http://www.realsimple.com/new-uses-for-old-things/new-uses-cleaning/print-index.html

http://www.coffeelightandsweet.com/2012/05/how-to-break-in-your-shoes-in-less-than.html

Hints for Housewives 

Useful and diverting advice taken from Grandmothers' Lore, a book by Simone Sekers; a collection of quaint ideas, rural customs and tips past and present on all aspects of home care.

The Perfect Housewife: 'Chaste of thoughts, stout courage, patient, untired, watchful, diligent, witty, pleasant, constant in friendship, full of good Neighbourhood, wise in discourse, but not frequent therein, sharp and quick of speech but not bitter or talkative, secret in her affairs, comfortably in her Counsels, and generally skillful in the worthy knowledges which do belong to her vocation'  Gervase Markham, 1615 (English poet and writer.  see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gervase_Markham.)

Beneficial teas, tonics and infusions can be made from herbs:

• Blackcurrant tea made from the leaves relieves hoarseness and sore throats, best sipped hot.
• Elderberry wine is good for colds.
• Mallow tea made from the flowers with a little added honey soothes an infected throat or mouth.

Bee stings are said to be cures for rheumatism and arthritis.  I have also heard it said that nettle stings help relieve symptoms.

For a hangover cure  mix the juice of a freshly-squeezed orange, or lemon, with a large spoonful of honey, add two ice cubes and repeat every hour.

Cold weather liniment: mix 1 part oil of cloves and 9 parts camphorated oil and rub into aching muscles, especially after gardening on a damp, cold day.

Rheumatism - carry a potato or a nutmeg in a hip pocket, or wear a cast-off snake skin as a garter.

Chilblains - rub with a raw onion, or methylated spirit, or apply a poultice of raw turnip. Or mix 2 tbsp honey, 2 tbsp glycerine, and the white of 1 egg with enough cornflour to make a paste.  Apply after bathing the feet and allow to dry.

Cold tea is apparently soothing for sunburn.

Lemon juice is a good nail strangthener and cleaner - use an orange stick dipped in lemon juice to clean under the nails after doing vegetables or gardening.

For hiding scratches on furniture try rubbing the scratch with half a freshly cut Brazil nut.

Collect fir cones whenever possible to use as fire lighters, and save orange and lemon peel for the same purpose - all contain quantities of natural oils which will start off a fire well. And presumably will smell rather nice.

To clean decanters.  There are several remedies for removing the deposit from the bottom of decanters and water bottles, all equally effective.  All involve adding the substance to water in the decanter and swirling it around until the deposit is removed: crushed egg-shell; grated raw potato and a little vinegar; lead shot; sand (effective but not always easy to rinse out); mustard seed (which absorbs any stale smell as well), but never use detergent of any sort.

Wicker baskets last longer if scrubbed every so often with soapy water or salt and then dried outside.

Rush matting will last longer in a centrally heated atmosphere if it is sprayed about three times a year with a fine garden spray.

Cracked stone hot water bottles (or ones with no washers) can be re-used with salt instead of water.  Fill the bottle with kitchen salt and heat in a low oven; as salt retains heat well, this tip is particularly good for invalids, and far safer than using an electric blanket.

To revive the bounce in old tennis balls warm it gently in a low oven overnight (especially useful for those with Agas).

A 17C polish. Melt beeswax and infuse crushed sweet cicely seeds in it for several days.  Strain out the seeds and allow wax to harden.  This involves a great deal of rubbing as the polish is sticky but the smell is lovely.

Victorian weather-proofing for boots and shoes: Mix neats'-foot oil (from saddlers) with melted beeswax to a cream, colouring it with drawing ink to match the shoes.  This is a very good way of protecting children's shoes from getting scuffed.

Shoe trees can be made from old socks.  Put the socks into the shoes and fill with sawdust or bran, packing well. Cut off the tops of the socks around 3/4" above the tops of the shoes, and sew or staple them together firmly.  These are very useful for drying out damp shoes, as both sawdust and bran will absorb the moisture; dry out the shoe trees before re-using.

Linen can be bleached by the light of a full moon, as well as by sunlight.

Try making up mustard powder with sherry when serving it with roast beef, or steak and kidney pie.

Dried bay leaves will keep better if stored in an airtight contained with a piece of cotton rag dipped in olive oil.

Old gardeners are supposed to have removed their trousers and sat on the soil to see if it was warm enough to sow.  To avoid embarrassment in town gardens, testing for warmth with your elbow, as you test a baby's bath water, should be as effective.  The reason for this is that the temperature of the air is no indication of the temperature of the soil.

A large vase of marigolds on the kitchen table is supposed to absorb cooking smells and stop the smells permeating the house. (Pic from: http://gardenersblog.jerseyplantsdirect.com/?p=3779)

Milk keeps quite well in hot weather if the bottle is wrapped in wet newspaper, although the newspaper should not be allowed to dry out.  This is a useful tip if you find yourself without a fridge.

To keep bread fresh, store a well scrubbed dry potato in the bin with the bread.

To keep cake fresh, keep an apple in the tin.

Rhubarb leaves and apple or potato peelings are all useful to clean burnt saucepans.  Boil up a handful of one of these in the pan to be treated, then leave the whole panful to stand overnight.  The burnt bits should be very easy to clean the next morning (NB Not recommended for enamel pans).

Southernwood, tansy, feverfew and lavender will all keep flies out of the kitchen and larder.

Bottled fruit can be made particularly good by adding extra flavourings to the bottled syrup. Try:

• Elder-flowers with gooseberries.
• Cinnamon sticks and cloves with damsons.
• Grated orange peel and brown sugar with rhubarb.
• Madeira or sweet sherry with plums.
• Currant leaves with the currants, black, white or red.
• A Vanilla pod with apricots.

If the sun shines through the apple trees upon a Christmas Day: When autumn comes they will a load of fruit display.

Snow pancakes: make your usual batter and, just as you are ready to make the pancake, whisk into the batter a handful of snow (made powdery by a hard frost - not damp snow).  The pancakes will be particularly light and crisp. (We probably don't get enough snow here to try this out, so it'll be interesting to ask someone who lives in snowier climes.)

If you walk over frosted lawns it kills the grass and you will have a train of brown footprints in the spring.

A green Christmas will make a full churchyard by spring.
_______

* some of these are from Grandmothers' Lore by Simone Sekers (Hoddern & Stoughton).

Lots of ideas for cleaning are at this site: http://www.instructables.com/tag/type-id/category-living/channel-cleaning/

Must try this!!
For cleaning carpets use one part ammonia and one part hot water. Spray this liberally on the stain, lay on a clean white towel on top and iron.  Within literally seconds the stain will start to come away - on to the towel.
(From: http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2011/12/homemade-carpet-stain-removerno.html)

In this country we have the worst of both worlds when it comes to water*:
privatised companies but no competition.  


And most householders in England and Wales receive bills where the price is fixed, depending on a home's 'rateable value'. Council Tax bandings are based on the value of a home in 1989, based roughly on how much your home could be rented out for.  
With Council Tax banding you can challenge your banding if you think it's too high (see www.mse.me/council) but there's absolutely no facility to allow challenges to the rates-based water bills.
But it's not all bad news as we can take some action ourselves.  
Apparently, it's often worth having a water meter, with the rule of thumb being that if there are more bedrooms in your home than people it's probably worth changing to a meter.  
As water bills are mainly based on house value, a large, sparsely populated home is likely to be disproportionately costly.  Plus, as meters are free, switching should be worthwhile (except in Scotland where you have to pay).  
Not everyone will save, so try online calculators at the Consumer Council for Water (ccwater.org.uk) or at uswitch.com/water, or ring your local water company to ask for their formal calculation, but first take note of these points:  

• If your savings are going to be minimal, don't switch.  
• You're allowed to switch back within a year (or a month after your second measured bill, whichever is later), so you can change your mind.
• Some people say that having a water meter could put off house purchasers, but meters are likely to be rolled out across the country some time, so this isn't really a problem. (When we moved into this house, some five years ago, the water bill would have been £1,400 per year, so we immediately had a water meter installed and our bills plummeted to about £600 a year, so well worth the change)

Take regular meter readings to keep the bills more accurate.  
Also, there is a scheme called Water-Sure, which gives reductions for people in receipt of benefits who either look after more than two children or have a medical condition which requires higher water usage.  To see if you qualify for the Water-Sure Tariff which caps your bills, see ofwat.gov.uk.

If the water company won't give you a meter, for instance in blocks of flats, ask for an 'assessed tariff' which is a rough assessment of how much water you're likely to use, and thus how much you'd pay on a meter.

And, if you live alone you may also be eligible for a lower Single Occupancy Tariff.  Many people make substantial savings with this option.

ALSO: Water bills usually assume that what goes in must come out and therefore roughly 90% of the water used will manifest itself in sewerage.  
Yet if you live in a small town or village and have a 'soakaway', ie a pit of gravel that collects surface rainwater, you'll send less water through the sewers and should ask for money deducted from your bill.
The same goes for anyone on a meter who has a swimming pool in their garden.  If you're pumping a large volume of water from an outside tap that isn't being washed away down the drain, yh ou're due a discount.
If you're not even connected to the mains sewerage, and have a septic tank or cesspit, you don't have to pay sewerage charges at all.  If  you water company makes a fuss about giving you a rebate, contact the Consumer Council for Water.


Top Thirteen Water-Saving Tips:

1. For meter users, saving water automatically saves money.
2. For those who are billed, a big chunk of home energy costs come from heating water - use less and you cut that, too.
3. 'If it's yellow, let it mellow; if it's brown flush it down' is a good mantra to remember, if you can.
4. Bathe together, it could be fun!
5. Whilst running the tap to temperature, store the water. Fill up empty bottles while you wait for it to cool down or heat up. Plus stand a washing up bowl in the shower to collect excess water (we use a silver (coloured) plastic bucket - looks chic). Use what you get for flushing the loo, or for garden and house plants.
6. Save up washing up, dishwashing or clothes-washing.  Wait until the sink, dishwater or washing machine is full for maximum efficiency.  A good excuse to delay chores!
7. Water the garden with water from sink - or even from washing machine and baths - if possible.
8. Mulch the garden plants. Cover them with wood chippings or leaf mould to retain moisture for longer, so less watering
9. Fit dual-flush buttons on your loo. It's easy to do and there can be good savings.
10. Shave and save, just use one mug of water while shaving to get rid of hair, don't use a running tap.
11. Turn the shower off until you're ready to rinse.  If you're stepping outside the flow, turn the tap off. Same applies when brushing teeth.
12. Install one - or more - water butts in the garden. As well as being useful for water plants, also good for washing off vegetables, cleaning boots etc.
13. Don't miss out on freebees: to help cut usage, water companies offer a mass of water-saving freebies, including save-a-flushes, bath buoys, shower timers, efficient showerheads and more, see MoneySavingExpert.com.

Now, all we need to do is to persuade our other halfs to join us in these water-saving plans ...

We saw/used one of these when in Scotland recently! The loo cistern fills up via the tap.
from: http://oddity.quirkdesign.co.uk/2010/08/25/unique-water-savers/

Other interesting and helpful sites include:
http://www.yorkshirewater.com/save-water-and-money/free-water-saving-pack-and-tips.aspx
http://www.futurefriendly.co.uk/tips.aspx#4
http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/england/In-your-home/Water?gclid=CMvBrpmTya8CFZARfAodUAuSYQ
http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/england/In-your-home/Water/Water-saving-links

It doesn't just come out of the tap!

* According to Martin Lewis, creator of MoneySavingExpert.com

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/consumertips/household-bills/9163251/Water-bills-double-in-ten-years.html

Household Tips from 1982

Bathroom tiles - clean with mixture of water and vinegar
Sticky fingermarks on walls - potato, then damp sponge
Odd earrings - use as brooches
Greasy skin - natural yoghurt
Dry hands and feet - mix one egg to 1 tbsp olive oil.  put on, cover up, leave overnight.
Fertilizer - nettles soaked in water for two weeks (caution, it pongs!)
Before gardening - soap on nails

Before painting - rub paintwork with cloth dipped in white spirit
Door mat - sprinkle on coffee grounds then brush well 
Add one egg white to 1/4 pt double cream to make it go further
To keep avocados ripe, store in flour
Chrome - bicarbonate of soda
Diamonds - toothbrush and toothpowder
Windows - damp crumpled newspaper
Venetian blinds - using the hands, wear damp gloves
Brass - cardboard frame behind
Mirrors - glycerine
Copper - lemon juice, rinsing afterwards
Painty brushes - simmer in malt vinegar

Wood

• Clean dirty wooden furniture - half water/half vinegar
• Heat/water marks on wood - rub with metal polish, go with the grain, or try turpentine - or a Brazil nut
• If highly polished try steel wool and linseed oil
• Keep colour of Mahogany - beer/tea
• Wine - cigarette ash with linseed oil
• Scratches - warm iron on damp cloth, for small ones use iodine, shoe polish
• Faded wood - polish, scratch cover
• Chips and holes - use plastic wood
• Furniture polish - 1 egg cup paraffin, 1 egg cup vinegar, soak four dusters in this in screw top jar
• Don't use washing soda on aluminium!
• Anodised aluminium  - don't use abrasive cleaners

Household tips and hints from 2006

Looking Good in 2012

Ideas from makers of a well known sugar substitute:





1   Bin the Thin.  Every woman has two or three outfits she is holding on to for the day when 'they fit again'.  Shocking news: that day may never come.  And if it does, then you'll be out there celebrating with a whole new look - not wearing unfashionable clothes.


2  Avoid Eating up a Size.  Most of us have 'comfort clothes'. Clothes whose size labels are a couple of digits above normal.  Within a week of putting them on you'll expand to fit them. Out with comfort clothes!


3  The Belt Trick: Belts are wonderful - and they'll let you know when you need to cut back of the treats.


4  Don't Overdo the Jewellery.  We can never have too much jewellery, but we don't need to wear it all at once.  Jewellery should be part of the overall picture, so never more than two pieces.  Sparkle!, don't blind the viewer.




5  Go Nude.  A pair of neutral court shoes will take you anywhere, a simple add-on to help lift any outfits.For short people, opt for pointy toes as they'll elongate the leg.



6  Recycle.  Our wardrobes hide gems which, with help from a tailor, can be given a new lease of life.  Result: a new on-trend item.


7  Black isn't Slimming. The old adage that it makes you appear thinner can leave you looking like a blob. Unless it's well fitted and accentuates your curves, avoid.  If you must wear black, make sure your shoes are a different colour, and consider a good belt.


8  The Must-have Item.  We may be sworn off ice cream, but that doesn't mean we have to eschew delicious colours: lime, strawberry, orange, pistachio ... Just putting on these colours will cheer you up.

Masses and Masses of Incredibly Interesting Facts and Fab Pictures

Anyone who knows me well will know that I collect bits of paper, not any old bit of paper, but interesting newspaper and magazine articles and fun pictures (esp the ads) but they take up lots of space and are very heavy when I do need to move them. 

 A good example: It's a recent ad in a magazine 
(no idea what for!) and and I love it.

Somehow, it's so difficult to sort them out and decide what's important and what isn't.  It seems that only after about 20 years do some of these become less interesting or even irrelevant, although others are iconic.


However, I saw an article in an old magazine today which might help me, and others, to start sorting through official paperwork. It says:
"Hang on to accounts and tax returns for six years, in case the taxman demands a recount.  It's also wise to keep receipts for big purchases for six years, in case you need to claim.  Then sort the must-haves from the disposable by dividing papers into four categories.  In 'keep for ever'  put birth, marriage and exam certificates, and anything legal.  'Essential' is for your passport, insurance and employment details, health records, benefits and pensions.  Separate the rest into 'need it soon' (tax, receipts, current contracts and bank statements (if you get them)) and 'need it now' (mostly bills).  Then shred and recycle what's left.  Don't panic if you accidentally destroy a vital document - almost everything is also stored online, including your house deeds."


Well, that takes care of most of our filing cabinet but there's still the (many) boxes of interesting stuff to sort through and filter, perhaps put them on the computer and save on external hard drive?  . . . roll on the winter when I might get round to it . . . . 

Ways to Change Your Life

1. Get a promotion
2. Listen to your partner
3. Write your first novel
4. Wear sun screen all year round
5. Edit your wardrobe
6. Eat properly
7. Buy a dermaroller
8. Find out how happy couples stay happy
9. Have a baby before you're 33
10. Review your investments
11. Be a good parent
12. Get the right healthcare
13. Get a new best friend
14. Slow down
15. Don't join a gym
16. Have an open mind about sex
17. Think yourself happy
18. Find a man with a low disgust factor
19. Release your inner Judy Garland
20. Take time to stare at the night sky
21. Get some sun
22. Start saving for next Christmas
23. Improve your networking skills
24. If you're not enjoying your job, quit
25. Do some voluntary work
26. Learn something every day
27. Be a good friend
28. Eat less
29. Enjoy being near water
30. Go to bed early
31. Regularly enjoy the outdoors
32. And .... eat less chocolate?