Having a Game Night with a little one

The husband is great when it comes to taking care of the kid. Tonight we are having friends over to play video games. This is a first since the birth of the little one. She is a little over a year old. While I know I will have some guilt to play video games, it's important to take some time every once in a while and do what I enjoy. It's better for both of us. She'll be okay if I can meet her every whim tonight. I think she might even forgive me as long as it doesn't happen that often.

Those Pesky Fruit Flies

It seems to happen sometimes that we get run over by fruit flies in our home. The first thing I do is to remove all food that is sitting out like fruits.

Next, I clean the sink. To get rid of fruit flies, I was given this advice. Run hot water while pouring bleach down a drain. Run the water for a few minutes. This really helps to cut down fruit flies and get rid of the annoying gnats.

I have also used the same method of running hot water and using ammonia. Never mix ammonia and bleach so use one or the other. This has also been effective in curbing the fruit fly population in our home.

Cleaning your Eye Glasses

I have worn eye glasses for years. I hate when I have to clean them as it is easy to scratch them. The last time my husband got glasses, he was advised to clean them with Dawn dishwashing liquid.

Apparently, Dawn is very gentle and won't scratch. He had gotten the "no glare" film on the eye glasses, so he needs to take extra precautions when cleaning his glasses. I use my PSP anti-static cleaning rag and Dawn to clean my glasses. It works really well and is a lot cheaper than eye glass cleaner.

Oxyclean for baby stains

When I was pregnant, all I heard about was the product Oxyclean and how it gets out baby formula stains. I have to agree. This product works great to remove baby formula stains. When I would forget to use Oxyclean, bibs and baby clothes just weren't as clean. Baby formula stains are really bad. It's amazing baby formula with it's smell and stains that is it good for baby.

Buy the big econo-size of Oxyclean, and do not buy the knock-off brand as it isn't nearly as affective. Trust me, this is from personal experience as I'm a big bargain shopper. A big tub of Oxyclean will last a while since it only takes a small scoop to add to each load of laundry. Plus, if you only use it to remove baby formula stains then you won't be adding it to every load. If you are like me, however, you will want to add it to every load since it does so well on baby formula stains that it can perk up the rest of your clothes.

How to cut back on the grocery bill

Here is my secret for keeping my grocery bill under $40: take the baby stroller. I use the basket underneath to put my groceries. No matter what I put in it, it usually totals $40 or less.

I used the stroller more when the baby was really small. It's one of those travel system strollers, so her car seat fit on top. Now she has outgrown that car seat and just sits normally in the stroller. It's also great to take the stroller because if she wants to take a nap then she can get comfortable enough to get some shut eye.

I'm going to be sad when we no longer need the stroller. It has become quite handy especially when shopping on a tight budget.

Keeping Crackers Fresh

It never fails. I open a new sleeve of crackers, eat a few and then store the rest. About a week later I will go for some crackers only to find that they are now stale. How disappointing!

A good way of keeping crackers fresh is to store them in tins. There are plenty of tins lying around the house that would work perfect for this. A couple of years ago I even sent off an offer for a Premium Crackers tin. It's tall and was designed to hold crackers.

We are coming up on the holidays, and there will be many tins for sale. Some will come with cookies while others may be filled with popcorn. Chances are that you may even receive one as a gift. Now after the holidays you can put that tin to use in your cabinets.

Hello World!

This is the obligatory first post to the Geeky Housewife. This blog is dedicated to household hints, tips and other things to make life easier. Being a gamer at heart, I just don't have the time to do the housework all the time. I'll share some of my easy tips, review of products that make my job easier, and some randomness thrown into the mix just to keep you on your toes.