Tips for Those Pesky Summer Problems

Kids playing baseball? Eating hotdogs with mustard? Ants in the pantry? These tips will take care of those problems and make your summer go smoother.

Tips to Make your Summer Chores Easier
Rid your pantry of ants;

Summer is here in all its glory and its time to ward of an invasion of those pesky ants. First put dried foods such as pasta, rice, sugar, and flour in air tight glass jars with lids. Sponge your pantry shelves with a vinegar to wipe away the scent ants leave for their buddies. You can now do one of several things. Sprinkle salt lightly on your shelves- or dab cotton balls with peppermint or spearmint essential oils and stuff in the corner of shelves-or mix one tablespoon boric acid powder with 1/4 cup sugar and place around the pantry in small lidded jars with holes punched in the top. The ants will eat the boric acid mixture and take it back to the colony. If the queen eats it will wipe out the whole colony. Beware, this is poison so keep away from children and pets.

I always use the salt first because it is the quickest, cheapest, and easiest. But if that doesn’t work I go on to the other solutions.
To prevent outdoor fabric from fading;

Buy weather guard at home centers. Apply before putting your furnishings outside and place furniture in the shade when possible. This will extend the life of the fabric, but fabric will eventually fade.
Thermos bottle cleanup;

Put two tablespoons soda in the bottle and a good glug of white vinegar. Put the lid on and shake well then pour out and rinse with water.
Take out mustard stains;

Scrape off as much mustard as you can, then rinse in cold water from the back of the fabric to push the stain through. Apply laundry detergent and rub in with your fingers. Let sit for an hour and launder with detergent and hot water. Air dry and repeat if necessary.
Clean your wicker, plastic, wrought iron, aluminum, wood furniture, and even vinyl cushions.

First hose off everything to remove cobwebs and lose dirt, don’t forget the bottoms, Fill a bucket with water and add a few squirts of mild dish soap. Grab a cloth towel in one hand and a non abrasive scrubbing pad in the other. Scrub the furniture with the cloth and get any stuck on gunk with the pad. Rinse and lay items on their sides to dry. Apply car wax to plastic and metal furniture to help repel dirt.

When you boil vegetables don’t pour the water down the sink. Let it cool and pour it on your plants to perk them up. (if you don’t want to use it for soup stock)
How to get out red clay;

Let it dry and brush off as much as you can. Then mix a non-bleach powered detergent with just enough ammonia to make a paste. Put on rubber gloves and rub the paste in the stains with a cloth or brush. Leave it on 10 minutes, then wash in hot water and air-dry. Repeat if necessary.