Favorite New Uses for Old Things (continued ...)

* A lemon works to remove tough food stains from a plastic or light-colored wood cutting board. Squeeze on the juice of one half, rub it in, and let sit for 20 minutes before rinsing.

* The cardboard tube from a spent roll of toilet tissue is a wonderfully simple tool for keeping extension cords tangle-free.

* Organize bills―arranged in the order in which they need to be paid off―in an unused napkin holder.


* Rubber bands wound around a jar top several times, will give you extra grip to open a stubborn top.




Taken from: http://www.realsimple.com/home-organizing/new-uses-for-old-things/favorite-new-uses-00000000019718/index.html

Favorite New Uses for Old Things

* At a party, stash ice in a colander set on top of a bucket or a bowl. Water will drain out, and guests will get only the solid stuff.

* Stop searching high and low for hair clips and elastics: Store them tidily on an empty TP tube.

* Vegetable oil will put a shine on leather shoes. Use a damp cloth to remove any dirt, then run a soft cloth with a drop of oil over the surface to (literally) add polish.

* Forget unruly plastic bags that seemingly regenerate under your sink. An empty tissue box keeps them neatly corralled and ready for use. 

* Assemble a spray-cleaner arsenal by installing 


a rod in the closet or underneath the sink and then hooking the bottles onto it by their triggers.

* Ketchup Bottle as Pancake Batter Dispenser

* A giveaway shower cap becomes the perfect wrapper for shoes when traveling, preventing them from dirtying clothes packed in your suitcase.

* A hard plastic soap case is the perfect size to protect a camera stashed in a carry-on bag.

* Use Rubber Bands to Keep Clothes on the Hanger


* A binder clip serves as a key chain/money holder you can clamp to your waistband for a purse-free morning walk.

How to Speed-Clean Your Kitchen

The best time-saving tips, techniques, and to-do lists for polishing off the kitchen.

Frances JanischKitchen Cleaning To-Do List

When cleaning the kitchen always start with the sink. "Keep it empty and shining," says Marla Cilley, author of Sink Reflections.

A sparkling sink becomes your kitchen's benchmark for hygiene and tidiness, inspiring you to load the dishwasher immediately and keep counters, refrigerator doors, and the stove top spick-and-span, too.

Every Day

• Wipe down the sink after doing the dishes or loading the dishwasher (30 seconds).
• Wipe down the stove top (one minute).
• Wipe down the counters (one minute).
• Sweep, Swiffer, or vacuum the floor (two minutes).
   

Every Week

• Mop the floor (five minutes).
• Wipe the cabinets, backsplashes, and appliances (10 minutes).
• Wash the dish rack (four minutes).
• Wipe the switch plates and phone (one minute).
• Wipe the inside of the garbage can (one minute).
   

Every Season

• Empty and scrub down the inside of the refrigerator (30 minutes).
• Empty and clean the insides of the utensil drawers (15 minutes).
• Scrub down the cupboard exteriors (30 minutes).
• Clean the stove-hood filter (10 minutes).
• Perform "Shiny Sink 101" (coming below).

Shiny Sink 101

1. Fill sink to the rim with very hot water; add one cup regular bleach. Soak for one hour.
2. Drain and rinse thoroughly.
3. Scrub with Ajax, Bon Ami, or baking soda.
4. Be sure to rinse thoroughly.
5. Shine with Windex or another glass-cleaning spray. Dry thoroughly.

Cleaning Kitchen Odds and Ends

The quickest way to clean and disinfect these supplies is to put them in the dishwasher.

• Burner grids and knobs
• Brushes and combs
• Toothbrushes
• Plastic utensil organizer
• Refrigerator drawers
• Drain catch
• Sponges
• Dish rack
• Plastic toys (use discretion)

and most of all .... ENJOY!

Taken from: http://www.realsimple.com/home-organizing/how-to-speed-clean-your-kitchen-10000001086310/index.html

Mi

Beat the Clock

In the time it takes to brew a pot of coffee, you can get through your "every day" list.
  

Be Prepared

Keep extra garbage bags (or a whole roll) at the bottom of your trash can and never again have to retrieve an apple core from a bagless bin.

Let It Shine

Streak-free stainless-steel surfaces are the Holy Grail of kitchen cleaning. 

10 Life-Enhancing Things You Can Do in Ten Minutes or Less

By Barton Goldsmith, Ph.D.Created Apr 17 2010 - 8:48am

It usually takes us much longer to change our moods than we’d like it to take. Here are ten things you can do in ten minutes or less that will have a positive emotional effect on you and those you love.
1.    Watch "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch. See it online at Oprah.com. This is a deeply moving segment that may be the best ten minutes you've ever invested in front of a computer.
2.    Spend a little while watching the sunset with your mate. Nothing extra is necessary. Just sit and take in the natural beauty of the sky and appreciate being able to share it with the one you love.
3.    Sit quietly by yourself. It doesn't really matter where or when. Just let your feelings bubble up and then experience the thoughts flowing out of your mind. Clearing your head and heart will give you extra energy to get through the rest of the day.
4.    Write a thank you note to your mate. When was the last time you thanked your partner for just being who he or she is and being with you? Doing this in writing will give your partner something to cherish for the rest of his or her life.
5.    Take out your oldest family photo album and look through it. The experience will fill you with fond memories and perhaps make you a bit wistful for days gone by.
6.    Play with a child. Most kids have short attention spans; ten minutes of quality time from a loving adult can make their day. It will also help you stay in touch with the child inside of you.
7.    Visualize or imagine a positive outcome for any issue. Medical doctors recommend visualization to patients with chronic and potentially fatal illnesses. If it can help them, it can do the same for you.
8.    Go to bed with the one you love ten minutes earlier than usual. Then spend that time just holding each other. Let the feeling of warmth from your mate move through you.
9.    Hang out by some water. Studies show that hospital patients who can see a natural body of water from their beds get better at a 30 percent faster rate. If you're not near the coast or a lake, try taking a bath. Doing so is also healing.
10.  Get your body moving. Shake, twist, and jump around. Run, walk, and bike to your hearts content. You will live longer and love it more.
Sadly, many people measure happiness by how long the experience lasts. The truth is that a few minutes of joy here and there can make a big difference in what you get out of life.

Embassy Episode

asalam alaikum
     Last week was spent trying to get our Machine Readable Passports from the Embassy here. Although the MRP system came here in November, the process has picked up recently, as many countries have laid down the rule that Pakistanis will not be allowed entry in their country on Manual (hand written) passports any more.
     I found out yesterday, that the Embassy had issued a hand out to the Pakistani Mission schools here, but as my children dont go there, I had not found out about it in time.
    Day 1- Visited the Embassy at 8am, and was surprised that no one was around. I parked the car and read the notice board, which mentioned the steps for getting a MRP (in urdu :) ). A small notice somewhere down mentioned that the embassy is closed on account on 12th Rabbi-ul-Awal.
    Went home and search the net .. The Embassy website was not a help at all. On the local discussion forums, tried to see how things are working out.  Not a very rosy picture.

   Day 2 - Reached the Embassy a little after Fajr. There was a long line of men there and my husband got our names written on a list, got a number 122. After 2 and a half hours in line, someone started calling out names and about 50 people went in and the doors were locked. Lots of people were still outside. There were heated words and arguments to be heard. After another 2 hours, we managed to go inside and went in the waiting room. Tried to find out what the process really is. The day ended with a conversation with the MRP Officer, who refused to talk to me and refused to make passports after number 120. A lady there, adviced me to come early (4am) and she wished my family would them get the passports.

   Day 3 - Reached the Embassy again after fajr, and was happy to see no one outside the gate. It was a Family day. My husband called to say our number is one and then called back again to say it is 174. I told him I dont see any 174 people here, so he asked me to come to the gate myself. There were hardly 20 people there, and the numbers started to increase with each minute. The man making the list claimed to have come at 1:30 in the morning with his family of 7 waiting in the car. I told him that the Embassy staff does not honour this list that he had so painstakingly put together and asked him why on Earth would he come here at 1:30 in the morning. He had no answer to both my questions.
    I talked to a lot of families there and asked them to stand in a line, as the Embassy staff will make them come in, in that line. Some agreed and some wanted to go according to the list. When we called out the names from the list to make a line of first comers, there were only 6 or 7 people there from the first 75 names. So much for that list.
    After a lot of arguments with the Embassy staff, and more arguments with the Police, the list was torn up, because only a handful of those people were actually there, and we went in by line around 8:40am. Alhamdolillah. Raced through bank payment, fingerprinting and picture, and then came the hurdle. The link from Pakistan main server was down .... Come 12pm, the link was established and we verified the data and got our tokens for Passport Collection.

   My thoughts on the system there:
1) Many people had written their names on the list, who did not want the Machine Readable passport. Such names ought not to be on it.
2) Many people come and write names for people who are not there at all, their friends, neighbors, colleagues from work. These people might not be able to make it to the Embassy that day also, which is unfair for those people who physically turn up at the Embassy, stand in line and miss their office/school/work day. Such people ought to be more considerate and not tell others to write their names if they will not bother to show up.
3) A lot of people write their names and then go to office and then ask their families to come and collect tokens for them. Again not fair on those who have actually turned up.
4) The Embassy ought to issue tokens and give a time to the people to show up, instead of them having to spend the entire day at the embassy.
5) MOST IMPORTANT: In this day and age, it is strange to know that the Main Server can be down, and hold up Embassies all over the world, with no back up!!!! We spent 3 hours at the Embassy extra, just because the server was down.
    The same day, my in-laws had gone to get their MRP renewed in Karachi also, and they had to wait because the server was down.
6) Another important thing: The Embassy ought to tell the people the process of getting MRP and make it fool proof and VASTA-proof.

I could write a lot more, but the system will only work, if the people will make it happen that way. My prayers for that.
Ma asalaama.
  

The Red Heart

It could have been the splash of red or the overabundance of hearts or the young man in a designer jeans that caught his eye, but SheikhHamaad stopped under the bold “Valentine’s day Specials” banner, set his shopping basket on the floor and watched the young man battling to select an appropriate gift from the heaps of hearts, teddy bears and chocolates. Like a busy humming bird he flitted from shelf to shelf struggling to choose.

Sheikh Hamaad approached him as he stood scratching his head, “Asalaamu Alaikum, young man, seems like you’re battling to make a choice.”

“Eish, Moulana, this is more difficult than I though. And lucky I only have to choose for two of them,” he said, picking up another heart decorated teddy bear, examining the price and putting down with disappointment.

“For your sisters?” Sheik asked, feigning innocence.

“Naah, just friends, you know how it is. You have to do these things” came the prompt reply.

Sheikh Hamaad remained silent and fixed his gentle gaze on the young man, something more than the loud Billabong T-shirt and hipster jeans told him that this young man had more than a spark of intelligence.

 “Tell me, how many Valentine’s gifts do your sisters receive?”

“Hey, hey.... Moulana my sisters are not like that. They don’t do this boyfriend thing. My sisters...they are pure,” exclaimed the young man an angry frown crossing his face. “Just let the guy try and send my sisters one flower and I’ll make him eat it. You don’t know me!”

“Oh,” said Sheikh Hamaad without any apology, “And your mother, how many Valentine’s gifts does she get?”

The young man took a step back and glared at Sheikh Hamaad, “La howla wa....” his words swallowed by his anger, “how can you even say such things about my mother? My mother, she doesn’t do this stuff. She is like an angel. She is pure. How can you say this?”

Sheikh paused, waiting for the silence to absorb the boy’s anger, then said, tauntingly, “So they don’t receive any Valentine’s gifts or have boyfriend’s at all.”

“I told you, Moulana, my family is pure and they don’t do this junk stuff.”

Knowing the moment was right Sheikh but forward his reasoning, “So you really don’t like your sisters receiving these gifts or having boyfriends.”

“No ways,” came the emphatic reply, “not on my life”

“Then don’t you think,” Sheikh ventured, “that other people would also not like their sisters, mothers or aunts to receive such gifts. Just as you would like your sisters to remain pure, they would also like their sisters to be pure?”

The young man dropped his head and shifted his feet nervously, “You have a point, Moulana. Didn’t ever think of it like that. I don’t want to say...but you are right. I shouldn’t be polluting other people’s family if I don’t like my family to be polluted. This is all quite wrong isn’t it?”

“Yes, it’s quite wrong,” without a hint of reprimand in his voice, “this is not our way.”

“But,” he asked, trying to conceal his embarrassment, “It’s not like we doing anything serious. I mean it’s only a gift. Not like we doing something physical...so it should be ok, no?”

Without disturbing his calmness, Sheikh Hamaad replied, “Do you like to go fishing?”

“Now you talking my language. Not a Sunday, not one, that we not by the dam,” he replied his hands waving with excitement, “We sit the whole day me and my buddies. First we prime the place with milie bombs. Just so the fish know we there. And they come, Moulana. They come for the bait. The whole lot, man....curpe, bass, barbell, you name it. But what’s that go to do with buying gifts.”

“When Shaytaan wants to trap someone,” Sheikh replied serenely, “he first puts some bait. Innocent stuff like gifts, the odd sms, just a hello and then when the time is right ....he will strike and how you say...you fall hook, line and sinker. Then he’s got you and it’s not long before he reels you in. So it starts with just a little bait. Just like the little gift that seems so innocent – it’s the bait.”

The young man beamed with this new found revelation and couldn’t wait to ask, “You are so right! And you have an amazing way of getting a point across Moulana, you didn’t just lecture me but you showed me how it is wrong. Thanks a mil. You must have learnt from a great teacher?”

“No doubt, I learnt from the best of all teachers,” Sheikh answered, “In fact, the best of all mankind...The Noblest Messenger of Allah- Rasulallah sallahu alaihi wa salam”

________________________________________

 

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اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِکَ مِنْ عَذَابِ الْقَبْرِ وَأَعُوذُ بِکَ مِنْ فِتْنَةِ الْمَسِيحِ  لدَّجَّالِ وَأَعُوذُ بِکَ مِنْ فِتْنَةِ الْمَحْيَا وَفِتْنَةِ الْمَمَاتِ اللھم انصر اخواننا المجاھدین فی کل مکان آمین  اللہ اکبر کبراً و الحمد للہ کثیراً سبحان اللہ بکرۃً واصیلا
May Allah allow us to SEE things as they TRULY are and not as we PERCEIVE things to be. 
I send this email of my own and not representing any jamaah or group. Only Text of Quran is perfect, so pl read others with filter. E&OE