Rubbing alcohol will remove ballpoint pen ink marks.
Candles chilled for 24 hours in the fridge will burn longer and won't drip.
Baking soda on a damp cloth will remove grime and grease from a glass oven door.
Window cleaner will clean and polish the exterior of appliances.
A mixture of half salt and half hot vinegar rubbed on brass will clean and polish.
To re-smooth Teflon pans, boil for 5 to 10 minutes in a pan a mixture of 1 cup water, 2 tablespoons baking soda and 1/2 cup liquid bleach. Wash in suds and rinse thoroughly. Then before using, wipe the surface with salad oil.
To remove gum from hair, rub a plain chocolate bar in hair, then wash.
A cloth wrung out of a solution of 1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in one quart of water, will make windows and mirrors sparkle.
Cold tea, coffee grounds, or egg shells make a good fertilizer for house plants and act as an insecticide, too.
Try waxing your ashtrays. Ashes won't cling, odors won't linger and they can be wiped clean with a paper towel or disposable tissue.
Stamp a few moth balls into the ground near flower beds to keep dogs away.
Add a little salad oil when you cook macaroni or spaghetti and it won't boil over or stick.
A bowl of vinegar placed in a stuffy or smoky room will absorb tobacco smoke or the smell of paint, and keep the air fresh.
Rinse a pan with cold water before heating milk to prevent it from scorching.
To make sour milk from sweet milk, add 1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice to 1 cup sweet milk.
Put a layer of marshmallows in the bottom of a pumpkin pie, then add your filling. You will have a nice topping, as the marshmallows will rise to the top.
Cut drinking straws into short lengths and insert through the slits in pie crusts to prevent the juice from running over and permit the steam to escape.
Thanks to the McClory's for these new household hints...
Flies or bees bothering you? Spray them with hairspray and they will take a quick dive.
Sealed envelope? Put in the freezer for a few hours, then slide a knife under the flap. The envelope can then be resealed. (hmmmmmm...)
Use Empty toilet paper roll to store appliance cords. keeps them neat and you can write on the roll what appliance it belongs to.
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!)
Crayon marks on walls? This worked wonderfully! A damp rag, dipped in baking soda. Comes of with little effort (elbow grease that is!).
Permanent marker on appliances/counter tops (like store receipt BLUE!) rubbing alcohol on paper towel.
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, too!
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 nut cracker. It adjusts to the size of the jar and I simply give it a good twist and off pops the lid!
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!
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.
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.
Candles will last a lot longer if placed in the freezer for at least 3 hours prior to burning.
To clean artificial flowers, pour some salt into a paper bag and add the flowers. Shake vigorously as the salt will absorb all the dust and dirt and leave your artificial flowers looking like new! Works like a charm!
To easily remove burned 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. (I know this works!)
Spray your Tupperware with nonstick cooking spray before pouring in tomato based sauces and there won't be any stains.
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.
Wrap celery in aluminum foil when putting in the refrigerator and it will keep for weeks.
When boiling corn on the cob, add a pinch of sugar to help bring out the corn's natural sweetness.
Cure for headaches: Take a lime, cut it in half and rub it on your forehead. The throbbing will go away.
Don't throw out all that leftover wine: Freeze into ice cubes for future use in casseroles and sauces.
To get rid of itch from mosquito bites, try applying soap on the area and you will experience instant relief.
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.
Use air-freshener to clean mirrors. It does a good job and better still, leaves a lovely smell to the shine.
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.
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.
from: Linda Coyston
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
In our living room we have several entertainment cords coming out of our entertainment shelves and running a fair distance to the nearest outlet. They were pushed along the wall and looked messy - so I took a left-over Christmas wrap tube, cut a slit lengthwise, pried it open and stuffed up to six cords in it. Since my carpet is light brown, it blends in nicely and people comment on it when they see it. I guess, if your carpet isn't light brown, you could spray paint the cardboard rolls any color you needed.
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