Stains in the Country

Blood stains can ruin clothing (and linens). Here's a list of 5 DOs and DON'Ts regarding blood stains:







1. DO NOT wash in HOT water; hot water will SET the stain.
2. DO NOT use chlorine bleach; this chemical will only turn the blood stain brown.
3. DO rinse as soon as possible in COLD water; even if you rinse only the stained area.
4. DO pour a small amount of hydrogen peroxide directly onto the stain; you don't even have to dig out your oxy based laundry product.
5. DO let the stain+water+hydrogen peroxide set for a few minutes then rinse and hang to dry.
Now you can launder as usual.
This process works on all types of fabrics that are washable.
Let the professionals handle blood stains on Dry-Clean-Only products.

© 2015 Cat Brennan

FRIDAY in the COUNTRY

Don't use liquid fabric softener on towels and cloths for bath or kitchen.  The liquid renders the linens non –absorbent.  There are a couple of ways to soften your clothing: Add 1/2 - 1 cup vinegar to the rinse water in the washer. Another way to soften clothing is to purchase some "dryer balls" to bounce around in the dryer while your clothing or linens are drying. 

Don't forget to keep on hand some inexpensive nylon tulle/net (the cheap kind, NOT the soft stuff one would use for wedding items).  If you've left a tissue in your pocket and it "snowed' all over your clothing, just put a length of tulle in the dryer with your clothing. I don't know why it works, but it does (friction, perhaps?). I keep a light/white length and a dark/black length on hand for the respective load - 1 1/2 - 2 yards each is a good length. This tulle will last through several loads. When it becomes too soft for this use, give it to the little girls to play dress-up or cut into narrower strips for 'ribbon' on a package.

If you've run out of buttermilk for your baked goods don't fret, make your own.  Pour 1 - 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice into a measuring cup. Add regular milk to make the amount of butter milk needed. Vinegar also works. Stir a little; after a few seconds, your milk with 'thicken' into 'buttermilk'.

Just-a--Pinch of instant coffee granules takes the “bright white” glare out of cream gravy; the flavor can't be noticed (unless you added too much).  

Low on fresh milk?  Add water for liquid – sprinkle dry milk into other dry ingredients…works great with pancakes, waffles, cakes etc. ( add the dry milk to flour and other dry ingredients, first - then add the water when your recipe calls for the 'milk'). 

If you're out of Self Rising flour, you can make your own: For each cup of flour, mix in 1 ¼ tsp baking powder and ¼ tsp salt

Finally, for today, if you're out of BAKING POWDER, again, make your own: For each tsp. Baking Powder: 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar and ¼ tsp. baking soda.

© 2014 Cat Brennan

Country Organizing

 We're approaching another weekend in the Country.  Just in time, an organizing idea I've found useful. Interestingly, I've seen this idea pop up lately in several locations, including Martha Stewart's online tips.  This is a great way to save space and it keeps all of your spray-bottles handy.  I've been doing this since I moved into my apartment more than three years ago.  Since the "big gun gurus" of homemaking and organizing have published this tip as a "new" idea, I thought I should put in my (old idea) 2¢ worth.  You can see that I've labeled ALL of my spray bottles, even the commercial products, with a trusty permanent marker - I can locate at a glance which one I need. The other 4 spray bottles (my home-brew cleaning products) contain (from Left to Right) Vinegar/Water - in a 50/50 ratio for all-purpose light-duty kitchen cleaning, next LOC, an Amway bio-degradable product I've used for 40+ years, third, an Ammonia mixture for window care and lastly, a Three-part Mixture for treating stains on clothing (this works so much better than any of the commercial stain-treatment products). These are all within easy reach just off my kitchen area. Simply hang the bottles by their "triggers" slipped over your apparatus.

In my apartment, the utility room and all the closets are fitted with these white rack and shelving units that you see above.
Martha's tip included installing a spring-loaded "curtain rod" under your sink for these bottles.  The idea is to get the bottles with their "trigger-like handles" off the floor or shelf to make room for other items.

© 2012 Cat Brennan

COUNTRY POTIONS

Regarding this blog, COUNTRY POTIONS, NO, I’m not into brewing something for the broom pilots; rather, some good old fashioned ideas to ease your life.



Credit the idea for this particular blog to my oldest daughter, ALisa. She considers baking soda and vinegar to be her magic powers. She uses vinegar in the washing machine to remove odors, especially from towels. Just add it to the water, soak for 30 minutes and then wash with detergent. “Also, every so often”, she continues, “pour baking soda and then vinegar down the sink drains to clean out the gunk. I use baking soda to clean and shine my ceramic stove top.”


More from the Country Cat:


My mom was a devoted coffee drinker, with real sugar and half and half, thank you very much. At the end of the week, she set her thermos jug to soak, filled with baking soda and water. Not only did it eliminate the stale odors, it removed the stains.


Sometimes I carry a little Playmate® cooler for my lunch and it does get grungy! I put some hot water in the cooler with ¼ cup baking soda and let it soak for a little while. Then, I use that same water to scrub the inside and outside; and it almost sparkles.


Vinegar is a good cat repellent... if you can put up with the odor for a little while, you may be able to train the cat. Place a little bowl of vinegar where you don’t want your cat to take up residence. Do you have a large favorite house plant that snowball has made her favorite sand box spot? Place a small bowl of vinegar on the plant surface, and you shouldn’t have anymore problems with Fluffy relieving himself in the ficus.


Here are some responses from YOU.. With regard to how YOU use SALT and/or VINEGAR … and a few other items, easily found around the house:


Maria in New Mexico wrote that she uses vinegar to polish copper. She uses a vinegar/water solution to spray her kitchen counters and dining tables to clean them; it disinfects and doesn’t leave a poisonous residue like some commercial cleaners. Maria further writes that, “I use salt to wash my hands if I’ve handled onions or a mildew sponge.”


From Noelle in Virginia, “We used salt water to rinse out Windy’s mouth after her 4 teeth extraction (her daughter). She continued, “I used vinegar to clean out my used water dispenser when I first got it. It had some sort of cleaner taste to it – after a few rinses with the vinegar, it rinsed out”. Noelle added that regular and especially kosher salt makes a great abrasive to clean off tough spots on the counter. “My mother used to have us dust the furniture with a mixture of vinegar and warm water”.


Susan, in Colorado, uses salt and vinegar to clean copper, and she does it frequently. Susan further writes, “This is the method used by French chefs at the Cordon Bleu.”


Pam, also in Colorado, says that lemon and salt clean a copper bottom pan and that distilled vinegar is the best drain deodorizer.


Susan S., RN, BSN in Goochland writes that she uses vinegar for cleaning purposes. “If I have spots in the tub or sink I spray them with vinegar or let it soak for a while, then the stain comes right out.


Marti uses salt to clean her cast iron skillet. “Just rub it around and it will soak up the grease and scrub off the food. Helps to keep it seasoned as well.” Marti continues with this: “To whiten those –once-white tennis shoes, soak them in salt water and them leave them out in the sun to dry.” She gets rid of odors with a mixture or vinegar and water.


Christina writes that she uses a vinegar water solution to clean all her wood floors and tables. She also keeps a spray bottle of water/vinegar to clean produce, using a 3:1 ratio.


Laurel uses vinegar to clean her coffee maker (I also do this, following the vinegar wash with at least 2 full pots of water).


Gwen wrote that she uses diluted vinegar on the spots that have been marked by either a cat or a dog; again using a 3:1 ratio. She just pours it on the spot and then absorb with an old towel. Gwen said, “The lady who shared the with me said she never had any spots when they got a new puppy because she used this solution; same with other friends with sofas and kitties”. Gwen’s MiL used vinegar to clean windows etc.


Lisa gargles with salt water when she has mouth sores. Her mum used to pour a bowl of diluted vinegar over her rinsed hair to make it shiny, but it tasted gross.  Lisa added another trick, “When my hands or feet are very dry, I mix salt with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and rub in on, then wash if off; you get lovely soft, smooth hands and feet.” (ed. note: Who knew that R.R’s. EVOO could be so handy out of the kitchen?).

Finally, Noelle found an interesting paragraph on the ‘net regarding her kitty, Althea, and fleas. “Home Remedy for Flea Control” … the are a number of home remedies to kill fleas, but to make them lasting, it’s most essential to disinfect your home, so that these fleas don’t find a suitable environment to exist in. The favorite flea haunt in your home are your pet’s furnishings, so wash the dog bedding regularly by adding eucalyptus essential oil to the final rinse, this oil is so effective that it kills 99% of he house dust mites too! Also, by vacuuming the home thoroughly and sprinkling a fine layer of ordinary table salt over the upholstery and carpets, you can evict these unwelcome guests safely.


© Cat Brennan 2010

Country Laundry Lore

Do you remember this old song? "Today is Monday, Today is Monday, Monday wash day, Everybody happy? Well, I should say so!"  I don't remember the rest of the lyrics, but anyone in the South knows that Monday is washday.  All your clothes clean and sparkling out on the clothesline.  The sheets are all together, next come the pillow cases (and they WILL be ironed later), shirts hung upside down from the side seams, towels and other linens by both corners, nice and smooth, and on and on. Of course the lady's unmentionables were NEVER hung on the line outsde.  Many of you reading this may not even know what is the purpose of a clothesline or seen one, much less clothes pins.  These days, I use clothes pins for keeping potato chips and other bags closed.
Did YOU ever use a wringer washer? They were highly entertaining when mama wasn't looking; especially when the socks got mangled into both rollers.  Many years ago, while visiting dear friends on one of the Indian Reservations out west, I had to do some washing.  These friends were school teachers, so they lived right on the rez. The wringer washer they had was vintage; I'm thinking it arrived on one of the wagon trains.  The dang thing had a mind of it's own and delighted in grabbing my hair. You haven't been in a real fight until a lumbering hunk of iron and water decides to scalp you on Monday.  I came away with all my hair, but I was sorely tempted to toss that Maytag TM into the lake of fire! I'm sure it was possessed!
Laundry is one of those things that will never go away.  The "hunk of iron and water" may be shiny new, fancy and computerized, but it still has to be "fed" .. Experience has taught me that when using a wringer washer one must always wash the whites BEFORE the reds and not the other way around. Husbands and brothers just don't enjoy pink underwear. A similar laundry law applies when washing the whites .. don't allow that lone red sock to join the water dance or the hubby will have pink shorts.
As for me, when some of my "pink things" get wimpy looking, I just wash the pinks and reds together. 
Grease spots and stains can be a permanent problem.  It's not necessary to buy those overpriced prior-to-washing sprays. Keep a bottle of Dawn TM Liquid Dish Detergent in your laundry room. Dab on the grease spots, rub the article 'together' and toss in with the load being washed. This is an easy and inexpensive 'fix' that works, compliments of my youngest daughter.
Watch your dryer closely and don't over dry anything. That appliance is an electricity guzzler so why feed your local power company? Need I remind you to keep that lint filter clear and clean?  Remove all of the lint after every load you dry, and scrub it well at least once a month with soap and warm water and a soft brush.
If you don't have a clothesline and, let's face it, most of us don't, you can still "air" dry the rugs, tennis shoes and other items of this nature. Remember REDUCE your USE ..
Have a country filled weekend!  © 2010 Cat Brennan