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Post by rikita on Sept 22, 2016 22:36:05 GMT
oh, that is good advice! i didn't know that helps, will do that from now on. thanks!
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Post by lagatta on Sept 23, 2016 1:57:44 GMT
I wish something would work with les mites (tiny moths that destroy clothing, including a beautiful dark grey Loden coat to delicate woollen and silk scarves).
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Post by chexbres on Sept 23, 2016 18:39:51 GMT
lagatta - I've never had mites here, but everybody complains about them. I've always used sachets of lavender that I get from L'Occitane, then spritz the sachets heavily with eau florale de lavande which comes from the pharmacie. I spritz them a few times a year, just to make sure. Too bad lavender doesn't work on silverfish...
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Post by rikita on Sept 23, 2016 22:56:43 GMT
i use the chemical stuff (like paper sheets with that) from teh pharmacy, but i keep forgetting to replace it (it says to replace it after half a year, i do it every two or three years) so i hope there are no moths in my saris yet ...
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Post by Deleted on Sept 24, 2016 12:48:15 GMT
I've had mites in my closet. They adore cashmere. Well, I don't have any cashmere anymore.
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Post by lagatta on Dec 9, 2017 15:59:43 GMT
Well, I've found the thread on food wastage - obviously far more is discarded by industry, but I still hate throwing out food. Sometimes I'm just not hungry. I do use scraps of vegetables in soup stock, which I make often.
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Post by kerouac2 on Aug 11, 2018 17:44:58 GMT
Today, I threw away a big mouldy cantaloupe (not really that old!) and also a tomato that had sprouted fur. Not a huge loss, but obviously I hate it. There is too much stuff in my refrigerator and I shop too often to keep things under control.
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 11, 2018 18:45:31 GMT
I realize it's been really hot lately, but if you keep produce out on the counter rather than in the fridge, you are more likely to remember to use it. Also, when you get ready to go shopping for more food, the counter produce is looking at you balefully.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Aug 11, 2018 20:36:52 GMT
I cooked a chicken yesterday...and today made rissoles with the leftovers >patting self on back<
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 11, 2018 20:55:20 GMT
Noble Cheery!
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Post by rikita on Sept 3, 2018 8:38:46 GMT
had to throw away a big slice of watermelon recently - mr. r. bought it and as he rarely eats watermelon (or fruit in general), he apparently couldn't tell that it was already not good ... by the time i checked it, the side was soft and kind of wobbly ...
we keep throwing away too much in general - there's always an open package of something or other that somehow finds its way to the back of the refrigerator and by the time i notice it, has gone bad ... there are many things that are supposed to be eaten within a few days once open, and i need them for some recipe i am cooking but there is so much in it, i can't come up with other recipes using the same ingredient in time ...
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Post by lagatta on Sept 3, 2018 11:57:55 GMT
It seems that fridges are also very poorly designed in terms of visibility.
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Post by kerouac2 on Sept 3, 2018 13:27:50 GMT
My new refrigerator has exclusively clear glass shelves and I can see what is in there a lot better now.
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 3, 2018 13:51:28 GMT
What -- no rubberized racks so that food can tip and spill?!
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Post by rikita on Sept 3, 2018 23:50:17 GMT
ours has glass shelves, but i still can't see what is in the back parts of those shelves. they aren't fully clear glass though. i think if it was just me, i could more or less keep track of what's in there, but since mr. r. and i both do shopping, sometimes eat at different times, make snacks for a., i don't always know what's in there and what has been already eaten ...
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Post by mich64 on Sept 4, 2018 1:47:25 GMT
I have glass shelves as well. I added two spinning trays with a non slip base on my top shelves where I keep all my bottles such as mustards, jams, mayonnaise, salad dressing etc. I just spin and get what I need, it helps me from having bottles hiding behind things and forgetting they are there.
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Post by bjd on Sept 4, 2018 5:00:33 GMT
I bought a new fridge in July, with glass shelves. Unfortunately, it is so tall that I can barely see what's at the back of the top shelf -- and I'm not tall but not that short either. So it's destined to become a graveyard of once-opened sauces.
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 4, 2018 20:23:21 GMT
You should get a kick stool for the kitchen. More efficient than tippy-toes for seeing into the top shelf of the fridge, although also potentially something to trip over.
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Post by lagatta on Sept 4, 2018 23:01:32 GMT
I have one of the folding ones with steps. Are the kick stools better?
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 4, 2018 23:12:46 GMT
Well, you can kick them! I too have the folding kind because it's higher. I don't need one in the kitchen except for the cleaning over the cabinets. I use it in the garden a lot, to clean the tops of the hanging light fixtures in the house, etc. Kick stools are often seen in bookstores and libraries since you can also sit on them. Digging deep into the recesses of a lower kitchen cabinet would call for a kick stool, yes?
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Post by bjd on Sept 5, 2018 5:29:21 GMT
I don't want a kickstool. One more thing to clutter up an already small space. When I need to see high up, I just pull a chair over.
As for cleaning the tops of cabinets, years ago I got a great tip from someone: putting newspapers/paper on top of upper kitchen cabinets. Instead of scrubbing them, all you have to do is roll up the dirty paper and throw it away, then replace with clean paper. I have been doing it for years now.
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 5, 2018 5:33:54 GMT
That's what I do! They sell this sort of pink newsprint-type paper here by the kilo. It's wonderful for packing -- so much better than getting ink all over your hands with old newspapers. It's also a little bit heavier than newspaper, so works nicely on top of the cabinets.
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Post by lagatta on Sept 5, 2018 8:40:08 GMT
Oh, I need a stool; at times with arthritis I have a hard time getting on and off chairs - and I have incredibly sturdy oak chairs that used to live in a convent, the Motherhouse of Congrégation Notre-Dame. Someone a couple of blocks north of me was moving to Ottawa (where her son lives) and actually gave them away. I was trying to keep calm so she didn't suspect what a treasure they are now, though of course they are very plain.
I have a kneeling bench for gardening that I use for washing baseboards and those annoying low cupboards - if only I had drawers throughout!
I got rid of a lot of clutter, but I do need those two things for ergonomic reasons. The kneeling bench folds flat.
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Post by rikita on Sept 5, 2018 9:00:55 GMT
another reason i keep having to throw food away is those stupid moths and worms. i try to keep vulnerable food safe in containers, but somehow they keep finding new things to attack. recently i offered agnes some nuts i had been carrying around in a box for a while (because she didn't eat them first time i took them along) - and then discovered that there were some small worms sitting at the bottom of the box. that day, she did want to eat nuts and was kind of upset when i took them away again and threw them away ...
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Post by patricklondon on Sept 5, 2018 10:04:50 GMT
As for cleaning the tops of cabinets, years ago I got a great tip from someone: putting newspapers/paper on top of upper kitchen cabinets. Instead of scrubbing them, all you have to do is roll up the dirty paper and throw it away, then replace with clean paper. I have been doing it for years now. Call me a slattern, but I'm a great believer in the principle of "What the eye don't see, the heart don't grieve over".
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Post by bjd on Sept 5, 2018 14:01:40 GMT
Patrick, if you had ever scrubbed the top of kitchen cabinets while standing on the edge of the counter, then you too would think putting papers up is a good idea. The papers are not visible and not changed all that often, but when it has to be done, then it's much easier to throw out the papers and change them.
I haven't seen that word "slattern" for a long time! Interesting that it applies only to women.
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Post by kerouac2 on Sept 5, 2018 14:23:10 GMT
Threw out about 20% of a container of crème fraîche about 15 minutes ago. I saw three or four greenish mould blooms on the surface.
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 5, 2018 15:19:48 GMT
i keep having to throw food away is those stupid moths and worms. i try to keep vulnerable food safe in containers, but somehow they keep finding new things to attack. Rikita, if at all possible, put those "vulnerable foods" in the freezer the minute you bring them home from the store. That will usually kill off any tiny eggs that might hatch out in the warmth of the house and will certainly prevent infestation from any other source. Dried chile peppers often seem to harbor some kind of moth that eventually hatches out, leaving webs and yuck in the chile container. Weevils like to hitchhike in with beans and cereals. Freezing prevents this. Grocery stores can be affected, so if you buy breakfast cereal, you might want to dump it into a glass container to check it when you get it home from the store. Really, you should probably get Agnes out of the house for a day, then go through all your food in the cabinets so you can throw away anything that is affected. Put it all in a plastic bag and get it out of the house immediately. Then empty the cabinets completely and spray them with some environmentally unsafe and carcinogenic substance guaranteed to kill whatever might be lurking in the crevasses. Spray the baseboards, under the sink, etc. Then, as long as you're destroying the environment anyway, follow up with a good neutralizing brand of deodorizing spray to get rid of the poison smell. Air out the cabinets as much as possible. Once the house has been de-buggified, you can feel a lot more confident about keeping food out. And foods such as flour, beans, etc. that get the freezer treatment don't have to stay in the freezer. Put them in for several hours or overnight, then transfer them to a container and put them in the cabinet.
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Post by rikita on Sept 5, 2018 17:12:59 GMT
will definitely try to remember to do the freezer thing ... will see when i have time for the whole spraying thing. fortunately it is winter soon, there are a lot less of those animals around then ...
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Post by kerouac2 on Sept 5, 2018 17:29:03 GMT
My parents had weevil problems when they lived in Florida and had to keep certain things in the freezer. I have never had that problem in Paris although I was in a Chinese shop one day and saw some of the products squirming on the shelves. I showed it to an employee who was neither happy nor horrified. I imagine that it happens regularly to things imported from Asia -- or at least it used to -- this was more than 20 years ago.
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