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Household Tips & TricksMore Household Tips & Tricks.

You may find a few tips & tricks  here that you actually didn’t know.  It always helps to find simple things that make our life easier.

 

1. Stuff a miniature marshmallow in the bottom of a sugar cone to prevent ice cream drips.

2. Use a meat baster to “squeeze” your pancake batter onto the hot griddle and you’ll get perfectly shaped pancakes every time….

3. To keep potatoes from budding, place an apple in the bag with the potatoes.

4. To prevent eggshells from cracking, add a pinch of salt to the water before hard-boiling.

5. Run your hands under cold water before pressing Rice Krispies treats in the pan and the marshmallow won’t stick to your fingers.

6. To get the most juice out of fresh lemons, bring them to room temperature and roll them under your palm against the kitchen counter before squeezing.

7. To easily remove burnt on food from your skillet, simply add a drop or two of dish soap and enough water to cover bottom of pan, and bring to a boil on the stove top.

8. Spray your Tupperware with nonstick cooking spray before pouring in tomato-based sauces and there won’t be any stains.

9. When a cake recipe calls for flouring the baking pan, use a bit of the dry cake mix instead and there won’t be any white mess on outside of the cake.

10. If you accidentally over-salt a dish while it’s still cooking, drop in a peeled potato and it will absorb the excess salt for an instant “fix me up.”

11. Wrap celery in aluminum foil when putting in the refrigerator and it will keep for weeks.

13. Place a slice of apple in hardened brown sugar to soften it.

14. When boiling corn on the cob, add a pinch of sugar to help bring out the corn’s natural sweetness.

15. To determine whether an egg is fresh, immerse it in a pan of cool, salted water. If it sinks, it is fresh, but if it rises to the surface, throw it away.

16. Cure for headaches: Take a lime, cut it in half and rub it on your forehead. The throbbing will go away.

17. Don’t throw out all that leftover wine: Freeze into ice cubes for future use in casseroles and sauces.

18. If you have a problem opening jars: Try using latex dish washing gloves. They give a non-slip grip that makes opening jars easy.

19. Potatoes will take food stains off your fingers. Just slice and rub raw potato on the stains and rinse with water.

20. To get rid of itch from mosquito bites, try applying soap on the area and you will experience instant relief.

21. 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. See for yourself.

22. Now look what you can do with Alka Seltzer. Clean a toilet. Drop in two Alka-Seltzer tablets, wait twenty minutes, brush and flush. The citric acid and effervescent action clean vitreous china. 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. Polish jewelry. Drop two Alka-Seltzer tablets into a glass of water and immerse the jewelry for two minutes. Clean a thermos bottle. Fill the bottle with water, drop in four Alka-Seltzer tablets, and let soak for an hour (or longer, if necessary). Unclog a drain. Clear the sink drain by dropping three Alka-Seltzer tablets down the drain followed by a cup of Heinz White Vinegar. Wait a few minutes, then run the hot water.

Did these household tips & tricks help you?  Share your tips and tricks in the comments!


5 Comments

  1. Sophie Bowns says:

    Brilliant tips! The only one I wouldn’t personally try is rubbing lime on on my forehead (I have very sensitive skin!) Freezing wine into ice cubes is a great tip!

  2. K.Lee Banks says:

    Wow, what a great list! I did know some, but not the majority of these. I have tried powder to get rid of ants – that seemed to do the trick within a few days – similar idea to chalk, I guess!

    I had heard about (and do) put a piece of bread in with brown sugar, but hadn’t heard of using an apple slice.

    It’s amazing how many common products and goods have multiple uses… who knew? Oh, YOU did! 😉

  3. Susie says:

    Hey Amy, First of all, I would rinse any produce from your garden before brining it in. However even if you do not see anymore of them, the eggs on them will hatch in about 8 days. They lay 500 eggs at a time. Believe it or not, your kitchen drains are one place they populate. Pour bleach down your drains.

    Here is a homemade bait you can make to kill the adults: A homemade trap can be made by forming a cone-shaped funnel with an 8-by-10-inch piece of paper, sealing it with tape, and sticking it into a clean jar or wine bottle. Bait the jar with a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar or a slice of ripe banana. Place one or more of these traps on counters or in pantries where the pests are seen most often. The flies go in easily but can’t fly out. After you trap all visible flies, kill them with spray or release them outside. Rebait and replace jar traps, if necessary.

    Another person said: The “paper cone of death” fruit fly trap is one way to kill those annoying little pests. But, the other day, when I was having trouble fitting a paper cone into my glass, I discovered an alternate solution that’s just as effective!

    The basic principle is the same: wine, fruit juice or apple cider vinegar lures in the flies. A few dots of dishwashing liquid on top helps prevent their escape and, just to be sure, the cone or, in this case, a piece of clear plastic wrap dotted with three or four fruit fly-sized holes, is a physical barrier to their exit. As they used to say about a certain kind of roach trap, fruit flies check in but they don’t check out.

    I used Glad Press and Seal, but you can use any kind of plastic wrap. A rubber band or hair elastic can be used to ensure a tight seal. Don’t make your holes too big; a toothpick makes one that is just the right size.

  4. Amy says:

    How about this question for you, Susie: how do I get rid of the clouds of fruit flies in my kitchen??? They are driving me MAD!

  5. Great tips. I knew some of the, some I did not. The idea of enclising an apple with potatoes to prevent them sprouting seems worthwhile. My tip: Use denture-cleaning effervescent tablets to make your collection of healing stones, or any ornament, sparkle.

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