" Check yourself.
Sometimes you are the toxic person.
Sometimes you are the mean, negative person you’re looking to push away.
Sometimes the problem is you.
And that doesn’t make you less worthy.
Keep on growing.
Keep on checking yourself.
Keep on motivating yourself.
Mistakes are opportunities.
Look at them, own them, grow from them and move on.
Do better, be better. "
Always check the type of light bulb that goes in lamps. A 60w is not interchangeable with a 40w.
Dollar store batteries work just as well as store brand.
Reward yourself from time to time when you do things that you needed to get done. It’s a good way to remind yourself to do them. Going out to pay a bill? Get Starbucks or something you don’t get often. Rewards don’t have to be huge, they can be small things like that.
Rice, pasta, flour, sugar, cheese, eggs, milk, a pack of chicken, a pack of frozen veggies and a well stocked spice cabinet go a long way food-wise. Splurge and get the biggest container of rice you can. You don’t have to go back and buy it again anytime soon and it makes a TON of meals in the meantime.
Rice can be cooked on the stove. You don’t need a fancy rice cooker. Two parts water to every one part rice (two cups water for one cup of rice for example). Get your water boiling, add rice, put a plate or lid on it, put it on low for 20 minutes. It should be done.
Keep a calendar on your pc of bill due dates. If your bills are set up at inconvenient times, like all of the services started on the first or something, then call up the company and find out if you can get your billing date switched to something more manageable. A lot of places do try to work with you.
There is no shame in calling a company and asking for an extension on a bill. Let them know what you can pay, pay that amount, and they arrange when the rest of the payment is required. This can stop you from having services shut off man. It shows responsibility on your part.
Take time to eat, even when you don’t feel like eating. Your body needs energy to live.
Wash or rinse your dishes before putting them in the dishwasher. It prevents gross caked on junk.
“The Works” is an excellent cheap toilet cleaner.
MAGIC. FUCKING. ERASERS. THEY WORK ON EVERYTHING JUST DON’T SCRUB HARD. I took the ring out of our bathtub with one. Also generic ones work just as well.
Keep some bleach around but if you use it for cleaning? Dillute it. There’s rarely ever a case where you need to pout straight bleach on anything. A cap full or two in a bucket of water works just fine.
DO NOT MIX CLEANERS. Chemical reactions are can be very dangerous. Here’s a good list. (Note that vinegar and baking soda can actually be a good combo for removing smells from things but it’s not very good at actually -cleaning-.)
If you drink? Don’t take meds at the same time it’s just not good.
Make sure you check the dosages on your pill bottles. No one wants to accidentally overdose on cough syrup or ibuprofen.
If you have a uterus make sure you have a heating pad and ibuprofen on hand for the pain. Hot baths also generally help and Ginger Tea is excellent for any nausea.
Buy a first aid kit. It’s worth it in the long run.
You can often do your taxes online at places like TurboTax.
Petroleum jelly (aka Vaseline) is good for chapped lips and you can get a decent sized tube or tub of it (generic brand version) for cheaper/same price as Chapstick.
KEEP TRIPLE ANTIBIOTIC OINTMENT IN YOUR HOUSE FOR CUTS AND SCRAPES AND SORES.
~~Medications~~
Over the counter medications (stuff you can buy right off the shelf no prescription needed) have a name brand and a generic name. ALWAYS buy generic if it’s available it is literally the same thing and way cheaper usually.
Some names to remember when you’re looking for meds!
Acetaminophen = Tylenol
Used to treat pain and reduce fever. Do not take with Ibuprofen.
Ibuprofen = Advil, Midol, Motrin
Used for pain and fever, is an anti-inflammtory. Is good for period cramps because it is an NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug).
Naproxen = Aleve, Naprosyn
Treats fever, pain, arthritis pain, gout, period cramps, tendinitis, headache, backache, and toothache. Is also an NSAID.
Acetaminophen + Asprin + Caffeine = Excedrin
Usually marketed as “Migraine Relief” as a generic.
Asprin = Bayer
Use for pain, fever, arthritis, and inflammation. Makes you bleed easily so should not be used for periods. Might reduce risk of heart attacks.\
Triple Antibiotic Ointment = Neosporin
Used on cuts, sores, and scrapes to reduce risk of infection and promote healing.
Also a general mutli-vitamin isn’t a bad idea and if you don’t get a lot of fruits or milk/sunshine in your diet you might want to get vitamins C and D specifically for daily use.
if you do accidentally lapse and put dawn in your dishwasher, run it empty and put hair conditioner where the detergent goes. that’ll clean it out (tip given to me by dorm custodian when roommate did the thing).
if you live off ramen, add stuff to it! add veggies you like, don’t use the whole flavor packet to cut down on sodium and msg or don’t use it at all and add your own spices.
if you’re making something with potatoes in it (beans, stew) potatoes are done when you can easily stab a fork through them.
you can microwave a hotdog as long as you put it in a microwave safe container of water. microwaves work by making water molecules vibrate. also, when reheating rice leftovers, add a small amount of water, like maybe a spoonfull, so it doesn’t get hard and crunchy.
the rice cooking advice above is for long grain rice. if you’re making short or medium grain rice, a 1:1 ratio (one cup water for one cup rice) is better, so the rice doesn’t come out too mushy.
buy a few cans of chicken. wholesale club stores like sam’s, costco, or bj’s tend to carry multipacks for a good price. they’re incredibly useful for when you forget to defrost meat.
buy meat on sale and put it in the freezer. buy vegetables on sale, and put them in the freezer. frozen veggies are often as flavorful and good as fresh ones, keep longer, and often come in microwaveable bags or with microwave directions.
soak ink stains in milk to help get them out or at least lighten them.
soak blood stains in water as soon as possible, with a bit of detergent or stain remover. scrub at them. use cold water, heat binds proteins to fabric. tbh, there’s no real need to change the washer from cold-cold setting unless the thing you’re washing says to wash in warm water.
acetone, found in most nail polish removers, dissolves super glue.
YOU’RE ALL DOING GOD’S WORK BLESS YOU
Takes pictures, have prints made and put them in photo albums. Be IN the pictures, have someone take pictures of you and your friends. Get over not looking perfect in thw picture. Someday that friend might be gone and those pictures might be all you’ll have, you will want to be in them. I made that mistake with my best friend, i always felt weird asking for a picture together… he died of cancer January of 2014 and now i have no pictures of us together. Its my only regret in life.
If you do end up buying generic spaghetti sauce or other tomato-based sauces that taste weird and terrible, a fuckton of oregano will fix it right up.
Degrease dishes before putting them in the dishwater. Even with good dish soap, grease just destroys your dishwater.
If you have a horrible greasy mess to clean, you want Dawn Platinum Erasing Dish Foam. I don’t know if there’s a cheaper/generic brand of this, but a single bottle will last a while.
The first step is to ignore the instructions on the back of the product. They tell you to use a sponge, but that just absorbs most of the soap.
Put some of the Dish Foam into your greasy dish - even for large pots, you’re really only gonna need one pump.
Wet a half-sized paper towel and wipe it all around the greasy dish. If it’s not spreading the soap well, get the paper towel more wet. (For things like screens, you’re going to need it to be dripping wet.)
Let it sit for a minute or two.
Rinse with VERY HOT water (and always rinse down the drain, not into your dishwater, though this goes for normal dish-rinsing too). The grease will now, in most cases, be completely gone! Magical stuff. Saves a ton of scrubbing, and keeps your plumbing from getting clogged with grease, too.
Another thing the Dish Foam will get rid of is the yellowing on old tupperware. It takes a lot more scrubbing, but it’ll do it.
This stuff will also get grease and oil off of clothes. Even if you’ve done something very stupid, like, say, left chocolate in your coat pocket when you put said coat on the radiator to dry off. Just rub that Dish Foam into the mess or stain, let sit, rinse, and there should be little to no stain remaining after a go in the washing machine. Very bad or old stains may take a few rounds of this to be effective.
Another thing that can help destroy grease on clothing before it can set in are those anti-oil face wipes that are supposed to help keep away pimples. Scrub one of those on the spot, and while it will look a little wet for a while, this usually keeps smaller spots from turning into stains, and also allows you to keep wearing that item of clothing (as opposed to rinsing it in the sink). These are small enough to keep in a bag or purse, too, so handy for accidents when not at home.
If your garbage disposal starts smelling bad, run citrus peels through it. (You may want to chop them up a little if they’re very large, like grapefruit. Though it depends on how big your garbage disposal is.)
Potatoes, onions, and sweet potatoes don’t need to be refrigerated, and last for a long time. Citrus fruits and uncut melons can also be kept on the counter. In the fridge, root vegetables like carrots and parsnips can last for quite a while, as can apples. (Once cut, though, they’ll go off faster.) Soft fruits like strawberries need to be eaten in the first couple of days after bringing them home, even if you refrigerate them, otherwise you’ll be losing big chunks to mold.
If you microwave something and it splatters all over, I know it sucks to take care of it when your hot food is just sitting right there waiting, but cleaning it right away is 500% easier than scraping away at hard, dry food bits later on.
Dry your baking sheets by hand after washing them, rather than letting them air dry. This keeps the chance of rusting to a minimum, so they’ll last a lot longer.
Don’t feel bad about making simple, easy food. A lot of people on the internet want you to, but they’re assholes. A really healthy dinner that doesn’t take very much energy to make (though a little bit of waiting time) is boiled veggies (my favorite combination is cabbage, small red potatoes, carrots, turnips), and sausage. Wash your veggies, cut the tops off the carrots, and just throw it all in the pot. Don’t boil the hell out of it, it’s ready when the potatoes are cooked. Season as you like when it’s on your plate. And if you make a lot, it keeps well and you won’t have to cook dinner again for several days.
all of this is very good! a few points I’d like to emphasize: the first, I gotta be picky cuz I’m a nurse, it is fine to take tylenol (acetaminophen) and ibuprofen together. in fact this is recommended for high fevers or moderate to severe pain because the two medications have a synergistic effect, where you basically get relief more out of both of them when they’re taken together. like any medications, make sure you’re not exceeding the maximum doses, and if you have worries that a combination medication (like a multi-symptom cold medicine) has more acetaminophen in it, because lots of them do, read the box or ask a pharmacist if you can take it with whatever else you might be taking.
also on the stains–hydrogen peroxide will get blood out of almost anything. it works best when the blood is fresh but also does wonders on dried blood. just keep the fabric away from heat until it’s washed because it can lift color, too.
and the last thing, which might be the most important one on the list:
everyone else is too busy panicking about everyone else noticing every tiny thing that could possibly be wrong about them to notice any tiny thing that could possibly be wrong about you
friendly reminder that it’s okay if you aren’t close to your family and it’s okay if being at home is hard for you and it’s okay if the closest people in your life aren’t related to you and it’s okay if holidays mean self-preservation tactics and it’s okay if you’re exhausted by the end of this day
