50 Household Tips and Cleaning Hints

Household tips that work. Advice for removing stains, what to do with leftovers, how to make your own homemade cleaners and general household tips for your home. For a more in depth look at vinegar as a household cleaning product see our page entitled Cleaning with Vinegar.

Helpful household tips for the kitchen and the house will provide shortcuts, give you new ideas and helpful tips in general. Here you will learn to prevent eggs from cracking when boiling them, how to dry wet shoes, how to prevent fishy smells when cooking fish. There are also stain removal tips for removing various stains from clothes and carpets. There are many more handy tips here for you to read and adopt. Happy hunting!

HOUSEHOLD TIPS FOR THE FREEZER

• How to keep root ginger fresh? Place in the freezer and grate off sufficient use at a time.
• Can I freeze cream? Whip cream before freezing - it then stays whipped and can be used when required. Cut the amount off that you want to used and allow to thaw at room temperature.
• Why did my food not freeze properly? Excess salt can prevent the proper freezing of foods.

             Household Tips for the Freezer

• Can I freeze cooked fish? Cooked fish is not recommended for freezing unless it is incorporated in fish cakes, fish pies, fish casseroles etc.
• Can I freeze hard-boiled eggs? The whites of hard-boiled eggs can become rubbery when frozen.
• Can I freeze food with garlic in it? Frozen casseroles, soups and stews containing garlic will develop an odd flavor. Rather add the garlic to these dishes after reheating.
• Can I freeze salad? Salad vegetables such as cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, whole onions, celery and radishes loose their crispness when frozen and cannot be used in salads. However, frozen tomatoes, onion and celery can be used for cooking purposes.
• Can I freeze avocados? Avocados do not freeze well, although when thawed are fine mashed with lemon juice and used in dips.
• Can I freeze cheese? Salted cheese that has been frozen cannot be used on a cheese platter as it will crumble. However, it is fine to use for sauces and cooking.
• Can I freeze stuffed chickens or turkeys? Do not freeze stuffed poultry due to the slow freezing of the stuffing, harmful bacteria may be present and will cause illness when the bird is thawed and eaten later.
• Can I freeze sauces? Sauces thickened with flour thin on thawing. Therefore use cornflour or rice flour to avoid this.
• Can I freeze custards, cream fillings and milk puddings? These all tend to curdle and separate if frozen. Caramel creams do not freeze and frozen gelatin dishes will separate on thawing.
• Can I freeze sour cream? Sour cream separates when frozen on its own. However, it freezes well when combined with other ingredients.
• Can I freeze bananas? Bananas will turn brown when frozen, but if they are mashed and lemon juice is added they can be used in baking.
• Can I freeze food directly from the oven? Never put hot foods directly in a freezer. Always wait for them to cool first.
• Household cleaning tips for your freezer - To hasten the process of defrosting place a bowl of boiling water in the bottom of your freezer placed on a chopping board. Close the lid. Ice will melt faster. Repeat if necessary.

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HOUSEHOLD TIPS FOR THE KITCHEN

                           Household Tips for the Kitchen

• What can I do with leftover wine and beer? They can be added to stews and casseroles.
• How can I lessen the strong flavor of onion rings in a salad? The flavor is is lessened and their crispness retained if they are soaked in iced, salted water for an hour before being added to the salads.
• How can I prevent my eggs from cracking when I boil them? Prick the egg with a needle at the rounded end to prevent cracking when boiling.
• How can I prevent scrambled eggs from becoming watery? Scrambled eggs will not become watery if you add 1 teaspoon of cornflour to the mixture before cooking.
• How can I keep whipping cream fresh? Whipping cream stays fresh for days if you add a pinch of baking soda to the cream while whipping.
• Baked potatoes will be crisper if they are brushed with a little oil before baking.
• To quickly dry herbs, remove the leaves from the stalks, wipe them clean without washing, place between paper towels and microwave on high for 3 minutes. Turn if necessary and microwave a little longer. Remove and crumble.
• To make corned beef taste better when cooking, add a dash of vinegar, a tablespoon of honey and a few cloves while cooking.
• How can I make my meat more tender? If you are boiling meat for a casserole or stew when boiling, add half a teaspoon of cream of tartar to the water. This will make your meat more tender. If you are going to fry your meat, wrap it in papaya leaves overnight, or squeeze a little fresh pineapple juice over the meat. Pat well.
• Before making flour into a batter for a pudding add a dessert spoonful of ground rice. This will make the pudding lighter.
• When frying fish, sprinkle a little curry powder into the pan. It prevents the 'fishy' smell and improves flavor and color.
• A stick of cinnamon or 1/2 teaspoon of cloves added to the water when stewing apples, peaches, pears or prunes will give them a lovely spicy flavor.
• Warm jam will allow you to spread it more easily on cakes and sponges, and will also prevent it from soaking through.
• If you have a collapsed meringue top it with some marshmallows and them toast it under a grill or a very hot oven.
• To stop fat from splattering in a pan, add a sprinkling of flour to the fat.
• Clean a furred up kettle by adding 1 cup of vinegar with 1 tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda. Add 1 cup of water and boil for several minutes. Rinse with cold water.
• How to remove the smell of smoke from the kitchen? Burn a few drops of vinegar on a hotplate or pan.
• How do I clean my microwave oven? Place a quarter of a cup of vinegar in a coffee cup and fill the rest up with water. Bring the water to boil in the microwave. Remove and clean down sides of microwave more easily.
• How can I get rid of the fishy smell on my hands when preparing fish? Household cleaning tips for cleaning your hands after handling fish; rub them with a slice of lemon. Rinse as usual.
• Household cleaning tips for cleaning your dishwasher; Keep the inside of your dishwasher clean and sparkling by pouring a cup of vinegar inside and running through a cycle. If you repeat this on a regular basis, the inside of your dishwasher will soon look like new again.
• Household cleaning tips for keeping ants out of your kitchen. Don't use insecticides and sprays, just spray undiluted vinegar around doorways, windows and anywhere else you spot them.

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HOUSEHOLD TIPS AND CLEANING TIPS FOR THE HOUSE

                             Household Tips for the House

• How to dry wet shoes? Fill them with crumbled newspapers and wrap each shoe in some newspaper. The paper will absorb the moisture.
• How to sharpen sewing machine needles? Place a piece of fine sandpaper under the needle and sew through it as if you were sewing though cloth.
• How to remove white marks from wooden furniture? Here is a great homemade cleaning products recipe; use a mix of linseed oil and turpentine. Gently simmer 1/2 liter of linseed oil for 10 minutes. Removed from the stove and add 125 ml of turpentine. Mix the 2 ingredients together and apply to the burn marks.
• Other household cleaning tips: A cloth dampened with kerosene will keep chrome taps and faucets shiny and gleaming.
• Other stain remover tips. To remove fruit stains from material, soak it in cream of tartar and wash in the usual way.
• Other household cleaning tips: To clean porcelain ornaments and rings use toothpaste.
• To help angora wool go further, knit alternate rows with 2-ply wool.
• Other stain remover tips: To remove bloodstains, egg, writing ink use cold water and rinse well before washing in hot suds.
• Other stain remover tips: To remove coffee, tea, ice cream, milk, butter wash in warm water and then wash in warm suds.
• Other stain remover tips: To remove oil-based paint from clothes use turpentine.
• Other stain remover tips: To remove ballpoint ink, grass, lipstick, mascara use methylated spirits.
• Other stain remover tips: To remove mildew from bathrooms and plastic shower curtains use bleach.
• Other household cleaning tips: A window cleaner mixture is made using 1 cup of kerosene, 1 cup methylated spirits and 1 cup water. Place in a bottle and shake well before using. To use put a few drops on a cloth and wipe over mirrors and windows. No polishing needed.

More Household Tips and Resources

See our dedicated page on stain removal tips for more information.

How to Clean your House with Vinegar

Homemade Cleaners

Well there are a lot of helpful household cleaning tips here. If you have your own handy hints that you would like to share, please feel free to do so by filling in the box below. Handy tips and helpful hints are always welcome.

Videos Showing some great Household Tips

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How To Remove Sweat Stains With Aspirin

You can Add your own Household Cleaning Tips Here! 

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