This is a simple mosquito repellant that I whip up in minutes and place outdoors five minutes before we go to sit outside. The other common approach is to put Citronella in a mason jar and poke a hole in the top and feed a long wick through.

Find all the ingredients and how-to at somediy.net.

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Perfectly ripe, luscious strawberries are one of summer’s greatest pleasures. While they’re great eaten out of hand, sliced onto cereal or salads, or featured with shortcake, there are so many other things you can do with strawberries. Here’s is a sampling of recipes from a spectacular strawberry dessert collection from Better Homes and Gardens that will leave them clamoring for more! Click here to view all 27 recipes.

Best Strawberry Shortcake

Get the recipe.

Strawberry S’mores Cobbler

Get the recipe.

Strawberry Coconut Cream Soda

Watch the Video.

Get the recipe.

Dark Chocolate Cake with Fresh Strawberry Buttercream

Get the recipe.

Strawberry Cheesecake Tartlets

Get the recipe.

Six-Layer Strawberry Cake

Get the recipe.

Fresh Strawberry Bars

Get the recipe.

The post Mouthwatering Strawberry Dessert Recipes appeared first on Clever Homemaking.

If you’re like me, you may try softening the butter in the microwave and end up with a half melted mess. In a pinch you may go ahead and just melt the butter, only to discover that the texture of the finished product has been affected, and usually not in a good way.

So what are your options? You can wait for the butter to soften on its own. Or you can use the tips in the follow video from America’s Test Kitchen to soften your butter … in under a minute! Genius.

The post Genius Tip: Soften Butter Quickly Without Melting It appeared first on Clever Homemaking.

Wipe away pet fur with a rubber glove.

Dip the glove in water, then run your hand over fur-covered couches, carpets or car seats to pick the fur up, no lint roller needed.

Banish faucet buildup with a lemon.

Dissolve that pesky mineral buildup and erase water spots with lemon juice.

Clean grimy oven racks with dryer sheets.

Soak the racks in warm water with a few dryer sheets for an hour, then rub the goop off.

Let ammonia clean the oven for you.

Pour half a cup of ammonia in a bowl, and let it sit in the oven overnight. Voilà! Crusty food falls away, and all you have to do is wipe down.

Fix burned pots and pans with baking soda.

First, boil water and white vinegar in the pan to lift off most of the burned food residue. Scrub any remaining bits with baking soda to erase completely.

Disinfect your mattress with vodka.

Yup, a spritz of vodka is said to kill odor-causing bacteria and disinfect. Just be sure to spray a light layer, and let the mattress dry before adding sheets.

Click here for the complete Huffington Post article with 5 more great cleaning hacks.

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Tired of carpet stain removers that cost the earth and sometimes work and sometimes don’t? This homemade carpet stain remover is inexpensive and easy to make and works better than many other options.

Who knew that you can use 2 things that you currently have in your pantry and get out those nasty kid stains on the carpet.

2 cups Hydrogen Peroxide and 1/4 cup baking soda.  Right in to a squeeze bottle.  Voila!  Stain removing magic.

I gave the spot a generous squirt of remover and rubbed and scrubbed it with my rag.  Then I went over it with the vacuum to dry it a bit.  Voila.  Really…..it felt like magic.  And now I don’t have to move the furniture.

Alexis at Joyful Mommas Kitchen says of this magical mixture: “Pay  no attention to the dark spots still lingering near the couch.  They are now also long gone.”

Read the entire article here at Joyful Mommas Kitchen.

Image courtesy of DiyHangout.

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Succulents

These waxy, geometric beauties are certainly trendy, but not only because of their interesting shapes and hues ranging from mint green to deep violet. Their thick leaves store water, so they typically only require weekly watering (wait until the soil is dry before dousing them again). Succulents come in lots of varieties (like slender cacti, spiky sedum, smooth Echeveri, or flowering Kalanchoe), but typically enjoy sunlight and dry air.

Pothos

This leafy vine would have been voted “most popular” in high school. Since its quite hardy (and quite pretty), people choose it often. It can deal with low light, and won’t be bothered if you let the soil dry out.

Ponytail Palm

This Mexico native gets its name from its shape — its skinny leaves sprout from a thick stalk, where it stores water.

Begonias

These crowd-pleasing spring and summer blooms need their soil to dry out before they get another drink, and require even less watering in the winter. “Plus they come in many different foliage colors and patterns,” says Hayden.

You’ll find the full list and 5 more charming plants that can handle some neglect at Country Living.

The post 4 Houseplants You Can Forget to Water appeared first on Clever Homemaking.

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There’s nothing worse than running out of a key ingredient half way through the recipe! Rather than run to the store, pull out this handy substitutions guide from eReplacementParts.com.

It will be easy to find it when you need it if you print the guide and attach it to the fridge or inside a cabinet door. You’ll be glad you did!

Click the infographic below for a version that can be enlarged for printing at full size.

The post Every Cooking and Baking Substitution You Will Ever Need appeared first on Clever Homemaking.

Unless you love your laundry room and enjoy doing laundry you’re probably looking for ways to speed up the laundry process. Keeping whites white, colors from fading and clothes soft and fluffy can take way longer than it needs to. Here are some great hacks to make those jobs easier. In the long run you’ll not only save on laundry time and the cost of special additives to keep things looking good longer, but you’ll also save time and money replacing things that have faded or turned dingy.

How to Keep Whites Bright

Add a single aspirin to your machine load of laundry to keep whites from getting dingy. You can also add in 1 cup of baking soda as a natural brightener for whites and colors alike.

How to Keep Darks and Colors from Fading

To keep new, dark clothing from fading, add a cup of table salt to the rinse cycle to set the color the first time you launder.

How to Dry Clothes Faster (and Fluffier)

Speed up drying time and add extra fluff to bedding like pillows and comforters by throwing a few clean tennis balls into the dryer with them. The tennis balls will help to evenly distribute the down and increase airflow in the machine.

For 4 more tips visit allyou.com for the full list of laundry and stain fighting hacks.

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Hardwood floors have a lot of charm but can be a bit of a bear to maintain, especially older wood floors that have not been sealed with urethane. Prevention can help keep maintenance to a minimum.

Be sure to place dirt and water grabbing rugs in front of exterior doors, both outside and inside. Also provide a seat and a mat or tray for storing boots and muddy shoes. Promote the habit of removing dirty footwear right at the door before tracking through the house. This will prevent damage from water, dirt and de-icing chemicals.

Even with those things in place, you’ll still need to clean floors on a regular basis, as accumulated dirt can scratch and mar the surface.

Basic Care

Speed up the cleaning process by first dusting the floor with a mop that has been treated with a dusting agent to pick up dust, dirt, and pet hair that might scratch the floor surface. For weekly or biweekly cleaning, vacuum with a floor-brush attachment on a vacuum cleaner or an electric broom. Do not use a vacuum with a beater bar attachment, which can scratch a wood floor’s finish. For quick dusting, use disposable electrostatic cloths, available at grocery and discount stores. Save money by using both sides of the disposable cloths.

Deeper Cleaning

Dirt, oil, and grime build up over time and aren’t completely removed by a weekly dust mopping. For occasional deep cleaning (consider doing the cleaning in the spring or just before the winter holidays), use a wood-cleaning product diluted according to the label instructions. Saturate a sponge or rag mop in the water, then wring it almost dry so it feels only slightly damp to the touch. Damp-mop the floor, being careful to prevent standing water on the floor. Rinse with a clean mop dampened in clear water, but only if the cleaning product requires it. Wipe up excess liquid because standing water can damage wood surfaces. If the weather is humid, operate a ceiling fan or the air-conditioner to speed up drying.

Removing Stains

First, it’s important to understand whether your floor has a hard non-permeable finish, like from urethane, or a soft finish from oil or wax products. If the mark sits on top of the surface than you probably have a hard finish. If the mark or stain has soaked into the wood to some degree, than your floor most likely has a soft finish. This is especially likely if you have an older home with the original finish on the hardwood floors.

Remove marks and stains from a floor with a hard finish by rubbing it with a soft cloth and a mild cleaning agent. Never use steel wool, sandpaper or harsh chemicals as they will mar the surface and make that area stand out from the rest of the floor.

If your floor has a soft finish, gently try one of the following:

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