PennyWise does not assume responsibility for the advice given. It is up to each reader to determine if such advice is safe for his or her own situation.
HOUSEHOLD
Copper Pots
To clean copper-bottomed pots and pans sprinkle table salt on them and then scrub with a rag soaked in some vinegar. The job is made even easier if you run hot water over the bottom of the pan first. The heat seems to help the salt and vinegar do their job.
Copper Pots
Apply worcesteshire sauce to the bottom, let it set and then wash with warm water.
All Purpose Cleaner
1/4 baking soda 1/4 lemon juice 1 tablespoon dishwashing liquid 2 heaping tablespoons borax 1 gallon warm water
Pour everything together in a quart pitcher, add enough water to start mixing and then pour it into a recycled, cleaned out milk jug. Add the rest of the water and shake before each use
Wall Cleaner
For washable paint or paneling. Mix 1 cup of baking soda and 1 tablespoon of dishwashing liquid with one gallon of hot water. Stir to disslove.
Sink & Tub Scrub
3/4 cup baking soda 1/4 cup borax Dish soap Combine the baking soda and the borax. Add enough dish soap, a little at a time, until you get a smooth paste. Dip a cleaning rag into the mixture and clean.
Mop Cleaner Refill Solution
1 cup non-sudsy household ammonia 1/2 cup vinegar Water to fill an empty jug (cleam milk jug) Place ingredients in jug, fill with water and shake well. (no ammonia on wood or laminate)
Alternate: 2 cups rubbing alcohol 1 tablespoon liquid dish detergent 1 tablespoon household ammonia 1 tablespoon vinegar Water to fill a gallon jug. Place first four ingredients in jug and fill with water. Shake to mix.
Window Wash
1 pint rubbing alcohol (70%) 1-2 tablespoons dishwashing liquid 1/2 cup sudsy amonnia water to make 1 gallon of cleaner food coloring(if desired) Put alcohol, dish soap, and ammonia in a recycled gallon jug and add water, shake to mix well.
Kitchen Gadget Cleaner
Recycle that fuzzed-out toothbrush. Keep it in the kitchen drawer to clean the gunk out of the cheese grater, garlic press, food choppers, and other handy kitchen helpers that are hard to clean. If you are like me, if it's hard to maintain, it goes back on the shelf and doesn't get used.
Gum Remover
Bubble gum, or any other kind for that matter, can be removed from hair with peanut butter. Moosh it around with your fingers. The peanut butter will cause the gum to break up into little balls and it comes right off of the hair. A quick shampoo and all is well...sure beats a haircut.
Ink Remover
Rub ink stain with petroleum jelly and let it set, then work in some liquid detergent or dish soap and wash as usual.
Vinegar Uses
If you are using vinegar for cleaning, it makes no difference what kind you use for non-porous materials, but brown (cider) vinegar will stain anything porous. Vinegar is used for cleaning and deodorizing all sorts of things. If the dishwasher develops "bad breath", just put a half-cup of vinegar in a dish on the bottom rack. Load the machine with all of those fancy dishes you never use.....run the load through the cycle. The dishes will be clean and the dishwasher will no longer smell.
Box Those Bags
Use empty tissue boses to store your plastic grocery shopping bas. Poke the bags into the slit of the box and then when you need a bag to line a watebasket, pick up trash, or some other use, just grab one out of the box like you would a tissue Clip It
Spring type clothespins can be used in place of "store bought" plastic clips to close cereal bags, chips, candy, noodles, nuts and anything else in a bag. If you glue a small magnet on one side, they become great note holders for the refrigerator too.
No Bug Cereals
To keep the "critters" out of your oatmeal, flour, cornmeal etc. put in a few sticks of unwrapped spearmint chewing gum
De-Bug IT
To check for "critters" (as in bugs) in the basement, try those sticky mouse traps. After a couple of days, you will have captured some of the crickets, spiders and other creepy crawlies. Then decide if they are enough of a pest to spray, or have a professional come in and do the job for you.
Ant repellent
Put out small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it home, but can't digest it so they die. It might take a week for this to work, but since it's not toxic you don't have to worry about the cats, dogs, or the kids.
Fly Control
Split an orange in half and take the juice out and fill the cavity with salt. Place anywhere in the house and the flies will dissapear. The salty orange will last about 2 months.
Fruit Fly Control
Put one cup of cider vinegar in a small container. Add two drops of dishwashing liquid and mix well. Set it on the counter away from the food.
Double Does It
Double up when you cook. As a working mom, this really helps me out a lot. I drive 40 miles one-way to my job so I do a lot of cooking on weekends. This way, it's not so much work to put good healthy meals on the table during the week. It's no harder to make two casseroles, and the time to bake them is the same. Sure beat buying the pre-cooked and high priced items in the supermarket.
Use All That You Buy
When you buy fresh broccoli, don't throw away the stalks after eating the flowerettes. There are lots of nutrients in them and after all, you did pay good money for them. Chop the stalks in your food processor and then freeze for later use when making broccoli/cheese soup...OR use your food processor or a good sharp knife to slice the peeled stalks into thin circles to use in casseroles or in stir-fry recipes.
Foiled Again
If your cookie sheets are darkened with age, you can make them shine again by covering them with heavy duty foil. They can be wiped off with a damp rag between batches of cookies and the heavy foil is easily cleaned. Roll it up on a cardboard tube for easy reuse.
GARDEN
Germination Test
If you have left-over garden seed, now is the time to test them for the coming season. Read on the label how many days it takes the seeds to germinate....the following instructions are for things like radishes, lettuce, etc. (Some seed has a hard coat and it's going to take longer anyway) Count out 10 seeds and put them on a dampened paper towel in a sandwich bag. Put the bag on top of your refrigerator for a few days (mine is nice and toasty and an ideal place to test seeds). After 3 or 4 days, check to see how many of the seeds have sprouted. If only one or two seeds sprout, you might want to consider getting some new seed. If however, 8 out of 10 sprout, you know that they are good for this year.
Starting Plants
Fill a large container half full with potting soil (I use an old refrigerator drawer) Cut the slips and dip them in rooting hormone. With a pencil poke a hole in the potting soil and insect the slip. When the container is full, add water to the soil and cover with plastic wrap. Set the container where it will get good sun and monitor the moisture. If there is too much water vapor, open a corner. In about 2-3 weeks you should have a good root system on your slips.
Saving Water
Mulching around trees and flowers can save as much as 1,500 gallons of water a month.
INDEPENDENT LIVING
Second Sight
To help an elderly or sight impaired person find their radio station, put a piece of transparent tape over the dial and then mark over it with a colored marker...or use some colored sticky backed dots from the office supply store...you can cut them down as small as you need. When the radio is no longer needed, peel off the marked tape and there is no damage. This also works for oven dials, dryer heat setting knobs and all sorts of other knobby parts of life.
Easier Reading
Use BLACK felt-tipped markers with a fine line and white paper when writing to older folks or the sight impaired. When you write plainly in large letters, the contrast makes it easy for them to read. This is how I write to my sons who have an eye disease.
Recycle It
Newspaper
Make a throw-away duster from old newspapers. Roll together a couple of sections of plain black and white newspaper. Tie the bundle in the middle with a piece of grocery string or a good heavy rubber band. Cut a long fringe on one end with a pair of sharp shears. (This is the duster part)...the other end is the handle. Now you can dust the cobwebs out of the high places and chase the dustbunnies out from under the couch. Just pitch the whole thing in the trash when it gets dirty. (I like this idea because it means one less "thing" to have to keep track of, besides, those old fashioned feather dusters always make me sneeze.
Umbrellas
Save the metal ribs from the old umbrellas and use them as plant supports in your garden this spring and summer. If you paint them green, they can hardly be seen against the plants.
Travel Caddy
Save and clean the ultra detergent boxes with handles. Cover with some kind of fabric with or without padding. These make a handy sewing caddy, just right for some needlework on the road.
Cheap Doggy Bed
Need a bed for the pooch? Make a bag using an old fuzzy coat liner for one side and a piece of fabric made from stitched together hunks of old blue jeans for the other side. Stuff with some of those styrofoam peanuts. If you have access to cedar shavings, put some of those in too. They are supposed to help keep the bugs away, and besides that, they smell good too. (Cedar shaving's can sometimes be obtained at a school where they offer wood shop classes.)
Patch a Basket
To mend the broken slats in a mesh laundry basket, I use silver tape. Put a piece of the tape on the inside and on the outside, over the broken slat. The pieces of tape will stick to each other and mend the basket for several more months.
Old is New
After clean out your closet, unwanted clothing can be recycled in many ways. Unwanted good condition clothing can be given to local charities who distribute to people in need.
Clothing that is worn can be cut into long strips for braiding or crocheting into rugs. These pieces can also be cut into square for quilts.
Swap It
Gather your friends/neighbors/co-workers and host a swap party Clothing (baby, maternity, work, prom) baby toys, books, or kitchen wares.
Laundry Bag
Recycle two pillowcases into a laundry bags for your college student. Remove the stitching from the seam end of the pillowcase and sew the pillow cases together. Double stitch the cuff end of the bag so it has a sturdy bottom.
Rubber Gloves
Cut wide rubber bands from the cuff/arm part to use to hold small things together. Cut the fingers off to use to cover the ends of hoes, rakes, brooms, and mops.
Odds and Ends
Tube Savings
Before you throw away that squeezed out tube of toothpaste, styling gel, hair slick-um etc., cut the end off with a pair of old scissors. Split the tube up the side. You will be surprised at how much product is left in that so-called "empty" tube.
Laundry Short-Cut
I never sort laundry. In the bottom of my bathroom linen closet are 4 baskets...1 for whites, 1 for towels, 1 for colored clothes and 1 for jeans. Every member of the family puts their soiled clothing in the proper basket and when it's full, it goes to the washer. This sure does save me a lot of time. My kids learned right from the start that clothes that weren't in the baskets didn't get washed.
Just Bag It!
For ease in finding things in your suitcase, those extra big plastic bags are a wonder. Just put allof your shirts in one, your socks and underthings in another, shoes in yet another one and toiltries in another. It's so easy to find what you need and if you get snagged in a security check, it's easy for them to scan each individual bag. This same ideas works great for organizing a briefcase or a large purse...much easier for the security folks to do their job and it saves you time and frustration as well.
Body Scrub
1 heaping tablespoon brown sugar 1 tablespoon olive oil or grape seed oil Mix, rub on your skin in the shower. You can also add orange juice for more cleansing
Ice Pack
2 quart freezer bags 3/4 cup water 1/4 cup rubbing alcohol
Mix together in a NEW freezer bag, seal it and then put the first bag into the second bag and seal it also...drop in your freezer.
OUTSIDE
Bug-B-Gone
To make bug splatter removal easier on your vehicle, motor home, or camper, spray the bumper, hood, grill and overhead area above the windshield with cooking spray. It keeps the bug juice from sticking so much and wipes off fairly easily, with less chance of paint damage. Be sure to not spray the rubber gasket material around the windows as some oils cause these to deteriorate.
Windshield Washer Fluid
1 pint rubbing alcohol 1/4 teaspoon liquid dish soap Distilled water to make 1 gallon Few drops of food coloring Mix well, pour into your vehicles window washer fluid reservoir.
Vinyl Cleaner
Mix 3 parts baking soda to 1 part water and use a soft bristled brush. For really tough stains, add a few drops of dishwashing detergent. Rinse well with soap and water.
Sap Zap
To get rid of pine sap dribbles and drips on your vehicle, just use softened butter or margarine. Smear it on, let it set for a few minutes and wipe off with a soft cloth. This does not damage the finish
Easy Grill Cleaning
After the barbecue/cookout is over, you will want to clean up the grill. There is a very simply way to do this without using a lot of elbow grease. Let the grill top cool off completely. Lift it out of the grill and put it into a black plastic garbage bag. Add 1 cup of household ammonia. Tie the bag shut and set the whole shebang in direct, hot sunlight. Leave overnight. The fumes of the ammonia will loosen all of that black gunk on the grill. Fish it out of the bag and turn on a stream of water from the garden hose (do this where it won't hurt the lawn). About 99% of the cruddy stuff will rinse right off.
Barrow Cooler
A wheelbarrow makes a neat, portable soft drink cooler when you are hosting an outdoor picnic. Simply line the barrow with plastic or used foil (cleaned and recycled of course), fill with ice and add the sodas. They stay cold for a long time and clean-up is a breeze. Dump the water and ice in the flower beds, dry out the barrow and you're done.
SNAKES ALIVE(and spiders too)
Do not leave your shoes outside in the fall of the year if you live in snake country. They look for places to hide and shoes are perfect. We have rattlesnakes. I also was told that Black Widow spiders also like shoes
Kiddy Corral
If you have a playpen with a removable floor, take it to the lake or beach and push the legs down into the sand or the grass. The little ones under 18 months can play safely without the worry of them toddling off into the water.
Love Those Lines
A number of housing developments and apartment buildings will not allow clotheslines. If this is so in your neighborhood, string some lines in the garage, basement or bathroom. Those who live in mobile homes can hang clothes on hangers on the shower rod in the bathroom...there is usually a heat vent right by the bathtub (comes in handy as a dryer). If you line-dry clothes indoors, you will also notice the humidity level raises in the house. Less irritation to nose and throat and the moisture retains heat in the rooms too. The lines will save you money on your electric/gas bill and I personally think it helps the clothes last longer...all that lint in the dryer comes from your clothes.
Trash Can De-scented
It doesn't take too long for a trash can to develop bad breath. If you put a couple of handfuls of new kitty litter in the bottom of the garbage can BEFORE you put in the new bag, it will absorb the off odors. Much nicer smelling and keeps the critters from trying to take the lid off the can before the garbage man comes
PennyWise P.O. Box 518 Kadoka, SD 57543-0518
Watch the pennies and the dollars take care of themselves.
