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Empty Shelves After a Storm

After several of the recent winter storms, I saw many photos like this one with the shelves emptied at local grocery stores. So many people rushed the stores to stock up on supplies such as bread, milk, meat, water, and other necessities leaving the shelves nearly bare.

Empty Shelves after a Storm
Photo Source: Pinterest

Scenes like this are scary to see. Especially if you are witnessing them first hand and are in need of the items normally found on the shelves. This is why it is so important to be prepared.

Stock on the things you need in advance and don’t wait until there is an emergency to go to the grocery store to purchase them. Do you have enough bread and milk in the house if you couldn’t get to the store for a few days? How about a week?

Here are a few things you want to have on hand.

Bread
Milk
Water
Eggs
Meats
Pet Food
Coffee/Tea
Peanut Butter
Jam/Jelly
Meats
Tuna
Beans
Granola/Protein Bars
Crackers
Fruits
Veggies
Butter
Flour
Sugar
Cereal
Pastas
Matches
Batteries

This is a very short and basic list. Continue Reading →

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Cardboard Vacuum Tube Extension

Do you need an extension for your vacuum hose? Did you know that you can recycle a cardboard tube into a handy vacuum hose extension? Here is plastic wrap cardboard tube that I recycled and use on my vacuum hose. The heavier cardboard tubes work best but a paper towel cardboard roll will work also.

Maybe you need to get under a tight spot and need a flatter tube. Here is a tube I pressed down on the end of it to create a narrower opening. This flatter tube works great to get under your refrigerator to vacuum up lint. The flat opening allows you to get under the coils and vacuum up more lint where a normal vacuum tool won’t reach.

Or maybe you dropped an earring or other small item and need to recover it. You can cover the end of your vacuum hose extension with pantyhoses or a nylon stocking. Secure the sock in place with a rubber band and Continue Reading →

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Reusing Wood Ashes for Sand

Fireplace and woodstove ashes have many uses. I’m going to share one very useful way I reuse my wood ashes to sand my icy road.

First clean out your ashes from your woodstove or fireplace. Always use a metal pail or container as ashes can still be hot and have ciders that can cause a fire if you place them in non-metal container.

Immediately take your pail outside to avoid any fire hazard in your home or porch. Never store wood ashes near your home as they can cause combustion with other materials and start a fire.

Sprinkle the wood ashes from your pail onto the icy road. I like to spread the ashes down the roadway where my tires will gain the most benefit from the wood ashes. As the ashes melt into the ice, Continue Reading →

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Recycled Plastic Bottle Drain Cleaner

You can use a recycled plastic bottle to de-clog your drain. It is a simple idea where you can take an old plastic bottle and with a knife and marker, you can create your own spiral drain cleaner.

Basically you take a 2-liter plastic bottle and cut the plastic into a long spiral that you can drop down into your drain to clean out hair and other debris. By creating a little hook on the end of the plastic spiral, you can pull out the gunk blocking your drain.

Plastic Bottle Cut into SpiralsImage Source: Dollar Store Crafts

This idea is not only a useful repurpose of an old plastic bottle, it also saves you money from buying drain cleaners. For full directions on how to make your own recycled plastic drain cleaner and de-clog your drain Continue Reading →

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Wine Cork for a Bag Closer

Need a chip clip? Or maybe just something to keep a bag or package closed? All you need to do is recycle a wine cork into a useful bag closer. Check out these ones I made.

The steps are quick and simple to recycle any wine cork into a bag closer. First place the cork on a cutting board and with a sharp knife slowly cut down about halfway through the middle of the cork. Then cut a bit at an angle down again to create the opening at the top of the cork. See photos below for a closeup of the cuts.

You can make the cut wider for thicker bags too. Just angle your cut down into the center cut for a wider opening. If the opening it not wide enough, just cut down again at an angle until you have a wider opening as needed.

Conclusion: Recycling old wine corks into bag closers is a great way to repurpose old corks and seal your packages closed.

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15 Things to Give Up


Source: PurposeFairy.com

I thought this was a wonderful list of things that one should give up to be happy. I just wanted to share this as a useful tip for a better life. Check it out.

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