photo by Shannon Clark

Velcro attracts lint and miscellaneous debris. Before long, it doesn’t work well and looks terrible. Picking the lint out with your fingernails takes a long time. You can try using tweezers, duct tape, metal pet brushes or a hair comb. According to a Velcro representative, using another piece of Velcro to clean the dirty piece works well. Imagine that! The first tip offers another method. Once you get it clean, use an antistatic spray to prevent attracting more lint.

CLEAN VELCRO: I was sitting with my jacket on and looking at the Velcro patches that seal the front shut after you zip it. They were disgusting. They barely work because they’re so full of lint, hair and bits of fluff. I started to pick it all out by hand, which I usually give up on after a few minutes because it’s so annoying. This time, I looked over at the table and saw the little pink Barbie comb that I picked up to save the vacuum cleaner after some small child left it on the floor. It worked! It neatly and easily combed all that guck right out of the Velcro. The plastic “tines” of the comb are small enough to comb the plastic part of the Velcro easily but not stiff enough to damage it. — Vail, Washington

EASY DEVILED EGGS: Instead of mixing everything in a bowl, I use a Ziploc bag. Put the ingredients in, and zip it shut. Mush it around, and then snip off one corner. Pipe filling into eggs. Less clean up. — Laurie, Florida

BUTTERMILK POWDER: I just wanted to mention that for those of you who might be like me and only need buttermilk once in a blue moon, there is a dried, powdered buttermilk that is excellent to keep around. I found mine in the baking aisle of my local Wal-Mart. It has a 4-1/2-year shelf life, but once opened it will need to be refrigerated. For 1 cup of buttermilk, you use 4 tablespoons powder to 1 cup of water. You can add the powder to any of your dry ingredients, then just add the water in with the wet ingredients. — Michele, Tennessee

EASY FIRE STARTERS: I stuff dryer lint in an empty toilet paper or paper-towel tube and light that. — Heather, New York
Take some cotton balls, put them in one of those Altoid mint tins, and pour some melted Vaseline over them. Let them soak and use them to start a fire. — Misti, New Mexico

EMPTY PRESCRIPTION BOTTLES: I fill them with water and freeze them. Then I use them as mini ice packs for lunches and small boo-boos. — Denise, Illinois
We keep toothpicks in a medicine bottle in the glove compartment. — Shirley, e-mail

SOAP TIPS: I take all small slivers of bar soap and put them in a quart canning jar and add water. The soap melts, and if I run out of liquid hand soap, I use that. I also have one for Fels Naptha soap. It melts down by itself, and then I use that for stain removal. Just dip an old toothbrush in, and scrub the stain before washing. — T.F., West Virginia

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