**Does your old dresser draws not as smooth as you like? ** Rub a bar of soap along the edges of it.
**RT ** re; painting gizmo’s. We (meaning Mr.Ujest) has used a few with success. I cannot remember at the moment, but I will ask him for his opinion.
**Done painting for the day, and will continue the next day? ** wrap your brushes in a plastic bag and put a rubber band around the base to seal it.
**Organize ** hate it when you are at the store looking for material for a window or soemthing and cannot remember the measurements? Write down on a three by five card all the important measurements in your house and either put it in your wallet or keep it in your glove box.)
Re: painting tools with built-in edgers - don’t waste your time. More trouble than they’re worth. Also, after wrapping paintbrush in plastic and securing with a rubber band, throw the brush in the freezer - you can resume painting WEEKS later
Never tried SpotShot, but we swear by a product called Greased Lightning. You can use it just like 409 or Fantastik, but you can also use it on carpet stains and laundry stains. This is the only thing that worked getting the BLACK vomit stain out of my buff-colored carpeting (the dog ate charcoal).
Put dryer sheets or scented candles (unlit, of course) in your lingerie drawer.
I use scented “tarts” from Yankee Candle and I had a lot of trouble removing the melted, cooled wax from the burners when I wanted to change scents. Found out throwing the burner in the freezer for five minutes makes the wax slip right out - this also works for other candle holders.
If you’ve got sticky cheese on a dinner plate and you hand wash it, or throw it in the dishwasher, the cheese won’t come off. Before washing, run very cold water over the cheese and it will flake right off. (Same concept as the candle thing above.)
If you are trying to nail thin wood that is liable to split, turn your nail over and blunt the point before driving it. It will go in but not split the wood. (If this doesn’t work, then a pilot hole may be necessary.)
After washing and sanitizing wooden cutting boards and utensils, rub them with mineral oil. It’s non-organic and not prone to breeding bacteria.
I’ve never had luck with those painting tools that are supposed to give you ‘clean, clear edges, easy!’: the paint usually blobs and gets caugt on the paint-guard thingy, and there goes the nice clean edge. Easier to use one of those shower-squeeges, or some cardboard from a cereal box.
Another painting tip: use unprinted newspaper instead of printed for covering your floor/whatever when painting. That way you don’t get newspaper ink on your feet, your knees, your hands, your carpet, etc., etc.
And keep the cat away from freshly painted walls. Unless you really like a painted cat and walls with built-in cat hair.
Mechanics hand soap from an auto parts store, cleans stains of just about any kind.
Hydrogen Peroxide will get blood out of just about anything–fresh or dried. It can lighten some fabrics a bit though, so be sure to spot test it.
Remove onion/garlic odor from hands, hold a stainless steal spoon between your hands and run cold water over them while rubbing the spoon.
bbbbrrrrrrrrr! :eek:
That brings new meaning to the word “frigid”.
Tips for Bounce dryer sheets…I have no idea if all of these work or not:
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It will chase ants away when you lay a sheet near them.
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It takes the odor out of books and photo albums that don’t get opened too often.
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Repels mosquitoes. Tie a sheet of Bounce through a belt loop when outdoors during mosquito season.
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Eliminates static electricity from your television 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.
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Dissolve soap scum from shower doors. Clean with a sheet of Bounce.
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Freshen the air in your home. Place an individual sheet of Bounce in a drawer or hang in the closet.
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Prevent thread from tangling. Run a threaded needle through sheet of Bounce before beginning to sew.
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Prevent musty suitcases. Place an individual sheet of Bounce inside empty luggage before storing .
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Freshen the air in your car. Place a sheet of Bounce under the front seat.
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Clean baked-on foods from a cooking pan. Put a sheet in a pan, fill with water, let sit overnight, and sponge clean. The antistatic agent apparently weakens the bond between the food.
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Eliminate odors in wastebaskets. Place a sheet of Bounce at the bottom of the wastebasket.
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Collect cat hair. Rubbing the area with a sheet of Bounce will magnetically attract all the loose hairs.
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Eliminate static electricity from venetian blinds. Wipe the blinds with a sheet of Bounce to prevent dust from resettling.
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Wipe up sawdust from drilling or sand papering. A used sheet of Bounce will collect sawdust like a tack cloth.
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Eliminate odors in dirty laundry. Place an individual sheet of Bounce at the bottom of a laundry bag or hamper.
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Deodorize shoes or sneakers. Place a sheet of Bounce in your shoes or sneakers overnight.
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Golfers put a Bounce sheet in their back pocket to keep the bees away.
Other ones:
Spray the inside of plastic containers with cooking spray before storing tomato-based sauces. They won’t turn red.
An easy way to clean your microwave…put a small dish with sliced lemon and water in the microwave. Boil the water and let sit for five minutes. Wipe down is easy.
Fresh herbs bought at a garden shop are cheaper than dried store versions.
I use empty baby food jars (of which I have no small number these days) to keep powdered formula in Aaron’s diaper bag. One small (2.5 oz jar) will hold four scoops of formula; enough for one bottle. It’s a lot cheaper than buying singles, and more convenient, since I can fill the jars at my leisure. And since I know that one jar equals one bottle, I can plan outings accordingly. They’re also useful for cereal, too, since they don’t puncture or spill like the box does.
Baby food jars are also useful for holding small parts like screws.
Robin
Hey, MsRobyn, I used to keep the baby food jars and fill them with pureed whatever veggies or starch we ate that night. They stored nicely in the freezer, and I didn’t have to buy baby food as much.
I’d love to do that, but I don’t cook often enough to be able to do something like that on a regular basis.
Maybe this summer, when the farmer’s market is open.
Robin
FYI, this does not work very well if you like to pee in the shower 
If you don’t have an egg slicer for those mushrooms, you can use a harp.
Also, cat litter soaks up driveway oil spills just as well as the specialty stuff and generally is cheaper.