Household Tips and Hints Miscellaneous Part 1

A list of helpful household tips and hints for the entire home.

HOUSEHOLD HINTS--ROOM BY ROOM

Miscellaneous

* Use colored nail polish to mark quart-measure lines, or dots, on the inside of a cleaning pail or bucket. Takes the guesswork out of mixing cleaning solutions, or plant-food solutions, to the proper strength.

* Bunion pads--cut to proper sizes and placed on the bottoms of chair legs--will prevent scratches on hardwood floors.

* When washing windows, use vertical strokes on one side and horizontal strokes on the other. This technique makes it easy to see on which side any streaks remain.

* Before washing walls, wrap a washcloth around your wrist and secure it with a rubber band. It will stop water from running down your arm.

* Hate paint odors? Cut an onion into large pieces, put them in a bucket of water, and place it in the middle of the room you will be painting. Do this before you start painting. It only takes a few hours for the onion to absorb the odors. Another method to get rid of paint odors: Add a little vanilla extract to the paint--about two teaspoons per quart.

* A patch of luminous tape, placed on light switches, makes them easy to find at night.

* Lost your aglets? (Those are the tips on your shoelaces.) Dip the ends of the lace into a bottle of clear nail polish and twist raveled ends together to create a new, durable casing. Or dip the ends into hot paraffin and follow same procedure.

* An easy way to paint a picture frame: Tack a thin piece of wood to the back of the frame; the piece should extend about 4 in. over the edge of the sides. Use the wood extensions as handles while painting the frame.

* Here's an energy-saving tip: A single 100-watt light bulb gives out as much light as two 60-watt bulbs--and uses only five sixths of the energy. If you have several low-watt bulbs in a lamp, or other fixture, replace them with one higher-watt bulb.

* Losing sleep because of a dripping faucet? For temporary relief, put a sponge under the drip. Or tie a string to the faucet, making sure the string is long enough to reach the sink; the water drops will quietly slide down the string.

* A small, open container of vinegar, hidden in a room before a party, will absorb cigarette odors.

* A pair of pliers can be an invaluable aid in repairing small objects. After gluing a broken object, put it between the jaws of the pliers. Hold the jaws in place by putting a rubber band around the handles. This will hold the item steady until the glue dries.