Vicki Lansky - Another Use For . . .: 101 Common Household Items

101 Common
Household Items

by
Vicki Lansky

BOOK PEDDLERS

DEEPHAVEN, MN

Book Trade Distributor: Publishers Group West

Special thanks in putting together this collection goes to:

Julie Surma, Kathryn Ring, Natalie Allen, Susan Bramson,

Judy Gray and FAMILY CIRCLE Magazine, and Dian Schwarze.

Cover and text design: MacLean & Tuminelly

These ideas are intended to suggest possible solutions only. While care has been taken to ascertain effectiveness, the author and publisher cannot guarantee any advice given or be liable for any loss or damage to property in the unlikely event it should arise from this advice. As with all matters, it is recommended that care and common sense be used.

All rights reserved

Copyright 1991, 2004, 2012 Vicki Lansky

This book may not be reprinted in whole or part without permission of the Book Peddlers.

eBook ISBN 978-1931863-78-0

Lansky, Vicki.

Another use for-- 101 common household items / by Vicki Lansky; illustrated by Martha Campbell.

p. cm.

1. Home economics. I. Title. II. Title: Another use for one hundred and one common household items.

QBI90-279

For group sales or quantity discounts, contact

BOOK PEDDLERS

18330 Minnetonka Blvd, Deephaven, MN 55391

(952) 544-1154

www.bookpeddlers.com

Who among us isn't fascinated with creative uses for common items that we use every day? As a long time collector of tips and hints, I was been able to share so many favorites in the columns I wrote for FAMILY CIRCLE magazine. Now I have a chance to share many more than I've been able to include in updating this book.

In addition to reading through these tips, feel free to write in the book to mark off those you want to come back to. Also consider copying those pages of special interest and putting them next to those items so you will be reminded about other ways they can help you (for example, the pages on fabric softener sheets might be attached to a wall or cabinet in your laundry area).

In this edition we have also added an extensive index to help you solve many of life's little problems by category.

And if you are looking for additional uses for baking soda, I have a book with over 500 ideas for its use as well as a book that offers over 400 uses for vinegar. Check out the last page of this book for more information on these titles.

In case you're wondering, you should know that I do have a life and that I don't spend each and every day consumed by finding new uses for household items. But I certainly have a lot of fun when I do find them!

Vicki Lansky

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Your A to Z Guide to

Marvelous Multi-Uses for

101 Common Household

Items!

Keep a name/address sticker inside your eyeglass case. If you lose your glasses they can be retuned to you.

Getor make on your computername/address stickers for your child and affix one to each item or school suppliespencils, ruler, crayon box and suchand cover with clear tape. This will insure against loss during the school day.

Use a name/address sticker to identify yourself on coupons, to label books, CDs, DVDs, board games or other items you lend out.

Carry a few stickers with you to use when you need to leave your name and address with an item for repair or for another reason.

Stick a label on an umbrella handle and cover it with clear tape. With the sticker, it may get returned to you if left somewhere and the clear tape will protect the information from the elements.

Give kids going to camp or college pre-address postcards or envelopes to insure mail or other information gets sent to you.

Clean computer and cell phone keyboards and a computer mouse with a cotton swab or cloth dampened with just a bit of rubbing alcohol.

Clean paint brushes with alcohol, which will dissolve shellac and shellac-based primers.

Remove grass and dye stains with alcohol instead of spot remover. It is also effective on removing ink stains from ballpoint pens.

Clean a sanded surface with an alcohol-dampened rag before staining or applying a finish.

Use alcohol as a handy cleaner for the silicone caulking around bathroom tubs. It also shines chrome.

Wipe candles with rubbing alcohol to clean them.

To temporarily solve the problem of shoes being a bit tight, saturate a cotton ball with rubbing alcohol and rub it inside the shoes at the tight spot and stuff the shoe with newspaper while it dries.

Dilute alcohol with water and apply it to plants with cotton balls to kill aphids. Or fill a pump spray bottles and use it to control mealy bugs on African violets.

Dispense with fruit flies in your kitchen by fine-mist spraying them with alcohol. It is safter than using a poison around foods.

Dampen a soft cloth with alcohol and use it to remove hair spray build-up on a curling iron.

Use to remove sticky stuff like tree sap from your hands.

Fill a small, strong self-closing plastic bag with 1/2 water and 1/2 alcohol and store it in the freezer. It serves as an ice pack that will mold to the area that needs a cold compress as it will never freeze completely.

Apply rubbing alcohol to a tick you are trying to remove before pulling it out. It causes ticks to lose their grip.

Dry mosquito bites with an application of alcohol to help itch subside.

Fill a spray bottle with rubbing alcohol and spritz the frosted car glass windshield. Youll be able to wipe the frost right off.

Saturate a hard-to-remove sticker with alcohol and it should come off easily.

Cover cookie sheets with foil. They can be wiped with wet paper towels, dried and reused for continuous cookie baking. And at the end of the baking session, cleanup is a snap.

Wrap foil around doorknobs when painting, to avoid drips.

Brighten outdoor lighting in your yard or at a campsite by placing shiny, reflecting aluminum foil behind the lamp.

When rooting plants in water, place aluminum foil across the top of the glass and poke holes in it. Insert the cuttings. The foil will hold the cuttings securely and the water wont evaporate as quickly as it would uncovered.

If you dont want your dog on the furniture, put pieces of foil on it. The rustle of the foil frightens the dog.

Make a substitute funnel in a hurry by doubling aluminum foil and rolling it into a cone, reducing the small end to the required size.

Wrap the ear pieces of your eye glasses with foil when your hair is being colored to prevent the dye from staining them during waiting time.

Use aluminum foil as a good, impromptu placemat.

Polish the chrome on strollers, high chairs and playpens with a piece of wadded-up foil. This works especially well on older items that have begun to look dingy.

If you use a color on gray hair but like a light streak or more of grey, wind up those strands in aluminum foil you dont want darkened. Apply the color, according to the directions to your hair. Remove the foil when the time is done, wash according to directions and youll have your own natural light streak(s).

Wrap heavy-duty foil around a panel of insulation board and tuck it behind radiators and baseboard heaters to reflect heat into the room.