Posted in Tip of the Day

Some helpful household hints and tips for the kitchen.

HOUSEHOLD HINTS--ROOM BY ROOM

KITCHEN

* It's easy to keep a ball of twine unsnarled and ready for use if you hang up a large funnel, place the ball of twine inside, and push the free end of string down through the spout. For a bright accent in your kitchen, make a colorful macrame holder for the funnel.

* To soften a hard stick of butter, invert a heated bowl over the stick for a few minutes.

* When a jar cover sticks, run hot water over the lid for a minute. It should then open easily.

* When dropping cookie dough from a spoon, wet the spoon in milk and the dough will not stick to the spoon.

* To bake potatoes faster, stand them on end in muffin cups. Be sure to put water in any empty cups.

* Slip a section of a plastic soda straw over the end of the tube inside your spray bottle of window cleaner to reach the fluid left at the bottom.

* Before baking a pie shell, rinse the pan with cold water to keep the pastry from sliding down the side of the tin during baking.

* A portable hair dryer can be used to defrost your freezer quickly. Warm air directed into the freezing compartment melts the frost in 10 to 15 minutes.

* For the quickest and best bread crumbs, grate frozen bread slices. Start tossing the ends of the loaf and stale slices into the freezer, instead of the garbage, and save money.

* Use old coffee grounds on top of the soil in your house plants for a mulch that will add nitrogen to the soil.

* Do not add salt when cooking dried beans. Salt toughens beans and prolongs the cooking time required. If salt is desired, add it after the beans are cooked.

* If you have scorched the inside of a saucepan, don't despair. Fill it halfway with water, add 1/4 cup baking soda, and boil awhile. The burned food will loosen and float to the top of the water.

* Save scraps of soap in a pan. When 3/4 full, fill the pan with boiling water; add the juice of one lemon and one teaspoon of glycerin. This will make a cleansing jelly that will whiten and soften your hands.

* If you don't have a corkscrew, drive two nails into the cork to be removed, not too near the edge, lay a large nail horizontally between them, and use the large nail to turn.

* Candles will last longer if you chill them thoroughly before burning them. They will burn more slowly and drip less.

* The plastic tabs from some bread wrappers can be used to keep your embroidery or crewel floss separated and neat. You can write color-chart numbers on the tabs with a felt-tipped marker.

Have a great day!!
Sherry
Homesteading Journey

Tips courtesy of:
Trivia Library