Before you throw away your old and possibly rusty cookie sheets, consider this use. Save them and throw them in your entry or mud room on the floor. When kids come in from playing in the snow or mud you can put their shoes on the sheets and save your floors.

September is National Prepardeness Month. The purpose is to create a plan incase of a natural disaster. Make a disaster ready kit for your family and pets. For guidelines on what to put in visit www.ready.gov.

A great way to clean out your pantry and keep dinners new and exciting is to pick out a few ingredients from the pantry at the beginning of the week and find recipes that include them.  You’re using food you already have so you don’t have to bring more into the house and you are able to add variety to dinner.  Pick a recipe site like www.mairecipes.com and in the search bar type your ingredient and a list of recipes will come up.  Enjoy having an organized pantry and new recipes to serve. 

Baking soda can be used for more than baking or keeping your fridge smelling fresh.  Use baking soda the next time you need to remove stains from sinks, toilets or plastics like toys or outdoor furniture.  Apply a layer of baking soda and scrub with a damp sponge. 

Baking soda can also be used on walls to remove dirt and even crayon marks.  Make a paste with water and baking soda then apply to an old toothbrush and scrub gently on the wall.  Wipe clean with a damp sponge. 

In efforts to reduce the amount of chemicals used in the home, try using vinegar as an all-purpose cleaner.  It is safe to use around food and kids.  Vinegar also is good for removing stains on carpet. 

To make a bottle of your own vinegar cleaner mix 1 part vinegar to 4 parts water.  Mix it in a reusable spray bottle and use rags that can be washed and used over and over.