A handy list of hints and tips

**Katybird** · 03-13-2004, 04:08 PM

I found these while surfing around today.

Candles will last a lot longer if placed in the freezer for at least three hours prior to burning.
To clean artificial flowers, pour some salt into a paper bag and add the flowers. Shake vigorously as the salt will absorb all the dust and dirt and leave your artificial flowers looking like new! Works like a charm!
Flies or bees bothering you? Spray them with hairspray and they will take a quick dive.
Spray a bit of perfume on the light bulb in any room to create a lovely light scent in each room when the light is turned on.
Use empty toilet paper roll to store appliance cords. It keeps them neat and you can write on the roll what appliance it belongs to.
For icy doorsteps in freezing temperatures: get warm water and put Dawn dish washing liquid in it. Pour it all over the steps. They won't refreeze.
Crayon marks on walls? This worked wonderfully! A damp rag dipped in baking soda. Comes off with little effort (elbow grease that is)!
Vacuum your hardwood, tile or linoleum floors and scrub them less often. The new "Swifters" clean floors quickly and effortlessly too.
Love to have a fire in your fireplace but hate to clean out the ashes? Spread a wide sheet of aluminum foil underneath the grates in the fireplace. The foil will catch all the ashes. When the fire has burned out and cooled, fold the foil up around the ashes and remove them to your garden for recycling. From Emazing.com (http://www.emazing.com)
Clean a vase: to remove a stain from the bottom of a glass vase or cruet, fill with water and drop in two Alka-Seltzer tablets
Unclog steam iron. Pour equal amounts of vinegar and water into the iron's water chamber. Turn to steam and leave the iron on for 5 minutes in an upright position. Then unplug and allow to cool. Any loose particles should come out when you empty the water.
Ants, ants, ants everywhere...Well, they are said to never cross a chalk line. So get your chalk out and draw a line on the floor or wherever ants tend to march.
Remove decals. Brush with a couple coats of vinegar. Allow to soak in. Wash off.
Freshen cut flowers. Add 2 tablespoons vinegar and 1 teaspoon sugar for each quart of water.
Polish jewelry: drop two Alka-Seltzer tablets into a glass of water and immerse the jewelry for two minutes.
Clean eyeglasses. Wipe each lens with a drop of vinegar.
Did you know that the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco is always painted, always? Everyday painters paint that bridge and when they finally finish they turn around and start all over again. It is a never ending process. The same can be said for housework. Think about it as a work in process, much like the bridge. Do a little bit each day and stop punishing yourself because it is not totally and thoroughly cleaned all at once. Remember, in the overall scheme of life, a clean house really isn't all that important.
The next time you run out of hair gel or mousse, use a small amount of shaving cream (NOT shaving gel) as an emergency alternative.
To revive a dried out stamp pad until you can buy a new one, put enough food coloring on the pad until it is fully saturated.
To remove old self stick shelf paper quickly and easily, simply run a warm iron over the paper and it will peel right off.
To make an accurate grocery list, keep it on the refrigerator door and jot down what you need as you run out.
Tired of lugging multiple laundry hampers down the stairs on laundry day? Not only is this fatiguing, it's an accident waiting to happen. Try this instead:

Use some type of liner in your hamper such as a large plastic or cloth bag, or a mesh laundry bag with a drawstring at the top. When it's time to haul dirty laundry, close the bag and toss it down the steps. Empty it in your laundry room then return the liners to their (stationary) hampers.

Once your kids witness you as do this, they might even offer to take over the job!

Excerpted from Tipomatic at http://www.emazing.com. EMAZING delivers FREE greeting cards, tips, news, comics, and horoscopes to your email box daily.

When running errands, make a list of all the stops you need to make, then start with the one farthest away. This way, if you don't complete your list, you can always squeeze in the "close to home" stops on another day Excerpted from Tipomatic at EMAZING delivers FREE greeting cards, tips, news, comics, and horoscopes to your email box daily.

Use clothespins to re-close plastic food packages such as cereal bags, snack bags, cracker packages, etc. Children can manage clothespins more easily than zip-top bags, twist ties, or rubber bands. If you have wire shelving in your pantry, clip clothespins to the shelves so they're always handy. You can buy wooden clothes pins at hardware and discount stores; 50 sell for about $2. Excerpted from Tipomatic at http://www.emazing.com. EMAZING delivers FREE greeting cards, tips, news, comics, and horoscopes to your email box daily.

Keep sponges fresh and germ resistant.. Put them in the microwave for one minute or run them through the dishwasher on the top rack.

If you have a hard time visualizing what those small paint chips at the store will look like on your wall, here's an idea!

Buy a small amount of the paint (such as a pint or quart) and paint a posterboard!

The painted board is large enough to tape up on a wall to give you a good idea of how it will look. You can move the board from wall to wall to see how various lighting conditions will affect the color of paint you have chosen. This is a much better alternative than painting the entire room only to find you can't live with the color. Excerpted from Emazing.com (http://www.emazing.com)