household tips

A sealed envelope - Put in the freezer for a few hours, then slide a knife under the flap. The envelope can then be resealed.

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.

For icy door steps in freezing temperatures: Get warm water and put Dawn dish washing liquid in it. Pour it all over the steps. They won't
refreeze. (wish I had known this for the last 40 years!)

To remove old wax from a glass candle holder, put it in the freezer for a few hours. Then take the candle holder out and turn it upside down. The
wax will fall out.

Crayon marks on walls? This worked wonderfully! A damp rag, dipped in baking soda . Comes off 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. Now a box of SO.S pads last me indefinitely!
In fact, I have noticed that the scissors get 'sharpened'' this way!

Blood stains on clothes? Not to worry! Just pour a little hydrogen peroxide on a cloth and proceed to wipe off every drop of blood.

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 t oo quickly and wi ll 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 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 stove top .


Spray your TUPPERWARE with nonstick cooking spray before pouring in tomato based sauces and there won't be any stains.


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.

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, and
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, and then run the hot water.

Thanks!

I like the first one. I will have to remember that!

What a lovely selection of household tips! Very useful information. I have an old Mrs. Beeton cookery book from the 1800s and it has some tips that are just as useful today. Two of her sayings, that I have observed throughout 41 of housewifery are:

A stew boiled, is a stew spoiled.

Clear as you go, muddle makes more muddle! Both of these are so very true!!

Very nice I learned a thing or two. I don't often learn new things on household tips. Thank you

Quote:
Considering you'd never reuse an envelope because it's written on, you know what that tip is good for!!!

*sneaksy*

Reminds me of Martha Stewart's way vs My way (I didn't make this stuff up, I just copied it from another site):

Martha's way #1:
Stuff a miniature marshmallow in the bottom of a sugar cone to prevent ice cream drips.

My way:
Just suck the ice cream out of the bottom of the cone, for pete's sake, you are probably laying on the couch with your feet up eating it anyway. You know we don't have anything better to do.

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Martha's way #2:
Use a meat baster to "squeeze" your pancake batter onto the hot griddle and you'll get perfectly shaped pancakes every time.

My way:
Buy the precooked kind you nuke in the microwave for 30 seconds. The hard part is getting them out of the plastic bag.

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Martha's way #3:
To keep potatoes from budding, place an apple in the bag with the potatoes.

My way:
Buy Hungry Jack mashed potato mix and keep it in the pantry for up to a year.

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Martha's way #4:
To prevent egg shells from cracking, add a pinch of salt to the water before hard boiling.

My way:
Who cares if they crack, aren't you going to take the shells off anyway?

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Martha's way #5:
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.

My way:
Sleep with the lemons in between the mattress and box springs.

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Martha's way #6:
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.

My way:
Eat at Chili's every night and avoid cooking.

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Martha's way #7:
Spray your Tupperware with nonstick cooking spray before pouring in tomato based sauces and there won't be any stains.

My way:
Feed your garbage disposal and there won't be any leftovers.

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Martha's way #8:
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.

My way:
Go to the bakery. They'll even decorate it for you.

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Martha's way #9:
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"

My way:
If you over salt a dish while you are cooking, that's too darn bad.

My motto:
I made it and you will eat it and I don't care how bad it tastes.

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Martha's way #10:
Wrap celery in aluminum foil when putting in the refrigerator and it will keep for weeks.

My way:
Celery? Never heard of the stuff.

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Martha's way #11:
Brush some beaten egg white over pie crust before baking to yield a beautiful glossy finish.

My way:
The Mrs. Smith frozen pie directions do not include brushing egg whites over the crust and so I just won't do it.

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Martha's way #12:
Place a slice of apple in hardened brown sugar to soften it.

My Way:
Brown sugar is supposed to be "soft"?

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Martha's way #13:
When boiling corn on the cob, add a pinch of sugar to help bring out the corn's natural sweetness.

My Way:
The only kind of corn I buy comes in a can.

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Martha's way #14:
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.

My way:
Eat, cook, or use the egg anyway. If you feel bad later, you will know it wasn't fresh.

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Martha's way #15:
Cure for headaches: Take a lime, cut it in half and rub it on your forehead. The throbbing will go away.

My way:
Martha, dear, the only reason this works is because you can't rub a lime on your forehead without getting lime juice in your eye, and then the problem isn't the headache anymore, it is because you are now blind.

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Martha's way #16:
Don't throw out all that leftover wine. Freeze into ice cubes for future use in casseroles and sauces.

My way:
Who has left over wine? Never happens in this house.

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Martha's way #17:
If you have a problem opening jars: Try using latex dishwashing gloves. They give a non slip grip that makes opening jars easy.

My way:
Go ask the very cute neighbor to do it.

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Martha's way #18:
Potatoes will take food stains off your fingers. Just slice and rub raw potato on the stains and rinse with water.

My way:
Mashed potatoes will now be replacing the anti-bacterial soap in the handy dispenser next to my sink.

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Martha's way #19:
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).

My way:
Put your jewelry, vases, and thermos in the toilet. Add some Alka-Seltzer and you have solved a whole bunch of problems at once.

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Dinner anyone?

I don't think I'll be taking any alka seltzer any time soon after reading this! If it can clean a toilet and unclog drains, what's it doing to your insides?? LOL

The skillet cleaning one works without soap, just cover the bottom with water and boil. Better if you use cast iron, since soap can ruin the patina and you lose the non-stick feature. If you cook rice in a skillet, and forget about it until you have little rice shapes stuck on the bottom of the pan, add a little bit of water, walk away for 10 minutes, and it will scrape off perfect with a wooden spoon.

I never scrub pots and pans, casseroles, etc., I set them in the sink and run water in them and come back later. Soap only if it's appropriate to the cookware. If it's really bad (burnt,) heat does help.

My favorite trick: a bottle of household ammonia kept in all outdoor sheds. Instant relief for mosquito bites, wasp and hornet stings, fuzzy caterpillar stings -- anything. Worked on Portugese Man-o-War stings in the Keys so I figured then it would work on anything. Why: dissolves the protein in the venom. Meat tenderizer also works but is slower. The ammonia smell will dissipate in a minute or two, honest.

I would never have thought of air freshner to clean mirrors. Gotta give it a try. Wonder if it's the alcohol in the spray that does the trick.