TIPical Mary Ellen host Mary Ellen Pinkham presents a grab bag of tips.
- To easily remove the skins from garlic cloves, place the cloves into a microwave for 15 seconds.
- Make threading needles easier by spraying hairspray or starch on your finger and apply to the end of the thread. It will stiffen just enough to glide through easily.
- Save the juice from canned tomatoes to use in cooking or tomato drinks. Freeze in an ice-cube tray, then store in plastic freezer bags. Thaw as needed.
- For fluffy, perfect rice, cook in microwave in covered dish for approximately 15 minutes, or until all water is absorbed. No more clumps!
- If someone in your family has incredibly stinky feet, put tea leaves in his or her socks, stuff them into their shoes, and leave for a day or two.
- Use old heavy paintbrushes as a dustpan brush in the workshop, or take them with you on a camping trip to sweep the sand out of the tent.
- Recipes busting out of the recipe box? Take a sturdy shoebox, and cover it with self-adhesive paper or leftover wallpaper to match the kitchen. It's the perfect size and holds much more.
- Laundry bins make great storage under beds with high clearance.
- To keep a long dress from trailing on the floor, sew loops on the inside at the waist. Turn the bodice inside out, and hang from a hanger by the loops.
- Keep your hammer from sliding off the nail head and damaging your walls by occasionally sanding the face of it.
- If you just bought a new shower curtain, but you don't want to waste the old one, why not make baby bibs out of the material. Just sterilize the material before placing on baby.
- When you start your seedling for gardening outside, plant the seeds in eggshell halves for easy transplanting and fertilizer.
- Put lifesaver candy on birthday cakes, and place candles in the middle to help keep them in place.
