Loving Our Home | Home Tips, Advice, and Easy Recipes

Simple Home Tips and Solutions

How to Fix Your Leaning Floor Lamp

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Many of us have discarded a floor lamp that screws together to form a pole and with a light fixture on top. The number one reason is because the pole fails to maintain a tight grip and begins to lean to one side. The lamp leans because the threading has become worn and stripped.

I myself have personally thrown out several floor lamps because of this issue. I was frustrated at how much money I was spending on replacing floor lamps. So early one evening I dismantled my leaning floor lamp and forced myself to think of a solution. After a couple of hours, I figured out the best way to fix this issue and have my floor lamp looking straight again.

1- unplug the floor lamp

2- unscrew the section that is loose

3- take a small piece of duct tape and wrap it around the inner grooves of the pole

4- reattach pole and screw on until tight

Pic of Leaning Floor Lamp

Pic Of Lamp Unscrewed

Pic of Lamp With Duct Tape Added to the Inside

Pic of Straight Lamp

Problem solved!

Posted by Lorraine

Tip for Saving Money on Cheese

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My family and I absolutely LOVE cheese of all kinds, but it can be expensive to keep the fridge stocked. Here is a tip for saving money on cheese in the future.

When you purchase shredded cheese in a bag, the manufacturer charges you for that convenience. Also, the manufacturer puts additives in the bag to preserve the cheese and to keep it from clumping. So I have come up with an easy way to shred your cheese yourself, with little effort — whether it’s mozzarella, provolone or cheddar cheese for tacos.

All grocery store chains and wholesale clubs give you an option of buying the cheese in a block instead of the shredded cheese. Next time, choose the block cheese and follow these simple steps.

1- Place the cheese in the freezer for 15-30 minutes
2- Use a cheese shredder or a large grater to shred the entire block

* Now here is the secret to the cheese not clumping*
3- In a large container with a lid or a zip lock bag, add shredded cheese and put 1 Tablespoon of flour on top of the cheese. Secure lid or bag and shake vigorously. Make sure to store your cheese in an air tight container when done.

You will be amazed at how much more cheese you’ll get from that one block compared to a shredded bag of cheese that you buy at the store!

Posted by Lorraine

Kid Friendly Pizza Recipe

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Cooking with your children should always be a fun learning experience. I’ll never forget learning from my mother how to cook. Whether I was helping her prepare lunch or dinner, it was quality time with her that I will never forget.

As a mother myself, I remember also including my young children in the preparations of meals. We always had a great time. I was glad to pass on the tradition that my mother started with me all those years ago. After all, how else would they learn how to take care of themselves with delicious foods?

So I want share with the world my kids’ favorite childhood recipe for pizza. Trust me they devoured every piece! More importantly, they felt a sense of achievement because they made it themselves. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

4 Flour Tortillas
1 Cup Pizza Sauce
1 1/4 Cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
( You can add additional toppings such as pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms etc.. )

Directions

Tortilla_pizza
Example of what a Tortilla pizza looks like (courtesy wikimedia.org). It’s very yummy!

Preheat oven to 350*
Place Tortillas on a non stick baking sheet
Now let the kids make their own individual pizza
Use a large spoon to spread 2-3 tablespoons of pizza sauce on tortilla Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top
Add any desired topping(s)

Place in oven for 8-10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Enjoy this Kid Friendly Pizza Recipe!!

Posted by Eve

Tips for How to Deal with Finicky Cats

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Over the years, I have had the pleasure of loving a few finicky cats in my home. Each cat had their own unique personality. I, of course, had to adjust to meet their individual criteria. Here are a couple of frustrating issues that I had to contend with and how I solved them.

Don’t Litter Where You Eat…

My first cat, Colors, was so picky at eating her food! I soon realized that it was because I had placed her food too close to her litter box. Duh, who likes to eat their food near where they relieve themselves? I know I don’t. So I made sure that her food was in a totally different room than her litter. That immediately solved that issue.

Clumping Litter Saves the Day…

My next cat, Millie, would urinate and defecate right outside of her litter box, on a daily basis. I was becoming very frustrated. I did not know what was causing this to happen. I first tried cleaning the litter box before I went to work. That didn’t help at all. I then decided to change the litter brand from non-clumping to clumping. I even began to clean her litter box twice a day, before work and before I went to bed. From the first day I began this new routine her bad habit had been broken.

Sleep in Your Own Bed Please!

Cat bed
Cat bed.

My other cat, Lucky, would never sleep in his cat bed. I would always awake to him sleeping in my bed. I decided that my scent must be bringing him comfort. So, I decided to put an old t-shirt of mine in his cat bed to see if that helped. Wow, it sure did! From there on he slept in his cat bed.

I guess what I am saying here is to be patient with your animal and use common sense when your animal has odd or strange behaviors. They will let you know what you are doing wrong, the best way that they can. It’s up to you to listen and pay attention!

Posted by Eve

How to Help Keep Stray Cats Warm in the Winter

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During the harsh winter months you are probably going to become concerned about how to help keep stray cats warm. This is especially true for people who care for and love animals. Cats are designed by nature to survive outside successfully, even in very cold temperatures, but they still need our help from time to time — even more so during the winter. Here are a couple of tips to help you make a warm outdoor shelter that helps them survive the brutal winter.

Shelter and Outdoor Heating Pad (Low Wattage)

First, if you already have a outdoor shelter or igloo, you can simply add a pet safe outdoor heated pad. The heating pad has a chew resistance cord. I have purchased two of these for this season (the one picture below was on sale, now it’s about $40 for the medium). The current prices for these pads (most of them are made by K&H range from about $35.00 and up — the pads only use about the same amount of energy as a low watt light bulb. Keep in mind that the heating pad needs to be specifically designed for outdoor use.

IMG_20150130_182502 IMG_20150130_182540

Cat house built by the @HandyGirlz!
Cat house built by the Charlotte @HandyGirlz for a client!

Secondly, if you do not have an outdoor shelter for the stray cats, you can easily make one. I found a simple way to make a shelter by using a cooler on the Internet. All that was required, was to, with a jig saw cut two holes on either side of the cooler. The hole should be approximately twice the size of their head. It’s extremely important to cut two holes! It allows the cats to be able to escape any dangerous predators.

When the shelter is completed, put the heating pad inside the cooler with the top on. If you want to get fancier, you can make a full-fledged wooden, insulated cat house like the one the Charlotte @HandyGirlz built for a client (see pic).

Make sure that you keep the cat shelter elevated off of the ground on a table so that the snow and rain won’t bother the shelter.

Feed Them a Little More

Cats have to eat more in the winter to have enough energy to stay active during the cold months. So if you feed stray or feral cats in your area one tip to help keep them warm is to give them just a bit more food each time.

TNR

One more point — continue your TNR (Trap Neuter Return) efforts during the winter to ensure that the population in your area stays under control. See this post for more information about that.

Pet Lovers Rock!!!!! Thanks for helping to keep stray cats warm in the winter 🙂

Posted by Eve

Easy Spicy Thai Noodles with Shrimp Recipe

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Every so often, I really enjoy eating spicy Thai inspired cuisine. I first, had Thai noodles, at an upscale Asian restaurant in my hometown. I was shocked at the cost of the meal when reading the menu. I thought to myself, “I could make a more affordable version at home!” So that’s what I decided to do. All I needed was a few key ingredients purchased from my local Asian market. To my delight, it was a great success the first time I made this Easy Spicy Thai Noodles with Shrimp Recipe. I now make it on a regular basis for friends and family.

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon Olive or Vegetable Oil
1 Small Onion Diced
1-2 Teaspoons Thai Chili Paste
8-12 Ounces Medium Shrimp (Raw & Deveined)
4-6 Ounces Fresh Mushroom (Canned is OK)
2 Tablespoons Fish Sauce
2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
8-10 Ounces Wide Rice or Egg Noodles (Cooked)
1/4 Cup Finely Chopped Cilantro For Garnishment (Optional)

Directions

In a large sauce pan or wok on medium heat:
Add oil & onions
Sautée 1-2 minutes
Add:
Raw shrimp
Mushrooms
Fish sauce
Soy sauce
Chili paste
Toss 3-4 minutes until shrimp is cooked
Add:
Noodles
Combine all ingredients together for 1-2 minutes
Top portions with cilantro

Keep in mind that this recipe for Easy Spicy Thai Noodles with Shrimp works well with thinly sliced pork loin or chicken breast. If you like your foods extremely hot use more chili paste.

ENJOY!!!!!

Posted by Eve