My gramma-in-law had me rolling by some of the stuff she was telling me but lot of it was really interesting so wanted to share...
Do you know how to tell your eggs are at their freshest??
You can test them by placing them in a bowl of cold water, if they float, DO NOT USE THEM!
When bread is baking in the oven, a small dish of water will help keep the crust from getting to hard and brown.
A little instant coffee will work wonders on your furniture.. Just make a thick paste of your favorite instant and a little water, and rub it into the nicks and scratches on your dark wood furniture. You'll be over joyed at how new and beautiful those pieces will look...
Eliminating drink spills... Your child will be able to hold onto a glass better if you place two tight rubber bands around the glass an inch apart or so.. This makes it easier for little hand to hold...
She was just shooting them off left and right.. anyone have any cool home remedies that have been passed down??
Here's another ..... you all know how expensive Febreeze is well make your own.... 4 cups distilled water and 2 cups of your favorite fabric softner pour in a spray bottle shake it up and wahlah!
Jello air freshener:
It makes 2 cups or 4 4 ounc jars
Items: 2 cup water (distilled)
10-20 drops of frgrance or essential oil
4 pkg unflavored gelatin
Nice jar or empty glass
mold inhibitor like salt or a little vodka
Food coloring
Heat 1 C. of distilled water to boil
Stir in 4 pkg of unflavored geletin (knox is best) until dissolved
remove the mixture from heat and stir in the other cup of water
add 10-20 drops of oil and tint with food coloring until colored is desired.
you may want to add the mold inhibitor like few teaspoons of salt or a splash of vodka
pour the geletin in clean jar or decorative bowl
The gel will set at room temperature .. You can place it in fridge to set but remember it will then make your fridge smell like that. then decorate your jar and now you have a great household air freshner or gift!
i love that jello air freshner.....
sorry i dont have any tips my mom was never a susie homemaker......my grandma passed away when she was young ......so she never has tips for me its ussually me telling her..........So i learn from you all
as a matter of fact she tell me where did i find you at ....i dont bake!
my point is your not alone.....im listening and waiting
Before you bake a pie make a little chinmey with a large pasta(those roll knds, forget the proper name) your pie will come out extra good and nto to runny! (this is great for runny pies like cheery, blueberry, raspberry, ect.)
Soda crystals are my best friend - useful for loads of jobs around the house, a natural product (no man-made chemicals) and CHEAP!!! Here's a link to some uses (there are just far too many to post 
):
http://www.dri-pak.co.uk/cleaningtasks/kitchen.html
http://www.dri-pak.co.uk/cleaningtasks/bathroom.html
http://www.dri-pak.co.uk/cleaningtasks/aroundthehouse.html
http://www.dri-pak.co.uk/cleaningtasks/garden.html
http://www.dri-pak.co.uk/cleaningtasks/laundry.html
Enjoy - you have the potential to save yourself a fortune in cleaning products!
Edited to say: My washing machine repair man told me to add 1/2 cup to every wash, it'll keep your machine limescale and grease build-up free and lengthen the life expectancy of your machine. If you do a lot of laundry (for a family of 3 or more), then once a month run your machine empty on a boil wash with 1 cup of soda crystals in the main wash compartment and fill your fabric softener compartment with vinegar for the final rinse - throughly cleans your machine and your waste pipes in one go!
Er, OK. Don't recall saying that man-made chemicals were bad and all natural were good 
. My point was that it's a great, cheap cleaning product that was used a lot back in my grandmother's day but has been forgotten about because of newer man-made cleaning products. Still not quite sure why you decided to jump on me about it ?! There are many folks out there that can't use man-made cleaning products due to allergic reactions, or don't want to use them around babies and young kids. Hey, I was just giving a household tip as the original poster asked - jeez 
T^his isent relly a home remedy,more of a superstition, but I thaught yall might enjoy the story...
My grandaddy is a mexican man, born in mixico, one of 12 kids. he was raised in a VERY superstitious home. When I was carrying my first child about 5 years ago, he told me over and over not to look at marked people (ex. large visiable birthmarks, disfigured...) because it would maark the baby. He was so serious that he walked out of the dr.s ofice and saw me talking to a man who happened to have a very large hand(It was about 4 times the size as the other) and he smacked me right across the face and drug me out of there! I was so shocked I didnt know what to do, I would never yall or be physical back with him out of respect, but I was stunned. Years later its funny but at the time I bawled my eyes out!
*I just want to say that I have no prejadice against the people he was concerned about at all, was jsut telling you about how he felt, dont want to offend or hurt anyones feelings*
My almost 4 year old son has asthma/allergy problems, and cleaning chemicals really trigger him, so I don't use them. I put Listerine Antiseptic in my water to mop with...if it kills germs in your mouth, it will work on the floor, and leave a minty smell! I dilute distilled vinegar and water 50/50 and add about a teaspoon of salt to it and it does great as a spray cleaner. I sprinkle just a little baking soda on the carpet if there is any type of odor, then vacuum it up. Put a cup of baking soda in4 cups of liquid hand soap and add 1/4 cup water and 3T vinegar...mix it well, and put it in a squeeze bottle to use as a scrub for the sinks and bathtub. I could go on, but I won't for now, LOL.
now back on track---
some of these older than the hills
to draw out a bee or wasp stinger -- get a true ol' fashioned soda/pop bottle w/ long thin neck. heat it in boiling hot water. drain. put mouth of bottle over stinger. allow to cool (can speed up by using cold damp towel) vacuum pulls out stinger and some venom. (had this done to me several times with sucess....why do bees and wasps love/hate me???)
to draw out an infection (as in infected cut or infected in-grown toenail) --
take one slice bread and 1 TBS sugar. moosh together and let it soak up all the milk it will hold -- apply to infection and cover w/ gauze bandage. keep in place 2-4 hours then change for fresh poltice. repeat until infection gone. (was explained to me the buggies like the sugar/milk/bread combo better than skin so they migrate there) -- and yes...this was done countless times (always getting cut)
saltwater gargle for sore throat
butter for a burn (i prefer ice...why waste the butter!)
I could go on, but I won't for now, LOL.
Well, just make sure you do later, lol. I have 4 kidos and they get croupy (sp?) in hte fall, I bet this would help.
Oh, heres one (sort of)
DO NOT...mix pinesol....and bleach....will make you VERY loopy and your eyes will burn!
(im not an idiot, I promise, but no one told me!) LOL
Doug, I have always heard to put already chewed snuff or chewing tobaco on a Bee sting...
Heres a good one.
If you have the thrush, like babies get, let a 7th son of a 7th son blow in your mouth 3 times in the afternoon and it will be gone when the sun comes up.
I have heard that so much growing and have always wondered if it actually works.
two more --
isoproply alcohol (the kind used to disinfect skin prior to giving a shot) at 90% strength in spray bottle to kill ants, wasps, flies, etc. inside the house. kills 'em and disinfects 'em too w/ no poisonous residue (i still use this one all the time)
and of course, mom's favorite answer for everything: bleach
athlete's foot -- bleach
stained counter -- bleach
dirty floor -- bleach as final rinse
she even claimed that properly diluted you could use it as a mouth wash!?!" (i don't think so!! -- tho' her dentures sure spent lots of time in it!!!)
it seemed her motto was: when in doubt, bleach!
Wow this is helpful! I don't have any tips - but I do have a website for making things at home like laundry soap, cleaners, etc. www.dollarstretcher.com usually has some good tips - I think there is a particular newsletter for cleaning tips - but that website has lots of ways to save money
My Granny was really into natural products. Baking soda did most of the scouring and to this day I wash my hardwood floors with white vinegar. It is awesome for tile and linoleum too. It picks up any oil or grease and I don't have to worry about my kitties getting chemicals on their paws. One cup white vinegar to about 1 gallon warm water. Great for the windows too. I have a squirt bottle next to the sink that is 1/4 cup white vinegar and 2 cups of water. I wash down the counters and windows with it and it keeps the ants away as well. It does leave a slight vinegar smell, but it is gone by the time the floors or counters dry.
I am going to sit back and see what else comes up....this is a GREAT thread. >^.,.^<
Interesting topic. I have a couple as well, although i havent tried & tested all of them :
Storing Cake -- If you store half an apple in the container which you are storing a cake, the cake will retain its freshness.
Icing Tips- Add a pinch of bicarbonate of soda to your icing and the icing will stay moist and prevent cracking
Quick Whipping -- A teaspoonful of cold water added to the white of an egg causes it to whip more quickly while increasing the quantity.
Egg shells can be used to clean glass bottles: Break the shells into pieces, drop them into the bottle with a few drops of detergent and a bit of water, and shake vigorously. Then rinse with water.
Wrinkle Remover
Green Thompson seedless grapes! It has one of the ingredients in those big time expensive wrinkle creams.
All you do is cut a grape in half and gently crush it on your face and neck. Make sure that you get the "crows-feet" and the lines around your mouth. Leave it on for twenty minutes or so and rinse with tepid water and pat dry. Repeat every day and before you know it... those nasty old lines will be hard to find!
To keep lint and dust off glass top tables, wash them in a solution of warm water and fabric softener. Add one tablespoon of liquid fabric softener to one quart of warm water. The fabric softener will clean the glass inexpensively and will help keep lint from gathering on the glass. Also great for computer screens and TV's.
To keep cut flowers fresher longer by mixing up a homemade formula. Mix 1 pint warm water, 1 pint lemonade or a lemon-lime soft drink. Pour enough into the vase to cover the lower three to four inches of the stem. Here's how this formula works: the sugar in the mixture supplies energy to the flowers and the citric acid in the lemon helps preserve them.
Fruit Freshener - Use 2 vitamin C tablets in a big bowl of water...let them dissolve and stir...dunk any veggie or fruit and it will stay fresh for a couple of weeks and vitamin C won't hurt you either! Try it out on a potato... dunk the potato and leave it out on the sink..it won't discolor... It's the short version of "fruit fresh ".
I'm allergic to bees, I was at a friend's house and got stung. 
I knew I was going to have to go get a shot...but her mom suggested I put some bleach on it first because that it would stop the swelling and sure enough it worked! I didn't have to get a shot!!! (But still if I get stung around the face or neck I have to have the shot because my thoart could swell shut.) Even now when my kids get stung I put bleach on it and it doesn't even leave a whelp on them.
Hugs, ~Denise
This isn't a recipe, but I have done it for years. We buy bar soap in the big packs (8 bars) Take them out of all of their wrappings and store them in the bathroom cupboard. The packing keeps the soap soft (airtight) if you remove it, they dry out and will last longer. (and they help the bathroom smell good too)
This isn't a recipe, but I have done it for years. We buy bar soap in the big packs (8 bars) Take them out of all of their wrappings and store them in the bathroom cupboard. The packing keeps the soap soft (airtight) if you remove it, they dry out and will last longer. (and they help the bathroom smell good too)
a variation I heard of this is put them in all you clothes drawers. still dry out and they keep the clothes smelling nice.
Man, do NOT put butter on a burn! You are frying your skin that way. You gotta stop the heat first, good old cold water. Never butter on a burn. So many people have made burns worse that way......
You can stop the sting of a burn with vinegar.......
And milk on a (already cooled down) burn will also help. Particularly minor sunburns, milk helps that.
But first thing to do with a burn, cool it down, stop it burning....... cold water.
(I'm a nurse. Seen the effects of butter too many times.)
If you feel a sneeze coming on, and want to help it, look at the light.
Doug, I have always heard to put already chewed snuff or chewing tobaco on a Bee sting...
Heres a good one.
If you have the thrush, like babies get, let a 7th son of a 7th son blow in your mouth 3 times in the afternoon and it will be gone when the sun comes up.
I have heard that so much growing and have always wondered if it actually works.
The seventh son thing sounds interesting, but hard enough to find one seventh son, let alone him have a seventh son! Pity the poor woman...... 
[quote="JulieB"]
The seventh son thing sounds interesting, but hard enough to find one seventh son, let alone him have a seventh son! Pity the poor woman...... [
We actually have one around here, his name is Pert and he is about 80 so I dont know what we'll do after him, lol. I have actually seen it work, weather it was jsut time for it to clear up of it actually works I dont know, but I know of two girls with itty bitty babies who asked me to take them cause I know where he lived, next mourning, gone. My FIL did it to and it was also gone the next mourning. My first baby got it and my Maw maw got mad at me because I gave Matt medication instead, this is the same woman who thaught that I was lying about haveing to take him home in a carseat, she wanted him to ride in her lap like all of her babies did, lol, bless her heart, when the Nurse confirmed what I was telling her, she accused us of conspireing against her.
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