simple tip
St. Patrick’s Day Fun
St. Patrick’s Day can be so much fun – especially if you have some great foods and pranks to serve up on the big day! Check out these really easy ideas from Simple Solutions Diva:
Morning Fun:
Those leprechauns can be so silly! And they just LOVE to play pranks to let little kids know they were there!
Magic Milk: Surprise the kids when you pour them their milk, the milk suddenly turns green! This silly surprise happens when you place a drop or two of green food coloring in the bottom of a glass, then pour milk into the glass — instant green! As an alternative, you can add green food coloring to the entire jug of milk, but be prepared to drink green milk for a while!
Bathroom Surprise:
Yes, this is a little gross, but I think it is Oh So Cute! I accomplished this sneaky prank by dropping green food coloring in the toilet (I used 4 drops). I then added an additional cup of water to mix it without having to put anything in the toilet. The footprints are made with hand lotion mixed with food coloring. You make a fist with your hand. If you notice, the side of your fist (side with the pinky) looks a lot like a foot! Place that edge of your hand into the colored lotion, then press onto toilet seat. Take a finger and dot on toe prints (note four toes instead of five!); repeat on other side with other hand! I had to do it a couple of times to make it look right.
Be sure to wipe off well once the kids have seen it!
Snack Ideas:
Leprechaun Cookies:
These are probably the easiest snacks, and they pack well in lunch boxes (once the chocolate hardens)! Melt 1 cup white chocolate chip morsels according to the microwave instructions. Using either plain or Cool Mint Oreos, dip the Oreo into the melted white chocolate, covering half of the cookie. Sprinkle with green sprinkles. Place in fridge to harden the chocolate.
Rainbow Fruit Platter:
A healthy, fun treat! Wash and cut up a variety of colorful, fresh fruit. I used strawberries, clementine wedges, pineapple, green grapes, blueberries, red grapes, and bananas. Arrange in an arch fashion, just like a rainbow. On one end of the rainbow, pile mini marshmallows (like clouds!). At the other end, place a small bowl filled with banana slices (the Pot ‘O Gold!).
Dinner Fun:
-Consider serving Green Spaghetti! Simply add green food coloring to the water as you cook the pasta.
-Or serve up Spinach Raviolis on Skewers, with a side of pesto sauce for dipping. It may help convince the kids they like things with spinach!
Shamrock Chips: Try this simple recipe for homemade chips. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Using large Spinach Wraps from the grocery store, fold one wrap in half. Use a Shamrock Cookie Cutter or trace a shamrock form on foam (I used pre cut foam pieces from Dollar Store). Using the form as your guide, cut a shamrock out of the spinach wraps using a sharp knife. You can get about four large shamrocks out of one large wrap.
Spray the shamrocks with olive oil spray, place on cookie sheet. Sprinkle lightly with salt and bake for 5-7 minutes until lightly brown (watch them so they don’t burn). Serve with guacamole or green salsa.
Thank you to WTLV-TV’s First Coast Living for inviting me on to share these ideas!
Simple Tip: Baking Soda – The Unsung Hero!
Baking soda – that little orange box that sits in your pantry – is more than just part of a baking recipe. It is a great cleaner and freshener! And don’t forget, baking soda is an inexpensive product to use. Try out some of these simple ways to freshen up your home:
Freshen Fridge and Freezer
We all know you can stick a box of baking soda to get rid of smells in your fridge and freezer. You just pop open the top of the box and place it in the back of your fridge, replacing it every 30 days. Did you know Arm & Hammer makes a specially designed, non-spill box? It only costs $.10 more than the regular box ($.95 versus $.85 a box). Bonus Tip: When you replace that box after 30 days, pour the used box down your kitchen sink disposal and let sit for 20 minutes to freshen it up!
Freshen Your Towels – Get The Stink out!
You can add a cup of baking soda to every load of wash to freshen the smell of your laundry. Have really tough odors, like towels that smell like mildew? Simple Solutions Diva has a tried-and-true way to remove that stink — Click Here!
Freshen Your Carpets & Couches
For Carpets – Sprinkle baking soda on carpets ½ hour before vacuuming. The baking soda absorbs the smells.
For Couches And Other Fabric-Covered Furniture – Make your own fabric spray! Use a spray bottle filled with 1 T. Baking Soda, Warm Water, 10 drops of your favorite essential oil. Shake well until baking soda is dissolved. Lightly spray your couch and let dry. It will smell a little like the essential oil, and the stinky smell will be neutralized.
Clean Coffee And Tea Stains
Have a favorite coffee/tea cup or pot that is stained? Just mix up a ¼ cup baking soda in 1 QT warm water and soak the cup or pot. You can also make a paste with baking soda and water and lightly scrub.
De-Stink Those Dental Appliances
Grossed out by your night guard or child’s smelly retainer? Mix a 1/2 cup of baking soda with one cup of water and soak those dental appliances to remove food particles and smell. You can also dip your wet toothbrush into baking soda and scrub the appliance and let it sit for a few hours.
Thank you to WTLV-TV’s First Coast Living for inviting me on to share these ideas! Here is the video from First Coast Living:
Top Four Common Product Combinations To Never Mix
With so many great cleaning ideas floating around Pinterest, it really is important to know that some common household products, when combined together, can be dangerous! Thank you to BuzzFeed.com for these combination warnings – visit the site for more combinations that are not good.
Take a look at these products that you should never mix:
Bleach and Vinegar
These are great cleaners — when used separately! But combine these two, and you end up with Toxic Chlorine Gas! It can cause a chemical burn to your eyes and lungs.
Ammonia and Bleach
This combination, if you inhale the vapors, could cause respiratory damage and throat burns. BuzzFeed.com highlights a story of a man who used Ammonia, Bleach and Drano to unclog his toilet, was overcome by the fumes, and died. I don’t know about you, but cleaning my toilet is NOT the way I want to go!
Rubbing Alcohol and Bleach
This chemical cocktail creates chloroform – Who knew? It can damage your nervous system, eyes, lungs, kidneys and more. Extremely high exposure can actually cause death, and even low levels of exposure can cause dizziness and nausea.
Hydrogen Peroxide and Vinegar
You can use these items as cleaners, separately. But if you combine them together in the same container (like a spray bottle for cleaning), you can create a corrosive acid! use them on the same surface, separately.
Check out Buzzfeed.com to see the full listing of products they recommend you do not combine!
Simple Tip To Store Linens
Simple Tip: How To Clean A Humidifier (A Step-By-Step Guide!)
Simple Tips To Treat Cold Symptoms, Naturally
Tis the season for sniffles, coughs and sneezes! For some people, treating cold symptoms include medications; for other, medicines are not an option due to medical issues (like high blood pressure). I thought I’d share some of my favorite tips to treat cold symptoms without medications. Now let me be clear, I am not a Doctor, but I am a “Doctor Mom”! Seek medical treatment if you are sick and it hangs on longer than a few days, or you have fever, vomiting, rash, growth of a third arm, or anything else out of the ordinary!
Tip # 1 – Hydrate – The key to getting rid of a cold is to keep yourself hydrated so the gunk can make it’s way out of your body! Drink lots of fluids – 8 to 10 8 oz. glasses of water will help a lot!
Tip # 2 – Blow Your Nose- You don’t want to sniff IN all the congestion, so blow it out. And did you know there is a proper way to blow your nose? Blow one side at a time: Place the tissue over your nose, then use one finger to press on a nostril to close it, then gently blow. Repeat on the other side.
Tip # 3 – Steam Heat – Take a warm shower or heat water on stove and breathe in! The warm, moist air will hydrate those mucus membranes and allow mucus to move.
Tip # 4 – Rinse it out – Nasal irrigation using non-medicated saline solution, whether using a netie pot or over the counter saline sprays, is one of the best ways to flush out excess mucus and even allergens or infections that settle in the sinuses. One of my favorite brands of nasal irrigation products is NeilMed – Click Here to see some of their products (you can find them in CVS, Walgreens, and other pharmacies). NOTE: When you mix up your own saline solution for use in the netie pot, the CDC recommends you use distilled or sterilized water.
Tip # 5 – Use a Humidifier – Keep your throat and nasal passages moisturized – it is key to relieving your congestion, drippy nose and dry, itchy throat. Leave it on in your bedroom as you sleep.
Tip # 6 – Drink Tea – Warm tea with lemon or honey will soothe a sore throat and help ease the pain. The small amount of caffeine in the tea will also give you a slight energy boost, at least making you feel a little better.
Thank you to WTLV-TV’s First Coast Living for inviting me on to share these tips!
Simple Kitchen Tip To Keep Brown Sugar Fresh Longer
Simple Cleaning Tips From Simple Solutions Diva
Cleaning is not always on the top of our list of “Fun” things to do, but it is something that we have to do at some point! Here are some simple solutions to some common cleaning challenges:
But I HATE Cleaning! – Hate tackling cleaning jobs (like I do)? Pick one project to do, put on some good music, set a timer for 15-20 minutes and tackle just one job. When the timer goes off, stop and move on. And don’t feel guilty! I use this tip to tackle some of the paper piles that build up on my desk, or to do a speed pick up of a room.
Vinegar – The Super Cleaner! I love using vinegar to do some simple cleaning jobs around the house. It is non-toxic and does a great job! Try out some of these cleaning tips using white vinegar:
- Clean Your Microwave – Fill a microwave safe bowl with ½ c. white vinegar and ½ c. water. Run in microwave 3-4 minutes. Take a damp cloth and wipe down inside of microwave– the steam, plus vinegar, helps to loosen cooked on debris and deodorize the inside of the microwave.
- Simple Way To Clean Gunk Off Shower Head– Do mineral deposits clog your shower head? Fill a quart-sized baggie with white vinegar. Take a rubber band and attach the vinegar-filled bag to your shower head, making sure the shower head is covered completely with the vinegar. Leave on overnight. The vinegar will do the cleaning for you! The next day, remove the bag, take an old toothbrush (you will toss after using!) and gentle scrub the shower head. The crusted on gunk should come off easily! To see the process in action, Click Here.
Dust It? No, Roll It! – Have dusty lampshades but find it awkward to vacuum the shades? Use a lint roller to get the dust off the shade.
Remove Sticky Stickers from Dishes or Glassware– Use rubbing alcohol and a cotton ball or Q-tip to tackle the job. If it doesn’t come off, soak a cotton ball in the rubbing alcohol and let sit o the sticker for 5 minutes before trying again.
You can check out more links to other video cleaning tips from Simple Solutions Diva:
Putting Pinterest To The Test: Clean Your Top Loading Washer
How To Remove Mildew From Towels
Uses For Vinegar Around The House
And finally, here is an interesting link from BuzzFeed.com on 16 Common Product Combinations You Should Never Mix.
Thank you to WTLV-TV’s First Coast Living for inviting me on the show to share these tips!
Simple & Natural Way To “De-Gunk” A Shower Head
