Last of all, General Household Tips & Hints....for the whole house!

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GENERAL HOUSEHOLD

 

Organize your magazines into groups according to Seasons (Spring,

Summer, Fall and Winter). This way, you have several handy reference

guides for the appropriate Season/Holiday!

 

Use of soap wrapper: Don't throw away the wrapper after removing a

bar of soap. Place it inside your shoe cabinet or shoe box. It's a

cheap way of filling the air with a nice smell.

 

If your polished furniture has small scratches: Try rubbing them

with a shelled walnut. You'll see the scratches just disappear!

 

Are your shoes smelly: Here's a solution. Put some tea leaves into a

pair of stockings and stuff each into a shoe. Leave for a day or two

and the smell just vanishes!

 

Tips for stamp collectors: Place the envelope in the freezer for a

few hours. You'll then be able to easily lift the stamps off with a

pair of tweezers.

 

To keep buttons from dropping off: Dab a drop of clear nail polish

onto the thread the secures the buttons. This will harden and make

it more difficult for thread to break off.

 

To avoid hurting your fingers while hammering metal nails into the

wall: Hold the nails with a wooden clothes peg instead. So even if

you miss, you won't get hurt.

 

Egg shells can be used to clean glass bottles: Break the shells into

pieces, drop them into the bottle with a few drops of detergent and

a bit of water, and shake vigorously. Then rinse with water.

 

Use air-freshener to clean mirrors: It does a good job and better

still, leave a lovely smell to the shine.

 

If you have problem with slippery shoelaces which refuse to stay

tied: Rub them with a candle and make them less slippery so that

knots stay put.

 

Renew the features on your old faded dolls' faces: By blending in a

cream foundation. Then apply a little rouge on the cheeks and for

lips, nail polish. Waterproof mascara can be used on eyes lashes.

 

Dirty marks on your white court shoes: Just drop some medicated oil

on a piece of cloth and clean off those dirty marks on your white

court shoes. They'll be looking as good as new again.

 

To keep lint and dust off glass top tables, wash them in a solution

of warm water and fabric softener. Add one tablespoon of liquid

fabric softener to one quart of warm water. The fabric softener will

clean the glass inexpensively and will help keep lint from gathering

on the glass. Also great for computer screens and TV's.

 

Good weather sealing around doors and windows not only saves money

on heating and cooling, but also cuts down dusting dramatically.

 

Don't throw away odd socks or socks with holes in them, use them to

make a mop. Tie several socks (10-12 works best) to a mop or broom

handle and use just like you would a regular mop. White cotton socks

work best for this project and by the time the " sock mop " wears out,

you'll probably have plenty more socks to make a new one.

 

Get rid of pet hair on upholstery effortlessly by wiping the

furniture with a slightly dampened sponge.

 

When you need to touch up a scratch or other type of blemish on a

painted wall use a drop of paint on a cotton swab to fix the

problem. You won't waste a bunch of paint and you won't have to

waste time cleaning a paint brush.

 

To help new or just cleaned drapes stay fresh and crisp looking,

spray them with a few coats of unscented hair spay before hanging

them up. Allow the hair spray to dry between applications.

 

When you leave the house put any cut flowers into the refrigerator,

making the flowers last much longer.

 

Get rid of tarnish on silver the easy way, place a piece of aluminum

foil (shiny side up) on the bottom of a glass bowl or pan. Fill the

container with a solution made of 2 cups boiling water and 3

teaspoons of baking soda, and you've made an inexpensive " bath " to

soak your silver in. Your silver will shine like new in no time!

 

To keep cut flowers fresher longer by mixing up a homemade formula.

Mix 1 pint warm water, 1 pint lemonade or a lemon-lime soft drink.

Pour enough into the vase to cover the lower three to four inches of

the stem. Here's how this formula works: the sugar in the mixture

supplies energy to the flowers and the citric acid in the lemon

helps preserve them.

 

How about a low cost window cleaner: Add just a drop of Dawn dish

liquid to 3 cups of water.

 

Shoe Polish: Cold Pressed Nut Oil, Olive Oil, Walnut Oil, or

Beeswax. Apply oil to leather product and buff with a chamois cloth

to a shine. Lemon Juice. Lemon juice is good polish for black or tan

leather shoes. Follow by buffing with a soft cloth. Vinegar. Remove

water stains on leather by rubbing with a cloth dipped in a vinegar

and water solution. Petroleum Jelly. A dab of petroleum jelly rubbed

into patent leather gives a glistening shine and prevents cracking

in the winter. Vinegar. To shine patent leather, moisten a soft

cloth with white vinegar and wipe clean all patent leather articles.

The color of the leather may be slightly changed. Art-Gum Eraser and

Sandpaper or Emery Board. Dirt marks on suede can be rubbed out with

an art-gum eraser. Then buff lightly with sandpaper or an emery

board.

 

Paint Brush Renewer: Vinegar. Soften hard paintbrushes in hot

vinegar for a few minutes. Then wash paintbrush in soap and warm

water and set out to dry.

 

Pet Urine: Dab area with toweling, wash with suds of liquid dish

detergent, and rinse with 1/2 cup vinegar diluted in 1 qt warm

water. Lay towels or paper towels over the spot and weight down to

absorb excess moisture. Let stand 4 to 6 hours, then remove

toweling, brush up nap and allow to dry completely. To speed drying,

use an electric fan.

 

Windshield Wiper Frost Free Fluid: When you have to leave your car

outside overnight in the winter, mix 3 parts vinegar to 1 part water

and coat the windows with this solution. This vinegar and water

combination will keep windshields ice and frost-free.

 

Put an old spatula to good use: An old metal kitchen spatula makes a

great scraper when you're trying to remove dried paint spills

 

How to fix hinges & stripped screw holes from daily use: From your

nearby hardware store, pick up a length of 3/8th inch wooden dowling

and some white or yellow wood glue. Drill out all the loose screw

holes with a 3/8th inch drill bit. Now cut short sections of the

dowel, sand lightly and glue them into the enlarged screw holes.

When the glue has firmly dried, the ends of the dowels can be sawn

off and sanded flush. Now drill new pilot holes for the hinge

screws, using a drill equal in diameter to the shank of the screw.

Reinstall the hinges and rehang the doors. Another method is to

break off small lengths of toothpicks the approximate depth of the

existing screw holes, stick them into the holes along with a

generous amount of wood glue, sand flush when you are sure the glue

is dry, and re-insert the screws.