Miracle Uses For Household Products - Bonus

These appeared in our local paper and I thought that I would share them with my readers. As you know there are avid followers of vinegar and duct tape. Well, here are some other items and things you can do with them. I'll cover more of them in later blogs. By the way, I have not tested these, so test them yourselves, no guarantees.

By the way, if you get a chance and need a laugh, check out my joke blog, ZJokes4U

Bonus Tips sent in by Readers: (Not tested, use at your own risk)

Baking soda

> Use baking soda and a slightly dampened cloth to polish up white shoes, sneakers, soccer balls, bike seats and purses.

Coffee filters

> Cover bowls or dishes when cooking in the microwave.

> Clean windows and mirrors. Filters are lint free.

> Protect good dishes by putting a filter between each dish.

> Filter broken cork from wine.

> Protect cast iron skillets. Place filter in skillet to absorb moisture.

> Recycle frying oil by straining through filter.

> Hold tacos. Filters make convenient wrappers for messy foods.

> Stop soil from leaking out of a plant pot. Line pot with filter.

> Poke Popsicle stick through filter to keep drips off your hands.

> Use strips of filters to wax eyebrows.

> Keep in bathroom. Great “razor nick fixers.”

Dryer sheets

> Place inside heating/air conditioning vents for an air freshener. They also will catch dirt.

> Collect cat hair. Rubbing the area with a dryer sheet will magnetically attract all the loose hairs.

> Wipe window blinds with a dryer sheet to clean them and prevent dust from resettling.

> Wipe up sawdust from drilling or sandpapering. A used dryer sheet will collect sawdust like a tack cloth.

Epsom salt

> Put a handful of Epsom salt in a bowl and add a little water. Apply solution to poison ivy periodically with a cotton ball to dry out the rash.

Nail polish

> Apply a small drop of clear nail polish to the threads of eyeglass screws before tightening them. It will prevent them from loosening.

Non-diet cola

> If you’re driving while it’s raining and your windshield gets nasty on the outside, after you stop, pour non-diet cola (some readers swear by Coca-Cola) all over the outside and it immediately clears it up.

Orange Pledge furniture polish

> Removes gasoline smell from hands.

>If you have trouble with yellow jackets and buy one of the yellow jacket traps, use root beer or Coca-Cola to draw the yellow jackets into the trap.

Vodka

> Prolong the life of razors by filling a cup with vodka and letting your safety razor blade soak in the alcohol after shaving.

WD-40

> Removes stains from stainless steel sinks.

> Keeps ceramic/terra cotta garden pots from oxidizing.

> Camouflages scratches in ceramic and marble floors.

> It removes black scuff marks from the kitchen floor.

> Removes all traces of duct tape.

Miracle Uses For Household Products - Part 4

These appeared in our local paper and I thought that I would share them with my readers. As you know there are avid followers of vinegar and duct tape. Well, here are some other items and things you can do with them. I'll cover more of them in later blogs. By the way, I have not tested these, so test them yourselves, no guarantees.

By the way, if you get a chance and need a laugh, check out my joke blog, ZJokes4U

Grocery Bags

Five uses

1. Preserve paint brushes. To keep brushes and rollers from drying out, place them in bags and tie them or wrap them with rubber bands to keep air out. The tools will stay moist and protected for a day or so.

2. Bulk up curtain valances by stuffing them in the valances for a resilient pouf. Can also be used to stuff crafts or pillows.

3. Treat chapped hands by rubbing with a thick layer of petroleum jelly and placing them in a plastic bag for 15 minutes to half an hour.

4. Keep one or two stashed in your car to use as a trash bag.

5. If you are picking berries (blue berries, blackberries, etc), slip a hand through each loop and simply pick and drop right into the bag without having to hold a container.

Honey

Three uses

1. Soak in a milk and honey bath. Add about 1/3 cup of honey to 2 1/4 cups of milk. Mix thoroughly. You can even add a few drops of essential oil to give your honey milk bath additional scent.

2. Treat minor skin abrasions and wounds with honey’s antibacterial and antifungal properties. Apply a small amount twice daily to a wound or burn to speed up the healing process.

3. Help a hangover by spooning a few tablespoons of honey on toast for breakfast. The fructose speeds up the metabolism of alcohol.

Ice cube trays

Organize jewelry, small nuts and bolts and buttons in easy-to-stack trays.

Ketchup

1. Get rid of chlorine green hair with a ketchup shampoo. Massage ketchup generously into your hair and leave it for 15 minutes, then wash it out, using baby shampoo. Wonder if you would then be red headed, LOL!

2. Clean the bottoms of copper pans by spreading ketchup over the copper portion. Let sit for about 15 to 20 minutes, wipe off and rinse.

Lemon

Five uses

1. Relieve a sore throat. Cut a lemon in half. Skewer one half over a medium flame on a gas stove or an electric burner set on high and roast until the peel turns golden brown. Let cool slightly, then mix the juice with 1 teaspoon of honey.

2. Whiten fingernails. Rub a wedge on the surface of your nails.

3. Remove soft cheese or other sticky foods from a grater. Rub both sides of the grater with the pulp side of a cut lemon.

4. Create blond highlights by adding 1/4 cup lemon juice to 3/4 cup water and rinse your hair with the mixture. Then sit in the sun until your hair dries. Lemon juice is natural bleach.

5. Giving your pets a lemon rinse after their bath to keep fleas and ticks away. Fleas and ticks don’t like citrus. Squeeze 6 lemons into a gallon of water, heat on the stove to a boil. Set aside to cool to room temperature. Use as a final rinse (don’t rinse out the lemon).

Miracle Uses For Household Products - Part 3

These appeared in our local paper and I thought that I would share them with my readers. As you know there are avid followers of vinegar and duct tape. Well, here are some other items and things you can do with them. I'll cover more of them in later blogs. By the way, I have not tested these, so test them yourselves, no guarantees.

By the way, if you get a chance and need a laugh, check out my joke blog, ZJokes4U

Cotton balls

Fight mildew in hard-to-reach spots in the bathroom. Soak a few cotton balls in bleach and place them in those difficult spots. Leave them to work their magic for a few hours. Finish by rinsing with a warm-water wash.

Dish detergent

1. Get a better manicure by soaking fingernails in the soapy solution, rinse and apply polish. The polish will adhere better to the nail and spread smoother.

2. Pre-treat oil-based laundry stains, such as lipstick and grease.

3. Soak your oily and grimy tools to get them clean.

4. Kill pet fleas by washing pets in a soapy water bath. ( See Lemons in a later post)

5. Use New Dawn detergent and mix in a quarter cup with a gallon of water and spray around your house where ants are coming in and they will avoid that area. Also, I noticed that if you spray the aunts directly, it kills them in about 10 seconds.

Dryer sheets

1. Repel mosquitoes on your patio. Hang a sheet when outdoors during the mosquito season.

2. Freshen the air by placing an individual sheet in a drawer, hang one in the closet, locker at the health club, locker at work or under the seat of your car or truck.

3. Run a sewing needle through a sheet before sewing to prevent the thread from tangling.

4. A sheet left inside luggage or travel baggage can prevent musty odors.

5. Eliminate static electricity from the television or computer screen.

6. Dissolve soap scum from shower door and tile walls. Clean the surfaces with a sheet.

7. Repel bees and bugs by tucking some in your picnic basket or under lawn furniture. You can also rub a sheet directly on your bare skin.

8. Combat static on your clothes, stockings and hair by patting with a sheet.

9. De-stink your pets: scrub incoming dogs or cats (especially wet ones) with a dryer sheet before they enter the home.

10. Soak cookware with burnt or baked-on food in warm water, with a dryer sheet or two. Makes clean-up easier than you’d expect. Also works on cook tops and dingy cabinet doors.

Epsom Salt

Four uses

1. Exfoliate skin by massaging handfuls of Epsom salt over wet skin, starting with your feet and continuing up toward the face. Have a bath to rinse.

2. Remove excess oil from hair by adding 9 tablespoons of Epsom salt to a half-cup of oily hair shampoo. Apply one tablespoon of the liquid to your hair when it is dry; rinse with cold water. Next, pour lemon juice or organic apple cider vinegar through the hair, leave on for 5 to 10 minutes, and then rinse.

3. Remove a splinter by soaking in Epsom salt.

4. Soaking in an Epsom Salts bath is also good for any aches or pains.

Miracle Uses For Household Products - Part 2

These appeared in our local paper and I thought that I would share them with my readers. As you know there are avid followers of vinegar and duct tape. Well, here are some other items and things you can do with them. I'll cover more of them in later blogs. By the way, I have not tested these, so test them yourselves, no guarantees.

By the way, if you get a chance and need a laugh, check out my joke blog, ZJokes4U

Baking soda

15 uses

1. Extinguish a grease or electrical fire. Scatter the powder by the handful to safely put it out.

2. Clean combs and brushes in a soda solution.

3. Wash glass or stainless steel coffee pots (but not aluminum) in a soda solution (3 tablespoons soda to 1 quart water).

4. Sprinkle soda on barbecue grills, let soak, and then rinse off.

5. Sprinkle soda on greasy garage floor. Let stand, scrub and rinse.

6. For a badly burned pan with a thick layer of burned-on food: pour a thick layer of soda directly onto the bottom of the pan, then sprinkle on just enough water so as to moisten the soda. Leave the pot overnight, then scrub it clean the next day.

7. Soak your shower curtains in water and soda to clean them.

8. Sprinkle soda in tennis shoes, socks, boots and slippers to eliminate odor.

9. Repel rain from your car windshield. Put gobs of baking soda on a dampened cloth and wipe windows inside and out.

10. Soak dried beans in a mixture of soda and water to make them more digestible.

11. Freshen your carpet and upholstered furniture. Sprinkle them with baking soda. Allow them to sit undisturbed for a half hour or so. Then vacuum.

12. Eliminate water rings on your finished wood with a paste of baking soda and toothpaste. Dip a soft cloth in the paste and rub the water spots away.

13. Get rid of ants in your house by mixing equal parts of baking soda and salt together. Sprinkle the mixture wherever you see the intruders coming in.

14. Fill in some nail holes in a plastered wall with a paste of white toothpaste and baking soda.

15. Clean coffee stains from your coffee mugs by mixing 1 part baking soda with 2 parts water and let sit in the cup over the stain overnight. Then scrub using the mixture and rinse. This might work for tea stains as well.

Bananas

Seven uses

1. Polish leather shoes by using a de-stringed banana peel. Finish by buffing with a soft cloth or paper towel.

2. Remove warts by rubbing the inside of a little piece of a banana peel on a wart every night for several weeks.

3. Detract aphids by burying dried or cut-up banana peels a few inches deep around the base of rosebushes.

4. Nourish your skin by mashing a medium banana and combining with 1/4 cup plain yogurt and 2 tablespoons honey to make a facial mask. Leave on 20 minutes.

5. Tenderize a roast by adding a peeled banana to the pan.

6. Wipe your houseplant leaves down with the inside of a banana peel to remove dirt and leave a shine.

7. Rub scraped knees with the inside of a banana peel to promote healing.

Beer

1. Use beer instead of water in your favorite batter mix, and it will have a delicious flavor.

2. Soften hair and add body with a beer shampoo. Mix a raw egg together with half a can of beer and massage it into your hair. Rinse and style as usual. Beer also makes an excellent conditioner for hair. Massage a cup of warm beer into your hair and scalp after washing and allow it to set for half an hour or so. Rinse thoroughly.

3. Fertilize plants. Use all of those half-filled bottles and cups of beer after a party to pour on your houseplants and garden vegetables. The plants will love the nourishment that the yeast adds to the soil.

4. Get rid of slugs in your garden. Put a shallow dish of beer into your soil buried up to the lip. The slugs will be attracted to the beer and become stuck in it. Empty the dish each day and replace with new beer as they are attracted to the smell.

Be Responsible With Your Credit Card Use

While reading some other blogs on credit card use, I wanted to agree with many of the comments that I read. Some said don't use credit cards, they are evil. While I won't go that far, you do need to be fiscally responsible. Others related stories of people in serious credit card debt.

Let me be clear about the use of credit cards. If you cannot pay off the balance in full each month, do not attempt to get credit cards that provide you a discount. The finance charges alone will eat up any savings you might get.

I would suggest that if you find you cannot pay the credit card in full each and every month, you need to cut that card up. Get rid of it. Start trying to pay off those balances with a vengeance.

20% or more interest a month is highway robbery. If someone said they were cutting your pay by 20%, you would be really upset. This is the same thing, they are just pulling the money out of your pocket in a different manner.

If you pay off your credit card bills each month, good for you!! You probably don't need to read the rest of this. However, if you do not pay off your credit card bills each month, you absolutely need to read this.

Let's talk about the checks that come with your credit card statement. Shred them. Don't even be tempted to use one. I was looking at some that I got today, and they advertise 0% interest (for 5 months), for the first check, and 3.99% interest for an additional check, all in big bold type. In the fine type is where they put all of the gotcha's. There is an immediate transaction fee of 3% when you use any one of the checks.

They use such advertising slogans as "Save by transferring balances from higher APR accounts", "Write a check to yourself", "Go on a well deserved vacation", ....

So let's say you are going to Florida for vacation, and need $2,000 for the hotel, gas and meals. But you don't have the money. Is it a good idea to use one of these checks. You write the check, immediately the credit card company assess you 3%, or $60. You and your family enjoy yourself, then come back. The bill shows up, you don't have $2060, so you pay $50, with the intention of paying off the card before the 5 months are up.

The 5th month rolls around, and you don't have the $1860 to pay the bill, because you didn't set aside money to pay it off. Now they start hitting you with interest. You continue to pay the $50 a month. Guess when the balance is paid off? Assuming 20% interest rate, it is 5 years later!!! And that is also assuming you don't get the silly urge to do the same thing again next year! Plus, during that time you paid in $1,047 in interest. That vacation cost you right at $3,050.

NO, NO, NO. These are not good ideas, nor are they financially responsible. If you need to borrow money (which I don't recommend), go to your local credit union for a loan. If they won't give you one at a decent rate, then most likely they are trying to tell you something.

Even though I have written about discounts on air travel and hotels, vacations are no excuse to borrow money. If you cannot afford a vacation, then plan a "staycation", where you search on the internet for fun things to do near your home.

Go to some public park and have a picnic. Or find a nearby lake. Sit back, relax, and you will be rewarded by avoiding that $2,060 or much worse bill at the end of the month.

Use your money wisely, don't give it to the credit card companies.