Useful Tips

Household                        Health/Beauty

Outdoor

Cooking                   Miscellaneous

To get rid of ants: Put baking soda across the threshold of the door. They don't like it and won't cross over.

To get rid of fruit flies: Fill cup(s) 1/4 way with cider vinegar and add 1 to 2 drops of dish detergent. Flies are attracted to vinegar but detergent breaks the surface tension so when they put their legs in to rest and drink, they drown.

To keep track of sheet sets: Fold to sheet and fitted sheet (and 2nd case if Queen/King set) and place in bottom of the matching pillowcase. Then fold the pillowcase in half and store. You'll always have sheet sets together when you need them. Also great for teaching kids because the sheets do not have to be folded perfectly.

For toilet bowl stains: Drop in 2 denture tablets and let soak overnight - then flush.

Baking Soda is good for so many things. Here are just a few of them...
Sprinkle some in your empty coffee pot and rinse well
Make into a paste with water to whiten your tub and get stains out of countertops
Sprinkle on carpet - wait 15 minutes and vacuum to remove odors

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When conditioning your hair, put the conditioner in your hands and slowly work into hair.  The heat of your hands will help the conditioner work better.  And pay attention to the ends!!

Instead of sunscreen, try Oil of Olay (or equivalent) with SPF 15 or SPF 30 for all over sunscreen protection. You don't have the sunscreen "smell" and it moisturizes your skin while keeping it young looking.

To help whiten your nails, soak your fingertips in lemon juice.

Store nail polish in the refrigerator. It won't clump up, and will paint on smoother. 

If you put a clear top coat on your nail polish, it will stay on longer.

To prevent your hair from being weighed down only condition at the ends - staying away from the roots.

To get hair shinier use a jumbo curling iron. The straighter and smoother your hair, the shinier it will be.

For whiter teeth...Mash a strawberry (the softer the better) and out on your toothbrush. Brush your teeth until strawberry is gone. You will have whiter teeth. (Don't forget to pick the seeds out of your teeth and toothbrush.) 

If you want your lipstick to stay longer and the color to be truer: Try applying a little bit of liquid foundation to your lips before the lipstick. It helps your lipstick "stick" and the color be truer on the neutral "background".

If your hair seems to be dry after you wash and blow-dry it: Try washing it the night before going to bed. Don't forget to blow-dry it...brrrh! In the morning your hair should not be dried out because your natural oils have had a chance to work back in just enough.

During the cold, if your hands are dry and cracking before you go to bed try applying Vaseline to your hands. Slip your hands into a pair of white cotton gloves (or socks). Your hands will be softer in the morning!

When conditioning your hair, put the conditioner in your hands and slowly work into hair. The heat of your hands will help the conditioner work better. And pay close attention to the ends!

If you have dry skin in winter and oily in summer try this for your foundation... Use liquid foundation in the winter and crème-to-powder foundation in the summer.  In spring or fall (in between seasons) use a liquid foundation lightly first to help with dryness then add a light layer of crème-to-powder foundation which will not get oily.

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Before adding tomato sauce or any messy food to Tupperware or any plastic storageware..... 1) Let it cool down first and... 2) Spray the container with cooking spray or oil. Sauce will not stick so it will not stain.

Slightly undercook foods that you intend to freeze and reheat at a later date. During the reheating process foods will complete cooking.

For even baking and browning, place one cookie sheet at a time in the center of the oven. If the cookies brown unevenly, rotate the cookie sheet from front to back halfway through baking time.

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For those who wear eyeglasses: Try cleaning them with a little rubbing alcohol for streak-free, crystal clear lenses.

Instead of keeping all your addresses in a book, try a 3x5 card box. Divide with letter tabs. You can add information easily to each person's card or change an address without messing up the whole book.

Spray shovel with Pam cooking spray before shoveling so that snow will slide off instead of sticking.

To foster family identity and teach the Bible, try asking questions from a bible trivia game or book at dinner time.  One card  (6 or 7 questions) per night. 
The kids will love it especially as they get better at it!!  Great way for all to learn!!

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