Household Hints

1. Peel a banana from the bottom and you won't have to pick those "stringy things" off of it. That's how primates peel them. (Don't you just hate those "stringy things"?)
2. Take your bananas apart when you bring them home from the store. If you leave them connected, they will ripen faster. (I did not know that!)
3. Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil. It will stay fresher longer and will not mold.
4. Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef. It will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking.
5. For a cool brownie treat, make brownies as directed. Melt Andes mints in a double boiler and pour over warm brownies. Let set for a wonderful minty frosting.
6. Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste of garlic; or, add it at the end of the recipe if you want a stronger taste of garlic. (Never too much garlic for some of us!)
7. To reheat pizza without the soggy crust, either heat on a baking sheet in the oven or in a non-stick pan over med-low heat until the pizza is heated through.
8. To get more frosting for your cake dollar, whip up a container of cake frosting from the store with your electric mixer. The frosting will double in size, you get more frosting for your cake; and, the sugar content remains the same. If you are frosting cupcakes, you frost more and get less sugar because you are actually getting less frosting.
9. If you are re-heating refrigerated bread, pancakes, muffins or biscuits, place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.
10. Newspapers keep weeds away. Start putting them in with your plants. They also work the nutrients in your soil. Wet newspapers, then put layers around the plants, overlapping as you go, cover with mulch and forget about weeds! Weeds will get through some gardening plastic they will not get through wet newspapers.
11. Pick up the hard to see, small shards of broken glass with a damp cotton ball or Q-tip.
12. A dryer sheet placed in your pocket will keep mosquitoes away.
13. Keep squirrels out of your garden by sprinkling liberally with cayenne pepper. Squirrels hate it and it doesn't harm your plants.
14. To get rid of that horrible cling that pastes your skirt, dress and/or slacks to your legs, pin a small safety pin on your slip or in the seam of your slacks. Static cling gone.
15. Before putting a sticky substance such as peanut butter in a measuring cup, fill the cup with hot water for a moment. Empty measuring cup; but, don't dry. Fill with sticky substance and watch it slide right out after measuring.
16. Clean a foggy windshield with a chalkboard eraser - works better than a cloth.
17. Sealed that envelope and forgotten to put something in it? Freeze your envelope for a couple of hours and it will open easily. You can reseal it by moistening the glue again when you are done. (Opens up a world of possibilities, doesn't it?)
18. Shave your legs? Try using hair conditioner instead of shaving cream. It's cheaper and conditions your legs at the same time. Also a good way to get rid of all those conditioners you didn't use on your hair.
19. Get rid of fruit flies by putting down a saucer containing apple cider vinegar and 2 drops of dishwashing liquid. Good-bye fruit flies!
20. Need to get rid of ants? Place small amounts of cornmeal out where you know they walk. The ants take the cornmeal home, eat it, can't digest it, and die. Simple, safe and inexpensive.