Holiday Safety Tips: From the National Safety Council
Decorations: Wear gloves while decorating with spun glass "angel hair". It can irritate your eyes and skin. When spraying artifical snow on windows or other surfaces, be sure to follow directions carefully. These sprays can irritate your lungs if you inhale them.
Fireplaces: You should not try to burn evergreens or wreaths in the fireplace or in a wood stove to dispose of them. They are likely to flare out of control and send flames and smoke into the room. Also, do not burn wrapping paper in the fireplace because it often contains metallic materials which can be toxic if burned.
Candles: Never use lighted candles near trees, boughs, curtains/drapes or with any potentially flammable item. Keep candles out of children's reach.
Plants: Small kids may think that holiday plants look good enough to eat, but many plants can cause severe stomach problems. Plants to watch out for include mistletoe, holly berries, Jerusalem cherry, and amaryllis. Keep all of these plants out of children's reach.
Stress: The holiday season is one of the most stressful times of the year. You can't avoid stress completely, but you can give yourself some relief. Allow enough time to shop rather than hurry through stores and parking lots. Only plan to do a reasonable number of errands. When shopping, make several trips out to the car to drop off packages rather than trying to carry too many items.
Aired 12-16-08
Plastic Bag use – Tame grated cheese. Place the grater in a bag and keep it there as you shred a block of cheese. The bag catches the shavings and the kitchen counter stays clean.
Hair Dryer for cake – Use a hair dryer for glossing the frosting on a freshly baked cake. Lightly blow warm air over the top and the sides of the cake until the frosting melts a little. When it cools, the surface will stay shiny for a professional finish.
Wax paper for floors – Rip off a piece of wax paper roughly the size of your sweeper and attach it just as you would a cleaning cloth. As you sweep highly trafficked or dirty areas, the gunk will stick. Wax on, dirt off!
Clear nail polish to prevent rust – Prevent your shaving cream can from leaving nasty rust stains on porcelain by painting a thin layer of nail polish around the metal base. The lacquer helps keep the water from corrode the metal.
Aired 12-09-08
Tips for Serving Control:
Clearly, serving size is a major issue when it comes to eating right and staying healthy. It can be taxing to control portion sizes and decipher the correct serving size for your diet.
At the dinner table; Serve food on plates instead of placing serving dishes on the table. Keep excess food out of reach to minimize temptation for a 2nd helping.
In front of the TV; Put the serving amount that you plan on eating into a bowl or container instead of eating straight from the container.
Around the house; To avoid overeating unhealthy foods:
- Divide up contents of a large food package into several serving-size containers.
- Replace the candy dish with a fruit bowl
- Store tempting foods like cookies, chips or ice cream out of eyesight, perhaps on a high shelf or in the back of the freezer.
- Move the healthier foods to eye level at the front of the pantry shelves or freezer.
For 1 serving keep these in mind for portion size
Baked potato = computer mouse
Cheese = 4 stacked dice
Meat or Poultry = deck of cards
Grilled fish = checkbook
Ice Cream = tennis ball
Vegetables/fruit = woman’s fist
Aired 12-02-08
De-Grime the Blinds:
1. To wet-wash blinds: Place a towel in the bottom of the bathtub. Fill the tub halfway with warm water and add a few squirts of dishwashing liguid. With the slats open and blind fully extended, place the entire shade in the tub, swishing the water with your hand to create agitation. (If the blind is too long or wide to lay it flat, wash it in sections by draping it over the tub’s side and moving a few slats at a time through the water.) Wipe stubborn dirt with a soft cloth.
2. Drain the tub, fill it halfway again, and swish water to rinse. Lift the blind out of the water by the top frame. Grab the bottom rail with your other hand and tilt the whole thing sideways to drain.
3. With a clean, soft cloth, dry the blinds and hang them back on the window. Leave them all the way down, with the slats open, until they are 100 percent dry.
Aired 11/25/08
Make Life a little Happier:
1. Surround yourself with beauty. Research shows that when we have pretty things around us, we feel more beautiful. Adding just one thing you love – a favorite painting, flowers – can give you an inner beauty boost.
2. Give yourself a compliment – According to psychologists, we all have the ability to feel lovelier simply by telling ourselves we are. And when we see ourselves as more attractive, other people do, too.
3. Choose upbeat friends – Studies prove that how the people around us feel influences how we feel about ourselves. Spending time with friends who feel good about themselves will help you feel great about who you are, too.
4. Spread some joy – Psychologists say that giving compliments to others improves how we feel about ourselves. Why? When we see the joy our words bring to someone else, it sends our own self-esteem soaring.
Aired 11-17-08
Make Your bath self- cleaning:
1. Opaque products – from shower gels and soaps to shampoos and conditioners – build soap scum. Switch to see-through formulas and you’ll have less to clean.
2. Dehumidifying is key to eliminating mold and mildew, so run the exhaust fan after you shower. And in mild weather, open a window to dry out your bath even faster.
3. No-rinse shower sprays work as long as you use them regularly; and since they prevent buildup, you never have to scrub.
4. Put ¼ cup of white vinegar in a spray bottle and fill with water. Spray under the rim once a day and flush – and you’ll go twice as long before you need to don those rubber gloves & scub.
5. Daily swipes with a disposable wipe will keep the floor sparkling, you’ll mop it half as often.
Aired 11/11/08
Natural tricks for no more pests:
1. Ants & Oranges – Trying to get rid of ants with chemicals only makes the problem worse; when ants catch wind of poison, they sound an alarm that triggers their queen to reproduce faster. Try something called Orange Guard (www.ecowise.com) shuts down anthills without encouraging the birth of new ants the way poisons do.
2. Garlic repel mosquitoes – Garlic camouflages your body’s scent, so mosquitoes can’t track you down. Simply add 2 crushed garlic cloves to a pint of water, let sit overnight, strain & spritz around outdoor areas.
3. Dust mites – Simply combine a ½ cup of Borax with your usual detergent when washing sheets & pillowcases and use water that’s at least 122 F.
Aired 11/04/08
Unclog a drain:
1. Chemical-free clearer – Sprinkle ¼ cup baking soda in the drain, then follow with 1 cup vinegar; let the combo break down gunk for 15 minutes, then pour in boiling water.
2. Pour a cup of bleach down your drain – it’ll eat through grime and kill germs. What’s more, it breaks down into water, salt and oxygen, so it won’t harm the enviroment.
3. Pour a 2-liter bottle of cola down the drain - The bubbles combine with the soda’s citric acid to dislodge sticky stuff. Wait 10 minutes, then just use a plunger.
4. Drop 3 denture-cleaning tablets into the drain followed by a cup of vinegar. Let them dissolve buildup for a few minutes, then run hot tap water to clear.
Travel Make-up case for kids – Ever thought of using a makeup case to tote kids art supplies around? Pack crayons, paints and small notepads inside. If anything leaks, the mess stays in the zipped waterproof compartment.
Squeaky Shoe? – Don’t try to fix at home. Chances are the squeak is caused by a loose shank – the steel piece that reinforces the shoe from heel to arch – or air bubbles that have accumulated in the adhesive that connects the sole to the shoe’s upper. This happens with normal wear and tear, so squeaks are virtually impossible to prevent. A cobbler can install a new shank or reapply adhesive to the sole.
Aired 10-21-08
Choose chocolate : This Halloween remember that some treats may be better for your kid’s pearly whites than others. Gummy sweets like taffy are the biggest cavity culprits because they stick to teeth. Dentists everywhere encourage your child to opt for chocolates, which melt and get washed away by saliva, or candies that don’t require chewing, like lollipops or mints.
Earrings for your glasses - Lost the little screw that keeps your glasses arm in place? Replace it with an earring for a temporary fix. A stud works best.
Think thin: The key to making healthy food choices may be focusing on the negative. If you have a choice between a greasy slice of pizza and a turkey sub, zero in on how many calories the pizza has and how long it will take you to burn them off – rather than on how the sandwich is low in fat. Scaring yourself away from something fattening can be more effective than thinking about the benefits of something nutritious.
Debunking a myth: You’ve heard that giving your child flat ginger ale will get rid of an upset stomach…not true. While the ginger spice may help ease the tummy ache, most ginger ales don’t contain it! Carbonated drinks, flat or not, do replace some of the fluids lost from diarrhea or vomiting, but they don’t replenish much needed sodium & potassium. Your best bet: an OTC oral re-hydration solution like “Pedialyte”, which contains the ratio of electrolytes and sugar needed for recovery.
Aired 10-14-08
It’s in the bag: Stop trashing the environment. Unlike traditional garbage bags that take hundreds of years to decompose, try “Perf-go-green” a recycled plastic version that has an FDA approved additive that helps it break down in less than 2 years. (perfgogreen.com)
Watch the clock: Having breakfast, lunch and dinner at the same times every day may sound dull, but it’s better for your body. Researchers found that people with regular eating schedules were 42% less likely to develop metabolic syndrome, a group of risk factors that can lead to heart disease and diabetes.
Aired 10/7/08
Lingerie Bag – Use for protecting delicates but how about stowing odds and ends that don’t fit in your bureau? Stash swimsuits, or sports bras in a mesh bag, thread a hanger through one of the holes, and hang in your closet.
Shower-curtain Hooks – Great way to help store your purses. Place hooks on a closet’s clothing bar and hang purse handles from them to keep your bags at eye level and off the floor. Helps declutter your closest.
Tea Strainer – Use to dust your baking goods. Fill the mesh basket with powdered sugar and lightly tap it to sift the sweet stuff onto slices or cakes.
Aired 09-30-08
Bright idea: If photography is your thing, here’s a tip to get the most out of your snapshot. Even when using your camera outdoors, it’s smart to turn on the flash. On bright sunny days a flash can eliminate shadows around people’s eyes and noses. And when it’s cloudy the added light can make faces appear sharper.
Tea time: So you like to wind down your day with a cup of tea. But the caffeine gets you too wound up to sleep…Pour boiling water over the tea leaves or bag, wait a half minute and discard the water. Then brew with fresh hot water. You’re basically de-caffing it. Since about 80% of the caffeine is released in the first 30 to 45 seconds of steeping. Enjoy late night tea without the jitters.
Walk tall: If you hate seeing your boots in the closet misshapen – give ‘em a lift. Stick empty paper towel rolls inside. Your boots will stand up straight which helps them retain the shape…and your closet will be tidy.
Smells fishy: Sure you like to cook fish…fish is good and good for you, but let’s face it – it stinks! If the smell lingers a little too long for you, try placing a bowl of white vinegar on your counter. It absorbs the odor in less than an hour and is more eco-friendly than masking the scent with a cleaning product.
Aired 09-23-08
Wine Cork – Use to silence cabinet doors that slam. Slice a cork into thin disks and glue them onto the inside corners of cabinets to muzzle the closing noise.
Rubbing Alcohol – Relieve achy muscles. Freeze one part rubbing alcohol and three parts water in a resealable plastic bag overnight to create a soft comfortable gel pack.
Hair Elastic – Use to keep all types of flowers in place in a wide-mouth vase. Stretch a clear hair elastic around the stems, then let the flowers fall naturally.
Aired 09-16-08
Your fridge may keep your food cold, but it’s heating up the earth. Even though today’s refrigerators use only about half as much energy as models from 10 years ago, they still account for about 14% of total household electricity use – more than any other kitchen appliance. Here’s so simple steps to help consume less energy:
- Keep the fresh-food compartment between 37 & 40 degrees and the freezer at 5 degrees
- Check that the door seals are able to hold a piece of paper in place even when you pull on it. If it can’t, cool air may be escaping, decreasing efficiency.
- Make sure there is less than a quarter inch of frost on the freezer walls, since ice buildup puts more strain on the fridge’s motor.
- Keep your fridge well stocked but not overstuffed, to help maintain its idel temperature most efficiently. If the fridge is close to empty, fill the space with pitchers of water.
- Clean the coils annually, and leave space between wall and fridge to let air circulate more easily
- Buy an Energy Star model. Those refrigerators must be a least 20% more efficient than their conventional counterparts.
Aired 09-09-08
