I love these holidays! I love the carols, colored lights, and smell of pine that will soon lend its scent into every corner of my home.

The holidays also seem to be the season to prepare and while much of that preparation takes place in the kitchen, there are also basic home preparations that take place as well. Company coming, friends dropping by, family gathering, home holiday parties, all contribute to the desire to have our homes clean and ready for those we love.

I have learned that this preparation need not be either time consuming or wallet draining. I have been keeping a little file on "Handy Tricks" that help save me valuable time while "getting the job done", effortlessly.

These are ideas I have collected from articles, friends and family which make life a little easier; especially when it can get a little hectic! Maybe you know some of them already, but I am guessing that some of these suggestions may give you an "ah-ha" moment, just as they have me.

1. To light a candle wick might be too small, use a raw piece of spaghetti! It lights and works fabulously!

2. Votives and other candle holders that have old melted wax stuck in them? Instead of scraping and chiseling, put them in the freezer for a few hours. The wax will just pop out.

3. To unclog sinks: Vinegar and baking soda, sprinkle the baking soda down and around the sink hole, then pour the vinegar over, follow up with hot tap water.

4. After frying fish try boiling a pot of water with cinnamon. After 10-15 minutes your house will no longer smell like fish but like cinnamon!

5. Have a pan with burnt on stuff? Don't scrub for hours... just fill it with hot water and drop a dryer sheet in the pan with the water. Come back in a few hours and the burnt stuff will come right off!

6. You can use mayonnaise to get rid of water marks left on wooden surfaces! My Godmother taught me this when I was a little girl and to this day people are amazed! It even works on old water marks!!!

7. For the garbage disposal - use lemon rinds - After I squeeze lemons I cut up the rinds into chunks and run them through the disposal - cuts grease in there & smells nice.

8. At parties, use dental floss to cut the cake. This way you don't get icing smeared all over and the cake still looks beautiful.

9. Peanut Butter also workes on scratched CD's, and it's a better mouse catcher then cheese.

10. To clean shower curtains: Put either lemon juice and/or vinegar into your washer... no detergent. Put the shower curtain in. Works for plastic ones as well.

11. Have an ache and/or pain? Put new rice in a new white tube sock, tie it at the end and place in the microwave and heat it for several minutes. Be careful when taking it out as it will be hot - that's the idea, after all! Just wrap around that ache and relax!

12. Need to quickly clean your chrome faucets, etc? Put some baby oil on a cotton cloth and shine it up. Even works great on hub-caps!

13. Dents in your carpet from chairs, etc? Just use a fork to fluff your carpet back up.