Notabilia

Miscellaneous

Nifty Knacks

251 through 275

Back to where you came from. The same text in Greek.

  1. Your own insecticide.
    Make your own insecticide by grating three cloves of garlic into half a litre of water. Let it boil. When it is cool put it in a sprayer and spray your plants with it.

  2. A wonderful duster.
    Cut old cloths and clothes made out of soft fabric into wide ribbons and tie them to the end of an old broomstick. It makes a wonderful duster for ceilings and the tops of wardrobes.

  3. Clean up a crystal vase that has gone dull.
    Does your crystal vase look dull? Chop a raw potato into small pieces, put them into half a glass of vinegar and pour everything into the vase. Fill the vase up with water. Leave to soak for 24 hours and then wash the vase with soap and water, and rinse.

  4. Fluffy knitwear.
    Your mohair and angora sweaters will be fluffier if you finish off the drying process with the hairdrier.

  5. Perfume.
    Don't leave perfume in the sun. It spoils.

  6. Aromatic plants.
    Before you go away on holiday, cut your aromatic plants (parsley etc) right back and put them in the freezer or dry them. By the time you get back the plants will have grown bushy again.

  7. Starfish.
    If you want to keep starfish, soak them in white vinegar for a few minutes before leaving them in the sun to dry. If you want to collect seashells, make sure that there are no creatures in the shells. Do this by leaving shells in the sand for a few days and crabs will eat whatever is in them.

  8. Ears.
    If you have sensitive ears that block and buzz when you travel by plane, swallow, chew gum, drink through a straw or yawn.

  9. The car.
    Very often when a car has been parked in the sun for a long time, the steering wheel gets too hot to touch. Always keep a white towel in the car and cover the steering wheel with it when you park. The wheel will stay at a comfortable temperature and you will be able to drive.

  10. When you have not got an iron.
    You haven't got an iron and your shirt is all creased up from being in a suitcase. Run the hot tap in the bathroom, put the shirt on a hanger and hang it in the steam. The creases will soon drop out.

  11. In a suitcase.
    Put your pleated skirt in a stocking leg before packing it in a suitcase and the pleats will stay in.

  12. Lawns.
    When a lawn is cut close, it needs less water. Don't be afraid to mow it before you go away on holiday. It will withstand summer weather conditions a lot better.

  13. Personal stereos.
    In summer, when it is 86 degrees in the shade, you should never leave personal stereos, cameras, video cameras, perishable foodstuffs, aerosol sprays or animals in a parked car.

  14. Cool rooms.
    Keep a very hot room cool by hanging a damp sheet at the window. As soon as the sheet dries out, dampen it down again.

  15. Moisture.
    The hotter it gets, the more water your garden plants need. So that you do not have to water them so often, cover the ground with coffee dregs or wood shavings. Both these substances reduce evaporation.

  16. Successful photography.
    Put photographic films in the fridge before and after use. This will stop heat from spoiling the film and reduce the risk of patches appearing in the colours when your photographs are processed.

  17. Espadrilles.
    Espadrilles tend to get smelly rather quickly. Counteract this by putting a little peppermint oil or perfumed talcum powder inside them.

  18. Thermos flasks.
    Empty a sachet of yeast into hot water and pour it into your thermos flask to get rid of smells. Leave for two hours. Then empty the flask and rinse twice before using. Store your thermos flask with the cap off, otherwise the nasty smell may soon come back. Thermos jugs are more effective if you rinse them with hot water before using them for hot liquids, and with cold water before using them for cold liquids.

  19. Freezers.
    If you want to make sure that your deep freeze does not stop working at all while you are away on holiday, freeze a glass of water and leave it in the freezer upside down. If the glass is empty when you come back, your freezer stopped working at some point while you were away and you may have to throw the contents away.

  20. Mosquitoes.
    Use essential oils of citronella or geranium to repel mosquitoes. Mosquitoes hate the smell as much as they hate the smell of basil. Bites soon get better if you rub the skin with parsley, half an onion or soap like Massalias soap.

  21. Fruit stains.
    If the fabric is hard-wearing, dip the garment in a bowl of water with plenty of ammonia in it before you wash it. A few drops of lemon juice or white vinegar work well on synthetics. Wash the garment and then rinse it.

  22. Grass stains.
    Grass stains generally come out when rubbed with pure spirits and rinsed with plenty of water. If the stain is on white cotton, you can use bleach.

  23. Chewing gum.
    Chewing gum is softer and sticks to fabrics more readily in summer when it is hot. To get it off, put an ice cube on it. The ice will harden it and then you can simply scrape it off with the blade of a knife.

  24. Stains from sun tan oil.
    If the stain is on washable fabric, rub it with soap like Marseille's soap and then wash. If the fabric is delicate, sprinkle the mark with talcum powder and then rub with care.

  25. White trainers.
    Keep your white trainers white. Don't be afraid to put them straight into the washing machine. You can get persistent yellow marks out by dabbing with hydrogen peroxide or bleach on a piece of cotton wool. Then simply rinse off with plenty of water.