General Helpful Hints

• I am a daycare mom with 10 children in my care, including my own two young boys. I use a pizza cutter to cut everything at mealtime: pancakes, french toast, grilled cheese, fish sticks, sandwiches...anything that needs to be in bite size pieces for the little ones! It's much faster and easier than using the knife and fork method.
• Use lifesavers candy to hold candles in place on your next birthday cake! Kids love 'em!
• Poke an egg with a small sewing needle before hard-boiling, and the egg will peel with ease! And hold that needle in place with a magnet refrigerator clip!
• Stuff a miniature marshmallow in the bottom of a sugar cone to prevent ice cream drips! (What a great idea!)
• Zap garlic cloves in the microwave for 15 seconds and the skins slip right off! You can also smash them with the flat of a cleaver or butcher knife.
• Organize your magazines into groups according to Seasons (spring, summer, fall and winter). This way, you have several handy reference guides for the appropriate Season/Holiday!
• Use a meat baster to "squeeze" your pancake batter onto the hot griddle~ perfect shaped pancakes every time!
• Always spray your grill with nonstick cooking spray before grilling to avoid sticking!
• To keep potatoes from budding, place an apple in the bag with the potatoes! But never store them with onions.
• To prevent egg shells from cracking, add a pinch of salt to the water before hard-boiling!
• Use a pastry blender to cut ground beef into small pieces after browning!
• Sweeten whipped cream with confectioners' sugar instead of granulated sugar~it will stay fluffy and hold it's shape better!
• For easy "meatloaf mixing," combine the ingredients with a potato masher!
• If you don't have enough batter to fill all cupcake tins, pour 1 tablespoon of water into the unfilled spots...this helps preserve the life of your pans!
• To easily remove honey from a measuring spoon, first coat the spoon with nonstick cooking spray!
• Run your hands under cold water before pressing Rice Krispies treats in the pan~the marshmallow won't stick to your fingers!
• Mash and freeze ripe bananas, in one-cup portions, for use in later baking, no wasted bananas (or you can freeze them whole, peeled, in plastic baggies)
• To quickly use that frozen juice concentrate, simply mash it with a potato masher~no need to wait for it to thaw! You can also nuke it for a few seconds right in the cardboard container after you remove the top.
• To get the most juice out of fresh lemons, bring them to room temperature and roll them under your palm against the kitchen counter before squeezing!
• To easily remove burnt on food from your skillet, simply add a drop or two of dish soap and enough water to cover bottom of pan, and bring to a boil on stove-top~skillet will be much easier to clean now!
• Spray your tupperware with nonstick cooking spray before pouring in tomato-based sauces~no more stains!
• To remove the smell from a tupperware container, crumple up a page of newspaper and put it in the tupperware for a day. The smell will be gone!
• Transfer your jelly to a small plastic squeeze bottle~no more messy, sticky jars or knives! This also works well for homemade salad dressing!
• To aid in washing dishes, add a tablespoon of baking soda to your soapy water~it softens hands while cutting through grease!
• Save your store-bought-bread bags and ties~they make perfect storage bags for homemade bread!
• When a cake recipe calls for flouring the baking pan, use a bit of the dry cake mix instead~no white mess on the outside of the cake! You can also use granulated sugar or cocoa.
• If you accidentally over-salt a dish while it's still cooking, drop in a peeled potato~it absorbs the excess salt for an instant "fix me up"!
• Next time you need a quick ice pack, grab a bag of frozen vegetables out of your freezer~no watery leaks from a plastic baggie!
• When making bread, substitute nondairy creamer for the dry milk~it works just as well!
• Rinse cooked, ground meat with water when draining off the fat~this helps "wash away" even more fat!
• Slicing meat when partially frozen makes it easier to get thin slices.
• Instead of throwing away bread heels or leftover cornbread, use them to make bread crumbs. For use later, store them in the freezer.
• Wrap celery in aluminum foil when putting in the refrigerator~it will keep for weeks! But if it gets limp, soak it in ice water for 1/2 hour.
• Substitute half applesauce for the vegetable oil in your baking recipes~ you'll greatly reduce the fat content! (Example: 1/2 cup vegetable oil = 1/4 cup applesauce + 1/4 cup oil)
• To ripen avocados and bananas, enclose them in a brown paper bag with an apple for 2-3 days!
• Brush beaten egg white over pie crust before baking to yield a beautiful, glossy finish!
• In recipes calling for margarine, substitute reduced-calorie margarine to help cut back on fat! (Same goes with sour cream, milk, cheese, cream cheese, and cream soups) But if you are baking, make sure you are using non-corn oil margarine (corn oil is too soft for baking) and never anything that just says "spread"-spreads have a high water content-so be sure it is really margarine.
• Place a slice of bread in hardened brown sugar to soften it back up! You can also soften brown sugar in the microwave-just put the whole bag or box in and nuke it about 10 seconds at a time. By keeping it in a sealed plastic bag in the freezer it won't harden at all.
• To keep brown sugar soft, keep a piece of apple in the box. Replace every so often.
• When boiling corn on the cob, add a pinch of sugar to help bring out the corns natural sweetness! (P.S. white corn is usually sweeter than yellow.)
• When starting your garden seedlings indoors, plant the seeds in egg shell halves. Simply crack the shells around the roots of your plants and transplant them outdoors~the shell is a natural fertilizer!
• To determine whether an egg is fresh, immerse it in a pan of cool, salted water. If it sinks, it is fresh~if it rises to the surface, throw it away.
• Keep the linings from cereal boxes~they make great substitutes for waxed paper!
• Cure for headaches: Take a lime, cut it in half and rub it on your forehead. The throbbing will go.
• Don't throw away the wrapper after removing a bar of soap. Place it inside your shoe cabinet or shoe box. It's a cheap way of filling the air with a nice smell.
• If your polished furniture has small scratches, try rubbing them with a shelled walnut. You'll see the scratches just disappear!
• Here's a solution to smelly shoes. Put some tea leaves into a pair of stockings and stuff each into a shoe. Leave for a day or two and the smell just vanishes!
• Don't throw out all that leftover wine. Freeze into ice cubes for future use in casseroles and sauces.
• If you have problem opening jars, try using latex dishwashing gloves. They give a non-slip grip that makes opening jars easy!
• Tips for stamp collectors: Place the envelope in the freezer for a few hours. You'll then be able to easily lift the stamps off with a pair of tweezers.
• To keep buttons from dropping off, dab a drop of clear nail polish onto the thread to secure the buttons. This will harden and make it more difficult for thread to break off.
• Are cockroaches in your home driving you mad? Try this tested trick. Fill a large bowl with cheap wine and leave it under the sink. The pests will drink it, get drunk, fall in the bowl and drown... easy!
• To avoid hurting your fingers while hammering metal nails into the wall: Hold the nails with a wooden clothes peg instead. So even if you miss, you won't get hurt.
• To take the tears out of chopping onions: Plug in a portable fan and turn it to high. It'll help blow away the fumes from your eyes - no more tears!
• Potatoes will take food stains off your fingers. Just slice and rub raw potato on the stains and rinse with water.
• To get rid of itch from mosquito bite, try applying soap on the area instant relief!
• Ants, ants, ants everywhere... Well, they are said to never cross a chalk line. So get your chalk out and draw a line on the floor or wherever ants tend to march- see for yourself!
• Egg shells can be used to clean glass bottles: Break the shells into pieces, drop them into the bottle with a few drops of detergent and a bit of water, and shake vigorously. Then rinse with water.
• Don't panic if your soup's too salty: Add cut raw potatoes and throw them away once they are cooked and have absorbed the salt. Your soup's saved!
• To return discolored socks to their original color, boil them in a pot of water with a few slices of lemon. The fruit acts as a natural bleach.
• Use air-freshener to clean mirrors. It does a good job and better still, leave a lovely smell to the shine.
• If you have problem with slippery shoelaces which refuse to stay tied, rub them with a candle and make them less slippery so that knots stay put.
• If you have stubborn grease stains on your work clothes, add a bottle of Coke with detergent. It'll help loosen the grease.
• Renew the features on your old faded dolls' faces by blending in a cream foundation. Then apply a little rouge on the cheeks and for lips, nail polish. Waterproof mascara can be used on eyes lashes.
• Dirty marks on your white court shoes: Just drop some medicated oil on a piece of cloth and clean off those dirty marks on your white court shoes. They'll be looking as good as new again.
• When you get a splinter, reach for the scotch tape before resorting to tweezers or a needle. Simply put the scotch tape over the splinter, then pull it off. Scotch tape removes most splinters painlessly and easily.
• For bee stings, apply Adolph's meat tenderizer to take away the pain and swelling.

• Clean a toilet. Drop in two Alka-Seltzer tablets, wait twenty minutes, brush, and flush. The citric acid and effervescent action clean vitreous china.
• Clean a vase. To remove a stain from the bottom of a glass vase or cruet, fill with water and drop in two Alka-Seltzer tablets.
• Polish jewelry. Drop two Alka-Seltzer tablets into a glass of water and immerse the jewelry for two minutes.
• Clean a thermos bottle. Fill the bottle with water, drop in four Alka-Seltzer tablets, and let soak for an hour (or longer, if necessary).
• Remove burned-on grease from a pot or pan. Fill the pot or pan with water, drop in six Alka-Seltzer tablets, let soak for one hour, then scrub as usual.
• Unclog a drain. Clear the sink drain by dropping three Alka-Seltzer tablets down the drain followed by a cup of Heinz White Vinegar. Wait a few minutes, then run the hot water.
• Get short-term relief from nicotine withdrawal symptoms. As long as you're not on a low-sodium diet or have peptic ulcers, drink two Alka-Seltzer tablets dissolved in a glass of water at every meal.
• Soothe insect bites. Dissolve two Alka-Seltzer tablets in a glass of water, dip a cloth into the solution, and place the cloth on the bite for twenty minutes.