More Advice from Aunt Catherine

More housekeeping wisdom from Aunt Catherine:

To remove water rings from wood furniture, use toothpaste squeezed on a damp soft cloth. Rub with the grain.

A spray that keeps bugs away from rose bushes and other flowers: put 3 TB ammonia and 1 quart of water into a spray container and spray the solution under the leaves and on the bushes.

To sharpen your scissors, cut sandpaper once or twice with them.

Keep neighborhood animals from visiting by sprinkling a heavy dose of cayenne pepper around the edges of your yard.

If nuts are heated before they are cracked, they will come out of the shell almost whole. Pecans should be heated in hot water a few hours before cracking. Harder shelled nuts (such as Brazil and hazel) may be heated in the oven.

To avoid toilet clogging and odors, pour a cup of baking soda down the bowl weekly.

Take a couple of socks, slip them over the end of a yardstick and secure with a rubber band. Now you can clean under the fridge and other hard-to-reach places.

A great "whitening" formula is 1/2 cup dishwasher compound, 1/4 cup bleach, and 1 gallon very hot water. Mix. Use to soak white (bleach safe) clothes to remove staines, etc. Do not use an aluminum container for this purpose as solution will discolor it.

A good homemade furniture polish: 1/3 cup boiled linseed oil (purchase this - you can't make your own), 1/3 cup turpentine, and 1/3 cup vinegar. Mix together and label clearly! Moisten a soft cloth with the mixture and rub over the furniture. Then go back over with a dry cloth.

Use rubbing alcohol to remove mildew and other stains from the silicone caulking around your bathtub.

Toss a couple handfuls of laundry detergent into the bottom of garbage cans to repel insects and control odor.

Instead of using shelf paper in your kitchen cabinets, try using inexpensive self-stick vinyl floor tiles. Easy.

A formula for cleaning glass shower doors. Rub lemon oil furniture polish over the door to soften the gunk. After a few minutes, scrub the door with nylon net. If the scum is not removed, use a single-edged razor blade and carefully scrape it off. When the door is completely clean, go over it once more with the lemon oil furniture polish. Polish with a dry, soft cloth until it shines.

When drawers or zippers stick, rub the edges with soap and they'll slide slick as a whistle.