Helpful Household Hints

Do you have children? When taking liquid medications, does the medicine sometimes trickle down and cover the label? Try this. Coat your medicine bottle label with clear nail polish. Spilled medications won't smear the label and wiping it off to reread directions is a breeze!

Rain spots will quickly disappear from suede shoes, hats or purses, if they are gently rubbed wit an emery board.

Got some pesky grass stains? Try coating the stain with molasses, rub in well and let soak for several minutes before washing.

Keep guest room linens and towel on a suitcase under the guestbed. Place an unwrapped bar of scented bar in the suitcase. It will free up space in the linen closet and guest items will always be ready for use.

Storing coloured candles? Wrap them individually in wax paper, twist the ends closed and store. This prevents the colours from running together.

When you break a light bulb in its socket, it can be very difficult to unscrew it for replacement. Try jamming a bar of soap, a large cork or a piece of raw potato in to the base of the bulb and then twisting it. The broken bulb should come out with no problem.

Clean a badly burned pot by filling it 1/2 full of cold water and boiling an onion in it until soft.

When doing laundry, add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of salt to the wash cycle to soften jeans and cotton sheets.

Have you ever had candle wax spill onto your good carpet? Let dry. Remove as much as you can with your fingers; then, remove the rest by placing a paper bag over the wax and ironing. The heat from the iron draws the wax into the paper bag. Use each section of bag only once. May take repeated ironings.

Use old pantyhose to scrub a bathtub or sink.

In the winter time, spray your car's door gaskets with PAM to keep them from freezing shut.

Spray PAM on your car's grill and hood before going on a trip to keep bugs and stuff from sticking to your car. You can wash it off with shampoo and some warm water.

Mayonnaise, turpentine, erasers and WD-40 all remove scuff marks.

Before using SOS pads, cut them in half with a pair of scissors and use. If the pad still has some life in it, drop it in a sandwich bag and pop it into the freezer. This will keep the pad rust-free and odour-free until the next use. Cutting your SOS pads also sharpens the scissors you are using.

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, then pull it off. Scotch tape removes most splinters painlessly and easily.

To polish copper, rub an ample amount of catsup on the copper and let it stand for 5 minutes. Rinse off the catsup with hot water and dry to find an incredible shine.

Peanut butter will remove scratches from a CD. Wipe off with a coffee filter. Just remember to use smooth peanut butter not crunchy!!

Flowers stay fresher longer if you add a little Clorox, or 2 Bayer aspirin, or just use 7-up instead of water.

To keep gold and silver necklaces from getting tangled up in the jewelry box, run each one through a plastic drinking straw, then fasten the latch.

Use mini marshmallows as a candleholder on a birthday cake. The marshmallows keep the candle wax from dripping onto the icing.

Got a stubborn string knot, shoelace, thread, etc.? Dust the knot with talcum powder, it will easily come undone.

Sealed envelope - Put in the freezer for a few hours, then slide a knife under the flap. The envelope can then be resealed. (hmmmmmm!)

Use fresh bread to pick up glass fragments.

Don’t mix cut daffodils in with other cut flowers as the daffodils produce a toxin that kills off the other flowers.

If you want to recover the shine of jewellery that has become dull, you don't have to do more than get a soft toothbrush, and gently brush with some toothpaste. Rinse it with hot water and dry it well. The result is astonishing especially on the diamonds.

Minimize bacon shrinkage by running bacon under water before frying.

Have Houseplants? Have snow in your yard? Get some snow place in a pail or pitcher. Let melt and use the melted snow to water your plants! Did you know that snow has minerals in it that plants love?

Do you have discolored wooden bread boards or rolling pins? Try rubbing with 1/2 a lemon and then rinse with clear water.

Remove some of the fat in soups by adding a lettuce leaf to the pot. Remove the leaf after fat removal. Place a raw potato in salty soup. The potato will absorb the extra salt.