Readers' Tips

Last year was our first Christmas in our new house and we did two things that I expected to enjoy, but was surprised at how much my children loved these simple things. The first thing we did was to have dinner by candlelight the day we put up our tree. My children, who are 5 and 7, loved this so much, we did it for the rest of the holiday season. It did make us slow down a little and emphasized what a special time of year the holidays are. My younger daughter has already mentioned doing this again.

Our family opens gifts on Christmas Day and we have not had any Christmas Eve traditions. Our new house has a fireplace, so last year, after the girls had their bath, we lit a fire and had hot chocolate and just enjoyed each other and looking forward to the coming day. I think we have found our Christmas Eve tradition! Happy holidays to all!
Deborah G.

Please share your holiday ideas for gifts, decorations and family fun with our readers. Just send them by email to terry@stretcher.com with "Holiday_Happiness" as the subject. We'll include many of them in the newsletter and on the website in weeks to come.

We bought our first home about 2 1/2 years ago. The mortgage company had us read a workbook and then quizzed us to make sure we knew what we were getting into. There are many online calculators that will give you information about calculating your monthly mortgage costs. Most realty sites have links to them. Remember that in addition to your P&I (principal & interest) which is what the most sites calculate, you will be paying money into escrow for taxes and insurance. You will also be paying a PMI (private mortgage insurance) if you put down less than 20%. Most first-time buyer programs will allow you to put down between 3% and 5% if you do not have a lot saved up. The loan we obtained was a 5% no PMI loan. We had to pay one extra point at closing. A point is equal to 1% of your loan amount. This kind of loan is good for someone who can come up with more funds to put down but wants lower payments. Compare lenders. Ask friends and relatives who they have had good business dealings with; also, agents are often familiar with good lenders and can steer you away from problematic ones. Any reputable lender should be able to give you the costs associated with obtaining a loan through them. These costs are sometimes negotiable and often vary depending on the company. When you have selected your lender they will check your credit and will make sure anything questionable is resolved before they lend their money. They will expect any unpaid debts to be settled and ask for letters explaining any negative history. Finally, the lender will provide you with a good faith estimate. This discloses all costs expected to close on your home.
Good luck on your home buying process.
WG

more info on getting a mortgage, including advice from a lender, at www.stretcher.com/stories/00/001127a.cfm

I work for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, so I asked one of our food specialists here what FIT was made of. Know what he told me? Mainly vinegar, with a few other ingredients. My grandmother ALWAYS soaked her produce in vinegar/water (equal amounts) and then rinsed with cold water, and it was extremely clean. FIT doesn't really clean any better than this, it just does it with a little less effort. A small cautionary: Never soak mushrooms in this manner. Scrub them, then rinse minimally under cold running water. Letting them soak allows them to absorb extra water. As long as you have a large bowl and a colander, you can make your own "FIT" dip-vat as well :) Place the colander inside the bowl, fill with vinegar-water mixture, and put your fruit/vegetables inside. Then when they've soaked for 5-10 minutes, just lift the colander out and rinse! Works great!
Lynne T.

more suggestions for cleaning your veggies at www.stretcher.com/stories/00/001127b.cfm

I have 2 pet rats (yes, they make excellent pets!) and to clean/disinfect their cages I use the following:

• one spray bottle with hydrogen peroxide
• one spray bottle with white vinegar

Spritz with one, then the other, rinse with water.

I found this on a website from one of the agriculture extension programs. It has been shown to be the most effective way to kill salmonella and is excellent for kitchens, cutting boards, a fruit wash, etc.

It doesn't matter which you use first and it is more effective in separate bottles than if you mix the 2 in one spray bottle.
Lisa C.

I do a lot of bargain shopping each year at Christmas and my best find was used books at the thrift stores. A good conditioned hardback is usually no more that $1. For the younger family members I choose several paperbacks(5 to 50 cents) and wrap them in a set.
I then purchased a large sheet of white poster board and some Christmas stickers. I cut the poster board into slim portions, attached one or more stickers and in black felt marker wrote a personal message on each. I randomly put glue onto the piece and sprinkled glitter on the glue. Shake off the excess glitter and I took them to a copy shop and had them all laminated. At the top of each, punch one hole through the laminate and attach a nice ribbon or tassel of some sort.
Sabrina

Someone gave me a tip one day for cleaning shower doors. You know how they get all cloudy and filled with soap scum. We tried everything to scrub them off. Instead of buying all those expensive cleaners, reach into the tub and get a wet sponge. Coat the shower doors with hair conditioner. Let it sit a minute. Then wipe off You will not believe the results. Try it. I was amazed. Any inexpensive conditioner will do.
B.

With the rising cost of heating our home, my husband and I took a look around to see where we could be more efficient and reduce heat loss. The dryer vent was a big target. We purchased an indoor vent box for our dryer. In the winter, the heat from the dryer is vented into the house, instead of outdoors. (There is a filter to eliminate any lint from entering the house.) Now whenever we use the dryer, we not only dry our clothes, but add heat to our home.
Lisa R.

Editor's note: please only use this suggestion with electric dryers and then with an attachment that's sold at your home center for this purpose. Gas driers must be vented outdoors.

In the winter, I often have a problem with static cling--my pants stick to my nylons. Instead of buying expensive static cling sprays, I just use a dryer sheet. Rub the dryer sheet on your nylons and your pants will no longer stick to them! You can use the same dryer sheet over and over--I keep one in my desk drawer at work. An added benefit is that my drawer smells nice too!
DeAnne W.

Editor's note: Please send your tips to gary@stretcher.com with "Tips" as the subject. If we use your tip or reply to 'Can You Help' in any of our publications we'll send you the next three issues of our print newsletter as a 'than kyou'.

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