- Plant soil should be kept moist at all times. Plants should not be allowed to dry out or wilt. However, avoid over watering; don’t allow plants to stand in water. Avoid wetting leaves to prevent leaf from being weakened and torn.
- Your red shirt got mixed in with other clothes and ruined them? Don’t dry them! Wash again with detergent and color-safe bleach to prevent color-bleeding in the first place, wash in cold water and add a cup of salt with every load in the washing machine.
- Chemicals can damage metals and precious gems. Apply hair spray, make up or perfume before you put on your jewelry.
- Here’s a jewelry care tip: Put a piece of chalk in your jewelry box to keep your jewelry from tarnishing.
- Packages tied with string will stay tied if you wet the string before tying. As the string dries, it shrinks snugly around the package.
- To prevent “amag” or mold from growing on your leather goods, keep your leather clean and dry when stocking them. Make sure the area where you store your shoes and bags is clean and free from humidity. Air out your leather goods once in a while.
- Your sofa is an important furniture in your home. If part of your sofa is stained ‘tamp’ the area with water. Tamping means hitting the stain with the bristles as opposed to scrubbing it which does less damage to the fibers.
- To prevent wax from sticking inside the candle holder, pour a bit of water into the holder then place the candle on top. If you forgot the water and the wax is stuck t the candle holder, put it in the freezer for an hour, the wax will chip right off.
- Glass windows may be a bit tricky to clean. Even cleaning products sometimes leave traces on the glass surface. If windows are very dirty, add 2-3 tbsps of vinegar per 4 liters of water. Drying windows with a wad of crumpled newspaper works well and saves on kitchen towel.
- Here’s a floor care tip: If you have wooden floor, never soak the floor as it will cause the wood to swell and then crack. Place protector pads on furniture legs. Beware of shoe heels and pet claws. Use a pencil eraser to remove black heel marks on the floors.
- Hardened, stuck-on food in pots and pans is hard to remove. Here’s a trick: Fill the dirty pans with water. Add a few drops of fabric conditioner. Let soak overnight. The food will wipe off easily in the morning.
- Get rid of deodorant stain. Sponge white vinegar on the underarm of your clothes. Soak overnight with detergent. Then wash with warm water.
- Going to a big party or reunion and you suddenly discover that your mascara has dried up after a long time of not using it? Here's what you can do to soften it again. Immerse mascara in a mug filled with hot water. Let it stay there for a few minutes and soon it will be ready to use again.
- To increase the life of your pantyhose or stockings, dip them in a mixture of water and starch (7 cups of water and ? cup of starch) for several minutes. Squeeze out excess liquid and allow it to dry. If it's not too late to salvage your pantyhose, don't throw it away just yet. You can use it as cleaning wad for mirrors and other delicate items to prevent scratching. It can also be used as a polishing cloth for furniture or leather.
- Kids are naturally active. That's why it's only natural that from time to time they'll get scratches and bruises. Here are inexpensive remedies for bruises: Rub half an onion on the bruised area. You can also try rubbing oatmeal or Vitamin E for quicker healing.
- To remove blood stains in your mattress, mix 1 tbsp of salt with 250ml water. Tip the mattress on its side and dab the stain with a clean cloth dipped in a salt solution till the stain disappears. Blow dry the mattress.
- Keep your memories intact. If you have an old album with photographs in it, you can help preserve them by layering each page with acid-free tissue or photographic conservation paper which can be found in art and office supply stores.
- For an easy way to remove the stain in your toilet bowl, pour a can of fizzy cola in it. Leave it for an hour or so to ensure that the hard water marks will be removed, then flush.
- White vinegar is an all-around cleaner. You can even use them to clean your bathroom, especially to remove build up in your shower head. Here's how: Unclog showerheads by first dismantling them and then soaking them for 20 minutes in vinegar.
- Did your kid's playmates leave water marks all over your wooden floor and furniture? To get rid of these watermarks, apply mayonnaise on a soft cloth or toothpaste on a damp cloth and dab on the watermark.
- When chewing gum gets stuck on your clothes, an effective way to remove it would be to run an ice cube over the area (which will allow the gum to harden) and make it easy to peel off.
- Here's a quick and handy tip for solving the problem of creaking doors. Grab a normal lead/graphite pencil and go over all the joints in your hinges. Work the door back and forward a few times and repeat the whole process. The graphite in the pencil lubricates the brass or iron without corroding it.
(These are some of SMS subscription collected through the years)