photo by bigcityal
The first tip might make you feel itchy, but keep it in mind if you ever get a poison-ivy rash. Learn to identify poison ivy so you can avoid it. According to Poison-Ivy.org, the oil from poison ivy is extremely stable and will stay potent essentially forever. So be sure to wear gloves when removing the clothing you wore and wash them immediately.

POISON-IVY REMEDY: Every spring/summer, I contract poison ivy, and I’ve become quite sensitive to it. I woke up with a patch of it on my chin (very unattractive) and a patch behind my knee. In the past, I’ve let it run its miserable course and remedied the itching/oozing with Caladryl and calamine lotion. I found some apple-cider vinegar in the cupboard and dabbed it on my chin and leg. Within 72 hours, the poison ivy was gone. — Mckee, Massachusetts

FOG-FREE MIRROR: You can put shaving cream on your bathroom mirror and wipe it off; it keeps it fog-free. — Julie, Florida

JEWELRY CLEANER: I make my own jewelry cleaner out of 1/2 cup ammonia and 1/2 cup water. At night — not every night but when my rings and earrings need it — I’ll drop my stuff into a little plastic jar and let it soak and clean overnight. The next morning, I rinse it and let it dry or dry it with a washcloth. Voila! It’s completely clean, and all I did was nothing. Warning: Don’t do this with sterling-silver jewelry. The ammonia is too hard on it and will eat it away and tarnish it. For sterling stuff, use 1/2 cup and 1/2 cup dish liquid and let it sit overnight. Same drill. You might have to use an old toothbrush to clean any stones for the dish-soap soak. — Lisa C., Texas

MAKE YOUR OWN BAKING POWDER: Use one part baking soda, two parts cream of tartar and two parts arrowroot. Cost is about 25 percent more than store-bought, but this eliminates the aluminum found in commercial stuff. — Tamara, Pennsylvania

SMOOTH SKIN: Use the recipe below for homemade skin lotion.

Great Dry-Skin Cream

1 (16-ounce) bottle of baby lotion
1 (16-ounce) jar of vitamin E cream
16 ounces Vaseline

Mix these in a bowl with your hand mixer. Store in small jars or plastic storage containers. I love this stuff. It came out fluffy and pink and smells good. — Joy, Tennessee

REUSE TEA BAGS: It’s a small thing, but I get the tightwad feel-goods when I do it! I like high-quality tea that runs about 8 cents per bag on sale. So I store my used bags in the fridge, and when I have two, I can brew a great cup. I get every third cup free! I drink more than 200 cups of tea a year, so I save $5 doing this little thing. And the little things really do add up! — Constance, New Jersey

HOMEMADE PRETREATER: I make my own laundry pretreater that gets grease out every time. In a clear spray bottle, add some Dawn dishwashing liquid. Then fill the rest of the way up with water, leaving a bit of room to shake the bottle for proper mixing. This stuff is great and gets out food stains, too! — Polly, Pennsylvania

HAND-ME-DOWNS: Fifty percent of my kids’ wardrobes are gender neutral, so they can be passed down regardless of gender of the next kid. — Tai, Massachusetts

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