What You Need To Know Before You Make Dinner Tonight

How to protect yourself from online shopping scams, what not to keep next to your indoor plants, and more. September 12, 2021 [View Online]( Good morning! Put your seatbelts on and don your protective helmets, because today’s newsletter is big on safety. We begin with tips for holding your kitchen knife safely in Today’s Good Thing, which is just as important for home cooks as it is for the pros. Then in a new Scam Watch, we’re focusing on ways to keep yourself safe from online shopping scams. You’ll learn which red flags to look for while you’re shopping online in order to avoid getting conned out of your hard-earned cash. Jillee TODAY'S GOOD THING How NOT To Hold Your Knife (And 2 Safe Alternatives) [A photo of Jillee showing how not to hold a knife and a safe grip option.]( Are you holding your knives safely? Here's one method to avoid and two safe methods to use instead. NOT SAFE: The Finger Grip With the finger grip, your index finger rests along the spine of the blade while the rest of your fingers grip the handle. According to professional chef (and my son-in-law) Neil, this is a classic example of how not to hold your knife, because your finger can easily slip off the spine or tip your knife to one side or the other. When you’re handling a sharp knife, slipping and tipping are things you generally want to avoid. It’s much safer to skip the sketchy finger grip and use one of the grip options outlined below. SAFE: The Handle Grip When using the handle grip, your entire hand grips the handle behind the bolster. It’s a sturdy and comfortable grip, making it a good choice for both beginners and people with small hands. The only real limitation of the handle grip is that it doesn’t give you the most precise control for fine cutting and slicing. For more control, consider using the blade grip. SAFE: The Blade Grip The blade grip, also referred to as the pinch grip, is the way many experienced cooks and chefs prefer to grip their knives. With this grip, your thumb and forefinger “pinch” the blade in front of the bolster, while the middle, ring, and pinky finger are wrapped around the handle. With the blade grip, your thumb and index finger are positioned at the balance point of the knife. This gives you more control over the tip of the blade and you don’t have to use as much force, so it’s better for your knife in the long run. [Bonus Tip For Using Your Knife Safely]( [Bonus Tip For Using Your Knife Safely]( Related • [7 Ways You’re Damaging Your Most Useful Kitchen Tool]( • [9 Brilliant Ways To Save Time In The Kitchen, According To Chefs]( ⚡️QUICK TIPS⚡️ • Have more ripe fruit than you can eat? Turn it into frozen fruit pie filling you can pop into a pie crust and bake whenever. [Read more ➜]( • You can replicate the brightening power of OxiClean by making your own oxygen bleach with two inexpensive ingredients. [Read more ➜]( • Hair looking dull or tired? Use the same ingredient found in expensive clarifying shampoos to restore softness and shine. [Read more ➜]( SCAM WATCH Protect Yourself And Your Money While Shopping Online [An image of a laptop displaying the By Jillee Shop website, with an arrow pointing to the lock symbol beside the URL.]( Online shopping scams are all too common these days, but these tips can help you avoid them. If you've ever purchased name-brand clothing, jewelry, or other products online only to receive something that was clearly counterfeit (or you never received anything), you may have fallen victim to an online shopping scam. The tips below can help you identify potential scams in the future and avoid getting caught up in them. Keep an eye out for these red flags: • Hard-To-Recover Payment Types. Fraudulent businesses will often ask for payment in the form of a money order, preloaded money card, or wire transfer. These types of payments are hard to recover, so it’s unlikely you’ll be able to get it back (or that you’ll get what you paid for). • Extremely Low Prices. If the price for an item sounds too good to be true, it probably is. • Scant Information. If an online retailer doesn't provide information about their privacy policy, terms and conditions, dispute resolution, shipping, and other basic policies, that’s not a good sign. To protect yourself when buying things online, only pay for items using a secure payment service. Look for URLs that start with "https" and have a closed padlock symbol next to it (shown in the photo above). That means any data you enter, like credit card numbers, etc., will be encrypted, which makes these sites a lot more secure. And finally, if you believe you have been the victim of an online shopping scam, you can report it to the Better Business Bureau via their [Scam Tracker website](. WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THAT? Why Fans And Plants Don’t Mix [Photos of various indoor plants.]( Fans may be a lifesaver for you when it’s hot out, but that doesn’t mean it’s good for your plants. Many plants—especially tropical ones—don’t enjoy dry, cold air on their foliage. That means having your fan (or worse, an A/C unit) on full blast near your indoor plants can deprive them of the warmth and moisture they need to thrive. It’s okay to have plants in the same room as a fan, as long as they're not too close to each other. And as for moisture, you can help offset the effects of dry indoor air by misting their leaves regularly with a spray bottle. JILLEE'S PICK Let There Be No Light [Before and after photos of a bright LED light being covered by a LightDims sticker.]( I’m one of those people who sleeps best in a room that is really dark, and one thing that makes falling asleep difficult is those bright LED lights on every electronic item in our bedroom. (You know, the ones that stay lit even when the device is turned off? They’re often the bane of my existence.) If you've ever been kept awake by those annoying lights on your TV, alarm clocks, and other electronic devices, I’m sure you feel my pain! But you’re also in luck, because I eventually learned about an easy and elegant solution for blocking those annoyingly bright LEDs called [LightDims](. These light dimming stickers come in a number of different size and shape options, so you can find the right size for any LEDs that keep you awake. I like the Black Out Edition LightDims because they block light completely, but the original LightDims only block 50-80% of light if you still want to be able to tell if the lights are on or not. [See LightDims on Amazon](. ASK JILLEE 5 Ways To Cut Down On Cat Litter Tracking [A photo of Katara, who is Jillee's daughter Britta's cat.]( Sue from Ohio asked: "How can I prevent kitty litter from getting tracked around my home?" My answer: Good news, Sue: there are several ways to reduce the amount of litter coming out of the litter box on your cat’s paws. Here are a few things you can try! 1. Try A New Cat Litter. Consider trying "quick clumping" or "dust free" varieties of cat litter. Quick clumping cat litter helps prevent wet litter from sticking your cats’ paws, while dust free litter can cut down on the number of dusty paw prints around your home. 2. Get A Litter Mat. Litter mats are designed to go in front of litter boxes and pull the litter off your cat’s paws before it steps off the mat and onto your floor. The litter will need to be cleared off of or out of the mat, but a lot less of it will end up getting dragged elsewhere around your home. 3. Trim Furry Paws. Long-haired cats can track more litter because of the way litter tends to get trapped in the hair in between the pads of their paws. To prevent this from happening, use blunt-tipped scissors or an electric hair trimmer to trim the hair on their paws. 4. Get A High-Walled Litter Box. Getting a litter box with higher walls will cut down on the amount of litter getting kicked out of the box and spread around your home. Older cats may not be able to climb over high sides, so make sure to choose one with an accessible entry point. 5. Keep A Cordless Vacuum Nearby. Cordless vacuums are great for quick cleanup around litter boxes. If you keep one stored nearby, you can quickly vacuum the area any time you notice a mess without messing around with a cord. Have a question you want to ask me? [Submit your question here]( for a chance to see it answered in a future newsletter! A FEW MORE THINGS... It’s Grandparents Day here in the U.S.! Research shows that emotional closeness between grandparents and grandkids can [protect against depression]( in both parties, which shows just how impactful this relationship can be. Be sure to spend some time with your grandkids today, whether in person or via video call! On This Day: In 1940, four teens followed their dog into a hole near Montignac, France and discovered the 17,000 year old drawings now known as the [Lascaux Cave paintings](. It was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979, as part of the [Prehistoric Sites and Decorated Caves of the Vézère Valley](. LOVE OGT? SHARE IT! 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