With 2014 so
last year and a whole ‘nother 365 days ahead of us, I thought it might be a
good time for some ideas on making things easier in 2015. Chalk it up to baby brain, my Type A personality,
and a few other quirks, but I’m no life hack guru…in fact, I find lots
of things come very difficult for me.
That’s why I appreciate clever ideas to simplify whatever I can!
Cut Brownies with a Plastic Knife -- The secret to cutting brownies! I used to cut them with a butter knife...I would get so frustrated when half the pan was gooped up on the blade; plus, it always made my pan of freshly homemade brownies look sad and lumpy. If you cut brownies with a plastic knife, they turn out perfect! No joke! This is the difference between neatly cut and whole brownies versus crumbs.
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| These brownies had been out of the oven for 10 minutes when I cut them. Still warm and gooey, but no mess! |
Wooden Spoon Across a Boiling Pot -- A watched pot never boils. In our house, I don't have time to watch pots, so mine would always bubble and boil over. It doesn't matter if I'm boiling something for 15 minutes or an hour, putting a wooden spoon across the top of a stock pot or sauce pan prevents you from cleaning up a mess later.
Toast Your Pecans (& other nuts for that matter) -- Toasting nuts that you are going to use when making breads helps draw out the flavor. I toast pecans in a skillet on low to medium heat while I'm measuring out the other ingredients for the bread. Once toasted, I fold them into the batter. A couple other bread tricks? Sifting flour isn't necessary. Instead, lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup and level it off. And, if you've got a hankerin' for Banana Nut Bread but your bananas aren't ripe enough, quickly ripen them in a 300° oven for 30 minutes or until darkened.
When In Doubt, Feed Them -- One-year old in a bad, angry, tantrum-throwing mood? Feed him. At least, this works for me, and even though it's not really a life hack, it's worth listing so that when I go back and read this later, it'll remind me it might be snack time!
White Vinegar -- This stuff is amazing if you can stomach the smell. It works great for cleaning chrome, the gunky build-up on the end of your kitchen faucet, and window tracks.
Deodorize That Stinky Garbage Disposal -- Use rock salt and ice. Both will help get rid of food that might be stuck in the blades and the ice helps sharpen the blades.
A Baby's Got To Eat -- My sister did this when she had infants so, by the time Sawyer came along, I stole her idea. Homemade baby food in ice cube trays ~ I could make things in bulk and freeze them, pull out however many cubes at a time and thaw and feed the right amount instead of having to thaw, and subsequently throw out, a bigger portion.
Funkiness In the Ceramic Crock Pot? -- Use a touch of baking soda and a warm wash cloth to lightly remove the cloudy film inside your crock pot. For tougher foggy films, you can gently, I mean GENTLY use steel wool and warm water.
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| I didn't get an after picture because I had to get dinner thrown together! |
Dust Bunnies & Baseboards -- Dryer sheets aren't just for clothes. Just this last week, we did some pretty major furniture re-arranging. In the places where furniture sits in front of baseboards, I vacuumed the boards, wiped them down, and then ran a clean dryer sheet over them. It really does help keep the bunnies at bay. I do the same with the baseboards that are visible in our house.
Scuffy, Scratchy Dishes -- My newest find! Our plates are about six years old and they show their age. We have creamy white dishes, so in that time, they've taken a visible beating from forks and knives. I recently heard a handy trick to freshen up their faces. I give you three words: Bar Keeper's Friend. First, I tested a small area with the cleaner to be sure nothing totally crazy was going to happen. Then, using a small amount of the liquid cleanser, I lightly rubbed the plate surface with a warm, damp cloth. The instructions say to not leave it on any surface for more than a minute, so I promptly rinsed the plate. There were a few more spots that needed attention, so I repeated the process one time. They came out crisp and shiny. It's like a face lift for your plates, y'all.
Water Spots & Finger Prints -- About two months ago, Adam replaced our faucet. It was time, trust me. So when he installed the new one, it was spotless...for a minute anyway. Then I started to notice smudgy finger prints and water spots. Maybe because it was new??? I don't remember being concerned about that with our old faucet but perhaps it was so old that any blemish just blended in. Anyway, I remember Mama Dell rubbing her kitchen and bathroom faucets down with wax paper. She did lots of things that I thought were odd at the time. So, I tried it. After a thorough cleaning, I busted out the wax paper. And you know what? It helped. It wasn't a 100% effective but it definitely cut down on the day's spottiness.
Meal Planning -- I'm a huge advocate of this. It's really self-explanatory. We aren't perfect and there are times we wander off the plan, but doing this saves time and money and wastes lots less food. When we were first married, we would go to the grocery store, spend about an hour and a half there, leave $150 lighter, and get home with nothing to make a complete meal. I'm a late bloomer because we did this for about six months before I started meal planning. Over time, my method has evolved a bit, but the basic idea is to spend prep time at home planning out that week's meals. Bearing in mind left overs, what we'll likely be doing on certain days, and the occasional snack, I try to map out meals that make sense. If we're getting home late, I don't want to plan something that takes a ton of time. Then I shop my cabinets and fridge first and make a list.
So--that about does it. From the fullness of His grace, I wish you a happy, blessed, and simple 2015!
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