Helpful Hints ... add yours!

[smokey the elder]

Jams and jellies are packaged hot, so you can get a vacuum lock! If you can't open the rubber seal, as someone said above, just using a knife tip to break the vacuum will release the seal.

There's also the baking soda/vinegar mix for cleaning. Also great for safe chemistry experiments!

[RICHARD]

To shave?

Put Noxema on your skin first, then your shaving cream.

For stains on blended fabric clothes?

Lanolin hand cleaner - I had a grease stain on a favorite shirt that I COULD NOT GET OUT. I bought some hand cleaner form the auto parts store and tried it on the stain. I was flabbergasted when i saw the shirt out of the wash.
The stain had set and I never thought I'd be able to wear the shirt in public again....

[Taz_Zoee]

Red wine on a light color carpet - pour some water on it and then cover that with salt and let it sit. The salt pulls the color out.
My boyfriends SIL spilled on our carpet and did this. I was amazed it worked!

[Moesha]

To get cat hair off of my fabric furniture I use my glove that is made to remove excess hair from the cats. I've found that the better quality gloves work better on the chairs.

[pomtzu]

Old fashioned toothpaste - not the gel kind - will take the sting and itch out of insect stings, and a dab on a fever blister will dry one up pretty quick too. I imagine it would work just as well on poison ivy and the like, too.

Also cortizone ointment rather than benadryl, is much more effective at taking the itch out of bug bites, since it is a steroid and benadryl isn't.

[pomtzu]

BUMP

Come on everybody - there must be more useful ideas that you can share.

I heard this one on t.v. not too long ago - and it really is a good one - and very effective too. I've done this and I am so pleased that it actually works. Now that shoe (and no sandals) season is fast approaching, I'll be doing it much more frequently.

Do your feet sweat when you wear shoes??? No - you don't have to answer, but if they do, here's a great idea to keep them dry and your shoes stinky-free. Put a feminine panty liner in them, as you would an innersole. This works especially good for athletic shoes and for any that you might choose to not wear socks with. Obviously this does not apply to sandals. When you take the shoes off for the day, just toss the liner and put new ones in the next time you wear them. I find the longs work best for an average shoe size. Don't peel the backing off of the liner - it's too difficult to get them positioned correctly when the sticky adhesive is expose

[smokey the elder]

For a wax spill, place the article into a freezer. The wax will be very brittle and come off. If it has been absorbed there's some kind of trick with ironing the piece of clothing on top of a towel, getting the wax to melt and go onto the towel.

[RICHARD]

I use a soda box, the 12 pack that goes into the fridge, to keep plastic grocery bags.

I open up the end that is scored, take out the cans and stuff the bags in......I can pull one out if I need it and
if I get too many? I toss the whole box into the recycling can!

[sparks19]

I use a soda box, the 12 pack that goes into the fridge, to keep plastic grocery bags.

I open up the end that is scored, take out the cans and stuff the bags in......I can pull one out if I need it and
if I get too many? I toss the whole box into the recycling can!

Hmmm I like that idea. Right now I just have a plastic bag stuffed with plastic bags hanging up lol. I might have to try this

[Taz_Zoee]

I use a soda box, the 12 pack that goes into the fridge, to keep plastic grocery bags.

I open up the end that is scored, take out the cans and stuff the bags in......I can pull one out if I need it and
if I get too many? I toss the whole box into the recycling can!

This is a great idea! Only I don't drink soda anymore.
I have a bag I purchased at the shelter I volunteer at, made by ladies at the thrift store, specifically for plastic bags. But I have sooo many bags (I'm counting on our county to do away with plastic bags like the surrounding counties have) I am saving up.
I'll have to see if anyone at work has these soda boxes I can have.

[Karen]

From today, I made a batch of cookies for my dear friend's wedding reception. They were in rainbow colors to match the cake, and we set them on platters just behind the cake. It turned out to be a great idea, as there were kids at the reception, and they were drawn like moths to a flame to look at the wedding cake, and instead of the kids poking at the frosting, they could grab a pretty cookie or two, and scamper off. It worked for adult guests, too - so nobody got too antsy about waiting for the big cake cutting ceremony!