All about home

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FAST, EASY AND BRILLIANT

EVERYDAY TIPS AND TRICKS Today, due to our extreme busyness it gets ever harder to find time for cleaning and solving even simplest everyday problems. SCRATCHES ON WOOD FURNITURE A walnut will help hide scratches and scuffs on wood furniture. Just rub a half of a shelled walnut on the problem spot, and the pulp will hide scratches.

SCUM WILL NOT ESCAPE Too busy to stand over the broth coming to the boil but not want to be bothered cleaning the stove after the scum has escaped? Just place a wooden spatula across

the top of the pan – this will prevent the foam from escaping.

VERTICALLY FOLDED CLOTHING Fold clothes and underwear vertically before storing in drawers. This way you will not have to go through the whole stack to find the right shirt that can easily be hiding at the very bottom.

REPAIRING LEATHER UPHOLSTERY Want to disguise scuffs on your favorite old leather chair or sofa? Shoe polish is the perfect remedy for scratches and scuffs. Be sure to let it dry!

BROKEN GLASS Smithereens of a broken glass on white tile are extremely difficult to clean. Press a slice

of toaster bread to the floor to pick them up. If no toaster bread is available, use the soft part of the regular one or even a piece of soft dough.

DISINFECTING IN THE MICROWAVE A microwave oven is a multifunctional device: in addition to its main use, engage it for ridding your sponges and plastic cutting boards from germs and odors. Microwave for a couple of minutes on high.

CHALK FOR GREASE STAINS Rub crumbled chalk into a grease stain on fabric, and a few hours later it will fully absorb the grease. Remember that this method is most effective for fresh stains.

HOW MANY POTS AND PANS DOES YOUR KITCHEN NEED? What is the optional number of pots and pans in the kitchen so that you are not inconvenienced by their shortage but your cabinets are not overloaded with unwanted extras? The most popular kitchen set usually consists of five pots, one large skillet, and lids to fit them. Prices vary depending on the make, manufacturing country, and material. So, buying a standard kitchen set you will get: A LARGE STOCKPOT. For a busy woman (and practically every woman, be it a homemaker, a career person, or a self-employed owner of a small business, has her hands full from morning till night) cooking soup for just one meal is not practical. Therefore, preparing a 3-4-litre pot of soup to last for a couple of days is a viable solution. TWO 2-LITRE POTS. They are great for cooking side dishes or warming up that very soup for just one meal instead of warming up all the soup in the large pot over and over again.

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ALL ABOUT HOME

against the walls. In cheaper models you will definitely notice some slits in between – use wax paper to cover them and save your oven from spills. A SMALL ONE-HANDLE POT is indispensible for the family with small children, to cook single servings of hot cereals and mashed potatoes, or boil eggs. A LARGE COVERED SKILLET is essential for more serious chefs who sauté and fry often.

Think about a piece or two of ceramic or non-stick bake ware. Non-stick kitchen wares should be high quality lest you have to get rid of them after a few months of use because the Teflon coating peels off of inexpensive pots and pans in a jiffy.

Besides the standard set, you would be happy with one or two smaller frying pans for crepes or omelets for one and a Dutch oven for sautéing dishes on the stovetop or baking them in the oven. For more accomplished cooks ramekins are recommended – buy the number corresponding to your family size.

As far as materials go, try to avoid aluminum or enameled kitchenware – the former is harmful to your health, especially if you want to keep the dish in the same pot it has been cooked; the latter is good until the first chip that will start off the avalanche of peeled enamel. In families with small children kitchenware is more susceptible to damage, so go for stainless steel pots and pans with thick and heavy bottom – they stay attractive for many years and are user-friendly.

If you need bake ware for cakes purchase a spring form. Make sure the bottom is flush

Bon appétit!

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