Tips & Dip Recap

In case you missed it, here are the great tips that were shared at the last RS meeting. It was better than Pinterest!

• Keep a sharpie marker in your fridge and mark all your food as you open it so you know how old it is. It will save money!
• Enjoy each age & stage of your children-- Enjoy the moment!
• To clean your stove burners/grates, put each in a Ziploc bag with a few drops of ammonia. Seal them and put them in the farthest corner of your house for a day or two where you won't have to smell them. The fumes will loosen the junk off and then they will clean up easily.  
• Take frozen chicken breasts and cook them up in a slow cooker with water or broth and shred, freeze, and use for all your recipes.
• You can shred cooked chicken (make sure it's not too hard and cold) in your KitchenAid mixer with the paddle attachment!
• Use a clean/dirty sign on the dishwasher to avoid confusion.
• Trust your judgment when raising your kids because each kid is different. When in doubt about an issue just google it.
• Make a positive association for yourself for mundane or unlikeable tasks. For example, call a friend when doing the dishes, read your favorite book while nursing, give yourself a treat when you potty train your kid, etc.
• To make chicken more tender, top with lime juice about 5-10 minutes before cooking.
• To make pork more tender, mix with tapioca starch and egg yolk about 15-20 min. before cooking.
• Use lemon Pledge on mirrors, bath tile, glass, shower doors, vinyl siding. Prevents steamed up surfaces!
• For traveling, loop your necklace through a straw to keep it from tangling.
• Use hand wipes (like WetOnes) for instant spot removal.
• Use liquid Tide for cleaning window blinds.
• Shave your legs with conditioner.
• Use a Bounce sheet as mosquito repellant. Just stick a sheet in your pocket.
• Use cheap hairspray to remove ballpoint pen marks from fabric.
• Use a king- or queen-sized sheet under your towel at the beach to prevent sand from going everywhere.
• A good lesson for life: Be consistent!
• Maybelline Full-N-Soft Waterproof Mascara is the best.
• Just breathe. Be still.
• Vaseline makes eyelashes grow.
• Powdered milk makes good chicken fried steaks. Boil milk in water, add vinegar to water to curdle. Smooth out water with 2 plates and hands. Mix with chicken or beef bouillon, dredge with flour, and fry like a steak. Add gravy.
• When draining grease from a pan, put aluminum foil in a bowl and pour the grease into it. When it hardens, roll up the foil and throw it out.
• Men are that they might have joy.
• Clean your bathtub with equal parts Dawn liquid dish soap and white vinegar. Let it soak for about an hour before scrubbing it off.
• Assess daily: contact with friends, God and family; hobbies; etc.
• Live life to the fullest.
• When running errands, drive to the farthest destination first. This will warm up your engine for peak efficiency.
• Summer heat is worse for car batteries than cold.
• Black, white, and silver cars are worth $300 more after trade in.
• Don't put it down, put it away.
• The one question that can save your marriage: What's it like to be married to me? (Can help in any relationship!)
• Don't wait for somebody to make you happy!
• How to clean a washing machine: 1 cycle with 1 cup of vinegar, another cycle with 1 cup of bleach.
• Myfitnesspall iPhone/smart phone app to lose weight and track calories.
• Clean your lint trap in your dryer with hot water and soap. The dryer sheets create a film that can cause your dryer to overheat and can burn your clothes.
• Find hot keys! Alt + Tab: switch between Windows. Windows & M = minimize all.
• Remember to stretch when you work out.
• When you drop your cell phone or camera into water, if you get it out quick enough and put it in a tub of dry rice it will take the water out. Keep it in the rice for at least 24 hours.
• Freeze shredded cheese, use a little as needed.
• When kids fight, teach them first to say "I'm sorry" and the other to say "I forgive you" rather than "It's okay."
• Use baby powder to get sand off your body after the beach.
• If your cookies get hard, toss them in something airtight (Tupperware, Ziploc bag, etc.) with a piece of bread and it will soften them up.
• Cameras add ten pounds (or more!) but you can help the photographer get the best shot and help you look slimmer if you give them an angle by turning your body slightly to the side or especially by leaning toward the camera. Engage the camera and it will love you back because the shadows that the light creates when you turns on an angle will slim you down visibly.
• Use mint.com to make budgeting simpler.