Believe it or not, lemon juice can be used to scrub stains out of just about anything, including hard to clean plastic.
Wonderful walnuts
Have a scratch in your hardwood floor? It only takes some buffing with a walnut to make the mark practically vanish. The oils in the nut help to smooth out the streak and fill the crack.
Furball fixer
If you have a pet, then you know the annoyance of finding hair or fur everywhere. A rubber glove is just what you need to keep everything clean. Rub one along the surface of your couch, and the hair will adhere to the sticky surface.
Soap scum shaver
If you have a glass shower, keeping it clean and free from soap scum can be a challenge. The trick? Use some shaving cream to buff out stains. All you need is a bottle of the foamy stuff and a damp cloth.
Chip corrector
Giving your car a new paint job to fix a couple scratches or chips can be super expensive. To prevent rusting until you can afford the repair, dab the areas with clear nail polish to seal the paint. (Note: this hack won’t work if rusting has already started.) You can also use coloured nail polish to touch the spot up.
Blade rinser
Blenders are a beast to clean thanks to their sharp blades. The solution? Pour some soap and water into the appliance, then blend on high. Allow it to run for 30Â seconds, then rinse with fresh water.
Marvellous mayo
Water stains are loathed by coaster lovers everywhere, but the good news is they’re generally easy to get rid of. You just have to wipe a bit of mayo along the surface with a damp cloth. Olive oil and salt also works.
Grime remover
Baked-on gunk is a menace to dirty pans and baking sheets. To clean with minimal elbow grease, soak the dish with water and a nontoxic, biodegradable dryer sheet. The sheet will help loosen the grime.
Caffeinated cleanser
Get streak-free windows by buffing them with a coffee filter or newspaper. Simply spray a solution of water and vinegar on the surface then shine away.
Five-minute fixer
Raise your hand if you hate scrubbing gross, baked-on goo from your microwave? To get the appliance glistening, warm a bowl of lemon and water for five minutes, then let stand for another five. You’ll be able to wipe dirt away with a paper towel.
Bread, recycled
If you have some dirty hand marks or fingerprints on your walls, removing them is as simple as rubbing them with an old piece of white bread.
Kid mess cleaner
Don’t have a piece of bread? Baby oil can perform the same fingerprint-removing or crayon-clearing feat. The substance also works particularly well on stainless steel.
Free-from spray
There are a lot of chemicals in air and fabric fresheners, but one substance can perform the same trick in an all-natural way: vodka. Simply mix some of the alcohol with water and a few drops of essential oil. Spray on fabric to give it new life.
Simple soaker
Who knew old newspapers could be so handy? Scrunch them up to soak up the oil in a pan before scrubbing it clean with some soap and water.
Beverage buffer
Remember that science experiment from elementary school in which you used coke to clean pennies? The same trick applies to stains in your toilet. Simply pour some cola into the bowl, let sit for about an hour, and scrub clean. Kool-Aid also works.
Stale smell solver
Towels can grow musty and mouldy after a while. The trick to making them smell as good as new is as simple as a vinegar bath. Pour vinegar and water into your washing machine instead of detergent, rinse, then dry. Your towels will be clean as can be.
Carpet clearer
A little-known trick to getting stains out of just about anything is to reach for a damp cloth and iron. Set the iron on high heat, lay the damp cloth over the stains, and press the iron on top. The heat will lift the stain, leaving your carpet or couch clean. (Note: do not use a coloured cloth for this task. It could leach colour onto your carpet.)
See-through shine
You could reach for a chemical-filled product to buff out watermarks on your bathroom mirror… or you could use some vodka and baking soda (some people use cornstarch instead). Pour some of each into a bottle, spray on the surface, and watch everything from glass to silverware shine.
Simple slat solution
The little slats of an air vent can be hard to scrub clean. Try wrapping a butter knife in a damp cloth then running it along each slat to get the job done in seconds. To add some disinfection into the mix, soak the cloth in vinegar first.
Nooks and crannies
The worst part of buying fresh flowers is that algae that can form in hard to reach places in the vase. The trick to easily getting it clean? Toss some vinegar with a bit of rice and pour the mixture into the vase. Let it sit, then swish around. The rice will scrub the glass clean.
L-carnitine works with the mitochondria of each cell to break down and eliminate fat.
Basically it transports energy into your cells’ mitochondria (energy bubbles)…
The mitochondria acts as engines in your cells, burning these fats to create usable energy (2)
Not only does it help clear up and break down fats from the body, but it also protects the liver against powerful toxins.
And at least one study has shown that if you get 1 gram of L-carnitine a day…
…that’s enough to burn off 10 pounds in 12 weeks when combined with a healthy low-carb eating plan.
One of the best sources of L-carnitine is lamb.
Step #2: Reduce Body Fat With Chromium
Here’s where things get interesting…
Chromium is a critical mineral that most people are deficient in.
And it acts as a transport nutrient, which means it enables insulin to work more quickly and efficiently.
This means you’ll store less fat and use more calories to build lean muscle tissue…
Which also boosts your metabolism.
A study in Current Therapeutic Research shows that people who took a chromium supplement lost, on average, 6.2 pounds of body fat without the loss of any lean muscle (3).
Because far too many of them are filled with harmful chemicals and fillers.
Instead, opt for green beans cooked in grass-fed butter to get your chromium AND your fat-melting CLA needs met.
Simply adding this to your dinner 2-3 times a week can make a huge difference to your waistline.
Step #3: Speed Up Fat Burn With Betaine
Ready to turn things up a notch?
Because while you can start seeing awesome results by simply following Steps 1 and 2…
Step #3 is where we crank this into high gear.
And to do that, we start eating more betaine-rich foods.
Here’s why…
Betaine is a natural occurring amino acid compound that protects and enhances the function of internal organs in the body.
What’s more is that it also helps with digestive function, heart health, liver detoxification, and fat loss
If you don’t have enough HCL in your stomach, you may experience digestive dysfunction which makes it easier to store fat.
However, betaine increases the acid in your stomach, which most people are lacking after turning 50.
So the more betaine you can add to your diet…
The more potent your stomach acid will be..
Which means you’ll be able to break down and absorb the foods you eat…
This excerpt from The Writer’s Little Helper by James V. Smith Jr., explores the common mistakes that writers make–and how to avoid them. Refer to this checklist when you’re ready to submit your manuscript to an agent or editor.
Amateur and Common Mistakes
Before you send your manuscript or writing sample to an agent or editor, check for these items.
❏ Avoid multiple exclamation points!!!!! Avoid even single exclamation points! Except for the case of a true exclamation, like the rare Rats! Or the too-rare Cubs win!
❏ DON’T WRITE TEXT IN ALL CAPS. It’s too hard to read, and it’s shouting in print. AND WHY SHOUT?
❏ Avoid per, as in per instructions. Other than uses like words per sentence, let cats per.
❏ Use the search function to find -ly words, adverbs. Check each adverb ending in -ly to see if it can be cut. Use stronger verbs and you won’t need the help of adverbs.
❏ Search for -ize and -ization and cut those when you can.
❏ Search for -tion words, too, and cut them down to size.
❏ Affect is a verb meaning to influence. Effect is sometimes a verb meaning to produce, but it’s most often a noun, meaning the result produced.
❏ Impact is a noun not a verb.
Wrong: The ten-pound report impacted him a lot.
Right: The impact of the ten-pound report broke his ribs, his spirit, and his momentum up the career ladder.
Ghee is the shizzy. I mean, butter is awesome, but ghee is amazing, especially if you throw it on steak.
Take Omega-3! Seriously! You need to have more Omega 3 in your system than Omega-6 (all those fats you are consuming) otherwise all that oil and stuff will do you harm.Â
Don’t drink alcohol unless you’re having a cheat day, because it literally stops your weight loss.
Cream cheese is not your friend, to make anything half decent you need a ton of it and it usually has a decent amount of carbs.
If you whisk up heavy cream and peanut butter (I like Teddie Flax PB) you can use less peanut butter to make more and create a creamy delicious mousse we like to call “Peanut Butter Delight” around here – add a little stevia if you want!
Lemon water is awesome (helps your ph which gets screwy on keto and makes you want to drink more). I LOVE True Lemon packets.
There are naturally low-carb dark chocolate chips out there that’ll solve any sweet craving.
Cast iron pans will make all of your meat taste better.Â
Land O’ Lakes makes a whipped cream that’s sugar-free because it’s made with heavy cream. It has zero carbs and it’s amazing. Cool Whip also makes a heavy cream version that’s super low carb too, even lower than their sugar-free tub.
Anything that’s “light” or “sugar-free” is usually still full of carbs, sometimes more than the original one.
Don’t waste your time with low-fat anything, you need to have the highest percentage of fat in your diet, versus protein and carbohydrates otherwise, your protein will convert into sugar too.
Don’t eat too much bacon when you start or you will grow to hate bacon. No really, I was the baconator and I can’t even smell it now.
Make sure you’re digesting! If you’re not, you won’t lose weight and your belly will be mad at you.
Drink boullion, or throw some coconut oil in your coffee if you need a boost. Or, if you prefer supplements, take probiotics or psyllium husk.
Drink a shitton of water. I hate drinking water, I practically have an aversion to fluids (other than wine), but this is a must. If you drink a lot of water you’ll lose more weight, period.
Buy the pre-made boiled eggs in the bag to make quick and easy deviled eggs for a snack or breakfast! Most grocery stores and Walmart have them.
