30. Use of Old Linen Collars.--Cut them up into narrow strips and use them for gas-lighting instead of using wax tapers. They make a steady flame and do not drip grease.
31. Discarded Toys.--My baby came in the other day hugging to his breast a toy tin goat. It was evidently one of the discarded playthings of a neighbor"s child. On inquiry I found that the toy had been given to my boy, and he has taken so much pleasure in this castoff plaything that I have been saving his old toys and pa.s.sing them on to other children of the neighborhood. I have discovered that in their baby hearts these are as good as new, because they have never played with them. It is nothing to them that they are not just out of the store.
32. To Clean Silver.--Try curdled milk for cleaning your silverware. Let the silver stand for several hours in the milk, and you will be surprised at the result.
33. Removing Stains.--Damp salt will remove egg stains from silver and tea stains from cups.
34. To Keep Free from Mould.--Jelly and jam can be kept entirely free from mould by pouring a thin layer of melted paraffin on top. This paraffin can be saved when the jelly is taken from the gla.s.s and used the next season so the cost is very small.
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35. Hanging Out Clothes.--The other day I came across a peculiar clothes bar. It was the same as any other, except that the crossbars had been removed, and for them ropes had been subst.i.tuted. The owner told me she had had her husband fix it for her the previous winter when she was bothered with salt rheum. "I hang up all the baby"s little things, fastening them with clothespins, right here in the house where it is warm," she explained. "Then it is but the work of a moment to take the whole thing out of doors, and there is no fishing around for the tiny things when my hands are so cold they feel as though they would drop off."
36. A Fine Cutting Board.--I measured the top of my kitchen cabinet, and had a piece of zinc cut to fit it, allowing an inch for turning over the edges. My husband tacked it on, and I can cut meat and bread or anything on it, without harming it in the least, besides using it as a moulding board.
37. Convenient Place for Stiletto.--It will be found a great convenience to have the stiletto tied to the embroidery hoop by a ribbon about a foot long, when that little instrument is necessary for the work in hand.
38. Cleaning Paint and Varnish.--Many housekeepers have been annoyed by finding their paint and varnish brushes dry and hard. To soften them, heat to the boiling water point some good cider vinegar, immerse your brushes and allow them to simmer in it for a few minutes, then wash out in strong soapsuds and your brushes will be soft and pliable.
39. How to Keep Cookies from Burning.--To keep cookies from burning on the bottom, turn the baking pan upside down and bake on the bottom of the pan.
40. Non-Sticking Cake Tins.--Cake layers will not stick in cooking if a little meal is scorched on the cake tins and rubbed off with paper.
41. To Clean Sieve.--Hold a sieve which has been used for straining oatmeal, tomatoes, fruit, etc., at once under the faucet, or shake it in enough water to cover it, then slap it, and it is easily cleaned; if it dries first it is almost impossible to get it clean even by more time and effort.
42. Washing Clothes.--After the clothes have been soaked a while to loosen the dirt, spread on washboard, soap, and then rub with a common scrub brush. The dirt comes out easier and with much less wear on the clothes.
Even when the washing machine is used, this is a help for the wrist bands that are not quite clean.
43. Discoveries.--When old clothes, like worn-out ap.r.o.ns or waists or linings come to hand, and are absolutely good for nothing else, cut them into small pieces, say eight or twelve inches square, some larger, and put them into a bag or box easily accessible. Then when something is spilled over on stove or floor, or mess of any kind is made, use these bits for cleaning up and drop them into the fire.
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44. To Stretch Curtains.--Take curtains while wet and put on a curtain rod; also put a heavy rod as a weight on the lower hem. Hang one on curtain at a time at an open window and stretch the desired width.
45. Cleaning Windows in the Winter.--It is a hard task in the winter time to wash windows in the old way, but if it is very cold, windows can be cleaned by using "Bon Ami," The same is useful for cleaning bright pieces on stoves.
46. How to Kill Black Ants.--A request for information as to how to rid plants and trees of black ants, which was received at the Pennsylvania department of agriculture"s division of zoology, elicited the following from Prof. H. A. Surface, State Zoologist. You can do this by finding the nesting places of the pests and making holes into the interior of them with a sharpened stick like a broom handle and pouring into each hole a half tea cup of carbon bisulphide. Fill the hole with earth and cover with a wet cloth or blanket to keep down the fumes and the ants will be destroyed at once. This is the best possible method for destroying ants of any kind.
47. Washing Windows.--It is better to wash windows on a cloudy day or when the sun is not shining directly on them. Before washing, dust them thoroughly inside and out, then wash the woodwork without touching the gla.s.s. For the gla.s.s use warm water, to which add a tablespoonful of kerosene to each pailful of water used. Dry with a cloth or chamois skin, wrung very dry; then polish with a soft cloth or soft old newspapers.
48. Home-made Soap Shaker.--A baking powder can with holes punctured in both cover and bottom, makes a fine soap shaker. Put all the small sc.r.a.ps of soap in this, and when you wash dishes, just put box and all in your dishpan and shake about. You will have a nice suds and no soap rubbing off on the dishes.
49. Cleaning Rugs.--When cleaning rugs first lay them out straight and brush with a stiff dry scrubbing brush. You will be surprised at the amount of dirt that is loosened and comes out in this way.
50. Clean Leather Furniture.--A good way to clean leather furniture is to add a little vinegar to some warm water and wash the leather, using a clean soft cloth. Wipe with a dry cloth. To restore the polish, mix two teaspoonfuls of turpentine with the whites of two eggs; beat a little and apply with a soft flannel cloth. Dry with another cloth and rub well.
51. Ironing Board, Conveniences for.--Try tacking a pocket on the under side of your ironing board to keep your holder, stand and sheet of sand paper in.
52. Clean Gilt Furniture.--Gilt furniture can be cleaned with sifted whiting made into a cream with alcohol. Cover a small s.p.a.ce at a time and rub off before it hardens. To clean bra.s.s fixtures rub them with cut lemon and then wash off in hot water.
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53. For Tufted Furniture.--For tufted furniture use a bicycle pump to remove dust. Garments to be stored for the summer months should first be aired well on a bright breezy day. Brush thoroughly and shake free of dust. Do not leave clothing out in the air after three o"clock in the afternoon, as from that time until dark all sorts of insects are seeking their beds. A trunk or box that has been thoroughly cleaned and sunned and then lined with fresh newspapers will prove an ideal place in which to store winter clothing. Sprinkle each layer with cloves and tuck newspapers well around them, moths detest printer"s ink.
54. Clean Linoleum.--To clean linoleum add one cupful of beeswax, shaved fine, to two cupfuls of turpentine and set on the back of the stove to melt. When cool it will be thick and ready for use. First thoroughly clean the linoleum and then apply the paste with a soft cloth. Rub in well, then polish with a dry cloth, preferably flannel. Linoleum treated in this manner will look like new.
55. For Broken Needles.--A receptacle for broken needles in her work basket would be a boon to any woman, and this one which I am about to describe is very easily made, takes up little s.p.a.ce and is really very convenient, when one is busy sewing and dislikes to get up to take care of the dangerous bits of steel. Take a little two dram bottle (homeopathic style), crochet for it a snug covering made of embroidery silk or silkaline, crocheting it tightly and covering the bottle completely, using some bright color if desired. When you break a needle just slip the pieces right through the meshes of silk into the bottle; they will go in easily, but the holes will close up after them, retaining them in safety till the receptacle is full.
56. How to Carry House Key.--The pocketless woman often finds it troublesome to carry a key, especially the house key, when she goes out.
If an old-fashioned split metal ring can be found, use it to connect the key to be carried to the circular end of a strong, sure acting safety pin, not necessarily of the largest size. If such a ring cannot be found, fasten pin and key together with a bit of fine wire, string or thread will be sure to break just at the wrong time. Then the pin may be fastened to the inside of the jacket or slipped inside of the shirtwaist band pinned to the undergarment, or attached to the skirtband and allowed to hang down outside.
57. A Sewing Room Hint.--Thread will not become knotted so often if the newly-cut end is put into the needle instead of the other end, which is already broken.
58. Convenient Addition to Kitchen.--One of the most highly-prized helps in our kitchen is a bird cage hook, one which can be hung on a nail, and thus easily changed from place to place. On this when placed over the sink, I hang macaroni, greens, etc., to drain; and when placed over the kitchen table, it is an ideal arrangement for holding the jelly bag.
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59. To Remove Candle Grease.--A simple way to remove candle grease is to sc.r.a.pe off all that will come off in that way, lay over the spot a piece of heavy brown wrapping paper (butcher"s paper) and press with a very hot iron.
60. Using Silk on the Machine.--When sewing on the machine with silk, it often unwinds and twists around the spool spindle in a very trying manner.
To avoid this make a hole in a small piece of felt and slip it on the spindle before the silk is put on.
61. A Shoe Cover.--When packing my trunk for a journey, I have found it to be a good scheme to use my stockings for shoe covers, this saves the added bulk of paper, and the shoes will be found less liable to muss up other things if protected by this clean and handy stocking covering. A stocking occupies practically no room when drawn over a shoe, and the two together will be found quite handy to tuck into c.h.i.n.ks into which they alone can fall.
62. To Press Skirts.--An easy way to press skirts is to use a sheet of paper in place of a cloth; lay the folds, or plaits and in place of ironing over a wet cloth take a sheet of common magazine paper lay it on the goods and iron. This presses the skirt very well and keeps the shine off and will, I think, give more satisfaction than if pressed with a damp cloth or ironed on the wrong side.
63. How to Attach Holders to Kitchen Ap.r.o.n.--Pin two holders with long tape at each side of the ap.r.o.n when cooking. They are convenient for handling hot kettles or dishes.
64. To Pack Music.--An excellent place in which to pack away sheets of music that are not in constant use is a large box fitted with a hinged cover and upholstered in cretonne, after the manner of shirtwaist boxes so much in vogue. Such a box is kept in the hallway of a small flat, where room is at a premium. The music cabinet was full to overflowing and there was no closet shelf that could be utilized, as so often happens in an ordinary house. An unused shirtwaist box was suggested and has been found to answer every purpose, besides providing an extra seat when such a seat was desirable. The box seems to fit in as an article of furnishing and the reason for its being there would never be asked.
65. Pie Crust, How to Bake.--Bake empty pie crusts on the outside of the tin, instead of the inside, and they won"t shrink.
66. Let the Poison Bottle Tinkle.--A wise house mother with half a dozen little folk needing all sorts of medicines and medical applications, has purchased in a toy shop a handful of little bells, and when a bottle containing poison is added to the medicine closet it is adorned with a bell tied around its neck with a narrow ribbon. No danger with the bottle thus equipped of taking by mistake, in the dark, the dangerous medicine.
The moment the poison bottle is touched the little bell tinkles its warning.
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67. A New Night Lamp.--Mothers who have timid little ones will appreciate the new night lamp, the apparatus of which may be carried to the country in a trunk or handbag. This apparatus consists of a small wooden float through which pa.s.ses a tiny wick. An ordinary china teacup is half filled with cottonseed oil, the little floating wick placed in this, and a match touched to the upright wick. While the sides of the cup prevent thc direct light of the flame being visible to the person in bed, a pleasant dim light is cast over the room.
68. Time Saved in Sewing.--In a family of small children there are a great many b.u.t.tonholes to be made. A quick way to make them in the everyday underwear, is on the sewing machine. Sew back and forth, leaving a small s.p.a.ce in the center, three or four times where the b.u.t.tonhole is wanted, and cut in the s.p.a.ce left, being careful not to cut the st.i.tching. In making little dresses, or slips after the skirts are sewed up, attach the gatherer to the machine and gather the top and bottom of sleeves and skirt. In this way work is quickly done.
69. Stews and Hash, How to Make.--Stews and hash made of fresh meat or round steak instead of sc.r.a.ps, are delicious. When the steak is to be used without being ground, select only tender, young, pinkish pieces; otherwise it will be tough in spite of prolonged cooking.
70. Dusters.--Another good idea about dusters. Do not use anything that comes handy, but get squares of five-cent cheese cloth or silkoline, fold a neat hem, and whip it nicely around, then turn and go back the other way. These materials are the best one can use, as they do not leave lint behind. Always wash the dusters after the sweeping day. No one can do clean work with soiled tools; besides dusters ruin the hands.
71. Broom Bags.--Good material for a broom bag or cover is old gauze underwear. The goods takes up dust very readily, and is easily rinsed out; or a piece can be thrown away without waste.
72. To Settle Coffee.--An economical and satisfactory way to settle coffee is as follows: Beat one egg well with an egg beater and pour over one pound of freshly-ground coffee, mix very thoroughly and no trace of dampness then remains. The coffee may then be put away as usual, and when used it will be found as clear as amber.