- Before sending curtains to the dry cleaner, mark the places where the hooks should be reinserted. A dab of colored nail polish on the wrong side does the job neatly.
- A good way to increase the loft of a down comforter is to tumble it with a pair of clean sneakers in the dryer (on LOW).
- Fluff feather pillows by putting them in a tumble dryer on a low heat setting along with two or three clean tennis balls.
- When you take wet jeans from the washing machine, fold them as you would when dry. Lay them as flat as possible in the dryer and they should be “pressed” when they are removed.
- Use fabric-softener sheets twice, then store them in a jar with liquid softener. When needed, pull out a sheet, squeeze out the excess solution and toss it in the dryer.
- Stuff your wet shoes with crushed newspaper and allow them to dry away from heat and sunlight. When they’re thoroughly dry, rub them with a leather conditioner.
- To remove burrs from a dog’s hair, soften them by applying a few drops of a light oil or shampoo, then comb them out.
- To disguise a worn spot in the reflective backing of a mirror, tape a piece of aluminum foil over the spot on the back of the mirror.
- Add a few drops of vanilla to the water of your humidifier to lend a homey fragrance to the air.
- Make the whole home smell great by filling a small saucepan with water and heating to a low simmer on the stove. Once heated, add cinnamon, cloves, vanilla and orange peels.
- Remove bath soap from the wrapper and tuck the bar in with your lingerie or linens. This will add a pleasant fragrance, plus it will allow the soap to harden so it will last longer.
- Save your little pieces of bar soap in a liquid hand soap bottle with some water in it. Shake it up and use it as liquid hand soap.
- When metal feet on patio furniture cut through the rubber or plastic tips that encase them, they will create scratches and rust stains on the patio surface. Make each tip last longer by fitting a metal washer inside, against the bottom, so that the leg rests on the washer rather than cutting into the tip.
- A piece of peg board cut to fit on one side of your sink will give you extra counter space when needed. If you cut a hole in the peg board above the opening of your disposal you can rake the scraps right into the disposal.
- If your shower curtain doesn’t slide smoothly on its rod, rub baby oil or a bar of soap on the rod.
- To mend holes in a shower curtain, repair them with shipping tape.
- To keep a shower curtain from attacking you while you shower, wet it on the side next to the tub, plaster it to the tub, and it will stay there.
- Save old shower curtains for painting or remodeling. Cut in squares to protect carpeting in bad weather. Throw an old curtain over the spare tire to keep suitcases from being scuffed in the trunk of your car.
- To keep a rocking chair from wearing the finish off a wood floor, place a strip of adhesive tape along the bottom of each rocker.
- If you wax the leg bottoms of wooden patio furniture, you’ll help protect it against moisture that might be sponged up from standing rain water.
- If you’re left-handed, place your light source to your right; if right-handed, position the light on your left side—this way your arms or hands won’t cast shadows.
- Snip through a piece of sandpaper several times to put the sharp edge back on scissors ... and run sewing machine needles through the sandpaper to sharpen them, too.
- Squirt a bit of hair spray on your finger and apply it to the end of a thread. The thread will stiffen just enough to ease it into the eye of the needle.
- Use cellophane tape to keep spooled thread from unraveling and knotting. Stick a plastic bread tag to the end of adhesive tape so it will be easier to find the end next time.
- Use blotters as shelf paper in a medicine cabinet to catch medicine or cosmetic spills.
- If you have trouble keeping contact paper smooth when lining shelves or drawers, try smoothing the paper with a blackboard eraser.
- Candles will last longer if the wick is snipped close to the candle.
- Store candles in the freezer or soak them in salt water before lighting to make them burn more slowly.
To prevent a candle from splitting when it’s stuck onto a spiked base, first use pliers to hold a nail slightly smaller than the spike. Heat the nail, then use it to poke a hole in the bottom of the candle.
- Film will stay fresh longer if stored in the refrigerator.
- If a ring is stuck on your finger, place your hand in a bowl of ice water and soak it until the chill of the water contracts the ring finger enough to slip the ring off.
- Before putting on rubber gloves, put on hand cream. The heat and lotion will work together to soften your hands.
- Run cold water over the gloves to get them to slide off easier.
- Put salt on your fireplace logs and you’ll reduce the amount of soot produced.
- To inhibit moths, hang cloves wrapped in cheesecloth with your clothes.
- A simple way to organize spools of thread for a quick selection is to untwist the neck of a wire coat hanger and slip the spools onto the straight part of the wire, then re-twist the neck closed.
- Store cast iron cooking pots in a dry place between paper towels, leaving the lids off to prevent mistiness, moisture and rusting.
- To eliminate static cling from clothing, stroke the garment with a wire hanger. Do the same if your hair is affected.
- Hang a sweater to dry with a pair of pantyhose: pull one leg through each arm of the sweater and the waistband through the neck. Clip the feet and waistband to the line.
- When you pull out your fan for the summer, be sure to clean the blades before plugging it in. A cleaning solution of one-quarter cup ammonia and a few drops of liquid dish washing soap in a bucket of water works great.
- When your baby is up for a night feeding, turn a heating pad on warm and place it on his mattress. Remove the pad before returning the baby to his bed. He’ll settle down more quickly.
- In order to maximize cooling breezes, cross ventilate whenever possible.
- Spray Jack O’Lantern pumpkins with straight lemon juice inside and where you carved. They will keep their brilliant orange color and last a few days longer.
- To keep away ants, wipe cabinets, selves, countertops and baseboards with a solution made of equal parts white vinegar and water.
- Mint extract on cotton balls in the cupboard will deter spiders. Fresh mint sprigs on plates will keep flies off the food.
- Use popcorn for packing. Unlike foam peanuts, popcorn is not made from fossil fuels or harmful chemicals—and it can be composted at the end of its useful life or fed to birds.
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Quick Tips