TIPS & TRICKS
Cleaning wooden ware items can be tricky! Salad bowls, cutting boards, and other dinnerware or preparation ware need to be thoroughly cleansed but wood should not be soaked in water. It will expand and then shrink and then crack and dry out! A very neat trick is to clean your items with coarse salt! Giving it a good scrub will polish and purify! Use only a little bit of water and allow to dry thoroughly before storage. Occasionally, "feed" your wood with a very light coating of cooking oil to avoid dryness.
Note: The coarse salt cleaning method will also work wonders on cast iron frying pans and similar bakeware!
To unstick unused/new envelopes that may have become partially sealed from storage, place in the freezer for at least 2 hours. Remove from the freezer and carefully run a nail file under the flap edge and your envelope will miraculously open and be as good as new! STAMP COLLECTORS: This method can be used to open mail if you want to preserve the entire envelope!
Nasty price stickers on china, collectibles, etc? Unless you can soak them off in the sink, the next best thing is to use a warm hair dryer! Make sure you heat the item consistantly over its entire surface with the low blast of the dryer, and then, at a safe distance, aim the hair dryer at the price sticker. Once its slightly softened you should be able to peel it off easily leaving little or no residue!
To help remove Smoky, Musty, or other Bad Odours from Plush or any item that cannot be laundered, place item in a plastic bag with whole cloves (the spice) or lavender for a few days. Another trick would be to seal the item in a plastic tote bin with an opened box of baking soda or some old fashioned charcoal briquettes for a few days!
Black marks on white casseroles or stir marks in white mugs? The ceramic cook stove top cleaner can help reduce or remove these black or grey marks! It even works on dinnerware showing utensil wear! Rub gently with the cleanser and then wash and dry as usual!
