steaming eggs

Now we have to be careful with energy it's a good idea to do what my grandmother did when she wanted to eat eggs.

She didn't boil them, because she needed too much gas with an extra pot on the stove.
In her time that meant the gas would stop, she had to turn out all the burners. Then she had to go downstairs, put a quarter in the machine, go upstairs again and light all the burners again.
It was not very beneficial for the food to stop the heat halfway.

So she took the eggs and put them on top of the potatoes.
When the water boiled she watched the clock and gave them about 12 minutes.
Then she caught them with a large spoon and put them under cold streaming water.

When my uncles would open the lid she would get angry, because the eggs needed a bit more time extra.
I don't think she did mind that, but she didn't want my uncles to be so curious. LOL!

smelly t-shirts

Sometimes T-shirts can smell so bad, that you wonder whether the whole laundry will smell the same after washing it with other items.

Make a mic of vinegar and some water and soak the T-shirt in it for a couple of hours.
Rinse it and after that put it in the machine.

Works well.

buying fresh products at the right time

Of course you have to buy fresh products fresh, but as shops are by law kept to certain cooler and freezer temperatures and a last selling date on which products are still fresh, you're almost always sure you won't buy crap. (Unless you don't look inside plastic bags or wait too long to go home.)

You can save money on vegetables, meat, fish, eggs and diary products and sometimes even on shampoos and creams, by looking into the special places were offers are made, by walking past the person who is re-prizing the items at the end of the day.

Many shops start selling their fresh products cheaper before closing time.
Especially on saturdays and the last shopping hours before special days, like Christmas, you can buy products at a prize that makes you smile.

And even better: you can buy things at low prizes you usually can't afford at all.

fresh smell after painting

New apartments need a brush of paint.

Sometimes it's possible to use paint without smell. Most of them are waterbased.

But sometimes you can't escape from using the old fashioned smelly paint and your whole room will smell accordingly.

Heat a bit of vinegar and bring it to the boil.

Put it in the middle of the room.

The smell will be gone soon.

Clean bathroom tiles

When you rub the tiles a few times with shampoo, they'll get clean and the water won't stick on them as easy, which means you won't get spots from chalk and dirt.

To prevent waterdrops to stick on the tiles you can also use carwax.

herbs

Herbs can cheer up your meal,cover up cooking mistakes and make your apartment smell like heaven.

There's a difference in taste between fresh and dried herbs and it's great fun trying that out.

At times dried herbs are cheap, but they also can loose taste when they get old.

Buy fresh herbs in a pot at the garden center and put them in your windowsill.
It looks nice and green and you can cut what you need. The plant grows it back when you give a little TLC.

And it's far cheaper than cheap dried herbs

static items

I'm sure you have dealt with static electricity before.
Your hair standing straight up, your synthetic t-shirt or trousers being pulled towards a place you don't want it to go. Even touching another human being might be a risk when you've been walking on a synthetic carpet.

Always have a dryer cloth in your pocket. You know, one of these small cloths with laundry softener used in the laundry dryer.

Just wipe over your hair, or the affected item and the problem is solved.

make your own cookbook

With all the free recipes in the glossy and not so glossy christmasmagazines, papers and leaflets there's no use to buy expensive cookbooks.

Just cut out the recipes you like and file them.

You can either arrange them on the name of the main ingredient, or the part of meal they refer to.

coupons

Saving money is all about investing time and energy.

Coupons/kortingsbonnen are one of the best ways to get items cheaper.

Collect them and put them at a place where you can easily find them.

Arrange them on the week or day you can use them, either in your agenda, or at a large board in the kitchen or hallway.

Getting together with friends who also collect them might result in a mutual beneficial exchange.

When opening cans

Cans can be stored for a long time.

When you open a can, first clean the outside of the lid/the part you're going to open.

You'll never know what has crawled on those cans.

alarms and appointments

Many autistic young people experience difficulties with keeping track of time.

Living independently means you have to find a way to wake up in time and to keep your appointments.

Those who can't use a waking service need a good alarm.

But what to do with being in time for an appointment?
Some are so focussed when they're busy with something that they forget the time, and setting the alarm each day for a few times isn't very convenient.

Ofcourse you can use a second alarm for that.
Or you can ask the person you have to meet to call you one hour before.

It's easier to use an online service which sends a mail one hour before an appointment and use the sound effect to make you aware of the arrival of the mail.

When you're a very dedicated music listener or computer fanatic you can use another system to stop you doing your things: the clock for the electric switch.
You know the system that switches the light on in the evening and out in the morning.
A great device to let people think you're at home, but also a great means to switch of the electricity of your music or computer. LOL!

christmas open house

Want to find a nice gift for christmas?

People who sell their home made products, like jewelry, bags and accessories, are having open house from november 15 tot 30.

Click the logo and go to the site where you can find links to 14 shops and...opportunities to win something.

Cornmeal cakes

Ingredients

2 cups stone ground cornmeal (grof volkorenmeel)
4 tablespoons butter
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon salt (flattened spoon, not too much salt)
2 tablespoons boiling water

Preparation:

Mix the cornmeal and salt.
Cut the butter through the mix. Because the corn covers the pieces you can slice the butter into small lumps.
Then use your hands to mix it even better.
Add the milk little by little,
and add water little by little to make a moist but firm dough.

The dough can be cooked in the oven (400 to 425 degree, preheated), on a griddle, in a pan, fried in a pan, or baked in the waffle iron.

Use two wet spoons to drop the dough on the plate, griddle or in the pan and flatten the ball a bit with the back of the spoon.

Don't try that when you fry them. LOL!

When you use the oven, watch until the top side is brown and turn the cake.
In the waffle iron both sides will be ready at the same time.

You can eat them with fruityelly or chocolatesauce or with anything you like.

the laundry machine

safety

The laundry machine has two safety devices outside the machine:

• a safety switch for electricity
• a safety device for water (terugslagkraan)

Always turn them on before washing and off afterwards.

The door should have a safety lock, so you can't open it when the machine is turning.

detergent and softener

When you prepare for washing you have sorted the laundry well.

Before putting it in the machine you can choose the detergent and softener.

Usually there are three spaces in a small drawer:

1. for softener. It's usually the smallest part
2. for the normal washing program
3. for the preprogram (voorwas)

When you're not sure put a normal amount of detergent in one of the parts and start the program with the laundry in the machine.
When there's soap, you used the right space. LOL!

Some machines are very careless with softener and add it to the detergent.
In that case put it in at the right time of the program, not before the machine starts to rinse.

It's best to put detergent in the machine before you put the laundry in, especially when liquid detergent is used. The detergent is spread better through the machine.
Or you can put it in when the machine starts taking water.

laundry

Check for loose buttons and items in the pockets.

Don't put too much laundry in the machine.
It won't get clean, and the machine can be damaged because it has to turn a load which is too heavy.

Don't put too heavy things in the machine.
Some clothes are labeled as machine wash, but when they take water they get far too heavy for a normal laundry machine. Sleeping bags are a good example.

Load evenly.
When you want to wash something heavy, like a coat, put other, lighter things around it.
Stay near the machine.
Sometimes a load can slide to one side and when the machine turns it can cause damage.
Most famous are the walking laundry machines.
In that case, get the item out, press the water out of it in the bathtub and put it back in, or leave the laundry for a while so the water drips out, spread it evenly in the machine and pump off the water before centrifuging.

two hands above
Best is when you can turn two hands above the dry load in the machine.

Close the door

Close the door with a bang.
That way the lock grasps best.

Which buttons to push

Machines differ a bit, but when you use common sense you can wash a lot.

After switching on electricity and water, push on the on/off button.

Then choose the program you want.

The preprogram can be skipped unless your laundry is very dirty and/or smelly.

Most used:

• low temperature (for light and synthetic laundry)
• 40 degrees

Most machines have a turning clock which should be pointed towards the degrees/temperature you want. Some indicate with light.
And some machines have a button for each different temperature, or a button to choose the temperature.

Instead of a temperature some machines use names of the laundry: like synthetic, wool, cotton etc.

Some have a button for extra rinsing.

Some have a button for a half load of laundry. Unless it's s special environment friendly program, this program uses too much water and electricity.
Better wash fully loaded machines, because it's better for the machine, because it's better for your clothes.

Some have an economy button.
When your laundry isn't too dirty you can use it.
It uses lesser time and/or water for washing the laundry. So it's cheaper.

When you're using a washer dryer combination you need to know a few important things.

• read the labels in your clothes!!!!!
  
• the cost. Drying your laundry with a machine costs a lot! It's environmental unfriendly.
• your clothes won't last as long as when you dry them in the air.
• cotton shrinks.
• wool, silk and other fabrics can't be dried in the dryer or need only cold air. Hmm.. dry them in the air.
• Never use a higher temperature than you washed your laundry on, unless the label says so.

Before and after using the dryer check if the watercontainer is empty.
Before and after check the filter.

Vaccuum the inlet of the air regularly.

which detergents and additives are needed?

When you're wanting to do your laundry much depends on what kind of items you want to wash.
First read the post before this about sorting the laundry.

Detergent

low temperature

Items for low temperature need a very kind detergent which rinses out easily.
Dreft, Robijn are OK. Especially in liquid form.
You can drip a bit of it on the dirty spots before throwing the laundry in the machine.
Don't use too much detergent as it might fill the whole machine and cause damage.

black laundry

Black laundry (and dark blue, dark brown) stays black longer when you use special black liquid detergent.

white laundry for 40 degrees and higher

White laundry for 40 degrees and higher can deal with detergent for white laundry. It contains a bit of bleaching stuff which helps to keep the laundry white.
Be careful with nylon etc. It changes in a dirty looking yellow whitish colour when washed at too high temperatures and with bleaching stuff.

other colours

Use detergent for coloured laundry.
The cheap stuff doesn't wash as well and often doesn't prolong the life of your clothes as well as the detergent which costs a bit more.
The smell is also something you want to like.

softener

Softener can replace the smell of your detergent.
It also keeps the clothes a bit smoother, so you don't need to iron them.
It can also work as an anti-static, which is of help with nylon, for instance.

It prolongs the drying when hanging the clothes out to dry.

But when you use a dryer it makes the clothes even softer.

Oxengallsoap/Ossegalzeep

Always keep a piece of this soap near the laundry machine at a fixed place.
You don't need to use it often, but it's quite handy in case of an emergency.

Spots from most food and juices can be dealt with.

It's best to put cold milk on fresh bloodstains, but when they're old, use oxengallsoap and leave it for a few hours.

Rinse it out before throwing the item in the machine.

laundry care labels

Laundry care labels are international labels.

You can find them all over internet.
Here´s the dutch version.

sorting laundry

Sorting laundry needs two steps which are equally important, because:

• you don't want to change the colour
• you don't want to change the size
• you don't want to ruin your laundry otherwise
  

1. Sorting on colour

• red
  Always keep red away from everything.
  One red sock can change a whole white load of laundry in such a pink colour that even your younger sisters won't wear the t-shirts, ever!
• white
White cotton can change in any colour, so white is white.
Be careful with some stains like ink, berries, grease and oil.
You'd better wash those items seperate.

• dark
  When you want to keep your black trousers black, wash them with black laundry only.
  Black combines well with grey, but when it leaves dust or little pieces, you'll have it all over your black items.
  So:
  
  • Nice black items together, without anything else.
  • Black socks can be combined with dark blue, brown and grey, unless they're very fluffy and your grey might become spotted with black.
• yellow and light green
  First give wasking the green a try. When it doesn't spill too much colour it can go with the yellow.
  
• etc.

2. sorting on label

Read the labels!

• Items that need to go to the drycleaner need your mom or the drycleaner.
• Items that carry the handwash label shouldn't be thrown in the machine.
• Items that can be washed in the machine need an extra look:

3. Sorting on material/fabric

• Light fabrics, like silk, nylon, light blouses, need the shortest and lightest program with low temperature.
• trousers, socks, underpants, blouses, handkerchiefs, towels, etc are OK at 40 degrees.
• t-towels, washcloths and cleaningcloths can do with 40 when they're not smelly and not dirty, with 60 when they're dirty and with 90 when they're smelly and too dirty.
  
• wool needs your mom. Silk needs special detergent your mom has.
  

4. sorting on dirt

Check for loose buttons and items in the pockets.

When your items are very dirty you have to brush off all the sand and little specs.
Sometimes it's best to soak them a night in water with a bit of detergent. And then use clean water two or three times before throwing the item in the machine.

T-shirts which are dirty in at the neck can do with wetting the neck and brushing detergent on it before throwing them in the machine.

When you have a lot of real dirty laundry you can use the extra program (voorwas).
When your machine doesn't have an extra program, just put it on 40 degrees and let it work about 20 minutes, then use the rinse and centrifuge program. After that start the normal program.

Welcome

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