Notabilia

Miscellaneous

Nifty Knacks

76 through 100

76. Before removing a stain from a rug.
    Before attempting to remove a stain from a rug, press some absorbent kitchen paper on the stain to remove any liquid. New stains can be removed with ammonia or with detergent for washing by hand dissolved in water. Rub the foam into the stain making sure to rub in all directions so the pile is moved around. If the rug has never been washed before, try the detergent out first on a test patch somewhere under a piece of furniture to make sure that the colour does not run.

77. After removing a stain from a rug.
    When you have removed a stain from your rug, cover the area with a clean towel and put a thick book on the towel. Leave it for as long as possible so that the towel can absorb all the moisture. A stain can sink to the bottom of a rug and then rise up the pile, but the towel you apply will absorb everything so the annoying stain will not re-appear.

78. Decorate glasses before serving drinks.
    Put a sweet tasting decoration on your glasses before serving aperitifs in them! Place a little fresh orange or lemon juice in a bowl and  put some icing sugar in another bowl. Dip the rim of each glass in the fruit juice and then in the icing sugar. Leave the glasses in the freezer for a while to fix the decoration, then fill with aperitif and... serve.

79. Saute with sugar.
    Have you decided to saute carrots and onions to serve as an accompaniment to a roast? Coat them in a little icing sugar before you saute them and they will turn appetisingly golden. They will look delightful and, of course, taste even more delightful.

80. More endives?
    So you like endives, but are you going to serve them boiled again? Try baking them slowly in a little butter, lemon juice and a dessertspoonful of icing sugar.

81. Last minute sauce.
    Everything is ready except for the sauce to go with the roast. Your guests will be arriving at any moment... and now you discover that you have no white wine to make the sauce! Dissolve a little vinegar in some water, add two teaspoonfuls of sugar and... there is your substitute for wine! Your sauce will be as tasty as ever.

82. Stop your teapot smelling.
    Your teapot has been sitting on a shelf all summer and autumn and now that you want to use it, it smells. Your teapot will never smell if you leave a sugar cube in the bottom, no matter how long it stays on the shelf.

83. Cleaning narrow necked vessels.
    If your vase or crystal decanter has a narrow neck so you can't get your hand inside to clean it, don't worry. Put a handful of coarse salt in it and add vinegar and hot water. Shake it vigorously up and down. The salt will scour the right places and get rid of scale. Rinse well and your vase or decanter will be clean and shiny again.

84. Problems with mould.
    Your loft or a wardrobe on an outside wall gets damp and has an unpleasant smell. Things kept there are in danger of going mouldy. Overcome this problem by hanging a dozen or so pieces of chalk somewhere in the wardrobe. The chalk absorbs damp like magic and your clothes or books will no longer smell musty.

85. Coffee stains on the mattress.
    Sunday morning coffee in bed sometimes means you get coffee stains on the mattress. As washing a mattress is by no means easy, spread a thick paste made of flour and water on the stain. Let it dry out thoroughly and then scrape it off with a knife. The stain will disappear with the flour.

86. If you find the smell of moth balls annoying.
    If you find the smell of moth balls annoying, beat moths with cloves instead! Cloves are quite an effective spice. Put a few cloves inside small bags made of tulle and hang them in your wardrobes or put 1 or 2 cloves in your coat pockets and moths won't come near them again.

87. Blocked drains.
    You will never have problems with blocked drains if you pour some hot vinegar down your sink once a week.

88. Magnetise dust.
    Soak dusters in a solution of one part water to one part glycerine, wring them out and leave to dry. Then they will attract dust like a magnet, not leave it floating around in the air. Your furniture will shine too, all in one fell swoop.

89. Sewing buttons.
    If you are sick and tired of sewing buttons on the family's clothes, try this very effective trick. Paint a little clear nail polish on the thread that buttons are anchored with. The thread will be a lot more durable and the buttons won't be for everlasting dropping off.

90. When there's boiled rice left over.
    Don't you know what to do with left-over boiled rice? Make some chicken soup with stock cubes, add the rice and beat in an egg. Or mix it up with raw or boiled vegetables and a little sweet corn to make a rice salad.

91. Dirty door knobs.
    The door knob on the children's room or the kitchen is very dirty and you are having a terrible time trying to clean it. Dip a cloth in detergent, wrap it round the door knob and hold it in place with an elastic band. Leave it for an hour. Rub a little and all the gunge will come off very easily.

92. Cleaning the oven.
    When food has splashed on the sides of the oven or spilt onto the oven floor and made it dirty, sprinkle plenty of salt on the dirty patches while the oven is still hot. When the oven cools down a wipe over with a wettex cloth will leave it clean and shiny.

93. When food is slightly burnt or sticks to the pan.
    Does food ever catch slightly when you are cooking? Does it sometimes stick to the saucepan? Does milk sometimes stick to the pan when you are making custard for the children? Whenever there's a problem with the bottom of a saucepan, there's one sure solution. Peel an onion, cut it into rings and put them in the poor saucepan with plenty of water. Add a teaspoonful of salt and put the saucepan on the hotplate. Bring the water to the boil 2 or 3 times and then turn the heat off and leave to soak until the next day. You will then be able to clean your saucepan in the normal way. It will come spotlessly clean without any trouble at all.

94. Limescale in the electric jug.
    Limescale that accumulates in your electric jug detracts from its performance so that water takes longer to boil and it uses more electricity. Clean it by filling to 2/3 of its capacity with equal parts of water and vinegar. Switch on. Leave it with the water and vinegar in it for quite a few hours. Rinse out well, fill with water, switch on and as soon as the water boils, empty it and rinse once more. Now it is clean as a whistle and ready to use again.

95. Sharpen metal graters.
    Sharpen metal graters (cheese graters etc) by rubbing them with sandpaper. Rinse thoroughly before re-using. And when you use them again watch your fingers because sandpaper makes graters very sharp again.

96. Repel ants.
    Get rid of ants from your cupboards by generously sprinkling talcum powder in the bottom. These busy little insects hate talcum powder and will go back whence they came.

97. Using cling film.
    If you use cling film for a variety of purposes, keep the roll in the fridge. You will be surprised at the ease with which you can tear off the length you need, without it sticking to your fingers or to itself.

98. Black heel marks on vinyl tiles.
    Remove those black marks that heels leave on vinyl floor tiles by rubbing them with a little toothpaste on a soft cloth.

99. The chopping board.
    If the wooden board you use to cut bread or vegetables on ever smells of fish, first rub it well with mustard powder, then leave it for a few minutes to allow the powder to work, and finally give the board a good rinse.

100. Get rid of flies.
     Parsley is the best thing for keeping flies away, as they can't stand the smell. So when windows are open and flies come and go as they please, keep them out of your kitchen by planting parsley in pots and putting the pots on the kitchen window sill.