Got great advice from Mom? Share it with us & you could go on a $200 shopping spree!
Martha, watch out – when it comes to at-home advice, we’ve found that Mother knows best (or so she tells us, anyway)!
What’s the best household tip you ever got from Mom? Share it with our readers – the writer of our favorite tip will receive an e-gift card for $200 at Solutions.com. You can even share it with your Mom for a wonderful Mother’s Day gift!
Submit your entry in the comments section below (be sure to include your email address) by midnight PDT, May 7th. Our favorite will be featured on Friday, May 8.
Here’s a bit of advice from the mom of Solutions’ own Kathy M: “My mom taught me to pierce the rounded end of an egg with a needle before hard-boiling so the shell won’t break.”
Editors note: A special thanks to everyone for sharing Mom’s great advice! Comments are now closed on this post.
My mom always had us make our beds as soon as we got up. That habit has served me well. It immediately makes a dorm room, and a ‘real’ bedroom look cleaner and more put together.
Secondly, clean the kitchen before going to bed. Just makes the morning easier to deal with!
My mother taught me to clean windows with water and vinegar, and to wipe clean with a newspaper. It always leaves my windows sparkling. Another tip was to add to taste.
The best advice I have received is to have a basket in each common room of the house (ktichen) (living room) ( front hallway) that is allotted for odds and ends that always end up in the wrong spot, so instead of spending endless amounts of time putting things away constantly, you put your odds and ends in the basket and at the end of the week, we take each basket and put away whatever is in the basket to its rightful spot. this is helpful when you have little ones and when you have a house with many levels. ( but dont make those baskets too big!!! )
My mother taught us many things, like using our imagination to see objects in the clouds. But the most important advice she gave my sister and me was to be respectfully assertive. This meant that we needed to first be sure that we were right, and that once we were certain of that and equally confident that our motives were just and fair, we should always strive to stand up for convictions and not give in to whatever was simply convenient or popular at the time, to courageously go after what is duly ours, and to believe in ourselves and our ability to accomplish much and achieve our goals through strong determination and hard work. Her advice has helped is to become confident and self-reliant women.
My mother always taught me to leave out some butter for spreading. We had a nice glass jar for that. Many years of doing this, I was tired of the same old butter dish and found one on the Solutions website. What a marriage!!! Thanks solutions. Great minds think alike!!!
My Mother taught me to shake out wet clothes before putting them in the dryer and they will not wrinkle as much.
My mother always kept a sparkling clean house that could ALWAYS pass the white glove test…..She is now battling stage 4 breast cancer and her best tip to me is that being organized is really the only thing that matters – because then you will have more time for “life” and spend less time hunting for places to put things, or picking things up to put them from one wrong place to another wrong place. TIME is so precious – enjoy some of it!
My mom always told me to do a job right the first time around so you will be proud of your work and you won’t have to go back and re-do what you already did half-a_ _. Being proud of your job the first time around is what I remember most; doesn’t matter if anyone see(s) the job, however, practice makes perfect and when the time comes for an “inspection”, you will have a perfect job done.
Mom told me that the most important item to be used for cleaning the house is the toothbrush. She was right; it fits in all those places most people neglect, requires no batteries and can be carried from room to room easily!
My mother taught me to fear chocolate. I was unable to eat a valnilla cookie that had been kept in a tin with, say, chocolate chip cookies. I would really have to spit it out if I picked up the smell. Folks messed with me all the time with white chocolate, hidden chocolate, etc. Had to leave the table to spit it out a number of times. My mom loved chocolate. I figured that since I had a slice of chocolate cake within 24 hours of her cremation, and didn’t need to spit it out, and came close to liking it, that I must have internalized being slapped on the hands as a toddler for reaching into the box.
So thanks, mom. I can’t imagine how many pounds you kept off of me.
My Mother taught me to put a rubberized mat/pot holder underneath a bowl/pot while mixing on the counter/table to avoid the bowl/pot from moving, making noise, and slipping out from under.
My mother taught me that loving and caring for others–those in the family and those beyond–comes before housework.
I like to hang clothes when weather permits,some people dont because they say they get hard.THE Trick is to use liquid fabric softener and when you bring them in pop in the dryer for afew minutes and they will be fine. Saves alot of money and energy.Save money more to spend at Solutions.
One of the best kitchen cleaning tips my mom gave me was to wet a couple of paper towels and heat them in the microwave on high for a minute or so and voila! All that baked on caked on microwave mess wipes right off!
My Mother told me to clean my stainless steel sink and drain with liquid dishwasher machine detergent. It removes all stains without leaving a residue. Removes coffee stains around the drain really well. I also used it to get grass stains out of kids ball uniform pants which were white spandex. It was like using bleach without the yellowing. They were always bright white.
My Mom taught me to use the dry mix from the cake mix instead of flour. It is cost effective and taste better. If the recipie says to grease and flour the pan just you the cake mix instead of the flour. I love it! What a great trick!!
My Mother taught me to never refrigerate tomatoes so that they would ripen and taste sweeter!
My mother passed on some timeless advice. One that comes to mind that I use almost everyday is to clean surfaces with baking soda. Baking soda and a little water will clean the bathtub and tile, it will clean the ceramic cooktop and countertops. It is also very inexpensive. Other uses include using baking soda as a toothpaste (which is done in my household only if there is no toothpaste left!). Using baking soda instead of cleaning chemicals and bleach is much better for the earth and her inhabitants!
My Mom always taught me, that no matter what you do, cleaning cooking, baking etc., that it comes from the heart. If you are happy with what you accomplish, and your heart feels good about it, so will everyone else. This not only applies to your home, but your everyday life as well. Put your bset foot forward in everything you do, and and you will feel a real sence of accomplishment.
My mom has a quote that she abides to with herself and us kids… “Organization and Communication are the keys to success.” I am a junior at the US Naval Academy and my brother is a sophmore at Virginia Tech on a NROTC scholarship. We also have a sister that is a senior in high school and another brother that is a sophmore in high school. Being very close in age (4 siblings in 5 years), my mom definately needed to be organized and have a ear for communication. Now that I am older, I believe in my mom’s quote and try to live by it every day. My younger brother has my mom’s quote on his FaceBook website as one of his favorite quotes. I know that Solutions is one of my mom’ favorite places to shop cause’ it helps to keep her organized like by using the drawer dividers as well as the pull out sliders in her pantry. Happy Mothers Day to all!
Mom always said the easiest way to remove burnt on grease from stove pieces, grill accessories, pots ‘n pans, etc. was to put them outdoors in a plastic bag, pour amonia (around 1 cup or so), seal the bag and let it sit over night. A black bag, in the sun, seems to speed the process. Saves time on scouring but, REMEMBER, DO NOT
BREATH IN THE AMONIA FUNES!
My Mom taught me to make a perfect pie crust! She said there were certain ways of doing this- one, use veg. oil and cold water in my unbleached flour, never mixing oil and water, just pouring the cold water into the oil, then into the flour, AND when rolling the crust out, put between 2 pieces of wax paper. It is much easier to handle the dough when rolling it out. She taught me to fix foods the most healthiest way and the most easy way! I look for ‘easy solutions’ because of what my Mother taught me.
Mom always taught to strip beds and bleach the sheets as often as you can. My family is hardly ever sick and I know this is why. Bed sheets are a catch all from greasy hair, dirty feet, droll, dead skin cells, etc. Also Mom taught me to use peroxide on blood stained clothing prior to washing in cold water, it breaks down the blood stain. She also taught me to use windex as a multi purpose cleaner . Windes is a great cleaner that cleans almost every surfaces and smells great. The best tip by far though is to pack each family members clotehs while still on the hangers by season, lable the boxes with name, season and year to be used (example: Jada, summer 2010) This helps tremendously when with the change of season all I have to do is pull out my seasonal package and sit them right in the closet as I pull out the passing seasons garments. I’ve done this for years! Makes my life so much easier.
When you buy a lb. of bacon unroll long sheets of saran wrap lay one slice of bacon down then roll it over with saran wrap continue doing this until you have used it all,then put it in the freezer in a air tight bag. When you are ready to cook bacon unroll as many slices as you need. I take a knife and slip it between the bacon and wrap, it pops out with not tearing the bacon or wrap. We don’t eat that much bacon at one time ,so this will keep the bacon from spoiling and you will never waste any more bacon.
Clean your drains once a month with Baking Soda and vinegar. Pour about a half cup of baking soda in the drain followed by a cup of vinegar,let it sit for about 30 minutes and then flush with hot water. Never a stopped up drain.
My mother always said, when getting food out that has been around for awhile, and you are not sure if it is still edible, she always used this rhyme, “When in doubt, throw it out”. I’m sure it has saved us many times.
The best household advice my Mom gave me is that it is more important to play with one’s children than to spend that time doing housework: the children grow up so fast and soon enough they will prefer to spend their time with peers, whereas housework will always be there. Great memories will always warm your heart, but a spotless house will only get dirty again.
MY MOTHER TAUGHT ME TO CLEAN GLASS CERAMIC COOKTOPS WITH SOFTSCRUB AND ALUMINUM FOIL PAPER JUST SCRUB THE GLASS TOP AND ALL THE GREASE WILL GO AWAY WITHOUT SCRATCHING THE TOP MAKE SURE TO USE GOOD AMOUNT OF SOFT SCRUB
When we were kids, each one of us would eventually ask mom if we were rich or poor. And her answer was always “we don’t waste money, but we have many riches in the friends and families we have.” That is something I’ve always remember.
Painting with little ones? Use an old shower curtain to cover the table. Clean up is a snap, and if you don’t want to wipe it down, let the paint dry and put it away later. Don’t want them using the whole paint jar? Buy an ice cube tray, pour a small amount of each color in separate sections. If you are using washable paint (and why wouldn’t you?), rinse in the sink and put away for the next time.
My Mom taught me that lighter fluid is great for removing stains from dry clean only clothes (even dry cleaners themselves use it!). Also, in order to keep housework from becoming overwhelming, clean one room each day (or every other day). That way, you won’t have to spend your entire weekend cleaning house and dust on furniture or baseboards doesn’t get out of control. This still allows for family time during the week and really allows for more time & flexibility on the weekends.
The one that comes to mind is to use Baking soda to draw out wetness from carpets, matresses, sofas etc. Rub it in and let it dry and vaccuum. If there is still a stain it should be just on the surface.
My mother taught me values and what was most important, relationships! But the one practical one that I absolutely appreciate the most since I live in an area with many flies, is to wipe surfaces with a damp cloth of water and vinegar. Flies will not “light” there. Try it, you’ll see!
My mom taught me to get the grease really hot (not smoking) before adding seasoned chicken pieces or whatever I wanted to fry. The result will be crisp but not soggy. More of her methods: To bring out flavor of sauces,add a mere pinch of sugar. To remove strings from a rib of celery, snap it in half and pull apart–the strings will separate from one half and can be easily pulled from the other half.
mom just to advice me to save water for the future generations and try to reclicle what ever was possible, this is amazing to me, since this kind of recicle culture is so opular now, but afew years ago…
My mom is the queen of organization! One time she actually put some leftover wallpaper around a toilet paper roll (the cardboard piece) to “hide” her hair dryer cord, as it hung on the shelf. (So it would “match”!) She also would save baby food jars & put small things in them….thumb tacks, paper clips, etc.) She will also was & re-use disposable cups until they crack. Being able to reuse things like this is a money saver, as well as good for the environment! (another lesson–never let the gas tank get less than 1/2 tank during winter…if you’re stranded, you would have enough gas to keep the heater on & stay warm). I love my momma!
My mother always told me , after a shower to always wipe the shower down with your towel. This cuts down on Mildew and keeps it looking nice. Thanks Mom
My Mother taught me to wash windows with 1/2 can of denatured alcohol and 1/2 bucket of hot water. Dry with lint free old t-shirts. The dirt won’t stick to the glass and windows stay clean longer. My Mama also taught me to be knid to everyone, a smile is contagious so smile and you can brighten someones day. Even if they are feeling angry or down in the dumps, a smile will lighten their mood and make them feel betterand as a bonus it makes you feel better too! My Mom passed away in 1996 and I miss her every day.
My mom taught me vinegar is a natural cleaner for many things around the house. The floors, counter tops, coffee maker… The odor is gone within minutes and everthing is left sparkling clean, and with today’s ecomony it is a very ecomonnical cleaner and safe for pets.
My mother is a woman with integrity. One thing I love that she has taught me is to always be honest with yourself and others no matter what. Less problems no matter what situation, conversation, munipulation, etc.