HOUSEHOLD TIPS NOT FOUND IN WOMAN'S WEEKLY

[Stanley]

Yes Maz but if you need a good waterproof and want the best you have to pay. It's very specialised clothing and makes all the difference.

[Stanley]

A forgotten skill in the kitchen is making your own stock. Most butchers will give you bones and trimmings free if you ask for them, they have to pay an exorbitant price for sending them away as waste. Long slow simmering gives you far better stock than can be got from cubes!

[Stanley]

Bleaching my sink always raises a laugh but consider this, at one point during the day I am certain that my hands are well sterilised because of the exposure to very dilute bleach solution.

[Tizer]

Talking abut bleach here's another tip...if you have a child thought to be suffering from autism don't treat it with drops of chlorine dioxide, an industrial bleaching agent, it won't work and the child may suffer. Not only is this `treatment' recommended on social media it's being peddled by people who parents think are trained medics. An article in The Times describes how one of its investigators visited such a person and relates the advice he was given. Out of curiosity at one point he asked if he could administer the substance to the child via the rectum and he was told it was OK to do so. How is it that in the 21st Century so many people are still gullible enough to believe these scammers?

[Marilyn]

If you make your own stock, freeze it in ice cube trays. That way, you can pop a block or two out whenever you need it for cooking.
( full of good ideas me...)

[Stanley]

Tiz, perhaps because some people are not as adventurous in seeking knowledge as others? Social media doesn't qualify as the groves of academe to me!
Very good Maz but I tend to cook in industrial quantities and if I keep any I freeze it in containers and then put it in plastic bags in the freezer. That works as well.

[Stanley]

Without going into the gory details, my condition means that micturation is frequent and often sudden. I have an enclosed back yard and I soon found that peeing in the grid in the yard cut down on the laundry! Think of the flushing water it saves as well and the eventual destination of the product is the same drain the toilet empties into. All told an efficient and environmentally friendly solution to a problem.
So today's tip is save water, pee outside!

[Marilyn]

We don’t have outside drains or gully traps. They are not allowed in modern homes...systems are sealed. Outdoor taps have no drain beneath them even. So you basically have an open sewer system. We don’t. Nor do we have an open storm water system. Luckily we have facilities both upstairs and downstairs, though it has been months since hubby had to do the twenty yard dash.

[Stanley]

Maz, if I had a garden with a compost heap all my problems would be solved!
Not correct to say we have an 'open' drainage system. It isn't, even open grates are sealed with water traps, all other drains are below ground entirely. The open drain is handy for disposing of dirty water after mopping the vinyl in the kitchen, far better that than disposing of it in the sink or lavatory.
Today's tip is look after your daughters and they will look after you. An hour of foot wash, pedicure, chiropody and foot massage with scented oils from Nurse Susan is heaven! (I declined the varnish on the toe nails.....) The nice thing is that she enjoys doing it, she says it relaxes her as well.

[Marilyn]

We have to either dispose of a bucket of water down the inside laundry sink, or, throw it on the back lawn.
Not that I often have buckets of water to dispose of, as I use a steam mop on my hard floors.

[Stanley]

Can't afford that Maz!

[Marilyn]

A steam mop? They are “ as cheap as” Stanley!!!!!

[Marilyn]

I bet you could get a stick steam cleaner delivered for under £100?
You still need to Hoover first to pick up dog hair and crumbs before you steam clean... no chemicals ( no bleach!). Does the bathroom too...and light as air to carry.

[Stanley]

£100 obviously means less to you than it does to me Maz. I'll stick to my old fashioned mop and disinfectant....

[Marilyn]

I reckon I paid under £50 for mine Stanley...and I’ve had it about 6 years...still works perfectly every time. Think how many mop heads you have replaced...

[Stanley]

One in twenty years.....

[Marilyn]

( jeez...ok)
Mind you, Febby used my last mop head to oil the back deck! It was useless after that and did I give him grief...

[Stanley]

I take care of mine and I have a spare head in the drawer ready for when this one gives up the ghost. Vileda mops last well.....

[Big Kev]

You can get a new steam mop for around £25, I paid £1 for mine on an Ebay auction

[Tizer]

And I've just looked at the Argos web site and they start there at £40...
Argos steam mops

[chinatyke]

Think how many mop heads you have replaced...

One in twenty years.....

That made me laugh!

[Marilyn]

I was a bit taken aback, China.
Mind you, I do have acres of tiled floor in my home. Stanley’s kitchen is only small. That could partly explain the longevity of his mop head. Perhaps I have been a mop head abuser?
Let’s not discuss the lifespan of toothbrushes or dish sponges. I don’t know if I could survive it.

[Stanley]

I still have the first Bahco adjustable spanner I bought 75 years ago so I can claim to look after my tools.
Today's tip, Look after your tools and they will look after you.

[Marilyn]

I’ve always had a box of basic tools of my own. Sometimes hubby borrows one and I have to hunt it down in his garage to get it back. I hate losing things! Small paint brushes tend to go missing from my art supplies too and I find them in the garage gummed up with something. It really rattles me.

[Stanley]

I share that syndrome Maz. I think I may have a touch of OCD when it comes to the placement of tools and other articles. Luckily I live on my own and Jack doesn't misplace things. Nevertheless, occasionally things aren't there when I want them and they become a mystery. What I usually do when I have exhausted all the possibilities is buy a new one.