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Creative Uses for Your Potato Masher
What else can I do with My Potato Masher? We all know that making mashed potatoes needs the use of a common kitchen item – the Potato masher. (affiliate link) The term “potato masher” seems to imply that this kitchen tool has only one function. In fact, a potato masher can be used for a […]
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Storage ideas for large items and Unusual shapes
These storage idea will have your home organized in no time at all Some household items are just plain hard to store effectively. If you have ever opened a cupboard door and had plastic Tupperware lids rain down on your head, you know just what I mean. Large Trays and Platters – These can take […]
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Cooking Tips from my Readers
These reader tested cooking tips and households hints will make sure that your time spent in the kitchen is fun and productive. I recently asked my readers on my Facebook Gardening Cook page to give me some frugal cooking tips. They did not disappoint. These are some of the ideas they came up with! Reader […]
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Creative Uses for Rubber Bands
If you have never discovered Hometalk, you should check it out. Hometalk is the largest home and garden info hub on the web. The Hometalk team recently contacted me and asked me to curate a board for “Inventive Uses for Rubber Bands.” I was delighted to accept. Here are just a few of the […]
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Turn a Bar of Soap into Liquid Soap
How to make Liquid Soap I have a thing about soaps. Either I like expensive bar soap, or else, I like liquid soap. Plain old Dial or Irish Spring soaps just don’t cut it for me. For showers, I enjoy my expensive bar soaps but for normal hand washing, I prefer using liquid soap because […]
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How To Roast your Own Garlic for Spreads or Recipes
Roast your own Garlic – Easy Cooking Tip I love the taste of fresh garlic. But sometimes it is too tart for a particular recipe. In those cases, I roast a whole head of it. You can use much more garlic in your dish if it is roasted and roasting garlic brings out the natural […]
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Home Made Febreze – Just 15c a bottle
Home made Febreze – Easy and inexpensive When it comes to making your house smell great, there is nothing like a bottle of Febreze to trap every odor imaginable and make your house smell like a spring meadow. But at $6 or so a bottle, it can add a lot to the grocery bill. Many […]
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Household Tips to Make your Life Easier
My favorite Household tips I thought it would be fun to compile a page of some of my favorite household tips that will save you time and money. All of these are easy to do and most re-purpose commonly found household items. Time is money as they say and no one seems to have […]
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Bathroom Organization Ideas
Bathroom Organization ideas for Large or Small Spaces i have a tiny bathroom in my house, and just one as well. So I am always on the look out for interesting way to organize my bathroom. No matter whether your space is quite big or very tiny, this group of bathroom organization ideas should give […]
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Grating Soft Cheese – Today easy Kitchen Tip
Grating Soft Cheese is easy if you follow this tip Have you ever tried to grate Mozzarella or other soft cheeses and found it difficult to do? I have and the cheese seems to sort of “wobble” and this makes it hard to grate it. Well this does not have to be a problem at […]
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Jewelry Displays – DIY projects to Organize your Treasures
If you have a lot of jewelry, you will most likely find that it ends up in trays or drawers in a big muddled mess. But with a bit of creativity, on of these DIY jewelry displays will have your treasures organized in no time at all. Jewelry Displays from Re-Purposed Materials. The projects make […]
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Water Bath for Vegetables & Fruit – Is it Necessary?
If you grow vegetables in your garden, it’s probably second nature to give them a wash when you bring them inside. After all, they are growing in the dirt and those that grow on vines often have dust and other particles on them. But what about the fruit and veggies that you purchase in a […]
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35+ Creative Uses for Hydrogen Peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide is one of those things which people have in their bathroom, that they use primarily for healing wounds and cuts. It is a shame to save this handy bottle for just medical uses, when there are so many more uses for it around the home. And it is so inexpensive too! Hydrogen peroxide […]
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40+ Kitchen Tips to Make your Life Easier
We spend so much time in the kitchen and not all of it is fun. And yet there are so many things that will make what might be heavy duty chores into something much easier. I thought it might be useful to share some of my favorite tips for making life in the kitchen easier. […]
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How to Move a Raised Playhouse
When my daughter was young she had a swing set, sand box and playhouse on the left side of my garden. She loved playing there, and we chose this area of the garden so that I could see her playing from my kitchen window. All that is left of the set up is the playhouse, […]
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The Garden Charmers Celebrate Earth Day
The Garden Charmers is a great group of ladies who garden, decorate and cook with a passion. They all have a love for our environment, so Earth Day is special to them. In the Northern Hemisphere, Earth Day is celebrated on April 22 and the day always helps us to focus on environmental awareness. If […]
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Ways to Use Grapefruit
Now, I like grapefruit as much as the next person, but I only need a few each week to keep me happy. Imagine my dismay when I got home from the grocery store the other day, with what I thought was a large bag of oranges, only to discover (after I had cut open the […]
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The Secret To Perfect Mashed Potatoes – the ultimate comfort food
Mashed potatoes are the ultimate comfort food. We all love them, don’t we? I get asked often for cooking tips, but when people taste my mashed potatoes, they always want to know my tip for making them. So…drum roll… Here we go: How to make the perfect mashed potatoes, step by step. For me, the ultimate […]
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The Best of The Gardening Cook in 2013
January is always a time of reflection for me. I look back over the previous year – see what worked and what didn’t and make plans for the new year. Often the plans have to do with my weight. Alas, I always seem to have a new year’s resolution aimed at something to do with […]
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Lenox Spice Jars – Cats of Distinction – A Collector’s Item
I have always loved cats, to the point where I even purchased a set of Lenox spice jars called “Cats of Distinction.” Anyone who looks on eBay, Ruby Lane, or other sites that sell vintage items will see old kitchen items that you may have used at some point being offered for sale. Today, I […]
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Best Organization Tips for the Home
These household organization tips show how to save space and have items ready when you are ready to use them. There is nothing like a well organized home – especially on Organize Your Home Day on January 14. Good organization makes every task just that little bit easier to accomplish and saves so much time. Keep […]
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Best Household Tips – Make your Home Run Smoothly
This is my latest group of best household tips to make your home run more smoothly and efficiently. I am an orderly person. Organization seems to be my middle name. I am always looking for tips to make things easier for me to manage at home. Some tips help to make your cleaning jobs easier. […]
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Freshen your Vacuum Cleaner with Dryer Sheets
I love any tips that can make short work of common household chores. This one is very short and sweet! It’s a great tip to freshen a vacuum cleaner bag. Dryer sheets make your laundry softer to the touch and add a great smell to them as well. They also neutralize the effects of built-up […]
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Expandable Curtain Rods as Plant Supports
All gardeners know the task of keeping tall flower stalks from flopping over. There are lots of retail supports that you can purchase, but they can be pricey and also sometimes are not the right lengths. A great creative gardening hack is to use expandable curtain rods as plant supports. The answer is easy. Collect […]
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Butter and Margarine Conversion Chart
This handy butter Margarine conversion chart will show you how much oil to use in the recipe instead of the butter that is called for. I keep a very well stocked pantry, but there are still times when I am out of something that I needed for a recipe, only to discover that I am […]
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Food Art – Artistic License in the Kitchen
Food carving and creative food art is something that requires a great deal of patience to end up with just the perfect result. I love seeing what creative people can do with food to make it into an art form. Food is soft and this makes it the perfect medium for carving into life-like objects. […]