Homemaking Advice from Aunt Catherine

I've been going through things at the house and came across a small stack of pink notes from my Aunt Catherine. She prepared the notes as a favor for a wedding shower she hosted years ago - possibly for Katie or Diane (my sisters). If you ever met my Aunt Catherine, you'd understand why the notes were on pink paper, each carefully cut apart from the others.

Anyway, some of these ideas sound interesting and useful. Hope they work for you!

To get rid of ants outdoors:
1 gallon boiling water
3 TB Clorox
Pour down into holes of nests.

Here is a fantastic cleaning solution--easily made, no rinsing required. Cleans mildewed Naugahyde, tile floors, woodwork, and greasy stoves. here it is: 1/4 cup baking soda, 1/2 cup vinegar, 1 cup clear (not soapy) ammonia. Add the above to 1 gallon of warm or hot water.

To keep sink drains fresh and free-flowing, pour 1 cup baking soda into drain every week. Follow the soda with 1 cup vinegar. As the soda and vinegar foam, flush drain with a quart of boiling water. Do this regularly and drains will be free-flowing and fresh-smelling.

To remove heel marks from vinyl or linoleum floors, try silver polish or white appliance wax.

Here's how to make a straight seal with a caulking gun. Put 1/2 inch-wide masking tape 1/8 of an inch from each side of the area to be sealed. Run the bead of sealant along the crack. Even it out with a wet finger. When you remove tape, you'll have a professional-looking caulking job.

When removing dirt from refrigerators, stoves, walls, and glass, automatic dishwasher detergent works well. Dissolve 1/4 cup in a gallon of hot water: soak a cloth with the solution and apply; wipe with a dry cloth afterward. Wear rubber gloves.

Tired of expensive spot removers? In a spray bottle put 1/3 cup dishwashing liquid, 1/3 cup ammonia, and 1/3 cup water. Spray and rub spots before putting in washer. You'll be amazed!

Mix honey instead of sugar in your whipped cream. The honey gives the cream body and enables you to keep it in the refrigerator for several hours.

Help for vacuum-cleaner bags. Add a few whole cloves, carpet freshener, baking soda, a cotton ball sprayed with a favorite perfume or dabbed with peppermint or almond extract - all sweet smelling and cheap!

For washing windows, use 1/2 cup cornstarch to 1 gallon water. The cornstarch absorbs the oily film and prevents streaking, thus leaving the windows gleaming.

Automobile touch-up paint is perfect to cover scratches and burns on linoleum. But be careful: it won't wash offf. Use a fine-haired painbrush, which gives you better control.

Keep tuned . . . more tips to come in the next post.