Day 59 - Tips

OK, it has been brought to my attention, that there are a few things that I do that I take for granted that others might want to know about, so here are a few miscellaneous tips I have learned during my married life.

• If you need to test the doneness of cakes or brownies, and you do not have a wooden toothpick, a piece of uncooked spaghetti works just fine.
• When baking, and the instructions give a range of minutes, always use the least amount of cooking time, you can always put it back in the oven.
• 1 cup of bleach, one cup of laundry detergent poured into a bucket of hot water cleans almost everything, especially dirty bathrooms and inside of moldy refrigerators not to mention green mold on decks (who needs a power washer?)
• A quick sprinkle of allspice in beef stew or spaghetti sauce is my secret ingredient, now you know.
• Toothpaste (white) works great as spackle when in a pinch, like filling in holes in dorm rooms.
• A sharpie marker works great on heels of black shoes that are a bit scruffed.
• If you cut back your mums before the 4th of July, you will get a denser more flowerful fall show.
• When dusting, put the spray wax/bottle polish on the rag, not on the furniture.
• To get rid of the really nasty stuff that always seems stuck to the top of the microwave, heat a bowl full of water on high for 3 minutes, steam softens all the nasty bits making it easier to get off.
• A shot glass is the perfect holder for toothpicks
• Save old panty hose, wash them, cut off a 6 inch piece including the toe, place it over the tube of a vacuum and you can easily vacuum fake plants
• The same piece of panty hose works great for a bouquet garni.
• It is much easier to get perfect chicken/beef slices if the meat is still a bit frozen when you cut it.
• In a pinch, double sided tape does a damn fine job of keeping a hem in place.
• Hair spray is great for nailing flying insects, especially bees.
• Hair spray is also good for getting out ball point pin ink on clothing
• Fingernail polish remover is great for removing the sticky stuff left behind from a store's price tag