From the category archives:

Household

My Mom whooped another common sense kitchen tip on us recently. So, I turned the video camera on her and had her show us how she keeps grilled shrimp moist and steady on a skewer.

Finally, be sure to soak your wooden skewers in water before you skewer your shriimp. It keeps them from bursting into flames.

BTW, do I get any points for not making any lame “shrimp on the barbie” jokes?

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Special guests Susie, Jack (and Hannah) help me demonstrate how a damp paper towel can change your life. Well, maybe not change your life, but it will help keep that flexible cutting board from creeping off to Nova Scotia.

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Problem: Kids put sticker everywhere and they can be difficult to remove.

Solution: Get out the hair-dryer … apply heat to the sticker … after heating up the sticker — it will then easily pull off (without leaving much residue). The remaining residue can be removed by using a touch of lighter fluid on a rag.

Warning: Once the culprit realizes his/her sticker is gone, they will seize the opportunity to put a new sticker in its place. If this happens — repeat the ’solution’ (you may find yourself hopelessly in an endless loop). Consider yourself plugged Greg.

via Gregory M Brettell of Reno, NV
Greg kindly asked us to shamelessly plug a Memorial Day tribute he created featuring original music.

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Flashlight

TR McCormick of Dillingham, Alaska shared this useful tip:

If you lose anything on a floor and cannot find it. Use a flashlight down on the floor sideways. This causes the object to leave a shadow and you’ll find it right away.

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Place a large coffee mug that is 1/2 full of water in your dirty microwave oven. Bring to a rolling boil, then let it sit in the closed microwave for 10-15 minutes. Wipe clean with a paper towel.

UPDATE: Some readers have warned of the possibility that microwaves can overheat water which can explode and cause burns. Here’s what Snopes.com has to say on the matter:

Yes, water can “explode” in the fashion described above. However, it takes near perfect conditions to bring this about, thus “exploding water” is not something the average hot beverage drinker who would otherwise now be eyeing his microwave with trepidation need fear. Odds are, you’ll go through life without ever viewing this phenomenon first-hand, and if you’re one of the rare few who does get to see it, you will likely not be harmed by the experience (that would take your standing right over the cup at the instant it happened, and the liquid’s bolting up and hitting your skin).

Nuff said.

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Here are some great links to help you get the most from your money. Enjoy!

  • Top 10 Amazon Power Shopper Tools
    A great list of tools for you Amazon nuts. We especially like “Subscribe & Save”. We use this service for items like laundry detergent and diapers. Amazon.com waives the shipping fee, gives us 15% off their regular price, emails us before each shipment (with an option to cancel), and charges us only when they ship. Plus we get to see our favorite man in brown on a regular basis. Which leads us to our next link.

Speaking of getting good deals. Don’t miss 5 Ways to Get 90% OFF Designer Kid’s Clothes’. It’s one of our most popular.

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As 2007 comes to a close, we’re going to partake in some shameless self-promotion and award some of last year’s posts a “best of 2007″ designation. This may seem silly but it means a lot to the winning posts. They get a spiffy T-Shirt, a case of cheap beer and bragging rights at the next blog post convention. Plus, chicks dig it. Continue reading…

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I’ve already shown you how I handle my cable clutter when we travel. But there are a much wider variety of solutions for the cables we accumulate at home. Today, I’m going to take a look at 7 options.

1. The Cable Shelf:

Cord Shelf

My choice for taming cord spaghetti is a cable shelf. I like it’s large capacity and easy access. When we travel I can easily remove the cables I need.

Life Hacker has a step-by-step article showing how they used my favorite cable shelf to whip one of their desks into shape.

2. The Cord Hog

Cord Hog

The Cord Hog is simple to use, comes in many colors and is appropriately priced….ie: dirt cheap.

Continue reading…

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Susan in the tub

Let’s face facts here. We all get to the point where we want to stuff something in our kids’ mouths and get a few minutes of peace and quiet. To guarantee effectiveness, this something is usually sweet. Oh but then the horrible sticky mess that ensues! I’m still not sure who thought that kids, popsicles, and the summer heat were a good combination.

Solve the problem by converting to the “popsicle-in-the-bathtub” philosophy. Mess and cleanup in one glorious efficient kid-friendly, house-friendly event. By the time they finish those popsicles, I’ll have clean kids and a new post up on family hack! Life is good.

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An amazing trick! Our 1-minute video shows you how to easily retrieve anything that went down the drain…without a pipe wrench or a plumber.

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