Sherri's Helpful Hints

More Uses for Everyday Items

Colgate Regular Tooth Paste

Polish silverware, silver, or gold. Colgate will shine up silver and gold. Rinse thoroughly.

Clean piano keys. Squeeze Colgate on a damp cloth. Rub the keys well, wipe dry, and buff with a soft, dry cloth. After all, ivory is made from an elephant's tusk.

Remove ink spots from cloth. Squeeze Colgate on spot, scrub, and rinse thoroughly.

Dry up acne pimples. Dab Colgate on pimples as you would use Clearasil.

Remove crayon from walls. Brush the marks with Colgate on an old toothbrush.

Remove scratches on glassware. Polish with a dollop of Colgate.

Deodorize smelly hands. Squeeze an inch of Colgate into your palm and wash hands under running water.

Remove Kool-aid moustaches from kids' faces. Rub on Colgate and rinse thoroughly.

Remove tar from the bottom of bare feet. Squeeze on Colgate and rub.

Deodorize "sour" baby bottles. Scrub with Colgate and a bottle brush.

Remove scuffs on shoes. Apply Colgate with a tissue, rub, and wipe off.

Fill small holes in walls. Use a small dab of Colgate as emergency spackling to fill in small holes in plaster walls. Let dry before painting.


Kingsford's Corn Starch

Kill cockroaches. Mix equal parts Kingsford's Corn Starch and plaster of Paris. Sprinkle the mixture in cracks and crevices. Cockroaches will eat the mixture and "petrify."

Cure athlete's foot. Sprinkle Kingsford's Corn Starch on your feet and in your shoes to absorb moisture and reduce friction.

Relieve sunburn pain. Add enough water to Kingsford's Corn Starch to make a paste, and apply directly to the burn.

Clean a carpet. Sprinkle Kingsford's Corn Starch on the carpet, wait thirty minutes, then vacuum clean.

Clean blood stains. Immediately cover the spot with a paste of Kingsford's Corn Starch and cold water. Rub gently, place the object in the sun until dry to draw the blood into the corn starch, then brush off. Repeat if necessary.

Make spray starch for clothing. Mix one tablespoon Kingsford's Corn Starch and one pint cold water. Stir to dissolve the corn starch completely. Fill a spray bottle and use as you would any starch. Be sure to shake vigorously before each use.

Substitute for baby powder and talcum powder. Apply Kingsford's Corn Starch sparingly when diapering a baby. Corn starch is actually more absorbent than talcum powder, but apply lightly since it does cake more readily.

Help rubber gloves slip on easily. Sprinkle Kingsford's Corn Starch inside the gloves.

Shine your car. When buffing your car, sprinkle a tablespoon of Kingsford's Corn Starch on the wipe rag to remove excess polish easily.

Shampoo your hair. Kingsford's Corn Starch can be used as a dry shampoo. Work into your hair, then brush out.

Prevent or kill mildew in damp books. Sprinkle Kingsford's Corn Starch throughout the book to absorb the moisture from damp pages, wait several hours, then brush clean. If the pages are mildewed, brush the corn starch off outdoors to keep mildew spores out of the house.

Detangle knots. Sprinkle a stubborn knot with a little Kingsford's Corn Starch.

Make fingerpaints. Mix one-quarter cup Kingsford's Corn Starch with two cups cold water, boil until thick, pour into small containers, and color with McCormick or Schilling Food Coloring.

Absorb excess polish from furniture. After polishing furniture, sprinkle on a little Kingsford's Corn Starch and rub wood with a soft cloth.

Clean silver. Make a paste with Kingsford's Corn Starch and water. Apply with a damp cloth, let dry, then rub off with cheesecloth

Remove grease or oil stains from smooth fabric. Apply Kingsford's Corn Starch to the spot, wait twelve hours, brush off, then launder as usual.

Make white clown makeup. Mix two tablespoons Kingsford's Corn Starch with one tablespoon solid shortening. Too add color, add McCormick or Schilling Food Coloring.

Give your dog a dry shampoo. Rub Kingsford's Corn Starch into your dog's fur, then comb and brush out.

Clean stuffed animals. Rub Kingsford's Corn Starch into the toy, let stand for five minutes, then brush off.

Prevent pastry dough from sticking to the cutting board and rolling pin. Sprinkle the cutting board and rolling pin with tasteless Kingsford's Corn Starch before rolling out the dough.

Clean a deck of playing cards. Place the deck of cards into a paper bag, adding four tablespoons Kingsford's Corn Starch, and shake briskly. Remove the cards from the bag and wipe clean.

Soothe skin irritations. Apply a paste made of equal parts Kingsford's Corn Starch, zinc oxide, and castor oil.

Thicken gravy. Corn starch has twice the thickening power of flour. When a gravy, sauce, soup, or stew recipe calls for flour, use half as much corn starch to thicken. One tablespoon of corn starch equals two tablespoons flour.

Relieve the pain and discomfort caused by hemorrhoids. Ben Charles Harris, author of Kitchen Medicines, suggests mixing one tablespoon Kingsford's Corn Starch in enough water to make a paste, gradually adding more water to measure a pint, boiling the mixture for a few minutes, allowing it to cool, and then using it in an enema.

All the Uses for Everyday Products are taken from Joey Greene's site.