The Uses of Ordinary Items

We were talking this morning with a neighbor, who had dropped by with the illustrious beagle named “Boomer,” and she brought up cleaning using hydrogen peroxide and baking soda…That got me to thinking that maybe I should investigate other uses for the ordinary items we have in our homes. Below is some of what I have found…

• Who doesn’t have rusty nuts and bolts at one time or another? Use club soda to loosen them.
• Use a mixture of 3 parts baking soda to one part water as an exfoliant for your skin. Rub gently in a circular motion and rinse well and pat dry.
• Using the same ratios above with the same items you can polish your sterling or sterling plate items. Rub into the item and then rinse well and dry.
• Get rid of stains using lemon and salt.
• If your light bulb breaks in your refrigerator, cut a potato in half and push the cut end over the broken light bulb. Then turn it towards the left and the potato will “unscrew” the bulb.
• Flour can be used to soak up oil spills.
• Do you have cold feet? Sprinkle some cayenne powder in your shoes.
• Make a tea out of celery seed in hot water to help you sleep at night.
• Need to moisturize your hair? Mash an avacado with an egg yolk and massage into your hair. Leave it on for 15 minutes and then wash out of your hair.
• Rub salt into your cutting boards and let it sit for a bit, then rinse with hot water. Not only will your cutting board smell really good, but the salt will have killed any bacteria on the surface.
• Dry some orange peels and use them as kindling in your fireplace. The oils in the skin allows the peel to burn longer than paper.
• Use the juice of a fresh pineapple to soothe dry skin or calluses.
• Cornstarch is better for baby’s bottom and works better than talcum powder.
• Put your hard brown sugar in a ziplock bag with an apple. Keep it in a dark dry place for a couple of days and the sugar will be as soft as when you bought it!
• Ketchup can be used to polish up copper bottom pots!
• Put beer in a cup in your vegetable garden to attract slugs…not the human male variety!
• Use a can of coca cola to get rid of the battery acid around the posts on your car battery.
• Use dishwasher soap to clean up your jewelry. Put a couple of drops into a small bowl add water and drop in your jewelry! Do not do this with opals!
• Take out a single piece of spaghetti and use it to light candles where the wick is deep.
• Stinky shoes? Place a dryer sheet overnight in each shoe to freshen them.
• Poke a popsicle stick into a coffee filter to catch any drips!
• Using a mixture of half vinegar and half water, soak your shower head in the mixture to remove mineral deposits.
• To clean your microwave, wet a sponge and place it in the microwave. Then turn the power on for a minute or two and let the sponge sits so that it cools down. When the sponge is cool, wipe down the inside of the microwave.