Rachael Ray

We live in a very old house and periodically have had to deal with mice. How can we tell they are back indoors? They nibble holes in bread left on a counter, or bags of flour have clearly been invaded. We have tried old fashioned snap traps with peanut butter with some luck but the only way to get rid of mice for good is to prevent them from getting indoors - all holes, no matter how tiny (mice are smaller than you think - 1-2 inches, including the tail) - must be sealed. A friend told us they hate brushed wool or copper so sealing all holes with that (available at the hardware store) seemed to do the trick. A [...]...

Periodically you need to clean certain parts of your home that collect dust and dirt and that are close to some kind of high heat source.  Here are a few of those places that if not cleaned regularly, could pose a fire hazard to your home. The clothes dryer You must clean out not only the lint trap, but the hose that spits the hot air outside from your clothes dryer.  This hose, all the way up to the lint trap collects excess dust and lint and over time can not only hinder performance and make it take far longer than it should to dry clothes, but it could be dangerous.  This little project is a huge pain in the butt, as [...]...

I couldn’t sleep last night and I was up browsing CNN.com at 4 am (sad) when I came across this unsettling story on the top “germiest” places in the mall. It’s enough to make you not leave your house. I frequently tell myself that we (”we” being people who grew up in the 70’s and earlier) survived, if not thrived, before the creation of anti-bacterial products and Dateline NBC specials featuring the germs on the bottom of your purse. However, the article is an eye opener and if nothing else, a reminder to stick a travel size Purell in your bag. Now that I think of it, a scarier special may be the germs residing on my family’s computer keyboard….. The [...]...

My friend’s toaster broke, and she is taking an informal poll of friends as to what she should buy next - traditional toaster or toaster oven? She discovered that people have pretty strong opinions on the subject, as people tend to have on items they use daily. I grew up in a toaster house. Four slices only. I remember a lot time spent narrowly escaping electrocution while shoving a butter knife in one of the slots to release a too-fat bagel. When I met my husband, he was firmly in the toaster oven camp, and he was there to stay. A toaster oven, he professed, was so much more versatile than a regular toaster. Not only does it toast items of all [...]...

I have had my kitchen chairs for ten years, and they have taken quite a beating. The original seat cushion was covered in a material with a natural/beige-ish colored background - what a mistake. The material showed everything - baby food, paint, chocolate milk - so after I had the chairs for a few years, we re-covered the cushions with a much more forgiving red plaid material. Five or so years have gone by so the other day we decided to cover the cushions yet again - what a difference it makes for the entire kitchen. The fabric cost $26 (on sale), it took an hour (with two people), and all you need is a staple gun. It couldn’t be easier [...]...

The old saying “you get what you pay for” really holds true, not only in the quality of the item you are buying, but the service and guarantee. I remember when I was little my dad would mail a taped-up pair of boots to LL Bean that he had worn for years and he would magically receive a brand new pair in the mail a few weeks later. In college my husband would brag about sending a pair of broken sunglasses back to the manufacturer and voila, he would be sporting a new pair weeks later. I used to more often than not toss an item that broke if I had owned it for a long time or had misplaced the receipt. [...]...

Dear Cleaning Lady: Winter is on its way - I’ve always wondered, can I leave my gas grill outside all winter or do I need to bring it inside? Thanks, Rebecca in Rochester Dear Rebecca: You can safely leave your grill outside all winter - and use it (bundle up!) -  as long as you buy a tight-fitting grill cover to keep out the elements, as well as rodents and other unwanted visitors. I can testify to the safety of using a grill in snowy conditions as my father would cook Christmas Eve dinner for 30 on our grill every year, more often than not in a snow storm. Happy grilling - one less dish to wash! ...

Thanks to the overripe bowl of peaches on my counter, I recently had an infestation of fruit flies. In the past I have had one or two that I could catch in my hand and that was that, but this time there were quite a few - for a few days. They were not to be ignored. I finally dealt with them - here is the scoop on getting rid of fruit flies: 1) Find where the flies are breeding. One rotting piece of fruit or spill in a recycling bin can breed thousands of fruit flies.They will also breed in drains, the garbage disposal, recycling bins, the trash, the compost bucket, and even mops, sponges, and any other spots where [...]...

I had to replenish my cleaning supplies this week and while vinegar works for washing the floor and other cleaning chores (see my blog all about cleaning with vinegar here), I needed to get some other basic supplies. I decided to check out the Dollar Store and see what I could cross of my list there. As it turned out, I took care of the entire list, and saved almost $20. You have to be willing to go generic or unknown-brand, yet I was surprised to find Lysol brand toilet cleaner for $1.  I know that I could also save if I buy in bulk, or go to Sam’s Club type store, but I was in a hurry so needed [...]...