Recovering chairs and benches

From Cherie - now that the holidays are around the corner I thought I would share the how to"s of recovering chairs and benches. this is my version and my secrets!

Of course you start by removing needed screws from under the chair to lift the seat. take off the fabric and set aside. Check the cushion, if need be, buy a new poly foam cushion from a fabric store about 1" deep. (They cost about 5 dollars.) Also get enough cotton batting to roll around cushion. I found that using batting covering the cushion softens the sharp corners look and holds it all together. secure a couple of layers of batting over cushion with a staple gun.

Then using the old fabric as a guide, cut and iron the new fabric. Lay your fabric over seat and staple the middle of one side. Cross back and forth on the sides while stapling and stretching.

If you would like to get a rope edge, instead of cotton cording and sewing ... try using the fatest weed whacker plastic cording, (found in the hardware stores on reels), cut a long strip of fabric, enough to go around your chair and about 2" width, and fold over fabric (in half) with the plastic cord inside.

Now you're ready to staple to the bottom of your chair. Finish the bottom with either carboard or more fabric on bottom. re-screw and your done!

Enjoy your new look and your ready for company!

Leave fabric on benches and re-cover over with Christmas fabric and staple on back. Its easy to take off after the holidays!

Save on gas

Slow down - Cars get about 21% more mileage at 55 mph then at
70 mph. As speed increases, fuel economy decreases exponentially.
Also, if you don’t speed, you won’t have to worry about getting
a speeding ticket - which costs money.

Check your tire pressure -Under-inflated tires are one of the most
commonly ignored causes of poor MPG. Tires lose air due to time
(about 1 psi per month) and temperature (1 psi for every 10 degree
drop); under-inflated tires have more rolling resistance, which
means you need to burn more gas to keep your car moving.

Check your air filter - dirty air filters restrict the flow of air
into the engine, which harms performance and economy. Air filters
are easy to check and change; remove the filter and hold it up to
the sun. If you can't see light coming through it, you need a new
one. Consider a K&N or similar "permanent" filter which is cleaned
rather than changed; they are much less restrictive than throw-away
paper filters, plus they're better for the environment.

Accelerate with care - driving an automatic? Then you should be
accelerating moderately so the transmission can shift up into the
higher gears. Stick-shifters should shift early to keep the revs
down. Keep an eye well down the road for potential slowdowns.

Hang with the trucks - trucks tend to roll along at the same pace?
A constant speed keeps shifting to a minimum -- important to those
who have to wrangle with those ten-speed truck transmissions -- but
it also aids economy, as it takes much more fuel to get a vehicle
moving than it does to keep it moving.

Get back to nature - Consider shutting off the air conditioner,
opening the windows and enjoying the breeze. It may be a tad warmer,
but at lower speeds you'll save fuel. That said, at higher speeds
the A/C may be more efficient than the wind resistance from open
windows and sunroof.

Back off the big wheel - big wheels and tires may look cool, and
they can certainly improve handling. But if they are wider than the
stock tires, chances are they'll create more rolling resistance and
decrease fuel economy.

Clean out your car - If you are type who takes a leisurely attitude
towards car cleanliness (and I definitely fall into that category)
periodically go through your car and see what can be tossed out or
brought into the house. It doesn't take much to acquire an extra
50 lbs. of stuff, and the more weight your car has to lug around,
the more fuel it burns.

When old man winter coats your car with snow and ice, try to get
off as much of it as you can, don't just clear a hole in the
windshield. Snow and ice not only add significant weight to your
car, they also increase aerodynamic drag dramatically... which
burns even more gas. As a side benefit, clean clear windows improve
your ability to see, which improves your margin of safety in our
dangerous winter driving.

Remove bike or ski racks in between trips. It's not really the
extra weight that hurts your gas mileage; it's mostly aerodynamic
drag.

Don’t fly flags on your car or outside your car’s windows. It’s
aerodynamic drag we are talking about here... and your gas bill.

Do not fill your tank up completely. Instead, keep it half full.
Depending on your tank size, your car will have 50-100 pounds
less to haul all the time... less weight, less gas.

Downsize - If you're shopping for a new car, it's time to re-evaluate
how much car you really need. Smaller cars are inherently more fuel-
efficient, and today's small cars are roomier than ever.

Plan your route to avoid traffic jams. You might avoid jams sometimes,
if you learn traffic patterns in your area and use them to your advantage.

Don't drive - the fact is that if you can avoid driving, you'll save
gas. Take the train, carpool, and consolidate your shopping trips.
Walking or biking is good for your wallet and your health. And before
you get in your car, always ask yourself: "Is this trip really necessary?"

Spring Cleaning Furniture

Cleaning Furniture in General
A good cleaning can work wonders on a piece of old furniture that has been stored in an attic or shed for many, many years. Even many older pieces that are in use can look a lot better with a good cleaning.


When a piece of furniture is waxed or polished there is always a fine layer of dust that is mixed in with the wax or polish and over a period of years the layer will darken and obscure the grain pattern of the wood.

Handy Furniture Cleaning Tools
Some handy tools for cleaning furniture are lots of soft clothes, a toothbrush, toothpicks, a dowel the size of a pencil, sharpened in a pencil sharpener, 0000 steel wool, and a lot of patience.

Prelude has a very good cleaning product called, novel enough, furniture cleaner. Murphy's Oil Soap, or other vegetable oil soap is also good. TSP is a good cleaner too, but you have to be careful not to mix the solution too strong or it can damage the finish.

Clean With Care
If you use the 0000 steel wool, use it very gently, with just enough pressure to remove stubborn areas of wax and polish. It's better to dissolve the wax and polish and wipe it away, than to try to scrub it. The steel wool can dull the finish, when you get to it, if too much pressure is used. Use the toothbrush, toothpicks and sharpened dowel to get in the nooks and crannies.

Always clean older pieces before you refinish, because lots of times it won't be necessary to refinish at all and with antiques, the least done is the best. Many times, when the wax and grime is removed the old finish is still in good shape, or is good enough that it will just need a new application of finish over the old. Remember though, furniture finish, not polyurethane, especially with antiques.

Antique Restoration, Addendum
To restore an antique is to get it back as close to original as possible. Way back when, there was no such thing as polyurethane, so antique restoration can't include coating an antique with plastic and have it be the same as original.

Cloudy Glassware

Is your glassware cloudy or dull?

Add one tablespoon of Epsom Salts to your next wash cycle and your glasses will come out crystal clear and sparkly.

Giant Ice Cubes

From Next Era Media

Make giant ice cubes in muffin tins or plastic margarinebowls. These are perfect for using in picnic coolers orpunch bowls. They look pretty and keep your drinks or food cold longer.

Baby Oil Uses

Pour a bit of baby oil on a clean cloth, then wipe it along the
teeth of a zipper. Then fasten the zipper together and run the
tab up and down a few times. It should work fine now, without
sticking or hanging up. It smells a whole lot better than the
suggestion I got to use Olive Oil!

Massage your skin with baby oil before you get dressed, and it
will help you keep warmer during cold weather. The oil closes
your skin pores and helps insulate your body. It also smoothes
and moisturizes dry winter skin!

A recommended way of removing an insect from an ear is a few
drops to drown the bug, which can then be easily removed.

Donate old shoes

Donate old rubber sole shoes to the Nike-Reuse-A-Shoe program. Nike has over 300 dropoff locations so stop by the website to find one near you.
http://www.nikereuseashoe.com/

Or mail them to:
Nike Recycling Center
c/o Reuse-A-Shoe
26755 SW 95th Ave.
Wilsonville, OR 97070

Light hard to reach candles

Being short I can relate to this

Use Q-Tips to light hard-to-reach candle wicks. Simply dip one end of the cotton swab into rubbing alcohol. Light the cotton and then light the candles. Dip the burning end into water to put the flame out completely.

Or just use uncoked spagetti for this task.

Toothpaste Uses

PIMPLES
Use white toothpaste (not the whitening toothpaste) on breakouts. Just dab some on the breakout with a Q-tip and by morning it's gone. Also, for the blind but painful breakouts use Preparation H. It takes down the swelling and the next night use the toothpaste. Always use the treatments at night as to not disturb your skin.

BITES
Use toothpaste for bugbites and beestings. It will help stop the itching and reduce swelling. ive tried this along with some of my friends and it has worked.

NAILS
Use toothpase for cleaning your nails. Just put some on an old manual toothbrush or nailbrush, wet nails and the brush with water and scrub under your nails, you will be amazed. Big pluspoint is, while soap etc. makes my nails annoyingly soft, toothpaste does no such thing, just cleans to sparkling.

JEWELRY
Use toothpaste to clean jewelry. Put some on the piece and let set over night. Then use an electric toothbrush on it the next morning while in the shower. This CAN NOT be used on pearls (the real ones) as it will damage the finish.

DIAMONDS
Put a little toothpaste on an old toothbrush and use it to make your diamond ring sparkle instead of your teeth. Clean off the residue with a damp cloth.

SILVER
Use toothpaste and water to clean silver,

NAIL HOLES
Use plain white toothpaste as "spackle" to fill nail holes in your apartment walls before you move out.

POSTERS
Use toothpaste to put up posters without damaging the wall. Don't use it for collector posters, though, as it can damage the ink over time.

GRINDING
Use white toothpaste for grinding steel and Aluminuam. It gives a mirror finish in my machining operation.

BABY BOWS
Use gel toothpaste to keep girl babies' bows in their hair if they don't have much hair. It doesn't pull it out, just washes out.

BABY BOTTLES
Toothpaste removes the sour-milk smell Baby bottles pick up. Just put some on your bottle brush and scrub away. Be sure to rinse thoroughly.

KOOLAID®
Clean Up Stubborn Kool-Aid® Stains with a dab of toothpaste on a damp paper towel cleans up stubborn Kool-Aid stains off both skin and countertops

CRAYON
White toothpaste (not gel) will remove crayon from painted walls. Rub the marks with the toothpaste and a damp cloth. Wipe with clean water to get rid of residue.

INK & LIPSTICK
Remove ink or lipstick stains from fabric: Put non-gel toothpaste on the stain and rub the fabric vigorously together. Rinse with water. Did some of the ink come out? Great! Repeat the process a few more times until you get rid of all the ink. The same process works for lipstick. Results depend on the fabric and the ink, but it is certainly worth a try before consigning the shirt to the scrap bin.

SHARPIE
Use on things that have been accidentally marked with Sharpie--white boards, plastic tables, photocopier glass, etc. Just rub with regular toothpaste (not the fancy stuff) and a paper towel, and the marker will come right off.

STAINS
Try toothpaste on clothes it really works (it can take out all kinds of stains)!

STAINS
Also hair spray helps with stains, and shaving cream whitens your shoes.

LEATHER SHOES
A little toothpaste does an amazing job of removing scuffs from leather shoes. Just squirt a dab on the scuffed area and rub with a soft cloth. Wipe clean with a damp cloth. The leather will look like new.

SNEAKERS
To clean and whiten the rubber part of your sneakers, get out the non-gel toothpaste and an old toothbrush. After scrubbing, clean off the toothpaste with a damp cloth.

IRONS
The mild abrasive in non-gel toothpaste is just the ticket for scrubbing the gunk off the bottom plate of your clothes iron. Apply the toothpaste to the cool iron, scrub with a rag, then rinse clean.

BURNS
Use toothpaste to sooth burns right after you get burnt put it on.

CDS & DVDS
Rub some toothpaste on a scratched CD or DVD it will polish away the scratches.

PIANO KEYS
Clean your piano keys with toothpaste and a toothbrush, then wipe them down with a damp cloth. Makes sense, since ivory is essentially elephant teeth. However, toothpaste will work just as well on modern pianos that usually have keys covered with plastic rather than real ivory.

FOGGED GOGGLES
Prevent fogged goggles by coating the goggles with toothpaste and then wiping them off.

FOGGED MIRROR
Coat the mirror with non-gel toothpaste and wipe it off before you get in the shower. When you get out, the mirror won't be fogged.

CHROME
Shine bathroom and kitchen chrome with the fine abrasive in non-gel toothpaste works just as well. Just smear on the toothpaste and polish with a soft, dry cloth.

BATHROOM SINK
Clean the bathroom sink with non-gel toothpaste works as well as anything else to clean the bathroom sink. Squirt some in, scrub with a sponge, and rinse it out. Bonus: The toothpaste will kill any odors emanating from the drain trap.

WATERMARKS
Remove watermarks from furniture left by sweating beverages, gently rub some non-gel toothpaste on the wood with a soft cloth. Then wipe it off with a damp cloth and let it dry before applying furniture polish.

TAR
Remove beach tar on your feet can put a small crimp in your vacation, but it is easy enough to remove. Just rub it with some non-gel toothpaste and rinse.

SMELLY HANDS
Clean smells from hands when you've gotten into something stinky, wash your hands with toothpaste, and they'll smell great.

CARPET CLEANING/STAIN REMOVAL
Scrub with an abrasive brush and toothpaste, rinse, and you’ll scrub the stain right out. You may even realize how dirty the rest of your carpet is in the process.

HANG POSTERS
Just put a little dab of tooth-paste in each corner of the poster and a few in between on the edges. Put your poster up and it will stick like magic. When you get ready to remove it will come off easy with no holes.

10 Uses for Baking Soda + 2 More

Latest Additions

Use Baking Soda to:

SAFELY WASH FRUIT
Clean vegetables and fruit with baking soda. Sprinkle in
water, soak and rinse the produce.

KILL the WEEDS
Weeds growing in the cracks of your driveway, sidewalks and
patio? A good safe way to help prevent them from growing is
to put baking soda on them. Add a handful, then sweep it
into the cracks. The added sodium will help make it more
hostile to the weeds growing there. It's safe for pets and
children as well.

Use Baking Soda to:

1. Exfoliate skin. Wash your face, then apply a soft paste made
of three parts baking soda and one part water. Massage gently
with a circular motion, avoiding the eye area; rinse clean.

2. Erase crayon, pencil, ink, and furniture scuffs from painted
surfaces. Sprinkle soda on a damp sponge, rub clean, and rinse.

3. Unclog a drain. Pour 1/2 to 1 cup of baking soda down
the drain, then slowly pour 1/2 to 1 cup of white vinegar
after it. Let sit for five minutes (covered, if possible).
Follow with a gallon of boiling water.

4. Remove tough stains from enameled cast iron and stainless
steel. Scrub enameled cast iron with a soft nylon brush and a
thick paste of baking soda and water. Clean stainless steel with
a soft cloth and 4 tablespoons of baking soda dissolved in 1
quart of water. Wipe dry with a clean cloth.

5. Scrub pans. Sprinkle soda on crusted casseroles and
roasting pans and let sit for five minutes. Lightly scrub
and rinse.

6. Brush teeth. Use a paste of baking soda and water.

7. Fight class-B fires (flammable liquids, such as gasoline, oil,
and grease). Baking soda can be used to smother only a small
flame.

8. Deodorize. Dust baking soda under your arms to absorb
body odor.

9. Clean up minor oil and grease spills on a garage floor or
driveway. Sprinkle baking soda on the spot and scrub with
a wet brush.

10. Settle a stomach during occasional indigestion.
Stir 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda into 1/2 cup of water and
drink for a safe and effective antacid.

Written by Rachel Hardage
April 2005
http://www.realsimple.com/realsimple/content/0,21770,1030037,00.html