Old-Fashioned Household Tips

Troublesome Ants

A
heavy chalk mark laid a finger's distance from your sugar box and all
around (there must be no space not covered) will surely prevent ants
from troubling.

To Drive Off Fleas

Sprinkle about area a few drops of oil of lavender.

To Keep Flies Off Items

Boil three or four onions in a pint of water and apply with a soft brush, let dry.

To Prevent Lost Children

Label children's hats, scarves, etc., with the name and place of residence so that, if lost, they may be easily restored.

To Soften Hard Water

Hard water becomes nearly soft by boiling.

Household Tips

Coal Ashes For Walking On

Make excellent garden walks with coal ashes. They become very hard by use, and no weeds or grass will grow through them.

To Temper Glass

Lamp
chimneys and glassware for hot water are made less liable to break by
putting in cold water, bringing slowly to boiling point, boiling for an
hour, and allowing to cool before removing from the water.

To Start A Fire In Damp, Still Weather

Light
a few bits of shavings or paper placed upon the top of grate; thus by
the heated air's forcing itself into the chimney and establishing there
an upward current, the room is kept free from the gas and smoke which
is so apt to fill it, and the fire can then be lighted from below with
good success.

To Preserve Old Books

Bindings
may be preserved from mildew by brushing them over with spirits of
wine. A few drops of perfumed oil will secure libraries from the
consuming effects of mold and damp. The Romans used oil of cedar to
preserve valuable manuscripts.

To Hang Pictures

The
cheapest and best material with which to hang pictures is copper wire,
of a size proportioned to the weight of the pictures. When hung the
wire is scarcely visible, and its strength and durability is wonderful.

Household Tips

Finish For Room

A
room with plain white walls is finished beautifully by placing a black
walnut (or the same wood with which the room is finished) molding,
around the room where the border of paper is usually placed, at the
junction of wall and ceiling. The molding, finished in oil, is easily
put up. The upper edge should be rounded, and a space of a quarter inch
left between it and the ceiling.

To hang pictures, buy an "S"
hook, sold at all hardware stores, place one hook over the molding,
hang the picture cord on the other, and slip to the right or left to
the desired position. This saves the wall from injury for picture nails.

Laying Carpets

A
carpet wears better if put down well, and it is better to have it done
by experienced persons when the expense can be afforded and such help
can be had.

Stair Carpets

They
will wear much longer if extra thicknesses of paper are placed over the
edge of each stair, the full width of the carpet, before fastening down.

A Cheap Carpet

Make
a cover for the floor of the cheapest cotton cloth. Tack it down like a
carpet, paper it as you would a wall with paper resembling a carpet in
figures, let it dry, varnish with two coats of varnish, and with
reasonable usage it will last two years.

Household Tips

To Soften Corks

When corks are too large to go into a bottle, throw them into hot water a few moments, and they will soften.

To Keep Cutlery From Rust

Wipe dry, and wrap in coarse brown paper.

To Prevent Iron Rust

Kerosine applied to stoves or farming implements, during summer, will prevent their rusting.

To Destroy Cockroaches

The
following is said to be effectual: These vermin are easily destroyed,
simply by cutting up green cucumbers at night, and placing them about
where roaches commit depredations. What is cut from the cucumbers in
preparing them for the table answers the purpose as well, and three
applications will destroy all the roaches in the house. Remove the
peelings in the morning, and renew them at night.

To Banish Rats Or Mice

Sprinkling cayenne pepper in their holes will banish them.

Household Tips

Everlasting Fence Posts

I
discovered many years ago that wood could be made to last longer than
iron in the ground, but thought the process so simple and inexpensive
that it was not worthwhile making any stir about it.

I would as
soon have poplar, basswood, or quaking ash as any other kind of timber
for fence posts. I have taken out basswood posts after having been set
seven years, which were as sound when taken out as when they were first
put in the ground. Time and weather seemed to have no effect on them.
The posts can be prepared for less than two cents a piece [circa 1860].

This
is the recipe: Take boiled linseed oil and stir it in pulverized
charcoal to the consistency of paint. Put a coat of this over the
timber, and there is not a man that will live to see it rotten.

Honey Uses

Honey is good for sore throat; also good for bee stings.

To Treat Neuralgia

For neuralgia nothing is better than a muslin bag filled with hot salt.

For headache

2 or 3 slices of lemon in a cup of strong tea will cure a nervous headache.

For Bilious Headache

A teaspoon full of lemon juice in a small cup of black coffee will relieve a bilious headache.

Household Tips

To Mend A Crack On Inside Of Kitchen Range

Use
a filling made of equal parts of wood ashes and common salt, made up
into paste with a little water, and plastered over the crack. This will
prove hard and lasting whether the stove, etc., be cold or hot.

To Keep Out Red Ants

A small quantity of green sage placed in a pantry will keep out red ants.

To Cure A Burn

Cut open and scrape a raw potato, bind on burn. Repeat if burning sensation returns.

Cure For Hiccoughs

Sit
erect and inflate the lungs fully. Then, retaining the breath, bend
forward slowly until the chest meets the knees. After slowly rising
again to the erect position, slowly exhale the breath. Repeat this
process a second time, and the nerves will be found to have received an
excess of energy that will enable them to perform their natural
functions.

Flowers May Be Kept Very Fresh Overnight

If
they are excluded from the air. To do this, wet them thoroughly, put in
a damp box, and cover with wet newspaper, then place in a cool spot.

Household Tips

To Clean Hands

Tomato juice will remove stains from and whiten the hands.

To Keep Bar Soap

For
this household tip to work with modern soap, you must first remove the
bars of soap from their wrappers and allow them to dry out. Not only do
the dry bars last longer, but they leave less of a soap residue in the
soap dish. This tip works!

It is a great saving to have bars of soap dry. Dry, hard bars will last longer when used. It should be bought by the quantity.

To Soften Hands

Mutton
tallow is considered excellent to soften the hands. It may be rubbed on
at any time when the hands are perfectly dry. Another good rule is to
rub well in dry oatmeal after every washing, and be particular
regarding the quantity of soap. Cheap soap and hard water are the
unknown enemies of many people, and the cause of rough skin and chapped
hands. Castile soap and rain water will sometimes cure without any
other assistance.

To Soften Hands After Soapsuds

One
can have the hands in soapsuds with soft soap without injury to the
skin if the hands are dipped in vinegar or lemon juice immediately
after. The acids destroy the corrosive effects of the alkali, and make
the hands soft and white.

To Soften Hands Where Roughened

Indian
meal and vinegar or lemon juice used on hands where roughened by cold
or labor will heal and soften them. Rub the hands in this, then wash
off thoroughly.

Household Tips

To Prevent Wooden Bedsteads Creaking

If a bedstead creaks at each movement of the sleeper, remove the slats, and wrap the ends of each in old newspapers.

To Prevent The Cracking Of Bottles And Fruit Jars

If
a bottle or fruit jar that has been more than once used is placed on a
towel thoroughly soaked in hot water, there is little danger of its
being cracked by the introduction of a hot liquid.

To Preserve Oil Cloth

If oil cloth be occasionally rubbed with a mixture of beeswax and turpentine, it will last longer.

Packing Glass Bottles

India-rubber bands slipped over them will prevent breakage.

To Remove Putty

A red-hot iron will soften old putty so that it can be easily removed.

Household Tips

To Make Rag Rugs

Cut
rags and sew hit and miss, or fancy-striped as you choose; use wooden
needles, round, smooth, and pointed at one end, of any convenient
length. The knitting is done back and forth, always taking off the
first stitch. --Anna F. Hisey

To Make A Rustic Picture Frame

A
neat, rustic frame for pictures may be made of cattail rods. Hide the
corners where they are joined with handsome autumn leaves and the
berries of bittersweet.

To Make An Ant Trap

Procure
a large natural sponge, wash it well and press it dry, which will leave
the cells quite open; then sprinkle it with fine white sugar, and place
it near where the ants are troublesome. The ants will soon collect upon
the sponge and take up their abode in its cells. It is then only
necessary to dip the sponge in boiling water, when the ants will be
destroyed, and it may be set over and over again.

To send Messages in Cypher

This household tip is great for keeping kids busy playing spies on a rainy day.

Any
document written in cypher, by which signs are substituted for letters,
or even for words, is liable to be deciphered. The following plans are
free from such objection:

The correspondents select two copies
of the same edition of a book, the word to be used is designated by
figures referring to the page, line, and number of the word in the line.

Or,
the message may be written on a slip of paper wound spirally around a
rod of wood; these can only be deciphered by bringing them into their
original position, by wrapping around a second rod of the same size.

Household Tips

Castor Oil as a Dressing for Leather

Castor
oil, besides being an excellent dressing for leather, renders it
vermin-proof; it should be mixed, say half and half, with tallow or
other oil. Neither rats, roaches, nor other vermin will attack leather
so prepared.

Substitute for a Corkscrew

This old household tip might come in handy sometime when you find yourself without a corkscrew.

A
convenient substitute for a corkscrew, when the latter is not at hand,
may be found in the use of a common wood screw, with an attached string
to pull the cork.

Another: Stick two forks vertically into the
cork on opposite sides, not too near the edge. Run the blade of a knife
through the two, and give a twist.

Another: Fill the hollow at
the bottom of the bottle with a handkerchief or towel; grasp the neck
with one hand, and strike firmly and steadily with the other upon the
handkerchief.

To Keep Up Sash Windows

This
is performed by means of cork, in the simplest manner, and with
scarcely any expense. Bore 3 or 4 holes in the sides of the sash, into
which insert common bottle cork, projecting about the sixteenth part of
an inch. These will press against the window frames along the usual
groove, and by their elasticity support the sash at any height which
may be required.

To Repel Moths

Instead
of moth balls, try using dried lavender blossoms, dried mint leaves, or
cedar shavings (the kind available as pet bedding works well). The
odors of these natural materials are pleasant, yet they repel moths,
and there are no dangers involved as with moth balls.

Moth balls
are poisonous and are considered a pesticide. Avoid inhaling moth ball
fumes and do not use them around young children and pets.

Old-Fashioned White Wash Recipe

7-1/2
lbs unslaked lime, 1-1/2 lbs rock salt, 3/4 lbs cement. Dissolve salt
in 1 gallon of cold water. Pour the salt solution on the lime. Next add
1-1/2 gallons of water to the lime slowly allowing it to slake (it will
get very hot). Finally, sprinkle the cement on a little at a time and
stir mixture thoroughly. Be sure to apply this wash while it is still
hot.

The white wash will take about 2 days to harden, but after
it hardens it will withstand almost any amount of rain or washing.
Warning: Do not spill this mixture on your skin or clothing. It gets
very hot, and lime will burn.

Household Tips

For A Flower Bowl

Cut
a piece of stiff paper the shape and size of the top of an ordinary
bowl. Cut holes in it, as many as desired, for the stems of real or
artificial flowers. Fit paper in bowl and put flower stems through
holes.

To Make Rice Glue

Mix
rice flour smoothly with cold water, and simmer it over a slow fire,
when it will form a delicate and durable cement, not only answering all
the purposes of common paste, but well adapted for joining paper and
card board ornamental work. Rice glue is excellent for use in
scrapbooks.

Economy In Carpets

In
buying a carpet, as in everything else, those of the best quality are
cheapest in the end. As it is extremely desirable that they should look
as clean as possible, avoid buying a carpet that has any white in it.
Even a small portion of white interspersed through the pattern will in
a short time give it a dingy appearance.

If you cannot obtain a
hearth rug that exactly corresponds with the carpet, get one entirely
different, for a decided contrast looks better than a bad match.

Old-Time Cooking Tips

Slicing Pineapples

The
knife used for peeling a pineapple should not be used for slicing it,
as the rind contains an acid that is apt to cause a swollen mouth and
sore lips. The Cubans use salt as an antidote for the ill effects of
the peel.

To Sweeten Milk

Milk which is slightly turned or changed may be sweetened and rendered fit for use again by stirring in a little baking soda.

To Scald Milk

Put
in top of double boiler, having water boiling in under part. Cover, and
let stand on top of range until milk around edge of double boiler has a
bead-like appearance.

To Prevent Milk Curdling

A pinch of soda stirred into milk that is to be boiled will prevent curdling.

To Preserve Milk

A spoonful of grated horseradish will keep a pan of milk sweet for days.

To Keep Milk Sweet

Milk will keep sweet longer in a shallow pan than in a pitcher.

Cream For Emergencies

A good substitute for cream can be made with fresh milk, a little butter and flour.

To Test Nutmegs

Prick them with a pin; if good, the oil will instantly spread around the puncture.

Grating Nutmegs

Always grate nutmegs at the blossom end first.

To Caramelize Sugar

Put
sugar in a smooth granite saucepan or omelet pan, place over hot part
of range, and stir constantly until melted and of the color of maple
syrup. Care must be taken to prevent sugar from adhering to sides of
pan or spoon.

Cooking Tips

To Make Caramel

Continue
the caramelization of sugar until syrup is quite brown and a whitish
smoke arises from it. Add an equal quantity of boiling water, and
simmer until of the consistency of a thick syrup. Of use in coloring
soups, sauces, etc.

To Blanch Almonds

Cover
Jordan almonds with boiling water and let stand two minutes; drain, put
into cold water, and rub off the skins. Dry between towels.

To Shred Almonds

Cut blanched almonds in thin strips lengthwise of the nut.

To Make Macaroon Dust

Dry macaroons, pound and sift.

To Shell Chestnuts

Cut
a half-inch gash on flat sides and put in an omelet pan, allowing
one-half teaspoon butter to each cup chestnuts. Shake over range until
butter is melted. Put in oven and let stand five minutes. Remove from
oven, and with a small knife take off shells. By this method shelling
and blanching is accomplished at the same time, as skins adhere to
shells.

To Add Flavoring Extracts And Wine

They
should be added if possible to a mixture when cold. If added while
mixture is hot, much of the goodness passes off with the steam.

To Prevent Salt From Lumping

Mix with cornstarch, allowing one teaspoon cornstarch to six teaspoons salt.

After Broiling Or Frying

If any fat has spattered on range, wipe surface at once with newspaper.

Using Bread Crumbs For Pastry

This old cooking tip makes a tasty dessert.

Many
puddings that are commonly baked in a crust, such as coconut, potato,
apple, and lemon, are equally as good and more wholesome, made by
strewing grated bread crumbs over a buttered pie plate or pudding dish
to the usual depth of crust; pour in the pudding filling, strew another
layer of bread crumbs over the top, and bake.

Keeping Coffee

Keep coffee by itself, as its odor affects other articles.

Cooking Tips

To Keep Oranges And Lemons

They keep best wrapped in soft paper, and, if possible, laid in a wooden drawer.

To Keep Apples

They keep in dry place, as cool as possible without freezing.

When Baking Pies, Cakes, Cookies, Etc.

A bowl containing two quarts of water, set in an oven when baking, will prevent pies, cakes, cookies, etc., from being scorched.

To Store Flour

Keep flour cool, dry, and securely covered.

Gathering Herbs

Gather herbs when beginning to blossom; keep in paper sacks.

Cake Icing Tip

A pinch of soda in your icing will keep it moist and prevent its cracking on the cake.

To Prevent Pots From Boiling Over

Rub butter or lard on the rim of a pot, and it won't boil over readily.

To Cure Salty Soup

A raw potato added to the soup will absorb the extra salt.

Oatmeal

One-third cup of dry oatmeal in buckwheat cakes takes away the raw taste and makes cakes flaky.

To Dry Herbs

Dry
the gathered crop, thinly spread out and shaded from the sun, tie the
herbs in small bundles, and keep them compactly pressed down and
covered with white paper; or, after drying them, put each sort into a
small box, and by means of boards fitted in it, and a screw-press,
press the herbs into cakes or little trusses. These should be
afterwards carefully wrapped up in paper and be kept in a dry place,
when they will retain their aroma as perfectly as when they were put
into the press, for at least three years. By the common method of
hanging up herbs in loose bundles the odor soon escapes.

Cooking Tips

To Prevent A Tough Omelet

A little boiling water added to an omelet as it thickens will prevent it being tough.

To Cut Hard-Boiled Eggs

To cut hard-boiled eggs in smooth slices, dip the knife first in water.

To Prevent Heavy Cake And Breads

Much of the heavy cake and bread is the result of the oven door being slammed. Close as gently as possible.

To Cut Potatoes

An empty tin baking powder can makes a good cutter for slaw or potatoes.

To Make Fowl Tender

A little vinegar in the water will help make tender an old fowl when cooking.

To Keep Bread Sweet

A pinch of ginger will keep bread sweet.

To Beat White Of Egg Quicker

A pinch of salt will make the white of an egg beaten quicker.

To Prevent Scorching

Salt placed under baking tins in oven will prevent contents from scorching.

To Remove Cake From Pan

If cake sticks to the pan, set it on a wet cloth 5 minutes and cake can be removed.

To Remove Odor From Oven

If juice from pies runs out in oven, salt sprinkled on juice will remove the odor and smoke.

Cooking Tips

To Peel Oranges

This old-time cooking tip can be used with a microwave oven, but only heat for a few seconds.

Heat oranges a few minutes in oven before peeling, then the white inner skin will come off with the rind.

To Make Tough Meat Tender

Lay it a few minutes in a strong vinegar water.

Salt will Curdle New Milk

Hence, in preparing porridge, gravies, sauces, etc., the salt should not be added until the dish is prepared.

To Keep Fresh Meat

Never allow fresh meat to remain in paper; it absorbs the juices.

To Prevent Odor Of Boiling Ham Or Cabbage

Throw red pepper pods or a few bits of charcoal into the pan they are cooking in.

To Prevent Mold on the Top of Glasses of Jelly

Just
lay a lump of paraffin wax on the top of the hot jelly, letting it melt
and spread over it. If preferred, the paraffin can be melted and poured
over after the jelly is cold.

To Prevent Burning Saucepan

To
prevent burning saucepan when boiling milk, sprinkle bottom of the pan
with granulated sugar. Let it get hot, then pour in the milk. It also
keeps milk from boiling over.

To Keep Syrup From Crystallizing

A pinch of soda added to any boiled syrup will keep it from crystallizing.

When Squeezing Lemons

Heat lemons well before squeezing and there will be double the quantity of juice.

To Keep Salt From Sticking

A few grains of rice placed in the bottom of a salt cellar will keep salt from sticking in damp weather.

Cooking Tips

To Cook Cranberries

Add one-quarter teaspoon soda to cranberries while cooking and they will not require much sugar.

When Baking Fruit Pies

To
keep juice from running out of fruit pies, insert a small cornucopia of
white note paper into the center of the pie so that it is about twice
the height of the pie.

To Separate Eggs

When
separating eggs, if you drop a portion of egg yolk into the whites,
moisten a cloth with cold water, touch to the yolk, and it will adhere
to it.

To Make Fancy-Shaped Sandwiches

Cut bread for fancy sandwiches lengthwise instead of across the loaf and there is less waste.

After Freezing Ice Cream

Empty remaining cracked ice into sack; ice will melt, leaving salt which can be used again.

To Secure Dishes On Ice

Place rubber ring from fruit jar under dishes. Ring will adhere to both ice and dish.

Preventing Custard Pie Shrinking

When
a custard pie shrinks from the crust, it has been baked in too hot an
oven. The oven should be hot for the first eight or ten minutes, in
order to bake the pastry so that it will not become soaked with liquid.
Then reduce the heat or the custard will boil.

Testing Eggs For Freshness

If
an egg is strictly fresh it will, when placed in a pan of water, lie on
its side at the bottom of the pan. If stale, it will stand on end, and
if very old, it will rise to the surface.

To Remove Cooking Odors From Hands

Wash hands and before drying them rub on about 1 teaspoon of dry mustard powder.

Baking Apples

Prick the skin of the apples and they will cook without bursting.

Cooking Tips

To Remove Cooking Odor

Should
food become burnt while in the process of cooking, sprinkle two or
three coffee grains over the hot stove or element. The fragrance of the
burning coffee will kill the burning smell.

Cooking Pancakes

Dip the spoon in milk or water and the pancake batter will drop off the spoon easily.

To Slice Potatoes

First hold the paring knife over a hot stove or in boiling water and the potatoes will slice easily.

Beating Egg Whites

Never beat eggs in an aluminum pan, as it is sure to darken them.

Cake Icing Tip

A wee pinch of salt will stop icing from going sugary.

Butter Icing Tip

Add tablespoon of flour in butter icing to prevent melting.

An article by homemade-dessert-recipes.com

Old-Fashioned, House Cleaning Tips

To Ventilate a Room

Place
a pitcher of cold water on a table in your room and it will absorb all
the gasses with which the room is filled from the respiration of those
eating or sleeping in the room. Very few realize how important such
purification is for the health of the family, or, indeed, understand or
realize that there can be any impurity in the rooms; yet in a few hours
a pitcher or pail of cold water -- the colder the more effective --
will make the air of a room pure, but the water will be entirely unfit
for use.

To Remove Odors From Ice Box, Cupboard Or Pantry

Fill a dish with boiling water and drop in a piece of charcoal.

To Remove Onion Odor

To
remove the odor of onions from saucepans in which they have been
cooked, put sal soda [baking soda], fill with water, and let it stand
on the stove until it boils; then wash in hot suds, and rinse well.

To Remove Bad Smells

Articles
of clothing, or of any other character, which have become impregnated
with bad-smelling substances, will be freed from them by burying for a
day or two in the ground. Wrap up lightly before burying.

To Wash Glassware

Use a little ammonia in dishwater when washing glassware; it will make it sparkle like cut glass.

Tumblers Which Have Contained Milk

Should be first rinsed in cold water before washing in hot water.

House Cleaning Tips

Stain on Spoons From Boiled Egg

Remove stain by rubbing with a little salt.

To Cleanse a Sponge

Rub
a fresh lemon thoroughly into soured sponge and rinse it several times
in lukewarm water; it will become as sweet as when new.

Care of Oil Paintings

Gently wash the picture, when necessary, in sweet milk and warm water, drying carefully.

To Clean A Papered Wall

Cut
into eight pieces a large loaf of bread two days old, blow dust off
wall, rub down with a piece of the bread in half-yard strokes,
beginning at the top of room, until upper part is cleaned, then go
round again, repeating until all has been gone over. If done correctly,
so that every spot is touched, the paper will look almost new. Dry corn
meal may be used in place of bread, applying it with a cloth.

Wallpaper Cleaner

1
quart flour, 1-1/2 tablespoons powdered alum mixed dry, add cold water,
let cook ten minutes, work on board, add a little flour if necessary.
It should be like rubber. Take small bits and rub over paper.

To Clean Looking Glasses and Windows

This house cleaning tip works even better if a little vinegar is added to the water.

Divide
a newspaper in two, fold up one half in a small square, wet it in cold
water. Rub the glass first with the wet half of the paper, and dry it
with the other. Using this simple window cleaning tip, fly specks and
all other marks will disappear as if by magic.

House Cleaning Tips

To Remove Varnish From Glass

To remove varnish from glass use sal soda [baking soda].

Plate Glass and Mirrors

A soft cloth wet in alcohol, is excellent to wipe off plate glass and mirrors, and prevents their becoming frosty in winter.

To Clean Hearths

Soapstone
or sandstone hearths are cleaned by washing in pure water, then
sprinkling with powdered marble or soapstone, and rubbing with a piece
of the stone as large as a brick, and having at least one flat surface.

The Care of Marble

Never
wash the marble tops of wash stands, bureaus, etc., with soap. Use
clean warm water (if very much soiled add a little ammonia) and a soft
cloth drying immediately with a soft towel. There is nothing that will
entirely remove grease spots from marble, hence, the necessity of
avoiding them.

To clean marble or marbleized slate mantles, use
a soft sponge or chamois skin, dampened in clean warm water without
soap, then polish with dry chamois skin. In dusting, use a feather
duster, and never a cloth, as it is likely to scratch the polished
surface.

Slate Hearths

Are
preferable to marble, as they are not so easily soiled. To wash them,
use a clean cloth and warm water. Many oil them thoroughly when new
with linseed oil; thus prepared they never show grease spots.

To Store Brooms

Hang in the cellar way to keep soft and pliant.

House Cleaning Tips

To Preserve Brooms

Dip
them for a minute or two in a kettle of boiling suds once a week and
they will last much longer, making them tough and pliable. A carpet
wears much longer swept with a broom cared for in this manner.

To Clean a Copper Kettle

Keep
an old dish with sour milk and a cloth in it, wash the kettle with
this, afterward washing off with clear water, and it will look bright
and new. Instead of sour milk, you could try using buttermilk.

To Clean Brass Kettles

When
much discolored, put in a half pint of vinegar and a handful of salt,
put on stove, let come to a boil, take cloth, wash thoroughly, and
rinse out with water. If using every day, the salt and vinegar and
rinsing are sufficient.

To Prevent Rust on Knives

Steel
knives which are not in general use may be kept from rusting if they
are dipped in a strong solution of soda: one part water to four of
soda; then wipe dry, roll in a flannel and keep in a dry place.

To Clean Stained Knives

Cut
a good-sized, solid, raw potato in two; dip the flat surface in
powdered brick dust, and rub the knife blades. Stains and rust will
disappear. Or rub up and down in the ground.

To Clean Wooden Furniture

An
old cabinet maker says the best preparation for cleaning picture frames
and restoring furniture, especially that somewhat marred or scratched,
is a mixture of three parts linseed oil and one part spirits of
turpentine. It not only covers the disfigured surface, but restores the
wood to its natural color, and leaves a luster upon its surface. Put on
with a woolen cloth, and when dry, rub with woolen.

House Cleaning Tips

To Take White Spots From Varnished Furniture

Hold a hot stove lid or iron over them and they will soon disappear.

To Remove Bruises on Furniture

Wet
the part in warm water; double a piece of brown paper five or six
times, soak in warm water, and lay it on the place; apply on that a
warm, but not hot, flat iron till the moisture is evaporated. If the
bruise is not gone repeat the process. After two or three applications,
the dent will be raised to the surface. If the bruise be small, merely
soak it with warm water, and hold a red-hot iron near the surface
keeping the surface continually wet; the bruise will soon disappear.

To Wash Oil Cloth Or Linoleum

Sweet
milk added to the water with which oil cloth or linoleum is washed will
make it luster like new. To clean oil cloth, rub with sweet milk.

Cleaning Oil Cloths

A
dingy oil cloth may be brightened by washing it in clear water with a
little borax dissolved in it; wipe it with a flannel cloth that you
have dipped into milk and then wring as dry as possible.

To Remove Grease Spots from Carpets

Cover
spots with fine flour and then pin a thick paper over; repeat the
process several times, each time brushing off the old flour into a
dustpan and putting on fresh.

To Brighten Carpets

This house cleaning tip works good when using a vacuum cleaner.

Carpets
after the dust has been beaten out may be brightened by scattering upon
them corn meal mixed with salt and then sweeping it off. Mix salt and
meal in equal proportions.

House Cleaning Tips

To Prevent Carpet Stains From Soot

Salt thrown on soot which has fallen on the carpet will prevent stains.

To Remove Stains From Hands

If
the hands are stained there is nothing that will remove the stains as
well as lemon. Cut a lemon in halves and apply the cut surface as if it
were soap.

To Clean Ink Stains From Fingers

To clean ink stains from fingers, rub spots with a match, then wash in soap.

To Remove Tea Stains From China

Salt and vinegar will remove tea stains from china.

To Prevent Greasy Dishwater

Add a tablespoon of ammonia to dishwater and it will not become greasy.

To Clean Unvarnished Black Walnut

Milk, sour or sweet, well rubbed in with an old, soft flannel, will make black walnut look new.

House Cleaning Tips

A Good Way to Clean Mica In Stoves

To
clean mica in a stove that has become blackened with smoke, take it
out, and thoroughly wash it with vinegar. If the black does not come
off at once, let it soak a little.

To Clean Cut Glass

Gently scrub with a small brush and soapy water containing a little ammonia.

To Clean Ivory Ornaments

When
ivory ornaments become yellow or dusky, wash them well in soap and
water with a small soft brush, to clean the carvings, and then place
them, while wet, in the sunshine. Wet them with soapy water for two or
three days, several times a day, still keeping them in the sunshine,
then wash them again, and they will be perfectly white.

To Dust Furniture

Warm dusters make the polishing of furniture so much easier, and a more brilliant polish is acquired.

To Clean Dishes

Any
dish that seems to require soaking until the next meal washes easily if
placed upside down in a pan of hot water and steamed a few minutes.
Steaming cleans dishes much quicker than soaking.

To Clean Copper or Brassware

Make
a simple paste using flour, salt, and vinegar. Simply brush it on, let
it sit for a while, then rinse it off with clear water. You can also
use ordinary tomato catsup. It may require more than one application if
the tarnish is severe.

House Cleaning Tips

To Clean Wine Decanters

Cut
some brown paper into very small bits, so as to go with ease into the
decanters; then cut a few pieces of soap very small, and put some
water, milk-warm, into the decanters, upon the soap and paper; put in
also a little baking soda. By well working this about in the decanters
it will take off the crust of the wine and give the glass a fine polish.

To Clean Badly Burned Pot

Half fill with cold water, then cook in it one whole onion unpeeled until soft.