Mother's Remedies Part 221

73. Stocking Tops for Convenient Holders.--For soft, convenient holders use old stocking tops. Take two thicknesses, cut in squares, bind all around with some bias pieces left from calico dresses and sew a bra.s.s ring on one corner.

74. Hat Hangers.--It is often convenient to hang up hats, even "Sunday-go-to-meeting ones." To make sure that everyone will stay hung up, and not fall to the floor to be soiled or crushed under foot, sew a loop of narrow ribbon or elastic braid or even shoestring, to the middle of the lining, making the loop long enough so that it will reach to the edge of the hat crown when the loop is pulled out. This can be done and pa.s.sed over hook or nail or peg, and the hat hung over it, and even if the hat gets a hard knock, it's a case of "sure on" every time.

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75. To Freshen Bread.--To freshen bread pour cold water all over the loaf, drain quickly, and place in the oven. When the outside is dry and hot remove the loaf and it can scarcely be detected from a new one.

76. Renewing Wringer Rollers.--A neighbor rejuvenated a worn-out wringer the other day by covering the rolls with white felt. She cut the felt so that it would just come together, not overlap anywhere, and caught the edges together with close st.i.tches. It bids fair to last her as long again, and it is certain that just now the wringer does as good work as any new one.

77. To Prevent Cake Tins Sticking.--Flour the baking tins after greasing them. If the flour is shaken all over the grease, and the tins rapped, you will have no difficulty with sticky cakes which break when you try to get them out. Lard is just as good as b.u.t.ter, for it will not taste through the flour.

78. Subst.i.tute for Chopping Bowl.--When chopping mincemeat, tomatoes, or large quant.i.ties of other fruit, you will probably find that your chopping bowl is a good deal too small. Get a clean wooden box with a thick bottom, from your grocer and use it instead of your bowl. You will notice a great saving of time is effected.

79. Save the Gas.--Cut strips of asbestos paper an inch and a half wide and long enough to go around the burners of the gas range. Pin together to form a ring, slip over the burner, and all the heat will be concentrated where wanted. In this way the gas can be half turned off and the same results obtained.

80. To Prevent Pitchers Dripping.--Syrup or other liquids will not drip from a pitcher if a little b.u.t.ter or grease is rubbed on the edge and under the side of the lip.

81. Medicine Cupboard.--An array of ordinary medicine bottles is always unsightly, and a nuisance, too, on cleaning days. Have a tiny cupboard with tight closing door, or a well-fitted curtain, and there is gain in looks and convenience.

82. To Prevent Tablecloths from Blowing Off.--We had some pieces of bra.s.s chain, and found them splendid to run through the hems of the tablecovers when in use on the porch in summer. Such "loaded" covers do not blow off easily, consequently they save quite a bit of annoyance and laundering.

83. To Mark Poison Bottle.--When you purchase a bottle of poison run a bra.s.s-headed tack into the top of the cork. It serves as a marker, and children will be more cautious of the marked bottle. If the label comes off or is discolored, the marker remains as a warning that the bottle contains poison.

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84. To Remove White Spots Caused by Hot Dishes.--For polis.h.i.+ng tables after hot dishes leave a white spot, take a cloth wet in alcohol, then have one wet in sweet oil. Do it quickly and spots will disappear at once.

85. Stains from Fly Paper, to Remove.--Almost anything that has come in contact with sticky fly paper can be thoroughly cleansed by sponging with kerosene. The odor will soon evaporate if the article is exposed to the air for a short time.

86. A Use for Ravelings.--In tr.i.m.m.i.n.g a tablecloth to be hemmed or st.i.tched, one very frequently has to cut off quite a piece of the linen.

Ravelings from these pieces are invaluable for mending old cloths, and ought to be saved for that purpose,

87. How to Remove a Gla.s.s Stopper.--The obstinate gla.s.s stopper in a gla.s.s bottle will yield to a string of seaweed around the neck of the bottle.

Friction, heat, slight outside expansion solve the problem.

88. To Prevent Starch from Boiling Over.--Add a small piece of b.u.t.ter the size of a walnut when the starch comes to a good boil. This not only gives a nice, smooth finish and makes the ironing easier, but it prevents the starch from boiling over.

89. To Hold Sheets in Place.--I worked out a little scheme which has saved me a lot of trouble and inconvenience, so I thought I would pa.s.s it on.

The sheets and bed clothes are constantly pulling out at the foot, so one day I sewed three b.u.t.tons on to my mattress with strong thread, and worked b.u.t.tonholes in the hems of the sheets to correspond, and since then have not had trouble with their pulling up in the middle of the night.

90. Hints for Bathing the Baby.--It is a great advantage when bathing the baby to have all the towels heated before using, as they absorb the moisture much more readily and are very pleasant and soothing to the delicate skin. This is also excellent for bathing an invalid as it greatly hastens the work and lessens the danger of catching cold. It acts like a charm for the child who dreads a bath, this is usually a nervous child who does not like the feeling of the towel, on the wet surface of its skin; complains of feeling damp; and refuses to don its clothing when a less sensitive child would be perfectly comfortable.

91. A Satisfactory Shoe Polisher.--Not long since I ripped up a velvet covered hat, only to find the velvet impossible for further use in the millinery line. A threw it into the big waste basket that stands near my husband's shoe cleaning apparatus. He caught up the velvet in a hurry one day to take a spot off a shoe, and now has it laid away as a treasure in his shoe kit. He says it is the best polisher he ever had, and uses it on my fine shoes to his own entire satisfaction.

92. Tasty Way of Preparing Beef-tea.--Beef-tea will not prove so monotonous to an invalid if a different flavoring is used each day, as dove, bay leaf, or celery.

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93. To Preserve Silk Gloves.--If white or delicately tinted silk gloves are wrapped in blue paper, then in brown they will not discolor. The chloride of lime in white paper is injurious.

94. Red Ants to Destroy.--Dry sulphur, sprinkled about in cupboards or flour chests where small red ants frequent, will rid the place of the pests.

95. Kitchen Account Book.--I have found a kitchen account book is a very useful record. I have a small vestpocket note book hanging by a string and pencil near my kitchen range. A page or two is devoted to each month's use. The month and year are entered at the top of page. When groceries are purchased, the date, article and price are noted, and summed up at the end of each month. It makes a handy, permanent record, showing how long supplies last, the expense of one month compared with another, and the monthly average of each year.

96. A Brick Pincus.h.i.+on.--A brick pincus.h.i.+on was a dressmaker's ingenious way of making easy work of basting and sewing long seams. She took a common red brick, topped it with a flat oblong cus.h.i.+on size and shape of the brick, covering the whole neatly with a bright chintz cover. This standing on the edge of her cutting table was in constant use, and proved a great convenience.

97. Fruit Stains, to Remove from Hands.--When your hands become stained from paring fruit or vegetables, dip them in soap suds then rub thoroughly with coa.r.s.e salt, and they will become smooth and white.

98. Eyelet Embroidery, Suggestions for.--For some time after I began doing "eyelet work" I wondered if there was not some way to fasten the thread after completing an eyelet. A friend of mine showed me a solution of my problem. It was to leave the last three loops loose enough so that I could pa.s.s the thread back through them after completing the eyelet. Then I carefully pulled each of these loops down and cut off the thread. This obviates the necessity of any knots that are so unsightly, and at the same time, the thread is firmly secured. 99. To Prevent Stockings from Wearing Out.--Paste pieces of velvet soft side up, into the heels of your shoes, bottom and back, and you will find your stockings darning reduced by a big per cent.

100. Needle Sharpener.--I know a woman who always keeps a small piece of whetstone in her machine drawer for sharpening needles when they become blunted. It is a great scheme, and saves a lot of needles, as I have proved to my own satisfaction.

101. Burned Kettles.--If you have had the misfortune to burn your kettle it may be made smooth and clean by filling it with ashes and water, leaving it for an hour or so, then was.h.i.+ng with clear water.

102. Children's Petticoats.--When making washable petticoats for her small daughters, a mother whom I know attaches two skirts to one belt, which in turn is sewed to a little lace trimmed waist. The lower skirt is made of white cambric, and the top skirt is of swiss embroidery. This arrangement saves time in dressing the little ones and their upper and lower petticoats are always of the same length and set evenly.

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103. Systematic Housekeeping.--A friend of mine who has a six-room apartment delights in taking care of it in sections, one room a day. On each of the six days in the week one room is thoroughly cleaned and put in order. She plans, if possible, to add some little touch of adornment, a new rocker, or vase, or table cover, or pincus.h.i.+on. In this way there is always something new to notice and admire, and yet no new and startling changes and never any acc.u.mulation of hard work.

104. To Keep Grape Fruit After Cutting.--When half a grapefruit or melon is left from a meal, place it cut side down on a china or agate plate, so that no air can reach it, and the fruit will keep as though it had not been cut.

105. How to Freshen Nuts.--We had a lot of nuts that became too dry to be good, and were about to throw them away, when a friend told us of a very easy and practical way to freshen them. It was this: to let them stand over night in a solution of equal parts of milk and water, then dry them slowly in a moderate oven. They tasted so fresh and proved to be such an economy, that we thought the idea well worth pa.s.sing along.

106. Measure the Eggs.--Try measuring the whites of eggs for angel food instead of counting them, for best results.

107. Kerosene Lamps.--A neighbor who has to use kerosene for lighting purposes told me the secret of her bright lights. After cleansing the lamps well and tr.i.m.m.i.n.g the wick she fills the oil chamber, and drops into it a piece of camphor gum about as large as a marble. It is a very simple method of securing a splendid light.

108. Baking Help.--When creaming b.u.t.ter and sugar for cake or cookies, add two tablespoonfuls of boiling water, then deduct this amount from the other liquid used. Beat hard with a spoon, and the mixture will become a light creamy ma.s.s in one-third of the time it otherwise would take.

109. To Destroy Disagreeable Odors.--The cooking of onions, cabbage, or frying articles always leaves a disagreeable odor in our house. To get rid of this I place an old tin over a lighted burner and sprinkle some ground cinnamon on it. When the tin is very hot I carry it through the house on the dustpan, leaving behind me the pleasant pungent odor of the spice.

110. The Last Step.--A great many times last winter I had to go into the cellar to tend to the furnace when it was too light to light a lamp, and too dark to enable one to see easily. Almost every time I had to feel around to be sure that I was on the bottom step. One day my husband was doing some painting in the cellar and happened to think that a little white paint on that step would help. Now we wonder why we did not think of it before.

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111. Truth spoken with malicious intent is greater error than keeping of silence where wrong is meant.

112. Boiled Potatoes.--Boiled potatoes should be served as soon as they are cooled. To make them dryer, drain off the water quickly, shake them in a strong draught of air and do not put back the lid of the kettle.

113. To Prevent Ripping.--When hemming table cloths, sheets, etc., on the machine, try the following plan: Sew the hem as you always do, but when you come to the end, instead of leaving a long thread to tie it, to keep from ripping, simply lift the presser-foot, turn the goods around, place the presser-foot down again and sew back over the same seam again, and sew about half an inch more. It makes a neat finish and no danger of the hem ever fraying out.

114. To Mix Corn Bread.--To mix corn bread more easily warm the bowl that it is to be mixed in.

115. Mending Table Linen.--To mend table cloths and napkins, take the sewing machine, loosen the tension, lengthen the st.i.tch, place embroidery rings over the place to be mended, and st.i.tch back and forth closely. You have a neat darn, easily done. When laundered you can scarcely see it. Do the same with stockings.

116. Children's Toy.--Save all the empty spools, and when any dyeing is done in the household, drop the spools into the fluid for a few minutes, and they will make fine playthings for the children on a rainy day.