We are all looking for time or money saving tips these days. I thought it might be nice to add a few tips here for my readers.
Cut down on tarnish on your good silver:
When preparing to set a pretty table, no one likes to find tarnish on their silver! Polishing silver for that special event is the last thing most of us want to do before setting a lovely table. Cut down on tarnish build up simply by storing a piece of chalk in the case with your silver. It helps cut down on moisture and in turn, tarnish. In actuality, you may go years without having to polish your silver.
Quickly and easily clean your microwave and refrigerator:
I have always been obsessed with having a clean refrigerator and microwave. Just something I can't seem to help. I always cover food before heating but I can't say the same for my family. Sometimes children (or even my husband) "forget" to cover food while heating and it splatters all over the microwave. If you are like my kids, or if you have been a bit lax in cleaning your microwave, read on. I have a couple great tips for you. 
Lemon and citrus is a great smell in the kitchen. Many people equate that smell with clean. I know I do. All you need for keeping your microwave clean is a lemon and some water. UNLESS YOU HAVE AN ALLERGY TO LEMONS, cut your lemon in half or squeeze the fresh juice into an UNCOVERED microwave safe bowl or container and mix with roughly 300ml (1 1/4 cups) of water. Place container in the microwave and heat (on high) to boiling. (Usually about 5 minutes) Let it sit in the microwave for about 10 minutes and then wipe clean. Carefully remove the bowl from the microwave.
(BE CAREFUL! REMEMBER THIS IS BOILING WATER. WEAR OVEN MITS TO REMOVE HOT LIQUID.) Using a soft cloth, wipe the microwave out with amazing ease! You will likely want to remove the inner turn table for cleaning under it before you wipe the microwave.
Why Does this work?
The moisture from the heated water accumulates on the walls of the microwave and loosens food particles making it easy to wipe off. The lemon smell cuts the food odors in your microwave leaving it smelling nice and clean.
But you say you don't have any lemons?
Don't have lemons? Just put a bit of lemon juice in a bowl of water, heat and wipe as above. Ok, I will admit, I don't always have sliced lemons to work with but when I do, I love using them to clean my microwave. Using the lemon juice in water is something I do daily to quickly wipe my microwave. It is so easy to keep a microwave nice and clean and really only takes a moment. After cleaning, I place a clean paper towel on the turntable to catch any spills that might find their way into my clean microwave. When spills occur, removing the paper towel is quick and easy. Keeping your microwave clean is so easy and takes only moments. While you are cleaning, take a moment to wipe the outside of the microwave with your regular kitchen cleaner. Viola'! Your microwave is sparkling clean.
**If I don't have any lemon juice, I have found that plain, white vinegar works as well. The smell is a bit strong at first but fades quickly.
**BE CAREFUL NOT TO GET EITHER LEMON OR VINEGAR IN YOUR EYE. IT WON'T FEEL GOOD!
Still in the mood for cleaning?
Use any left over lemon or vinegar water to wipe down your refrigerator to keep it gleaming too! **My sister has a fancy microwave with a venting system so this tip doesn't work for her. She can heat the lemon or vinegar water "till the cows come home" and no moisture builds up on her microwave. Instead of heating water, she slices a lemon and dips it in salt to scrub the interior of her microwave out. Then, she wipes out the salt residue with a warm cloth. (Want to know a secret? I am glad the moisture does work in my microwave, but I do love her fancy microwave.)
How to store lemon zest
Do you run out of lemon zest when cooking? When cooking with lemons, grate the peeling to get zest. Put the grated zest into a freezer bag and store in your freezer. You will always have lemon zest on hand for those recipes that call for zest!
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