Totally Random Tips

lindsayanne14

So yesterday I was at the hairdresser and she gave me a random tip for clearing up body acne while PG. It got me thinking about other random things I've learned to help solve life's little first world problems.

So share your random tips, tricks and life hacks here!

lindsayanne14

I have two...

1. According to my hairdresser, anti dandruff shampoo helps clear body acne and is safe during pregnancy. I'll be trying this one!

2. If your tights (maternity or regular) get saggy in the crotch, try wearing a pair of boy short style underwear on top of them. Totally stops saggy crotchet syndrome!

dana1047

Use peroxide to remove blood from fabric

Use static cling dryer sheets lightly dipped in soapy water to easily remove bugs from your car's paint finish < no real scrubbing!!

Magic erasers clean kitchen cabinets easily. My cabinets are cream and it removes dirty fingerprints, grease etc.

If you have a shedding dog and get fur on your clothes use a damp hand to wipe & remove it when you don't have a lint roller. Easier than tape!!

lacey0482

If you have a toddler who needs their food cut up into small pieces, use a pizza cutter instead of a knife. Doesn't drag, and gets the tedious job done in a fraction of the time. 

lindsayanne14

@lacey0482‌ good idea! I also use a pair of kitchen shears to cut up food. So much easier than a knife!

jk3610

lindsayanne14 said:

I have two... 1. According to my hairdresser, anti dandruff shampoo helps clear body acne and is safe during pregnancy. I'll be trying this one! 2. If your tights (maternity or regular) get saggy in the crotch, try wearing a pair of boy short style underwear on top of them. Totally stops saggy crotchet syndrome!

As far as the anti-dandruff shampoo tip, my dad was actually given the same tip by her dermatologist!  Obviously not for PG related stuff, but my dad gets seborrhea on his face really bad and doc said just use head and shoulders to wash.  interesting...

starshollow

lindsayanne14 said:

@lacey0482‌ good idea! I also use a pair of kitchen shears to cut up food. So much easier than a knife!

Seconded! Kitchen shears are the greatest thing ever for cutting toddler food!

wholebunches101212

Hydrogen peroxide gets stains out of EVERYTHING! Even old stains. I just put it in a spray bottle.

lindsayanne14

@Swoon13‌ I totally wish I stumbled upon this trick in high school! Saggy crotch is the worst!

sagehens47

If you have a pot or pan that is incredibly hard to clean, fill it up with hot water and let it soak with a dryer sheet in it. Not only do they soften clothes, they soften caked on or burnt food! Comes right off afterwards.

Ginja85

For biologic stains (blood, urine, vomit, etc.) Pet stain remover is awesome & doesn't leave yellow rings like peroxide can.

knlouis

 

sagehens47 said:

If you have a pot or pan that is incredibly hard to clean, fill it up with hot water and let it soak with a dryer sheet in it. Not only do they soften clothes, they soften caked on or burnt food! Comes right off afterwards.

WOW! My hubby buns EVERY thing! lol will try this tonight AHAHA

Ifeellikeamammal

Not pregnancy related, but here is something I came up with for my seemingly endless business trips:
Spray a few cotton balls with a few squirts of perfume. Place them in a ziplock and add a couple of squirts to moisten the interior of the bag. Seal it up,and use the cotton balls as your perfume applicator on the road. Saves your expensive perfume getting confiscated from your carry-on because the bottle is too big.. or worse.. having to use a freebie mini bottle that isn't your scent!

lindsayanne14

Audrey1787 said:

When I was being more organized, I clipped one of those mesh lingerie bags to the side of my laundry basket and stuck baby socks in there as I gathered up the dirty clothes. I kept finding baby socks in sleeves or pant legs and it made it so much easier to keep them together. I need to start doing that again. I found a baby sock in my work pants this morning and it reminded me that I do have a solution if I just remembered to use it.

I do the same thing! Baby socks are so freaking small, you never get the same amount from the dryer you put in the washer! Where do they go?!?

Yours seem to migrate to your work pants @Audrey1787‌

jowynen

Another tip with burnt pans is to put water and dish soap in the pan and put it back on the stove and let it boil. Helps remove pretty much everything

topaz7777

lindsayanne14 said:

When I was being more organized, I clipped one of those mesh lingerie bags to the side of my laundry basket and stuck baby socks in there as I gathered up the dirty clothes. I kept finding baby socks in sleeves or pant legs and it made it so much easier to keep them together. I need to start doing that again. I found a baby sock in my work pants this morning and it reminded me that I do have a solution if I just remembered to use it.

I do the same thing! Baby socks are so freaking small, you never get the same amount from the dryer you put in the washer! Where do they go?!? Yours seem to migrate to your work pants @Audrey1787‌

I had a baby laundry basket with a large mesh bag I put inside.  I flipped the mesh bag over the edges like you would a trash bag and all of DD's tiny laundry went in there.  Then on laundry day I would close the mesh bag and toss the whole thing in the laundry.  Didn't loose any socks.

EmmaSF

lacey0482 said:

If you have a toddler who needs their food cut up into small pieces, use a pizza cutter instead of a knife. Doesn't drag, and gets the tedious job done in a fraction of the time. 

I do this all the time. I thought I was just super lazy... now I know I am really a life hack genius!

xuxachi

Wash soft baby toys and stuffed animals in a pillow case - or better yet - a pillow protector that has a zipper.

crossfit704

shortskirtlongjacket said:

I load my washer, but for some reason I lose interest when it comes to unloading it. Quite often I leave them in their too long and they are smelly. Pour in 1/2 c of vinegar and run the cycle again. Takes the smell right out. A friend (mother of 3) told me this also works wonders for pee sheets.

White vinegar?  Apple cider vinegar?  

BigAppleBiggerBelly

lacey0482 said:

If you have a toddler who needs their food cut up into small pieces, use a pizza cutter instead of a knife. Doesn't drag, and gets the tedious job done in a fraction of the time. 

Or kitchen shears. I always use them to cut pizza.

stephaniejfree

When I was pg with my son, a friend told me about the mesh bag to keep baby socks, and it's my fave baby tip to share! The head and shoulders didn't do a thing for my hormonal pg body acne though

Mushibamboo

I cut the tops off some of DD's worn-out baby socks and pulled them up to her knees to make kneepads when she started crawling. Her knees used to get so red from hardwood floors, that saved them the bumps.

Ginja85

Using a cotton ball wipe a little essential oil on light bulbs for a fresh or calming scent. Doesn't work on LED bulbs because they don't produce heat.

Bedside lamp= lavender
Bathroom= orange or grapefruit

Smalterud1

If you get a heat stain mark on a wood table from something hot (I.e. A casserole dish that was set on the kitchen table) just place a dish towel over the mark and set your iron to steam (or use a handheld steamer) and steam right over the towel...stain is gone in seconds!!!

sassypants1982

If you get wax on the carpet put a paper towel over it and set your iron to a low setting and iron on top of the paper towel.

jc_twomamas

These are great! Who knew dryer sheets had so many other uses?!

Also, I've got nothin. But I really appreciate this thread and all of your knowledge!

Duffgurl

qwanda2013 said:

I have used and reccomended H&S for acne forever! It's great!! I always feel like a freak when I say it though because I wouldn't wash my colored hair with it but I love it for my face lol.

I don't have any other great tips. My domestic gene is broken.

Any particular H&S?

Duffgurl

All I have to offer is one of the best products for cleaning just about anything is Awesome cleaning spray. You can pick it up at the 99cents store, dollar tree and Wal-Mart. I highly recommend it. Always have a bottle in the cabinet.

topaz7777

 

Duffgurl said:

All I have to offer is one of the best products for cleaning just about anything is Awesome cleaning spray. You can pick it up at the 99cents store, dollar tree and Wal-Mart. I highly recommend it. Always have a bottle in the cabinet.

Can I spray this on DH?  Will it make him Awesome???

JAP09-02

For thawing bags of frozen milk: keep a small crockpot filled with water and on the low or warm setting.  Place the bag of milk in there to thaw.  Saves time and water.

Hopefully this is a hack, and I just wasn't the only one out there who had never thought of this!

Prpljade

Baking soda will remove rust stains from just about any surface, also removes built up gunk in your sinks, coffee mugs, washing machine and deodorized just about anything. I keep a giant bag from Costco around cause I use it so often.

You can also find diy instructions on cleaning and servicing many household items from your vacuum cleaner to your dryer. I have had to pay a tech or anyone to fix my dryer or my vacuum in years, I haven't had to replace either in as long. Currently I've had my vacuum for over ten years and it works great as long as I keep it maintained which is about twice a year for ten minutes.

Dryer sheets also help repel Mosquitos, my dad taught me to fold one up in my pocket any time we went camping or to a picnic. It worked well!

NaughtyNiner

I put dryer sheets in my air vents and turn on the heater to freshen up the smell in my house when it stinks or we have guests coming over.

springlove59

Love all the tips! Only one I can think of is an easy way to get leftover hard candle wax out of a candle holder, fill the candle holder with dish soap like dawn and warm water. Give it a few minutes and the hard wax will come right out! Before I learned this I had the worst time trying to get wax out with a butter knife. Game changer!!!!

julievdm12

Another way to get wax out of a candle is to pop it in the freezer over night and it usually pops out in no more than 3 or 4 solid pieces. It works really well with the 3 wick ones from bath and body works.
I do this because I love using the left over holders for storage. I have one full of q-tips in my bathroom.

MauiQuickie

To remove permanent marker use a magic eraser and hand sanitizer. Scrub and repeat!

abc829

Dryer sheets everywhere! I love them. I keep some under my car seats in my drawers in my closet.

lexyraejay

rsaj0807 said:

MauiQuickie said:

To remove permanent marker use a magic eraser and hand sanitizer. Scrub and repeat!

Will this work for ink pen too?

I use hairspray on ink pen. I think it's the alcohol in it that does the trick. Just spray it on until the stain starts to dissolve and then rinse and wash.

Prpljade

yep, isopropyl alcohol wipes(we have them in the lab at work, but just a paper towel and some isopropyl from the drug store will work) tend to clean up most ink from non-porous surfaces and when used to rinse cloth will often remove stains from the cloth. This has saved my ass both at home and at work.

Oh and edit to add this works wonders on that old funky dry erase board that you can't seem to get clean anymore. wipe it down with isopropyl and dry with a clean paper towel till it looks new!