pieces may no longer have any use to you (pierced earrings when you use clip-on styles, or other articles no longer appropriate for your age or circumstances).

Bundle up items you no longer like or are able to wear and give them to your favorite charity thrift store.

Some items may no longer be wearable but have great sentimental value. Keep those in a special box. When you are feeling blue, they will comfort you. As for the others, wear them. Wear them while shopping, going to work, or on outings, and they will remind you of happy times--and remind you to slow down and smell the roses.

Once a year, go through those closets. Put aside the pocketbooks and belts that are too small or too large, dresses that no longer fit, and those nearly new shoes that are uncomfortable, as well as all the scarves hat go with outfits you no longer own.

My Five-Point Plan for Busting Clutter

Are your organizing and cleaning chores overwhelming you? Does clutter control your household? Don't let it! What you need to do is try my five- point plan for clutter control. You either spend only 5 minutes or deal with only five items at a time. You would really be surprised at what you can accomplish in just a few minutes. Here's a room-to-room guide with suggestions of a few things you can do in just 5 minutes!

Bathroom

--Wipe off the counter and sink. --Clean out one drawer. --Clean the mirror. --Toss five outdated medicines or makeup items. --Clean the toilet.

Bedroom

--Clean under the bed. --Do a quick dusting. --Organize one drawer. --Straighten the top of the dresser. --Go through magazines and books.

Kitchen

--Give one shelf in the fridge a quick wipe-down. --Wipe off the top of the refrigerator/cabinets. --Clean the floor. --Take out the garbage. --Toss five things from the utilities drawer.

Living Room

--Do a quick top dusting. --Clean and straighten coffee tables. --Pick up and put away shoes, hats, and backpacks. --Vacuum a chair or the sofa. --Clean out one stereo or book cabinet.

Another way to get a lot of small things done is to do them during the commercial breaks while watching a favorite TV show. Give it a try, and you will be amazed!

Clean and bundle up this material and give it to your favorite charity thrift store. Don't replace anything unless you get rid of something first. You will revel in the empty closet space and feel good that someone else can enjoy your nice pieces.

Once a year, also go through your books, jigsaw puzzles, and games. Gather up glasses, plates, and pots and pans you no longer use. Your favorite charity thrift store will recycle them to new users.

Stash appliance cords. Appliance cords can clutter up kitchen counters when the appliances aren't in use. Make a nifty storage container to get each cord out of the way. Take an orange juice can that has been opened on both ends. (Drink the juice first!) Put some pretty adhesive-backed paper around the can that matches your kitchen. Unplug your cord and wind it inside the can.

Get rid of all those plastic bags. You can recycle plastic grocery bags, but the best way to rid your house of them is not to bring them home in the first place! Try to remember to take reusable cloth bags into the store when you go. You might also want to carry a few folded plastic bags in your coat pocket just in case you forget. But you won't have extras to deal with anymore.

Get rid of excess food boxes. Half-empty boxes of cocoa mixes, granola bars, and other packaged foods take up space in the pantry. If you have ample counter space, fill several baskets with the assorted packets and keep them on the counter with the fruit bowl. They look nice, the items are right at hand during the morning rush, and your pantry is now neater. Whenever you open a new box of some item, put all the individual packets right into a basket, and the box into the recycling bin. Who knows? You might just eat more oatmeal!

Declutter cleaning supplies. To get rid of clutter under the sink, hold an annual "spray meeting." Collect all the sprays and cleaning solutions below your kitchen and bathroom sinks in one place. Then sort them, making sure your kitchen and bathrooms have exactly the right sprays or cleaning products they will need. Redistribute a bottle if one bathroom has too much and another one has too little.

Use empty spray...

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Verlag
Harmony/Rodale/Convergent
Erscheinungsdatum
2010
Sprache
Englisch
ISBN 10 
1605291986
ISBN 13 
9781605291987
Einband
Taschenbuch
Anzahl der Seiten
416
Kontakt zum Hersteller
Nicht verfügbar
Verantwortliche Person
gpsr@libri.de
gpsr@libri.de

Friedensallee 273
Hamburg
22763
Deutschland

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