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I thought it would be fun to have a thread that collects practical wisdoms. Simple things that help. Shortcuts. Time and money-savers. Simple.

I'll start .

Shaving. Make a blade last two months - and those dang blades they're pushing are ex. pen. sive!

- Pat dry after shaving

- Put blade in mineral/baby oil. I use a little plastic bowl. Protects from corrosion, which is the dulling.

Staying warm after a shower or bath.

- use the towel to rub behind your neck vigorously, until you feel the friction warming.

Then dry your head.

It works because the brain (bossman) commands the heat first. Once he's got it, he'll "let" the rest of your beautiful bod have it.

Your turn!

Sticking to the topic of shaving...

To save a few bucks, use hair conditioner not shaving cream. Conditioner as shaving cream protects from nicks and cuts and works just as well and they moisturize while you shave

I use white vinegar for almost all my cleaning. Cheap and good for the environment.

I soak orange peel in vinegar and use that mix diluted with water for an all purpose cleaner.

I use hot water and vinegar to clean floors and walls.

I use vinegar in all my loads of towels. Helps the towels smell fresh.

[This message edited by lost_in_toronto at 7:46 PM, July 26th (Friday)]

shoe polish to conceal knicks in furniture

a drop (and ONLY a drop) of Woolite in a spray bottle filled with water for a streak-free window cleaner

Borax for everything:

http://www.20muleteamlaundry.com/about/other-uses/

http://www.flusterbuster.com/2013/03/30-uses-for-borax-wwii-series.html

[This message edited by ThoughtIKnewYa at 7:52 PM, July 26th (Friday)]

I probably have better ones I'm not thinking of, but Brillo pads will last just about forever if you stick them in a baggie in the freezer between uses... not that anyone's exactly going to the poorhouse because of lavish Brillo pad expenditures...

Sounds good!

I use Redken's Men's Bar,

chopped up in a cup - one of those widemouth cups, and a brush to slather it on. It has a stiptik-like ingredient. 7 bucks a bar/ but it lasts me forever.

I used apple cider vinegar with a dollop of dish soap & some water - just put it in a bowl in the sink, to remove an invasion of fruit flies.

Bowl of regular white distilled vinegar, left out - removes house odors.

Sit up straight and adjust your rearview. If you can't see when driving, it'll remind you you're slumping.

(though if you find a used Brillo pad floating in your next drink, it won't hardly matter)

Use oil to clean oil splatters off the stove and backsplash.

Rubber glove to get hair off rugs.

Used dryer sheets fit on swiffer.

French fries for a hangover.

Felsnaptha soap will get just about any fresh stain out.

Mix equal amounts blue Dawn dish soap with white vinegar in a spray bottle. Add just enough water so that it will spray easily. Use to clean your tub and shower. Spray on, scrub and rinse. Best thing ever for soap scum.

Mix pineapple juice, cranberry juice, vodka, peach schnapps, coconut rum and grenadine. Drink.

Voila! Everything looks great, you're happy, nothing matters, all is right with humanity and the world.

Neat tip: this also works as a great soporific.

Mix pineapple juice, cranberry juice, vodka, peach schnapps, coconut rum and grenadine. Drink.

Haha! That's my recipe for Ruby Relaxers! I just made a big batch of that Saturday for a party! Yum!

JJCT thanks for starting this thread, I love threads like this! However, a question about the blade and the oil. Do you leave the blade in the oil, or just dip it in and take it out?

Okay, let's see.

1)Don't ever waste time trying to 'peel' a clove of garlic (it will make you insane). Just smash the clove with the blade of the knife, and the clove pops right out! Easy peasy.

2)For a natural weed killer, mix 1/2 gallon of vinegar, 1/4 cup salt, and 2 squirts of dish washing liquid. Shake up. Put in spray bottle and spray weeds on a hot sunny day with no chance of rain. You can see the weeds start dying within an hour or two. It's amazing. I saw this on Pinterest, and it really works. I did it last week.

3) To remove old stains, soak in equal parts Biz and oxyclean. Soak a full 24 hrs, or, may need to leave in 48 hrs. If it is an old cherished item, soak in vinegar solution, or lemon juice solution, or spread it out on a towel and leave in the sun. (Just make sure it's in a spot where a bird won't poop on it)!

Next....

[This message edited by painpaingoaway at 5:27 AM, July 27th (Saturday)]

Oh, another one the florist just told me about last week...if your cut hydrangeas start to wither, take them out of the vase, recut the stems, and submerge the entire thing in water, yes, flower head included. (Evidently, it will suck up water thru the blossoms too, who knew?). Leave soaking for several hours. They will spring back to life. Yay!

You can make your own "wrinkle release" spray by filling a spray bottle with distilled water and adding a capful of liquid fabric softener. Works like a charm and costs nearly nothing.

Clip Bounce druer sheets to teh vent in your car for a cheap air freshener. Works great

Freeze liquids in ice cube trays for easier to handle portion sizes. For example:

- Freeze chicken stock in ice cube trays, when frozen, bag in freezer bag and you have useable portions.

-If you make your own baby food, pour the puree into ice cube trays, freeze then put in freezer bag for voila...perfect size portions.

-Freeze your drink of choice - Koolaid, tea, etc. and use these ice cubes in your drinks so your drinks don't get watered down.

-Freeze pureed fruit and combine different flavors in a blender for smoothies...it's already frozen and you won't need to add as many ice cubes.

And the convenience of this little trick is endless...you will think of other ways to use this trick as you use it for the above uses.

NG

ppga - I leave it in.

That tiny little black dot?

Yep. A fruitfly! lol!

One of these days I'll remember to get a smaller holder/container for the blade.

Fungus gnats in indoor plants?

Use 8tbsps of hydrogen peroxide per gallon when watering. It'll take time...several waterings...

they're dead to me now.

FeelsSoRight - I had forgotten about the ice cube tricks! That's how we fed our littles...until the oldest started to turn orange - we backed off of the carrots a bit after that.

I got these little plastic, water-filled balls in the freezer...gonna use them in some non-diluted Ruby Relaxers.

Then, I'm going to go swimming.

In a tub of fabric softener.

Best advice I ever got:

Ladies, when you hit 30, put a tweezers in a handy spot in your car. You never want to be without one when you see what natural daylight + rearview mirror reveals.

Use peroxide as a mouth wash and tooth whitener. Keep a bottle just for that somewhere near your sink, mix it half and half or whatever percentage you'd like with water, grab a mouthful before you get in the shower and swish with it as long as you can while showering. (I spit mine down the shower drain - this grosses DH out for some reason ) After your shower, brush as normal. You'll have had 10 or 15 minutes of peroxide working on your teeth, and it will cling even after you spit it out. Exceptional tooth whitener, and it helps if you're like me and have weird gums that are never happy.

I don't know if this is a tip, trick, or OCD but: every night if there's room in the dishwasher I add a vase, or a globe from the kitchen light fixture, or a crisper drawer from the refrigerator, or a serving plate that sits out on the counter gathering kitchen splatters - anything that can be washed that isn't technically "dishes" - plus all my sponges on the top rack. I never, ever run my dishwasher less than completely full, and the weird random glass or plastic stuff I'd have to clean specially just gets continuously cleaned by the dishwasher, rather than by me! Sweet.

Speaking of sponges...

After a kitchen sponge has become a bit too grungy for dishes, I cut one corner off of it and the sponge becomes a utility sponge for floors, grout, bathrooms, the grill, whatever. I cut the corner off so it never gets mistaken for a dish sponge.

[This message edited by circe at 12:32 PM, July 27th (Saturday)]

use a pipe cleaner to get those re-usable straws that come with plastic cups clean.

If you leave a coke somewhere and it goes flat, pour it in the toilet instead of the drain. It actually cleans porcelain quite well.

put a little ordinary liquid fabric softener onto a facecloth or J cloth and throw it in the dryer instead of buying the fabric softener sheets.

Hang wrinkled clothes in the bathroom while taking a hot shower to steam the wrinkles out.

To avoid watering down your favorite beverage on a hot day, make ice cubes using the same beverage.

Walmart sells these slippers with mop strands built into the soles so you can scrub the floors while you wander around in your housecoat.

Walmart sells these slippers with mop strands built into the soles so you can scrub the floors while you wander around in your housecoat.

totally worthless tip without pic of Aesir in his housecoat and mop feet.