Household Hints

Disclaimer - As with all home remedies on this page, use at your own risk.

1) Flies or bees bothering you? Spray them with hairspray and they will take a quick dive. 2) Sealed envelope - Put in the freezer for a few hours, then slide a knife under the flap. The envelope can then be resealed. (hmmmmmm...) 3) Use Empty toilet paper roll to store appliance cords. It keeps them neat and you can write on the roll what appliance it belongs to. 4) For icy door steps in freezing temperatures: get warm water and put Dawn dishwashing liquid in it. Pour it all over the steps. They won't refreeze. (wish I had known this for the last 60 years!) 5) Crayon marks on walls? This worked wonderfully! A damp rag, dipped in baking soda. Comes out with little effort (elbow grease that is!). 6) Permanent marker on appliances/counter tops (like store receipt BLUE!) rubbing alcohol on paper towel. 7) Whenever I purchase a box of S.O.S Pads, I immediately take a pair of scissors and cut each pad into halves. After years of having to throw away rusted and unused and smelly pads, I finally decided that this would be much more economical. And now a box of S.O.S pads last me indefinitely! In fact, I have noticed that the scissors get sharpened this way! 8) Opening brand new jars can be a feat in itself. Well, I have found a way to make it the easiest thing to do. Instead of banging a jar of jam, pickles, etc., with a knife until it loosens up, I simply reach into the drawer and pull out the handy nutcracker. It adjusts to the size of the jar and I simply give it a good twist and off pops the lid! 9) Blood stains on clothes? Not to worry! Just pour a little peroxide on a cloth and proceed to wipe off every drop of blood. Works every time! 10) Use vertical strokes when washing windows outside and horizontal for inside windows. This way you can tell which side has the streaks. Straight vinegar will get outside windows really clean. Don't wash windows on a sunny day. They will dry too quickly and will probably streak. 11) Spray a bit of perfume on the light bulb in any room to create a lovely light scent in each room when the light is turned on. Place fabric softener sheets in dresser drawers and your clothes will smell freshly washed for weeks to come. You can also do this with towels and linen. 12) Candles will last a lot longer if placed in the freezer for at least 3 hours prior to burning. 13) To clean artificial flowers, pour some salt into a paper bag and add the flowers. Shake vigorously so the salt will absorb all the dust and dirt and leave your artificial flowers looking like new! Works like a charm! 14) To easily remove burnt on food from your skillet, simply add a drop or two of dish soap and enough water to cover bottom of pan, and bring to a boil on stovetop. 15) Spray your Tupperware with nonstick cooking spray before pouring in tomato based sauces and there won't be any stains. 16) When a cake recipe calls for flouring the baking pan, use a bit of the dry cake mix instead and there won't be any white mess on the outside of the cake. 17) Wrap celery in aluminum foil when putting in the refrigerator and it will keep for weeks. 18) When boiling corn on the cob, add a pinch of sugar to help bring out the corn's natural sweetness. 19) Cure for headaches: Take a lime, cut it in half and rub it on your forehead. The throbbing will go away. 20) Don't throw out all that leftover wine: Freeze into ice cubes for future use in casseroles and sauces. 21). To get rid of itch from mosquito bites, try applying soap on the area and you will experience instant relief. 22) Ants, ants, ants everywhere ... Well, they are said to never cross a chalk line. So get your chalk out and draw a line on the floor or wherever ants tend to march. See for yourself. 23) Use air-freshener to clean mirrors. It does a good job and better still, leaves a lovely smell to the shine. 24) When you get a splinter, reach for the scotch tape before resorting to tweezers or a needle. Simply put the scotch tape over the splinter, then pull it off. Scotch tape removes most splinters painlessly and easily. 25) Now look what you can do with Alka Seltzer. Clean a toilet. Drop in two Alka Seltzer tablets wait twenty minutes, brush and flush. The citric acid and effervescent action clean vitreous China. * Clean a vase. To remove a stain from the bottom of a glass vase or cruet, fill with water and drop in two Alka Seltzer tablets.* Polish jewelry. Drop two Alka Seltzer tablets into a glass of water and immerse the jewelry for two minutes.* Clean a thermos bottle. Fill the bottle with water, drop in four Alka Seltzer tablets, and let soak for an hour (or longer, if necessary). Unclog a drain. Clear the sink drain by dropping three Alka Seltzer tablets down the drain followed by a cup of Heinz White Vinegar. Wait a few minutes, then run the hot water. Do your friends a favor. Pass this timely (and some not-so-timely) information on to a friend or two.

26) Bounce This Around...



And all this time you've just been putting Bounce in the dryer!



It will chase ants away when you lay a sheet near them. It also repels mice.. spread them around foundation areas, or in trailers or cars that are sitting and it keeps mice from entering your vehicle.



It takes the odor out of books and photo albums that don't get opened too often.



Repels mosquitoes. Tie a sheet of Bounce through a belt loop when outdoors during mosquito season.



Eliminates static electricity from your television (or computer) screen. Since Bounce is designed to help eliminate static cling, wipe your television screen with a used sheet of Bounce to keep dust from resettling.



Dissolve soap scum from shower doors. Clean with a sheet of Bounce.



Freshen the air in your home. Place an individual sheet of Bounce in a drawer or hang in the closet. Put Bounce sheet in vacuum cleaner.



Prevent thread from tangling. Run a threaded needle through sheet of Bounce before beginning to sew.



Prevent musty suitcases. Place an individual sheet of Bounce inside empty luggage before storing.



Freshen the air in your car. Place a sheet of Bounce under the front seat.



Clean baked-on foods from a cooking pan. Put a sheet in a pan, fill with water, let sit overnight, and sponge clean. The anti-static agent apparently weakens the bond between the food.



Eliminate odors in wastebaskets. Place a sheet of Bounce at the bottom of the wastebasket.



Collect cat hair. Rubbing the area with a sheet of Bounce will magnetically attract all the loose hairs.



Eliminate static electricity from venetian blinds. Wipe the blinds with a sheet of Bounce to prevent dust from resettling.



Wipe up sawdust from drilling or sand papering. A used sheet of Bounce will collect sawdust like a tack cloth.



Eliminate odors in dirty laundry. Place an individual sheet of Bounce at the bottom of a laundry bag or hamper.



Deodorize shoes or sneakers. Place a sheet of Bounce in your shoes or sneakers overnight.



Golfers put a Bounce sheet in their back pocket to keep the bees away.



Put a Bounce sheet in your sleeping bag and tent before folding and storing them. Keeps them smelling fresh.



27) Budweiser beer conditions the hair

28) Pam cooking spray will dry finger nail polish

29) Cool whip will condition your hair in 15 minutes

30) Mayonnaise will KILL LICE, it will also condition your hair

31) Elmer's Glue - paint on your face, allow it to dry, peel off and see the dead skin and blackheads if any

32) Shiny Hair - use brewed Lipton Tea

33) Sunburn - empty a large jar of Nestea into your bath water

34) Minor burn - Colgate or Crest toothpaste

35) Burn your tongue? Put sugar on it!

36) Arthritis? WD-40 Spray and rub in, kill insect stings too

37) Bee stings - meat tenderizer

38) Chigger bite - Preparation H

39) Puffy eyes - Preparation H

40) Paper cut - crazy glue or chap stick (glue is used instead of sutures at most hospitals)

41) Stinky feet - Jello!

42) Athletes feet - cornstarch

43) Fungus on toenails or fingernails - Vicks vapor rub

44) Kool aid to clean dishwasher pipes. Just put in the detergent section and run a cycle, it will also clean a toilet. (Wow, and we drink this stuff)

45) Kool Aid can be used as a dye in paint also Kool Aid in Dannon plain yogurt as a finger paint, your kids will love it and it won't hurt them if they eat it!

46) Peanut butter - will get scratches out of CD's! Wipe off with a coffee filter paper

47) Sticking bicycle chain - Pam no-stick cooking spray

48) Pam will also remove paint, and grease from your hands! Keep a can in your garage for your hubby

49) Peanut butter will remove ink from the face of dolls

50) When the doll clothes are hard to put on, sprinkle with corn starch and watch them slide on

51) Heavy dandruff - pour on the vinegar!

52) Body paint - Crisco mixed with food coloring. Heat the Crisco in the microwave, pour in to an empty film container and mix with the food color of your choice!

53) Tie Dye T-shirt - mix a solution of Kool Aid in a container, tie a rubber band around a section of the T-shirt and soak

54) Preserving a newspaper clipping - large bottle of club soda and cup of milk of magnesia, soak for 20 min. and let dry, will last for many years!

55) A Slinky will hold toast and CD's!

56) To keep goggles and glasses from fogging, coat with Colgate toothpaste.

57) Wine stains, pour on the Morton salt and watch it absorb into the salt.

58) To remove wax - Take a paper towel and iron it over the wax stain, it will absorb into the towel.

59) Remove labels off glassware etc. rub with Peanut butter!

60) Baked on food - fill container with water, get a Bounce paper softener and the static from the Bounce towel will cause the baked on food to adhere to it. Soak overnight. Also; you can use 2 Efferdent tablets, soak overnight!

61) Crayon on the wall - Colgate toothpaste and brush it!

62) Dirty grout - Listerine

63) Stains on clothes - Colgate

64) Grass stains - Karo Syrup

65) Grease Stains - Coca Cola, it will also remove grease stains from the driveway overnight. We know it will take corrosion from car batteries!

66) Fleas in your carpet? 20 Mule Team Borax- sprinkle and let stand for 24 hours. Maybe this will work if you get them back again.

67) To keep FRESH FLOWERS longer Add a little Clorox, or 2 Bayer aspirin, or just use 7-up instead of water.

68) When you go to buy bread in the grocery store, have you ever wondered which is the freshest, so you "squeeze" for freshness or softness? Did you know that bread is delivered fresh to the stores five days a week? Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and

Saturday. Each day has a different color twist tie. They are: Monday = Blue, Tuesday = Green, Thursday = Red, Friday = White and Saturday = Yellow. So if today was Thursday, you would want red twist tie; not white which is Fridays (almost a week old)!

The colors go alphabetically by color Blue - Green - Red - White - Yellow



Yellow, Monday through Saturday. Very easy to remember. I thought this was interesting. I looked in the grocery store and the bread wrappers DO have different twist ties, and even the ones with the plastic clips have different colors. You learn something new everyday! Enjoy fresh bread when you buy bread with the right color on the day you are shopping.