Setting up or taking down the Christmas tree can leave your hands sticky with sap. Remove it quickly and easily with a few squirts of liquid hand sanitizer. The alcohol dissolves the sap. Toothpaste (the paste kind) also works. Just work in a dab until the sap is gone, then wash hands as usual.
Packing tape is notoriously known for losing its end and causing much frustration. Try putting a penny or a bread clip under the end of the tape when finished using it. This should help you find the end easier next time.
Save money and eliminate static when doing laundry. Roll a ball or two of aluminum foil and place in your dryer with wet clothes. Reuse these foil balls for several loads. They’re a great alternative to commercial dryer sheets which can contain toxic chemicals. [Illustration by Martina Fugazzotto]
Here’s a clever way to recycle newspaper pages: Line your refrigerator’s vegetable drawers with sheets to absorb odors, catch spills, leaks, and excess moisture.
When doing laundry, add 1 cup of white distilled vinegar to the final rinse cycle. It leaves towels fluffy, whites whiter, and colors more vibrant.
To remove skunk spray odor from skin, fur, or fabric, mix 1 quart 3% hydrogen peroxide, 1/4 cup baking soda, and a teaspoon of grease-cutting liquid dish soap. Work into the affected area with gloved hands, rinse, and reapply as needed.
For easier gutter cleaning, attach some PVC pipes to your leaf blower and then “blow” the gutters clean.
Before packing your tent up for the season, put some clean kitty litter in a sock and tie it in a knot. Put it in the tent. This will help keep mold and mustiness away.
To remove cat and dog hair from clothes and furniture, rub them with damp rubber gloves.
On good days, use your outside clotheslines for drying instead of the dryer. Air-drying your clothes can reduce the average household’s carbon footprint by 2,400 pounds a year. And even if you only line dry half the time, you can save over $60 in a year!
