Money-saving Household Tips #3

There are hundreds of household tips for you to use around the house that will save you loads of money. The best part is, you already have most of the ingredients for them lying around your house! Listed below are just a few of these great tips:

*Nail polish remover removes tar and grease from white leather shoes.

*White shoe polish will apply more evenly if you rub the shoes with a raw potato or rubbing alcohol before polishing. Spray the shoe with hair spray after it is dry. (It will not smear.)

*Vinegar and water will remove salt stains from shoes and boots.

*New white canvas shoes will stay that way if you spray them heavily with starch.

*Perk up soggy lettuce by soaking in cold water with some lemon juice. To store, place in a zip lock bag with paper towel to absorb moisture.

*NEVER pour water on flaming fat or oil you will spread the fire. If the fire is inside a pan, slap on the lid; if outside, turn off the heat and douse the flames by tossing on a handful of baking soda or salt.

*Wax paper is endlessly useful. Use it to catch grated cheese, to place under seasoned flour for breading or spices for blackening, to tear into strips to slip under a cake you are icing, or to cover a dish you are microwaving.

*To remove pesky bottle tops and jar lids, don a pair of rubber gloves.

*Use top-quality typewriter correction fluid to cover nicks, chips, and scratches on enameled ranges and refrigerators, porcelain tiles, and sinks. Works like a charm and it comes in a v

riety of colors.

*Never use disinfectants to clean the refrigerator; foods will pick up taste and odor.

*Apply spray starch to doors and to painted walls along hallways and stairways where fingerprints accumulate. The coating will resist marks better.

*Place a piece of white chalk in your silver chest or jewel box to absorb moisture and help prevent tarnishing of silverware and jewelry.

*Keep your extension cords from getting tangled. Insert them into an empty toilet paper roll to store.

*Drain de-clogger: ¼ cup baking soda & ¼ cup vinegar. Pour baking soda down drain followed by the vinegar. Close drain and let sit until bubbling has stopped. Follow with a bucket of boiling water.

*Refrigerate candles for several hours before lighting. It will cause fewer drips.

*Mix half pure vanilla and half water to deter mosquitoes and ticks.

*Vick’s Vapo Rub wards off ticks.

*Ant repellent: Mix 2/3 cup water, 1/3 cup white vinegar, and 3 Tbsp. of dish soap.

*To remove skid marks on linoleum, rub the spot with toothpaste before washing the floor.

*Shower curtains can be renovated by being washed, on gentle cycle, with a pint of white vinegar.

*Build-up on shower doors: Wipe with lemon oil. Removes buildup and keeps doors protected longer.

*Children's stickers can be removed from wood by applying white vinegar to the sticker, letting it soak and then scraping off.

*Use crumpled up black and white newspaper dipped in vinegar to wash windows. Dip paper in vinegar and wipe the glass until almost dry, then shine with dry newspaper or cloth.

*Make your own furniture polish: 1 tsp olive oil, juice of a lemon, 1 tsp whisky or brandy, 1 tsp water. Mix together and rub on furniture with cloth, buff for a deep shine.

*Clean those dirty, dusty, mini-blinds in your house in a snap. Fill the bathtub with warm, soapy water and let the blinds soak. If they are white blinds, add a little bleach to get rid of any stains.

*Mayonnaise will KILL LICE. It will also condition your hair.

*Remove labels off glassware etc. by rubbing with peanut butter!

*Use Listerine to kill dirty grout.

*Peanut butter will get scratches out of CD's. Wipe off with coffee filter paper.

*Tie Dye T-shirt - mix a solution of Kool Aid in a container, tie rubber band around a section of the t-shirt and soak.

*To preserve a newspaper clipping, mix a large bottle of club soda and 1/2 cup of milk of magnesia, soak for 20 minutes and let dry. It will last for many years.

*To make fresh flowers last longer; add a little Clorox, or 2 Bayer aspirin, or use 7-up instead of water.

*Put petroleum jelly on your glue cap to prevent it from sticking to the bottle when you put the cap back on.

*Use old cardboard tubes from paper towel rolls to store reusable plastic bags.

*PAM No-Stick Cooking Spray removes paint and grease from your hands and dries nail polish.



By: Chris Chenoweth