Aug

6

This Old Household Hint

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Household HintsThese days, it seems that everyone’s into saving money, time and effort, not just us professional Frugalistos and Frugalistas.  While researching the multiple-uses theme of the past week, we came upon a list from This Old House, called “33 Clever, Time-Saving, Money-Saving Reader Tips”. While some of them really won’t save you much money, most of them do, and some of the others were just very clever, so we thought we’d include them anyway.  So, with only minor editing and editorializing, here’s our version of This Old House’s Readers’ list.*

1. Flat Tire Fix

My old wheelbarrow had a flat, but the bolts were rusted on and the replacement was expensive. So I drilled a hole in the tire and sprayed expanding foam insulation inside until it was full. This fix won’t last forever, but it’s made it through one season so far.

2. Seed Saver

When a truck left deep tire marks in my yard, instead of filling them in with soil and seed, I lifted the sod with a spading fork. I gave the grass a small lift every other day, and after two weeks the tire marks were gone.

3. Getting a Hosing

Rather than lay our garden hoses flat on the garage floor, I took a heavy-duty 101⁄2-inch plastic pot and screwed its base to a stud with a washer and lag bolt. Then I coiled the hose around it. The pot’s tapered shape keeps the hose neatly in place and keeps it from cracking. Another idea is to drill a hole in a decorative planter and run the hose through it, so you can keep it out in plain sight on the lawn.

4. Sanding Saver

I remove the scale from my iron railing with a wrench sized to fit tightly over the bar. Dragging it up, down, or around to remove the larger blisters saves a lot of sanding later on. (Saving time = saving $)

5. Old Golf-Bags Don’t Die…

When I’m out spraying for weeds with my plastic pump sprayer, I use an old golf-bag cart to wheel it around. The cart’s circular base is a perfect fit for the sprayer’s tank, and its big wheels were made for lawns.

6. Primitive Vacuum Bag

Rather than try to knock off wasp nests under the eaves while standing on a ladder, I take a long plastic downspout, attach a plastic bag to one end with a rubber band, and squirt a shot of flying insect spray into the other end. Then I place that end over the nest and scoot the pipe sideways to dislodge it. The nest and any wasps fall down the pipe and into the bag for disposal.

7. Egg-cellent Storage Idea

Keeping small parts organized when repairing an item is as easy as making breakfast. I use empty egg cartons to group and contain the pieces.

8. ChopChop

My husband and I discovered that the fat end of a chopstick works great for removing excess grout from tile joints.  We actually find them useful for other things too.

9. Well Bread

I’d cut some water lines under the sink, but a valve got stuck and they kept leaking a steady dribble of water, which prevented me from soldering. The plumber I called in (at emergency rates) asked for a slice of bread. He tore off the crust, rolled it up, and stuck it inside the line. It stopped the flow long enough for him to solder the pipes before it dissolved and washed away. This tip cost me $130 and a slice of bread.

10. That Old Electricity’s Still There

I use an electric carving knife instead of a utility knife to slice easily through fiberglass batt insulation, no hard cutting surface needed.

11. Bathroom Bargain

When replacing a toilet, the hardest part is to line up the bowl with the short bolts in the floor without touching the wax ring. So I stick plastic straws on the ends of the bolts as guides and set the toilet down perfectly in one go—without messing up the wax ring.

12. Don’t Forget your Rubbers

When you’re driving hard-to-turn screws with a manual screwdriver, put on a rubber kitchen glove and you’ll get a no-slip grip.

13. Wax Poetic

When painting wood windows and sills, leave the windows open to dry for a day, then put waxed paper across the sill and close the sash. The paint will cure without sticking

14. Paper Dolls

Before you nail down baseboard molding, put a strip of painter’s paper (or wax paper, see above) between the molding and the floor. Then you won’t have to tape off the floor when you paint. After you’re done, cut off the paper. No one will ever know it’s there.

15. Color me Thrifty

Keep the paint names for each room handy by writing each name on a piece of tape and sticking it behind the light-switch cover plate.  Another great tip — buy small refillable foam-top bottles (or reuse CLEANED shoe polish bottles) from a hardware or craft supply store.  Fill one with every color you paint.  It’s a fast, easy and cheap way to do touch-ups later on.

16. Tray Chic

Put your roller tray inside a drawstring kitchen trash bag and pull the strings tight, then pour the paint into the tray as usual. After painting, turn the bag inside out so that the paint is inside. Pull the strings and throw the bag away. The tray is clean and ready for another color.

17. Cute Tip

Before you spackle nail holes, cut a cotton swab in half and push it into the hole, stick end first. For larger holes, fold the swab in half and use it all. Then trim the excess and spackle. You won’t need to go back for a second pass.

18. Sanding Saver Redux

When I repaired a cracked ceiling, I waited until the joint compound was barely set up and used a dry paint roller to smooth out the knife seams. A damp sponge got rid of any residual roughness after the compound dried, so no sandpaper and no dust.

19. Ball Duster

I had to drill holes for can lights in the ceiling, so I cut an old basketball in half to collect the dust. A ½-inch hole drilled into the bottom allowed the ball to fit between the drill and the hole saw. Then I held the drill with one hand and the ball tight to the ceiling. No dust fell in my face or on my floors.

20. My Beautiful Launderette

After handling greasy pipes or yard equipment, wash up with liquid laundry detergent. It cuts oil better than ordinary bar soap and costs less than specialty hand cleaners.

21. Oil Change

I’ve used canola or corn oil rather than mineral spirits to clean oil-based paint off my skin. It works great, washes off with soap and water, and moisturizes my hands, too!

22. Double Cut

It’s hard to start a hacksaw on a bolt or rod without jumping off your line. Solution: Put two blades on your hacksaw frame, with the teeth pointing in opposite directions. Not only will your saw stay on its line, but it will also cut faster, on both the pull and the push strokes. Half the work, half the wear and tear.

23.Reflections of My Life

Stick automotive reflective tape onto tool handles, cell phones, or other small items that are easy to misplace. You’ll be able to find them by shining a flashlight around your work area.

24. What a Stud!

A contractor at my workplace uses an inexpensive stud finder made by tying a string to a cow magnet, the really powerful kind that’s fed to cattle to keep barbed wire and other metal out of their systems. You dangle the magnet next to the wall and it sticks to any nearby nails or screws.

25. Buyer Drill

You don’t have to buy a feeler bit to probe walls and ceilings. Just snip an 8-inch piece off a wire coat hanger with a wire cutter. Trim one end at a 60-degree angle and chuck the other end in your drill. The wire will worm its way through wood or drywall in no time.

26. Switch Hitter

If the light switch for your basement is on a sidewall, install the switch upside down so that down is on. When you head downstairs with your arms full, you can just lean against the switch with your shoulder to turn on the light.

27. Bats, Man

After I took out old radiators, I filled the pipe holes in the floor with the handles of my son’s old wooden baseball bats. I simply pushed each handle down a hole until it wedged in place, then traced a line even with the floor. I made a cut just above the mark, tapped the pieces into place with some wood glue, and covered the floor with carpeting.

28. Screw Do

In tight spaces, keep screws from falling off your screwdriver with a piece of plastic wrap. Push the screw point through the wrap, then hold it tight as you turn the screwdriver. Pull away the plastic when you’re done.

29. Tee Time

To fill a stripped screw hole in a door, glue a wood golf tee in the hole. Cut off the excess when the glue dries.

30. Hair Cut

After our bathtub became clogged with dog hair, I snaked the drain but without success. So my wife gave it a spray of Nair hair remover. Fifteen minutes later the drain worked better than it had in months!

31. Nose Job

Before hammering a nail into hard wood, rub it over your nose. (We might choose a different body part.  Or maybe some Skin-So-Soft.  See earlier post.) The oil it picks up makes it easy to drive.

32. Pipe Cleaner

My massaging showerhead caused the pipe inside the wall to vibrate. Rather than tear up the wall, I drilled small holes though the wall around the pipe and shot a bit of spray foam into each one. When the foam hardened, the noise disappeared!

33. There’s a Future in Plastic

There’s a ton of uses for plastic sandwich and freezer bags. I took a plastic bag and reinforced a corner with duct tape to make a disposable pastry bag for a grouting job. After putting in some compound and twisting the open end closed, I clipped the corner, squeezed out an even bead, then smoothed it with my finger. No trowel necessary.

Do you have any money-saving tips to share?  Please do tell!

Meanwhile, click here for more!

*For full article and attributions, visit www.ThisOldHouse.com

Aug

3

Skin-So-Saved

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Skin So Soft

Happy Monday!

Continuing on our quest for info on multiple uses of items you may already have around the house, this list comes from our reader (and Avon consultant) Joy in New York.

It’s been said for years, (without support from Avon), that their classic Skin-So-Soft bath oil helps repel mosquitoes.  (I, however, do support that claim!)  Avon, and the FDA, approve it only as a body oil.   But taking it a step (or 75) beyond, following is a list of non-classic uses.

1. Bath oil or after shower moisturizer.

2. Make-up remover.

3. Tanning (or burning!) oil (no sunscreen).

4. Hot oil treatment for cuticles.

5. Massage oil.

6. Removes adhesive marks left  on skin from bandages

7. Removes ink from skin.

8. Insect repellent (at least it smells better than the aerosols).

9. Relieves itching caused by dry skin.

10. Cleans oil and grease off of skin.

11. Replaces turpentine to remove paint from the hands.

12. Soothes light sunburn.

13. Removes dirt from hands before washing.

14. Heals dry, cracked skin.

15. Mixed with liquid soap it helps a shaving razor glide and leaves skin feeling smooth.

16. Moisturizes feet as part of a soak or pedicure.

17. Removes chewing gum from hair, skin, and most nonporous surfaces.

18. Cleans permanent ink off stamps.

19. SSS Original Bath Oil works GREAT on Head Lice!!!!! Saturate head, let it set for 15 minutes and rinse.  Repeat for a few days to get them all.

20. Kill ants.

21. Helps skin retain its elasticity.

22. Wash, condition and dry hair with your normal hair care product.  Rub a small amount (dime size) into your hair to leave it soft and shiny.

23. Cover windowsill with SSS towelettes to keep ants out.

24. Sponge around doors, windows and screen to keep out the creepy crawlies.

25. May help eliminate mild psoriasis.

26. Use it to clean and condition wood.

27. Removes glue and gum from tags on many hard surfaces.

28. Removes soap scum.

29. Removes lime and hard water deposits from fixtures, tile, shower doors and windows.

30. It’s an oil lubricant for fitting pipe joints together!

31. Cleans ink off most vinyl and painted surfaces.

32. It cleans heavy oil and grease from nonporous surfaces.

33. It takes fur off of clothing.

34. Can prevent brass from turning dark.

35. Removes crayon from appliances and most painted surfaces.

36. Mix with cleaning water to keep ants out of the cupboards.

37. Use it to discourage hornets from building their nests. First, spray and kill the hornets.  Then, remove the nest and keep the area sprayed with SSS. They will not rebuild there.

38. Cleans and conditions leather.

39. Use it on your air conditioning filter to make incoming air smell fresher.

40. This will also make the a/c filter easier to clean.

41. Clean paintbrushes easily and leaves them soft as new.

42. Remove gum from carpets.

43. Remove scuffmarks from patent leather shoes.

44. Use on running rails for sliding doors and windows.

45. Removes “ring around the collar”.

46. Removes liquid paneling glue.

47. Drizzle a little down the sides of “stuck” bowls and glasses and they’ll come apart easily.

48. Removes candle wax from furniture, carpets and clothing.

49. Repels bees from bird feeders — rub a little on the feeder surface by the feeder ports.

50. Rubbed on the poles, it may also keep the squirrels from stealing the birdies’ food.

51. Kills maggots too!

52. Attach a small bottle to your hose and then spray down the back yard — it should reduce the number of your crawling and flying pests.

53. People around the outskirts of Eureka and surrounding areas (and sometimes in town) spray it on their rose bushes to keep the deer from eating them, and at the cemeteries on the flowers they put out there for the same reason.

54. Kills spiders.

55. Cuts grease and cleans dirt from range hoods.

56. Add a capful to laundry to soften fabric and keep bugs away.

57. Moistens and de-bugs flowers.

58. Cleans baseball caps. Just spray on and rub with toothbrush.

59. Mix one part SSS and 2 parts water, add a little vinegar and spray tomato plants about every 2 or 3 days to keep the tomato worms away.

60. A little in your mopping water to help keep crawling bugs out. (Do not use a lot to avoid slippery floors!)

61. Use to clean windows. (I have my doubts on this one.)

62. Use as a room deodorizer; spray into air and let settle.

63. Can remove pet odors.

64. If a child wets the bed, spray the bedding before washing and will give it a fresh clean smell.

65. Makes pets’ coats gleam and keeps insects off.

66. Rub on your hands before and after working with your pets to remove strong smells.

67. Will remove tar or asphalt from the pads of pets’ feet.

68. Don’t worry about your cats licking it from their fur — it’s supposedly safe. You can check with your vet to be sure.

69. Removes tar spots from car exteriors without damage to the paint.

70. Use it inside to clean vinyl dashboards, seats, and tops; it also can help to prevent cracking.

71. Use as a tire polish to keep them looking new.

72. Put some on a small washcloth or open a towelette and leave in the car to help keep the air fresh and clean.

73. Removes smoke odors left by cigarette smokers.

74. Removes tree sap.

75. Rub on headlights and grill before traveling. It makes insects and bugs easier to remove.  We will try this one on our road trip and will report back.

All that for a few bucks a bottle. I’ve already packed a big one!  To get yours, call your local Avon rep, or order on line from Joy at Avon.com.

Coming up next, more great money-saving uses for items you may have already own.  Meanwhile, for more multiple-use product ideas, click here.