Household Tip of the Week: Cleaning Hard Water Deposits

Here is a great idea for our area! We live in an area where the water is very hard, which means there are many minerals in the water. This causes problems anywhere water runs or drips such as: faucets, sink or shower drains, windows or shower doors, refrigerator water dispensers and the plates underneath that catch spills. These areas will often will accumulate hard water deposits that make them look dirty. The problem is it usually is hard to scrub off or clean up.

 

Here is a great solution! Soak a sponge or rag in white vinegar (use an inexpensive kind) and scrub. The water deposits will come off. It may take a minute and if the build up is stubborn soak it for a few minutes and try again! It will clean up the mess and you will have a sparkling clean shine!


A Scotch Brite pad and window cleaner also workes great on windows, and shower doors. Scotch brite pads can be found at "All a Dollar"!

Case Lot Sales

 Now is a great time to buy grocery staples for your food storage while prices are low. It will enable you to enjoy having a small stock of items that your family uses often without paying higher prices later in the year. This year due to the droughts in the mid-west grocery prices are projected to be high so think ahead and help your budget this winter!

Here are some tips for buying in bulk:

1- Only buy items your family uses often. (A sale is not a sale if you waste or do not use what you buy!)

2- Know everyday prices and buy items only if the case lot price is less than the price you usually pay for the item. (buying in bulk at a higher price is just paying more for more food.)

3- Buy cases that have been stored inside rather than out in the heat of a parking lot sale to preserve food quality.

4-  Rain Checks-  if the store is out of the item you need get a Rain Check to purchase the item when it is back in stock at the sale price. Make sure to get back to the store quickly before your rain check expires or you will have to pay full price.

5- Stay within your budget- if you can't afford it, don't buy it. (If you haven't already, start budgeting a little extra for some food storage in the fall when all the grocery sales are on.) Only spend money on sales that you have budgeted for food storage or use your grocery money for the week to buy at case lot sales.  Beware: If you use all your grocery budget on one or two items at a case lot sale, you may be eating the same thing for a week or two, so think ahead an budget for this time of year!

Here is a link to Harmon's Case Lot Sale for this week. 

It runs from Sept. 3-16, 2012.

http://www.harmonsgrocery.com/images/pdfs/buythecaseS12.pdf

Here is a link to Smith's Case Lot Sale:
http://smithsfoodanddrug.mywebgrocer.com/Circular/SMITHS-MARKETPLACE-475/004753334/Weekly/0/7 

*If you love to bake, budget a little money for October and November when the baking sales are on before the holidays. The prices on spices, chocolate chips, pie fillings, and baking supplies are usually the best of the year!

Quick Clean Ups

Keep those bathroom sinks and counters looking clean all week 

by using the hand towel that needs to be changed to shine up the sink and the vanity top.

• Just wet a corner of the towel and wipe down the whole counter, back-splash and inside the sink. 
• Shine the faucet.
• Then throw the towel in the laundry basket. 

The bathroom is sparkling in a minute or less! 

(This is a quick clean up especially after kids hurry off to school and work 

in the morning leaving the bathroom in less than perfect order.)

Tip of the Week

Organize and Share All in One!

From Janeel Burningham- 5th Ward Provident Living Leader
 

Every time a charitable organization calls for a donation of clothing or household items tell them you will be willing to donate. Then take 15-30 minutes and choose a closet to clean out. Fill a bag with donations and place it on your porch for pick up. This is an easy way to rotate closet cleaning and it benefits many people and charitable organizations!

*Another idea: place a basket or bag in your laundry room to gather out-grown or unneeded items until an organization calls for donations. Then empty both the closet items and the items from the basket into a donation bag.

Dishes That Sparkle Again

You may have noticed lately that your dishes come out of the dishwasher covered in hard water spots. You are doing everything the same and wonder if something is wrong with your dishwasher. Recently, dish-washing detergent was changed chemically to be more environmentally friendly. It is not your imagination and your dishwasher is fine. The detergent has changed.

To get rid of hard water spots on your dishes, try 'Lemi Shine' I found it at Walmart. The directions say fill the main wash receptacle with 'Lemi Shine', but I use only about 1/2 t. added along with my regular dishwasher detergent and it works great! If you notice your dishes looking spotted again fill the wash receptacle again for one wash and then go back to the smaller amount. I works! Give it a try.

Or try these remedies from the KSL TV news story by Sam Penrod, Feb. 1, 2011: 

"..home remedies include adding one-half to 1 teaspoon of baking soda, or you can try 1 teaspoon of white vinegar.
If you still have trouble, Marilyn Albertson, with the Utah State University Cooperative Extension Office Albertson has another recommendation.
'You can make a mix of a tablespoon of baking soda and a tablespoon of borax and put that in your detergent cup and then wash,' she said"