Main > Household > Power-saving
Bright ideas: Every time you change a lightbulb from now on, make sure you change it with a compact fluorescent lightbulb. Not only do they use about 75% less energy than a standard bulb, but they'll last 6 times longer. Easy.
myxlfidian (150)
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Main > Household > Power-saving
Block door-floor-gap draughts: Make a "sausage dog" to sit along the gap. A cheap version: pour cups of rice into the bottom of a large garbage bag, roll it up, and wind gaffer-tape around the sausage to prevent the bag tearing.
kellyjones00 (593)
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Main > Household > Pets > Cats
Rubbish: If the smells and tidbits in the garbage can continually peak your cat's interest, get one with a lid, or keep it in a cupboard under the sink.
Kevin Solway (173)
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Main > Household > Pets > Cats
Moving with Your Cat: Your cat should be the last thing you "pack up," and if you're moving only across town, you should have the furniture in place at the new house before he arrives, to help you cat adjust quickly. You should keep your cat indoors for at least a week to get it used to the new surroundings. Then when you do let it out make sure it's hungry - it will always come back for it's food.
Kevin Solway (173)
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Main > Household > Pets > Cats
Bathing a cat: If you have trouble, find an old window screen and place it in the tub or sink. The cat will dig its claws into the screen and stay there the entire time of bathing.
Kevin Solway (173)
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Main > Household > Pets > Cats
Travelling: To make it less stressful for a cat to use a travelling basket get them to associate it with a pleasant experience by occasionally placing a dish of food inside. This way it should not be so traumatic for the cat when it needs to be used.
Kevin Solway (173)
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Main > Household > Pets > Cats
Lemon scented polish keeps cats off furniture as they don't like the smell. Rub a bar of lemon scented soap on upholstery to keep cats off.
Kevin Solway (173)
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Main > Household > Pets > Cats
Hairs: A scouring pad (the green fibrous sort) can be used to remove cat (or dog) hairs from upholstery.
Kevin Solway (173)
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Main > Household > Pets
Renting and pets don't go well together. Rental premises are often smaller, with closer neighbours; even if the humans are friendly, their pets might not be. Also, added to the cost of carpet-cleaning will be fumigation, when you move out.
kellyjones00 (593)
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Main > Household > Pets
Pets in rented premises: small and inconspicuous. E.g. an aquarium for small fish, lizards, or turtles; or a small worm-farm; or a small gastropodium.
kellyjones00 (593)
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Main > Household > Pets > Worm-farm
Worm-keeping: It is very easy and also transforms most kitchen scraps into excellent potting mix.
kellyjones00 (593)
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Main > Household > Pets > Worm-farm
Easy indoors worm-farm:
- Place a 4-5 gallon fishtank in a cool spot, out of direct sun. Fill with cheap potting mix (not clay).
- Put feeder-box on the top of soil. This is a lidded, bottomless box for finely-chopped household scraps.
- Plant indoor plants around feeder-box. Water to keep soil moist but keep in mind that worms can drown.
- Add worms, e.g. tiger worms from pet store.
kellyjones00 (593)
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Main > Household > Pets > Worm-farm
Feeding: Worms eat very fine, decomposing food. Finely chop household scraps before putting them in a lidded scraps container. Feed to worms once a week or so.
kellyjones00 (593)
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Main > Household > Pets > Worm-farm
Feeding: Egg-shells, citrus rinds, onion skin etc. aren't favourite foods for worms.
kellyjones00 (593)
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Main > Household > Pets > Worm-farm
Fruit flies, maggots, and more: Lots of insects will multiply naturally inside the feeder-box. It will be very smelly and moist. Hence the close-fitting lid.
kellyjones00 (593)
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Main > Household > Pets > Worm-farm
After six months of worm-keeping, use half the worms and soil in the garden. Replace with new cheap potting mix.
kellyjones00 (593)
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Main > Household > Power-saving > Appliances
Washing machines: The major cost with washing machines is the cost of heating the water. If your clothes are not very dirty then try using a warm or even a cold water wash and rinse, instead of using hot water. Front-loading washing machines tend to use less water and therefore cost less to run.
thesource (378)
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Main > Household > Cleaning > Carpets
Before shampooing: Remove as much furniture from the room as possible, and place foil or plastic film under the legs and bases of the remaining furniture to prevent stains.
thesource (378)
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Main > Household > Cleaning > Carpets
To raise depressions left in a carpet by heavy furniture, try steaming. You can hold a steam iron close enough for the steam to reach the carpet, but don't let the iron touch the fibers, especially if they are synthetic, because they could melt. Then lift the fibers by scraping them with the edge of a coin or spoon.
thesource (378)
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Main > Household > Cleaning > Carpets
Steam cleaning: Be very careful with steam cleaning, as the intense heat can damage carpet. The twist in a cut pile carpet is heat set and using excessively high heat (steam) can release the twist in the pile giving the carpet a felt like appearance. Hot steam can also damage velvet pile fabrics on furnishings.
Vacuum your carpet and remove as much dirt as possible before doing any steam cleaning.
Cheaper, home-style steam cleaners, or even rental equipment, can do a much poorer job than professional steam cleaning machines, especially if they lack the enough suction power to remove the moisture from the carpet, or if their steam contains too much moisture.
thesource (378)
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Main > Household > Recycling & wastes
Computer equipment: As it may contain toxic chemicals, try to avoid putting it in landfill.
If it is still working, it can be sold on ebay, or another online auction, or sold via your local paper.
If not working, donate it to a non-profit group who builds equipment for disadvantaged persons. There are thousands of these online.
Or donate to a local freecycle group member.
Or contact a local eco-salvage company that takes old computer equipment for a small fee.
kellyjones00 (593)
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Main > Household > Cleaning > Toilets
Toilet disinfectant: Mix 50 ml of eucalyptus oil with a litre of water. That's it - you can store it as you would a normal disinfectant.
kellyjones00 (593)
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Main > Household > Cleaning > Glass
Sticky residues: Eucalyptus oil can be used undiluted in order to remove sticker/decal residue from glass.
kellyjones00 (593)
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Main > Household > Cleaning > Clothes
Add 1-2 teaspoonfuls of eucalyptus oil to your load of washing for a fresh scent along with the anti-microbial benefits.
kellyjones00 (593)
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Main > Household > Cleaning > Clothes
Paint, grease, ink: Use eucalyptus oil undiluted to help remove them.
kellyjones00 (593)
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Main > Household > Cleaning
Stainless steel: Use eucalyptus oil as a stainless steel cleaner.
kellyjones00 (593)
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Main > Household > Cleaning > Air fresheners
First eliminate source of stale air, by opening windows. Air fresheners work like deodorants, overloading the air with a heavier scent, but not dealing with the unpleasant smell.
kellyjones00 (593)
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Main > Household > Cleaning > Air fresheners
For rooms: mix a quarter of a teaspoon or 15 drops of eucalyptus oil with a half teaspoon of vodka, place in an atomizer/spray bottle and add 2 cups of water. This should be quite subtle, so you may need to add more.
kellyjones00 (593)
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Main > Household > Maintenance & repair > Glass
Glass cutting: Use a wheel-cutter to score the glass. New glass should break cleanly along your line, simply by bending it, as it follows the stress lines in the glass that you have created with the "cutter" link . But you may have trouble with old, used glass, because the used glass will probably have lots of stress lines already in the glass, which may override the new stress line you apply with your glass cutter. In the case of old glass, gently strike the glass on the other side to score mark with the ball-end of a "pein" hammer, gradually working your way along the mark as it breaks - and hope for the best.
thesource (378)
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Main > Household > Maintenance & repair > Glass
Cutting glass with scissors: It's possible to cut small pieces of glass with scissors, provided you hold the piece of glass underwater, so that the vibrations are dampened. link and WARNING link (wear gloves, and only cut flat glass!).
thesource (378)
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Main > Household > Sewing, spinning & weaving
Quilts: these are padded blankets made of household rags or offcuts, cut to a regular shape and sewn together with wadding as a central layer.
kellyjones00 (593)
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Main > Household > Sewing, spinning & weaving
Sewing clothes: use a long tacking stitch first, so you can unpick it if the size isn't right.
kellyjones00 (593)
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Main > Household > Sewing, spinning & weaving
Weaving: rugs are expensive these days, but easy to weave. Use a coarse yarn on a thin cotton warp, and use your fingers to pull the weave together instead of just beating with the reed.
kellyjones00 (593)
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Main > Household > Power-saving
Very dry air will not hold heat for very long. Use a humidifier to increase the humidity to around 55%. This will hold the heat for longer, reducing your heating costs.
Kevin Solway (173)
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Main > Household > Power-saving
A ceiling fan, in winter, on slow, in reverse (blowing air towards the ceiling), can distribute the warm air that collects near the ceiling evenly throughout the room.
Kevin Solway (173)
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Main > Household > Hot glue gun
Connect cables to walls using hot glue. The cables will be removable, and won't damage your walls.
thesource (378)
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Main > Household > Hot glue gun
For neatness when finishing a glob of glue, keep the glue gun close to the object being glued, ease off the trigger, and then move the tip sideways to make a nice cap on the glob of glue.
thesource (378)
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Main > Household > Hot glue gun
Hot glue melts in hot temperatures, so keep this in mind if the job you are gluing will be placed somewhere hot, like in a sunny window.
thesource (378)
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Main > Household > Hot glue gun
Heavy-duty hot glue guns are easier to use, and hotter, and use larger glue sticks than cheaper and smaller hot glue guns.
thesource (378)
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Main > Household > Hot glue gun
For hard-to-bond surfaces, it can help if you clean the surfaces very thoroughly with alcohol before adhering, and rough-up any very smooth surfaces with sand paper.
thesource (378)
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Main > Household > Hot glue gun
To speed up cooling of the glue, you can wet the glue with a wet Q-tip or cotton-bud, or give it a quick spray from a can of freeze spray. (Warning: freeze spray can be dangerous)
thesource (378)
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Main > Household > Hot glue gun
Fix shoes with hot glue along the seams, if they are falling apart.
thesource (378)
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Main > Household > Hot glue gun
Fill small holes in walls, before painting the walls.
thesource (378)
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Main > Household > Hot glue gun
Rebind books that are falling apart, with hot glue.
thesource (378)
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Main > Household > Hot glue gun
Avoid desk clutter by sticking things underneath your desk, such as usb hubs or sd card readers.
thesource (378)
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Main > Household > Hot glue gun
Fix electrical wiring: If the insulating casing of a wire is coming off, exposing the internal wires, use hot glue to seal it up.
thesource (378)
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Main > Household > Hot glue gun
Packaging can be reinforced or sealed using hot glue.
thesource (378)
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Main > Household > Hot glue gun
Create a slip-free clothes hanger by putting a few drops on each side of the top of a clothes hanger. The dried drops of glue will stop the item of clothing from slipping off.
thesource (378)
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Main > Household > Hot glue gun
Reinforce and add strain-relief to wires at vulnerable points.
thesource (378)
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Main > Household > Security
A cheap security alarm can be easily made with a 12 volt motion detector connected to a 12 volt siren. Turn this on when you are out of your house for any extended period of time, and if movement is detected inside your house the siren will go off. These items are cheaply available online.
thesource (378)
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