Household tips for the independent Aspie

Post Reply New Topic

Agreed.

However, if the item in question is not a compound item, generics may be just as good. If I buy mushroom soup, I get campbells. But if I need a can of mushrooms, generic mushrooms are grown the same as the brand name.

Farmers markets are good places to get stuff cheap and you buy from oddball people - including the occasional aspie.

Fantastic thread.

I also can't stand doing dishes - I think it just uses way too much water. However, using plastic stuff is bad for the environment too so .. I just try my best to be efficient. My sink has character.

My most recent discovery is a way to clean areas such as between the car seats, previously unviewable by me due to my lack of cleaning solution.

Take masking tape and wrap it around your hand once or twice, sticky side out. So that it's stuck to itself and stays there.
Then, simply run your hand over the area, such as between the car seats or that bit close to the seat the vacuum just can't touch and WHA-LA - picks up any dirt and dust.

Probably bad for the environment but in cases like this I just don't care.

Maybe put aluminum foil over plates before using them? Keeps the plate clean, and can be recycled.

When baking things line the pan/baking sheet with aluminum foil, makes clean-up easier.

If your apartment A/C is a fluid-based wall vent always check the inside and cover for mold. Clean it off with a good mildew cleaner.

Get Swiffer brand disposible feather-dusters, very good for cleaning dust on surfaces.

washable microfiber cloths are better for that.. and then you don't have to keep on buying them. That's what the FLYlady says.

Less stitches, more riches topic

satresue, havent you read Brave New World?

Anyway, she means electricity when she says hydro. Its a shibboleth unique to the province of Ontario to say hydro to mean power, water and heat.

Either line the bottom of your oven with aluminum foil or use a couple of big aluminum pans. Cleaning the oven is a lot faster when you can just remove a layer and throw out all the junk that dripped down there. Along those lines...don't wait until you move out to clean an oven. Do it once a year. Buy the no-fume Easy Off and let it do it's job. It's not that bad if you do it on a regular basis.

Use those spray on shower cleaners. They work.

If you hate cooking but want something other than pop and nuke meals, make the time to cook a big pot of something on Sunday and divide it up into individual servings and put them in the refrigerator/freezer for when you need them.

Just to add to this; unplug EVERY item in your house that you are not using(this is much easier said than done if you are NOT single!). Many appliances and gadgets constantly leach electricity for data memory, LCD displays, etc. Clocks seem to be the most common cause, such as microwaves, ovens, radios, cable boxes, DVD players/VCR. There is also any chargers, such as beard trimmers, cordless drills, cell phones, and laptops. Personally, I also substituted my alarm clock for my cell phone alarm. The only things I have plugged in are; laptop, washer/dryer, one 13 watt fluorescent light, two-bulb motion sensitive exterior light, DSL wireless modem, and a heating blanket(as you can see, I do not watch television, which saves even more money). It was amazing to see how much money I saved by doing this. I also conserve water to the extent in which I am only charged the minimum allowable usage every month. In the summer with my 6.5 amp window air conditioner going about 12 hours per day, my utility bill is only about $55 a month(water[taxes, charges], electricity[taxes,charges], sewer, storm sewer). My natural gas runs the hot water heater only, and is about $15 a month extra. This is all in a 2000sq.ft. house.

or for those living in Canada during the winter months...I once tried hang drying in the winter...all it did was make the wet clothes freeze and be as hard as rock then get wet when they thawed out.

It should work when they are damp, not wet. And it has to be COLD. say, -20C or more. Perhaps I will try this winter.

Quick tip because I hate house work.
Knock wrinkles out of a shirt, spritz with water on a hanger then use blow dryer on high for a minute or two. (I also hate the iron)
Not so earth friendly, but I buy lots of paper plates, cups and disposable plastic cutlery especially in the summer. (Hate washing dishes too)

I might try that although it still is not that cold yet....well at least here in Red Neck Deer.

Nor here in Grande Prairie. It might rain tonight.

why, thank you for your kind suggestion

Unfortunately, I think that I would probably have to wash the aluminium foil to recycle it and it would therefore not meet with my water conservation standards
But, it or paper plates could be good for if I'm ill or having a hard time functioning

.. I'm also going to try using small amounts of water at a time in the sink. Just washing a few at a time and then using a tea towel (dish towel) to dry them.
I seem to have anxiety problems when things get too tidy, that'll be the next issue, but it's always good to try, I think. No harm in confronting the next in line.

I only had a dryer in one apartment I rented.

Here we line dry a lot of the time.

I have a string line across my balcony, and a clothes airer. I also have a line above my washing machine and laundry tub.

Even in apartments (units) here we often have a number of Hills hoists at the back of the complex, or people have them in their backyards.

Line drying saves a lot of money, but it also saves wear on the fabric.

My other tip is rather than use fabric softener, put vinegar in the fabric softener dispenser. It's great for towels as they stay softer and absorbent for years.

I'm not sure about that.. recycling metal involves melting it... Wouldn't anything you might have gotten on the foil burn off when they melted it down?