Helpful Hints & Tips Archive

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Don’t Toss Those Corncobs!

Eaten corn cobs piled on a white plate sitting on a rustic wooden table outdoors.

Once you’ve eaten the sweet kernels off your corn on the cob, let the cobs dry out in the sun. Then store them in a dry area and use them as fire starters.

Keeping Cool In Summer

Slices of oranges, lemons, and limes overlapping with light shining through the bright citrus pulp.

Eat more of these: mushrooms, citrus fruit, lemon balm, and mint. These foods work to help your body regulate its temperature and keep you cooler.

Storing Plastic Wrap

A roll of clear plastic food wrap partially unrolled on a clean white surface.

Keep plastic wrap in the refrigerator. Makes for easier usage.

Got Ants?

Pour a line of cream of tartar where they’re entering the house and they won’t cross over it.

Plant for Fragrance

Purple lavender sprigs bloom in a sunny garden with soft golden light in the background.

For a sweet smelling garden, plant Rosemary, Sweet William, Lavender, Violas, Peonies.

Kids Cleanup On The Go

A hand holds a clear plastic spray bottle with a red and blue nozzle against white.

Before leaving on a family outing, fill a spray dispenser bottle with soapy water. A squirt or two and on a piece of absorbent paper will clean sticky fingers and faces in a hurry.

Pet Hair Removal

A person wearing a grey sweater pulls on a pair of bright yellow rubber cleaning gloves.

To remove cat and dog hair from clothes and furniture, rub them with damp rubber gloves.

Reuse Fish Bowl/Tank Water

Single orange goldfish swimming inside a round glass fishbowl filled with clean water against a white background.

Got fish? Save the water each time you change the bowl or tank and use that water to water your houseplants. It’s full of nutrients.

When cooking pancakes or waffles, make a larger-than-usual batch and freeze the extras. Lay them out on a cookie sheet and freeze flat for several hours, then pack in air tight containers or bags in the freezer. Simply pop in the toaster or toaster oven when ready to use for a quick and convenient breakfast.

Clever Seed Pots!

A small green seedling grows from soil inside a cracked brown eggshell on dark garden earth.

Hollowed out lemon and orange peels, halved empty egg shells, and ice cream cones work well as seed starters. Simply put soil in the peels, egg shells, and cones (flat bottoms work well) and plant your seeds in them. When ready, plant the whole thing, “pot” and all!