Take up knitting as a hobby. It’s a great way to better utilize time that would otherwise be wasted in front of the telly. Knitted garments make excellent gifts (like knitted underpants!). You may even find and tourists shops will stock uniquely New Zealand creations.
I buy good quality knitted items from second hand /church shops. Unpick the garments and wash the wool. You need to wind the wool around the legs of a chair or something similar, like someone’s hands if you have a helper to make a skein. Tie it loosely. Wash /soak for a while till all […]
Make the dishwasher detergent go even further. I kept an empty bottle and half filled it from a new one and added half with water and shake. Plenty of suds for normal use. Use the undiluted one for the big roast dinner clean-ups. Repeat when needed.
In today’s edition of The Northland Age someone wanted to know how to remove ballpoint pen marks from wallpaper. Although I haven’t used it on wallpaper, I have found methylated spirits gets it off painted walls and also clothing and upholstery. Use a white rag, cotton wool or white kitchen paper and dab or rub […]
Carpets need a clean? There is no doubt that the occasional steam clean does wonders for reviving worn carpet. Rather than call in the experts, you could for half the price hire a steam cleaner. Ask about the neighbourhood to see if there is anyone else that would like to have their carpets done. The […]
To get the smell of cat urine out of a fabric covered lounge suite try sponging with baking soda and water until just damp. Sprinkle baking soda onto this dampened patch, wait until it is dry, then vacuum off. Repeat if there is still an odour there. When dry, spray lightly with white vinegar (acts […]
To clean rust marks from clothing simply squeeze lemon juice on the stain then liberally coat with plain salt. Then place out in strong sunlight. You might have to repeat the process, but most times once does the trick.
Try lemon juice and salt to clean copper ornaments – or vinegar and salt and elbow grease.
My grandmother taught me to put about half a teaspoon of baking soda in the cup and add a splash of water to make it into a paste. Rub the inside of the cup with this solution and it will get rid of the stain. If it doesn’t work the first time, just add more […]
I have found that if you fill the stained mug or cup with water and drop in a generous dollop of bleach and leave it to stand- it cleans the mugs beautifully after about an hour. Rinse it out and wash as normal and there is no bleach taste or smell, just a nice shiny […]