CLEANING TIPS
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.
3. Use Empty toilet paper roll
to store appliance cords in. 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.
5. Crayon marks on walls? This
worked wonderfully! A damp rag, dipped
in baking soda.
Comes of with little effort (elbow grease that is!).
6. Remove permanent marker on
appliances/counter tops (like store
receipt BLUE!)
use rubbing alcohol on paper towel.
7. Whenever I purchase a box
of SOS 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 SOS 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 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 lightbulb in any room to create a lovely
light scent
in each room when the light is turned on.
12. 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.
13. Candles will last a lot longer
if placed in the freezer for at least
3 hours prior
to burning.
14. 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!
15. Stuff a miniature marshmallow
in the bottom of a surgar cone to
prevent ice
cream drips.
16. Use a meat baster to "squeeze"
your pancake batter onto the hot
griddle and
you'll get perfectly shaped pancakes every time.
17. To keep potatoes from budding, place an apple in the bag with the potatoes.
18. To prevent egg shells from
cracking, add a pinch of salt to the water
before hard-boiling.
19. Run your hands under cold
water before pressing Rice Krispies treats
in the pan
and the marshmallow won't stick to your fingers.
20. To get the most juice out
of fresh lemons, bring them to room
temperature
and roll them under your palm against the kitchen counter
before squeezing.
21. To easily remove burnt on
food from your skillet, simply add drop
or two of
dish soap and enough water to cover bottom of pan, and bring
to a boil
on stovetop.
22. Spray your Tupperware with
nonstick cooking spray before pouring
in tomato
based sauces and there won't be any stains.
23. 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.
24. If you accidentally over-salt
a dish while it's still cooking, drop in a
peeled potato
and it will absorb the excess salt for an instant "fix me up."
25. Wrap celery in aluminum foil
when putting in the refrigerator and it
will keep
for weeks.
26. Brush some beaten egg white over pie crust before baking.
27. Place a slice of apple in hardened brown sugar to soften it.
28. When boiling corn on the
cob, add a pinch of sugar to help bring out
the corn's
natural sweetness. (Works for carrots, too.)
29. To determine whether an egg
is fresh, immerse it in a pan of cool,
salted water.
If it sinks, it is fresh, but if it rises to the surface,
throw it
away.
30. Cure for headaches: Take
a lime, cut it in half and rub it on your
forehead.
The throbbing will go away.
31. Don't throw out all that
leftover wine: Freeze into ice cubes for future
use in casseroles
and sauces.
32. If you have a problem opening
jars: Try using latex dishwashing gloves.
They give
a non-slip grip that makes opening jars easy.
33. Potatoes will take food stains
off your fingers. Just slice and rub raw
potato on
the stains and rinse with water.
34. To get rid of itch from mosquito
bites, try applying soap on the area
and you will
experience instant relief.
35. 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.
Borax acid powder also works if you spread a thin line in the
crevices
that are not visible within the cabinets. See for yourself!
36. Use air-freshener to clean
mirrors. It does a good job and better still,
leaves a
lovely smell to the shine.
37. 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.
38. 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.
39. Clean a vase. To remove a
stain from the bottom of a glass vase or a cruet
or coffee
pot, fill with water and drop in two Alka Seltzer tablets.
40. Polish jewelry. Drop two
Alka Seltzer tablets into a glass of water and immerse
the jewelry
for two minutes.
41. 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.)
42. 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.