Recent Hints
Find the reason behind nail biting online
If you are spending money on solutions to put an end to nail biting, it could pay to instead get to the bottom of WHY you are doing it! Nail biting is associated with anxiety, because the act of chewing on nails reportedly relieves stress, tension, or boredom. People who habitually bite their nails often report that they do so when they feel nervous, bored, lonely, or even hungry. For more information, visit this link:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/conditions/onychophagia-nail-biting
By: Jo Carson 2 responses in the members' forumAn apple a day keeps green potatoes away!
I have solved the problem of green potatoes in our household! I was constantly throwing out potatoes as we never seemed to go through a whole bag of potatoes in time before they turned green. We are only a small family but I didn't want to buy smaller bags, as the larger bags were so much cheaper. Fortunately I discovered a way to extend the life of them and it's so easy! All you need to do is to keep them in an aerated spot in a gunny bag or bowl (basically out of plastic) with a whole apple . The gases from the apple stops the potatoes from going green, doubling the shelf life of the potatoes. Needless to say, make sure you also check the apple each time you use the potatoes to make sure it's not going bad!
By: Harini 7 responses in the members' forumHottest Hints
Half price ricotta
Make your own ricotta cheese and save at least 50% on the inferior product you buy at the shops!
Whenever I buy ricotta cheese it usually goes off in the fridge while I figure out what to do with it! But recently, Better Homes and Gardens featured a very simple recipe for ricotta made from scratch.
Ingredients:
2L milk
4 tbsp white vinegar
Method:
Heat the milk until you see small bubbles at the side of the pan. Turn off the element and add the vinegar. Strain the curds off the top and then drain through a butter muslin cloth. Really easy!
Two litres of milk makes 500g of ricotta cheese. While in the deli the other day, I noticed they were charging $1.00 per 100g, or $10 a kilo! I shop at ALDI, which charges $2.20 for two litres of milk – that equates to $4.40 a kilo, less than half the price of store-bought ricotta. Plus, I no longer waste the product that I buy and never use. It also sounds super impressive when you tell people you make your own ricotta from scratch!
You can find the footage at http://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/better-homes-gardens/tv/watch/-/6888083/ricotta/
By: Heather Scott 41 responses in the members' forumGreener household cleaners
Making our own cleaners has saved us a fortune over the years and we have saved the environment a little too. '1001 Greener Household Hints' by John Schluter is full of simple household cleaning ideas and we went straight out and bought some five litre bottles, spray bottles and some of the suggested basic cleaning ingredients. The following instructions are from the book:
Air freshener: Mix one teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda with one tablespoon of white vinegar. Add two cups of water. Store the mixture in a pump spray bottle. Add scented oils for fragrance.
Spray and wipe cleaner: Mix two tablespoons of cloudy ammonia, a half cup of white vinegar, two tablespoons of washing-up detergent and four litres of warm water. We stored this in large labelled bottles and used in spray bottles as needed.
Bathroom disinfectant liquid: Dissolve 12 drops of eucalyptus oil in 1ml of methylated spirits and then add eight cups of warm water. We used this in spray bottles also.
We paid $5.00 for the book but have saved hundreds in the years since we began making our own cleaning products.
By: Elizabeth Carpenter 21 responses in the members' forumReceive a Free Newsletter