Great Uses for Wax Paper, Newspaper & Paper Bags!

Wax Paper

This roll of paper is a must in every kitchen but it is useful for other things too.

• A scrunched up piece of wax paper is good for cleaning garden tools.

• The roughness loosens the dirt and the wax helps prevent the tools from rusting.

• Wax paper is a whiz at freeing a stuck zipper.

• Run it lightly over the teeth.

• Keep the shelves in your workshop free of dust, grease and oil marks by lining them with wax paper which will stop the stains from seeping through.

• Change periodically.

Newspaper

There are literally hundreds of uses for newspapers.
I have tried to scratch up some more unusual ones.

When travelling, your little travel iron will probably go with you.
For an ironing board, place a flat wad of newspapers into a pillowcase and you can smooth away the wrinkles by using it on a bed, dressing room table or the floor.

Fish moths hate newspaper
Place your winter woollies and blankets in well sealed newspaper and the moths will stay well away.

Give your fruit trees a hiding!
If they are not producing very good fruit, whack the trunks hard with rolled up newspaper.
The vessels carrying the sap sometimes shrink and the banging helps loosen them up.
You might look a bit barmy doing it, but, it really works, I am told!

Make logs – roll up the newspapers tightly
Tie with rough string and soak them in soapy water.
Stand them up and let them dry thoroughly.
They are useful when you run out of wood for your open fireplace.

Brown Paper Bags

• Brown paper bags help ripen fruit more quickly.

• Store in a dark corner of a cupboard.

• They make effective and tough book covers.

• Just slit down the seams, cover the books and let the children decorate them any way they please.

• To keep onions fresh for weeks and prevent them from sprouting, remove their original wrapping and place in a paper bag on the bottom shelf of the fridge.

Natural Pain Killers!!!

Toothache – There is no better substitute if you can’t visit to the dentist than gently chewing on a clove.
UCLA researchers say there is a compound in cloves called Euganol that soothes and is a natural anesthetic.

Joint and headache pain – Cherries! They can be fresh, frozen or dried. About 20 a day keeps the pain away.
Cherries have certain anti-inflammatory’s that are ten times stronger than ibuprofen or aspirin.

Digestive upsets – 1 cup of fresh pineapple a day can stop gas and painful bloating.
They have digestive aids that speed up the breakdown of the proteins that cause pain in the tummy.

Handy Hints Around The House and Vinegar Uses!!!

• If you are planning to bake potatoes soak them first in salt water for about 20 minutes. Dry them off with paper towel and they will bake much quicker.

• To have the greatest benefit from fresh lemons, heat them first. They will produce twice as much juice.

• When marinating meat, zip lock plastic bags are ideal. You don’t need as much liquid and you simply flip the bag over now and then instead of having to agitate and baste the meat.

Vinegar Uses!!

· White vinegar not only enhances food taste, but can be used to clean cars, clothes, and even protect your pets…..

The Ancient Babylonians, Greeks and Romans used vinegar as a preservative. Some nations, including the Chinese, believed that vinegar was a tonic that would give them strength and vitality, as well as bestow healing properties.

Vinegar’s magic ingredient is acetic acid, which comprises about five per cent of the finished produce.

White vinegar most versatile

There are many different types of vinegar out there, all produced by the oxidization of alcohol into acetic acid, but white vinegar is the most useful and the most versatile by far.

White vinegar is green too

White vinegar has dozens of household applications, and the best part is that it’s green.

It’s enjoying a newfound popularity as many people are trying to avoid toxic or harsh cleaning chemicals, as well as save money by making their own cleansers. Not to mention that vinegar is cheap, versatile, and doesn’t cause allergies like some fragranced cleansers.

White vinegar kitchen remedies

Besides adding zest to salad dressings, white vinegar is handy for many cooking tasks.

Adding a few tablespoons of white vinegar to the water when poaching eggs helps the whites stay formed. Add a few tablespoons to the water when boiling eggs, and if any shells crack, the whites won’t leak out.

If your leafy veggies are wilted, soaking them in cold water with a little vinegar can perk them right up.

After chopping an onion, you can eliminate the odour from your hands by rubbing them with a bit of white vinegar.

When cooking any vegetables from the cabbage family (like broccoli or cauliflower), adding a little vinegar to the water will perk up the taste and reduce the gassiness they can induce. This also works when cooking beans – making Mexican food a far more attractive option.

Cleaning house:

White vinegar can help with a variety of cleaning tasks, since the acid acts as a disinfectant and an odour neutralizer.

Clean and deodorize the garbage disposal by mixing equal parts vinegar and baking soda and putting it down the drain. After letting this fizzing mixture sit for a few minutes, flush out the drain with warm water for a clean and stink-free sink.

The steam from a boiling a bowl of vinegar and water can loosen caked-on food and get rid of odours in the microwave, too. Mix 1/2 cup white distilled vinegar and 1/2 cup water in a glass bowl. Bring it to a rolling boil inside the microwave. Baked-on food will be loosened, and odours will disappear. Wipe clean.

A weapon against fruit flies is to set out a small dish of white vinegar and some smashed fruit, covered with plastic wrap with some holes in it – the fruit flies crawl into the trap, but can’t get out.

If your stemware is cloudy from the dishwasher, wrap the glasses in paper towels soaked in vinegar, let them sit, and the cloudy deposits will rinse right off.

There’s no need to use bleach on tile grouting when you can let vinegar soak on it and then scrub with a toothbrush.

Bring lightly scuffed or dirty DVDs back to life by wiping them down with some vinegar on a soft cloth.

If you have water condensation marks on your wood, just rub the piece of furniture with equal parts vinegar and vegetable oil to remove them. Make sure to rub with the grain, and then invest in a set of coasters.

Cleaning clothes with white vinegar

Vinegar works magic on upholstery and fabric, too.

If a child has an ‘accident’ on a mattress, clean it with a solution of vinegar and water. Afterwards, pour some baking soda onto the mattress, and brush or vacuum the residue once it’s dry.

Spraying vinegar onto deodorant-stained shirts before the wash can remove the discoloration. It’s also great for fighting mustard and tomato sauce stains.

Adding a cupful of vinegar to the rinse cycle of your washing machine can freshen up bright colors and give you cleaner laundry. Acetic acid won’t harm fabrics, but it dissolves the soap residue that can dull dark clothing.

It also acts as a fabric softener, a static reducer, and a mildew-inhibitor.

Vinegar will also loosen chewing gum stuck to car upholstery, rugs, and carpeting.

Outdoor solutions

Tough enough even for the outdoors, vinegar can function as a car cleaner and an organic pest remover.

Remove car bumper stickers by spraying the decal with white vinegar to saturate the area, and the sticker will peel off in a few hours. (You might need to spray it a few times.)

Wiping down your car windows and windshield with a three-to-one vinegar-water mixture can keep them frost-free in the wintertime.

Kill weeds and grass growing in between paved areas by pouring full strength vinegar onto them. A half-and-half solution of vinegar and water can even kill garden slugs if it’s sprayed directly onto them.

To extend the life of cut flowers, add a few tablespoons of vinegar to the water in their vase, along with a teaspoon of sugar.

Pet protection

There’s no need to use chemicals near pets when vinegar can handle most cleaning and bathing tasks.

Wipe out itchy ears with undiluted vinegar to keep dogs and cats from scratching at them.

Cats avoid vinegar, so to keep them from scratching furniture or sitting on certain areas, spray a vinegar solution onto the spot.

For outdoor areas, soak a sponge in vinegar and place it in the forbidden area to keep cats away. If kitty likes to mark his territory, spraying the area with vinegar can help eliminate the smell and deter recurrences.

Vinegar can disinfect, deodorize and clean just about everything

From shower curtains to coach cushions, there’s not much that it can’t do. As an alternative to expensive and harsh cleaning chemicals, vinegar is something you can feel good about keeping in your cupboards.

A product that can clean you, the dog, your car, and your house is what we call a good, green buy.

· This article was first published in www.vibrations.co.za

DIY, Make Your Own:

Air Freshners:

The chemicals in air fresheners can’t be good for the environment or the people who breathe them in. On top of it, synthetic air fresheners often only mask bad odours instead of absorbing them. If you’re looking for a green way to fight odours, try this recipe and make eco-friendly air fresheners for your home.

Kelly, author of the blog ‘The Complete Guide to Imperfect Homemaking,’ found a way to make cost-effective eco-friendly air-fresheners with baking soda/ bicarbonate of soda and scented essential oil.

Using a nail, she hammered a few holes in the metal lid of the jar. She then filled the jar one quarter full with bicarbonate of soda and added 6-8 drops of lavender essential oil. Kelly recommends giving the jar a gentle shake every once in a while to release fresh scent.

It sounds easy and as an added bonus the mixture can be used to freshen up carpets too! Simply sprinkle the powder on a carpet, allow it to sit for a while, vacuum it up and breathe deeply.

Grease Removers:

Oil spills can occur in the home environment especially if you have handy home DIY enthusiasts.
You may well find them on the garage or workshop floors and driveways.
Apart from being ugly they are dangerous and toxic to the animals.
Many a broken limb has been caused by this icky stuff.
Here are some ways you can get rid of grease and oil marks – courtesy of Readers Digest and Google:

Soak newspaper thoroughly with water.
Lay it over the marks.
Once the paper is dry, the grease or oil should have been absorbed.
Cat litter with some sand and sawdust left on the place for 3 to4 hours can do the trick.
In fact cat litter on its own is pretty good too.
Pour some Pepsi or Coke over the stains.
Then scrub the area thoroughly and repeat if necessary.
Leave for a few hours then vacuum or sweep.
For really awful old marks pour a bit of paint thinner over and around it and then sprinkle bicarb or cat litter, cover with newspaper and leave over night.

Remember, the best place to get large bags of bicarbonate of soda is at a swimming pool outlet.

Nail Polish Uses:

Keep a bottle of colourless nail polish in your car. When your windscreen gets hit with a stone fill the spot with the clear polish. That will discourage it from cracking further. Any small dents and scratches you get on the body of the car can be treated the same way to slow the process of rusting.

How many times have you bought a new item of clothing that has buttons and the thread pulls and off pops a button? Dab a blob of clear nail polish on the centre of them all before you wear the garment. That will stop the cotton from unraveling.

If your nickel watch or jewellery leaves black marks or worse, gives you a rash, paint the undersides with clear nail polish. It works for most people, so worth a try.

Shoe Polish Uses:

Shoe polish can be used as a pretty effective wood stainer.

Brown gives a walnut finish.

Tan will produce a maple look and black will stain the piece of furniture a rich mahogany shade.

Use clear shoe polish to shine up licence plates and tire rims.

If you have leather seats in the car, the same polish will give them a new lease on life.

Clear shoe polish on your leather jackets and handbags shines them up and keeps them waterproof

Helpful Hints!!!

Your own dishwashing liquid!

For an economical dish washing liquid that goes a long way

• 1 small box Omo
• 1 small Sunlight Dishwashing liquid
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons meths
• 4 750 ml bottles hot water

Mix well in a large plastic basin
Decant into bottles
Makes at least 5 bottles of concentrated dish washing liquid.

Cleaning a Stainless Steel Braai!

If your braai is stainless steel, make up a solution of:

• ¼ cup water
• 4 – 5 teaspoons baking soda
• 10 drops lavender essential oil

Mix well making sure that you add just enough soda to make a thin paste
Blend in the oil.
Apply the paste using an absorbent cloth and rubbing in circular movements.
Clean it off with a weak solution of water and vinegar.
Buff dry with a soft cloth.

Charcoal grills need to be cleaned after every use.
Once the grid has cooled down a bit but still warm, brush it well with a strong wire brush on both sides to get rid of all the bits of food.
Then using a well oiled wad of kitchen towel, wipe it down to keep it from rusting.

Your own home made fabric softener!

Vinegar is essential in all recipes for fabric softeners as it is a water softener and reduces static.
It is non toxic and removes soap residue.

• 8 cups water
• 6 cups white vinegar
• 1 cup baking soda
• 25 drops orange essential oil

Mix all the ingredients well in a large plastic container
Shake it thoroughly every time you are going to use some
Add ½ cup to the rinse cycle.

If lemon scent is more to your liking, try this:

• 6 cups vinegar
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup baking soda
• 15 drops lemon or lemongrass essential oil.

Combine everything in a strong plastic container and add 1 cup to your rinse cycle.

Pet hints and eco friendly ways to keep pests out

Pet Hints:

• To give your hounds healthy shiny and non smelly fur, add a few drops of apple cider vinegar to their drinking water.

• If your dog’s collar is worn out and so is your bank balance, look around the house for an old leather (or plastic) belt, cut it to the right size, make new holes with a dowel and away you go.

• You can always use a belt as a temporary leash too.

• Never feed your dogs chocolate which contains theobromine – which is poisonous to dogs.

• Onions, garlic, leeks and shallots, etc., contain theosulphate which causes anaemia.

• There is certain controversy about garlic which some people and some vets, even, say is good for dogs and chases off the fleas.

We avoid it, to be on the safe side.

Eco friendly ways to keep pests out:

Have ants and flies invaded your home? Instead of spraying poisonous insecticide, make an eco-friendly household cleaner that pests despise.

Simply mix one part white vinegar with one part water and use the mixture to wipe down countertops and mop floors. The vinegar and water mixture leaves subtle scent ants and flies don’t like while removing the scent trails ants leave behind for other ants to follow.

Vinegar is a safe and effective eco-friendly household cleaner which also removes bad odours while sanitising surfaces. And here I’ve only been using vinegar on chips!

Useful things to do with Soda Water

This is called Club Soda in the US and probably many other places. Apart from using it as your favourite mix with whiskey there are other uses for soda water.

• Soda water removes spots from carpets. The carbonation loosens the dirt and makes it easy to blot off.
• Instead of using water in your pancake or waffle mixture use soda water instead. They will be fluffier and lighter.
• Soda water cleans dentures as well as chrome and porcelain.
• It is a useful antacid if there is nothing else around to quell that heartburn.
• It is also useful for loosening rusty nuts and bolts.
• For urine stains – pour on soda water and blot. It will remove the stain and the smell.

Salt Uses Around The Home

Handy hints for salt uses around the house.

1. If you are partial to those grass brooms that chaps sell from door to door do this to strengthen and lengthen their working lives:

Soak the new bristles in a bucket of hot salty water for half an hour.
Let them dry and see how much longer the broom lasts.

2. Over brewed coffee tastes bitter and disgusting.
Add a pinch of salt! You will be amazed.

3. With winter just around the corner, be prepared and wipe your car windows inside and out with a sponge and a salt water solution.
Dry with a soft cloth.
This will deter the frost from accumulating on the glass.

Handy uses for sandpaper

There are many, many uses for sandpaper around the house.

• Sharpen your scissors by cutting up some heavy duty sandpaper (this is especially effective for pinking shears).
• If your sewing machine needle is dull or there is a rough bit of needle that is catching the fabric, fold some sandpaper in 4 and "sew" it up and down without any cotton.
• Used sand paper disks from a floor sander to fend off slugs and snails! Cut to the middle and use as a collar to put round your plants that the slugs and snails are especially fond of. They won’t crawl over the rough surfaces.
• Sometimes the soles of new shoes or slippers are very slippery. Sandpaper them gently to roughen them so you’ll get more grip.
• Remove the "bobbles" from your favourite woolen jersey or sweater by using a light or medium piece of sandpaper.