A Dozen Helpful Hints to Simplify Your Life

Happy April Fool's Day! We received a new house of girls yesterday, and one of the girls is dreading going to school because of all the pranks. She's in middle school - need I say more?

Our blog today originated from an email I received from a friend. I thought the hints were worth passing along:

A Dozen Helpful HInts to Simplify Your Life

1. Broken Glass clean up:

 Use a wet cotton ball or Q-tip to pick up the small shards of glass you can't see easily. 




2. No More Mosquitoes : Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away. 




3. Squirrel Away!: To keep squirrels from eating your plants, sprinkle your plants with cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant, and the squirrels won't come near it. 



4. Flexible vacuum nozzle: To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge, add an empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum . It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings. 



5. Reducing Static Cling: Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and -- ta da! -- static is gone. 



6. Measuring Cups clean up: Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out. 



7. Hate foggy windshields?: Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car. When the windows fog, rub with the eraser! Works better than a cloth!




8. Reopening envelope: If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Viola! It unseals easily .




9. Hair Conditioner: Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's a lot cheaper than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it in your hair..




10. Goodbye Fruit Flies: To get rid of pesky fruit flies , take a small glass fill it 1/2" with Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dish washing liquid , mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever! 




11. Get Rid of Ants: Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it , take it "home," can't digest it, so it kills them. It may take a week or so, especially if it rains, but it works and you don't have the worry about pets or small children being harmed! 




12. To Extend the Life of Your Dryer and Prevent Fires: Dryer sheets cause a film over the mesh of the lint filter - that's what burns out the heating unit. You can't SEE the film , but it's there. It's what is in the dryer sheets to make your clothes soft and static free - that nice fragrance, too. You know how they can feel waxy when you take them out of the box, well this stuff builds up on your clothes and on your lint screen. This is also what causes dryer units to catch fire and potentially burn your house down with it!

The best way to keep your dryer working for a very long time (and to keep your electric bill lower) is to take the filter out and wash it with hot soapy water and an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least every six months. It doubles the life of your dryer.