Drinking two glasses of Gatorade can relieve a headache almost immediately without the unpleasant side effects caused by traditional pain relievers OR take a lime, cut it in half and rub it on your forehead. The throbbing will go away.

Did you know that Colgate toothpaste makes an excellent salve for burns.

Before you head to the drugstore for a high-priced inhaler filled with mysterious chemicals, try chewing on a couple of curiously strong Altoids peppermints. They'll clear up your stuffed nose.

Achy muscles from a bout of the flu? Mix 1 tablespoon of horseradish in ½ cup of olive oil. Let the mixture sit for 30 min, then apply it as a massage oil, for instant relief for aching muscles.

Sore Throat?? Just mix ¼ cup of vinegar with ¼ cup of honey and take 1 tablespoon six times a day. The vinegar kills the bacteria.

Honey remedy for skin blemishes. Cover the blemish with a dab of honey and place a band-aid over it. Honey kills the bacteria, keeps the skin sterile, and speeds healing. Works overnight.

Eliminate puffiness under your eyes. All you need is a dab of Preparation H. Carefully rub into the skin, avoiding the eyes. The hemorrhoid ointment acts as a asoconstrictor, relieving the swelling instantly (remember to avoid getting in the eyes).

Listerine therapy for toenail fungus. Get rid of unsightly toenail fungus by soaking your toes in Listerine mouthwash. The powerful antiseptic leaves your toenails looking healthy again.

Balm for broken blisters. To disinfect a broken blister, dab on a few drops of Listerine, a powerful antiseptic.

Easy eyeglass protection. To prevent the screws in eyeglasses from loosening, apply a small drop of clear nail polish to the threads of the screws before tightening them.

Coca-Cola cure for rust. Just saturate an abrasive sponge with coca cola & scrub the rust stain. The phosphoric acid in the coke is what gets the job done.

Cleaning liquid that doubles as bug killer. If bees, wasps, hornets, or yellow jackets get in your home, try a spray of Formula 409. Insects drop to the ground instantly.

Smart splinter remover ..... just pour a drop of Elmer's Glue all over the splinter, let dry, & peel the dried glue off the skin. The splinter sticks to the dried glue. This works so well with children...
Or when you get a splinter, reach for scotch tape before resorting to tweezers or a needle. Put the scotch tape over the splinter, then pull it off. Scotch tape removes most splinters painlessly & easily.

Hunt's tomato paste "boil" cure. Cover the boil with Hunt's tomato paste as a compress. The acids from the tomatoes soothe the pain and bring the boil to a head.

White vinegar to heal bruises. Soak a cotton ball in white vinegar and apply it to the bruise for one hour. The vinegar reduces the blueness and speeds up the healing process.

Kills fleas instantly. Dawn dishwashing liquid does the trick. Add a few drops to your dog's bath & shampoo the animal thoroughly. Rinse well to avoid skin irritations. Goodbye fleas.

Rainy day cure for dog odor. Next time your dog comes in from the rain, simply wipe down the animal with bounce or any dryer sheet, instantly making your dog smell springtime fresh.

Eliminate ear mites. All it takes is a few drops of Wesson Corn Oil in your cat's ear. Massage it in, then clean with a cotton ball. Repeat daily for 3 days. The oil soothes the cat's skin, smothers the mites, and accelerates healing.

Vaseline cure for hairballs. To prevent troublesome hairballs, apply a dollop of Vaseline Petroleum Jelly to your cat's nose. The cat will lick off the jelly, lubricating any hair in its stomach so it can pass easily through the digestive system.

Quaker Oats for fast pain relief. It's not just for breakfast anymore! Mix 2 cups of Quaker Oats and 1 cup of water in a bowl and warm in the microwave for 1 minute, cool slightly, and apply the mixture to your hands for soothing relief from arthritis pain. I've done this, it work.

Rubbing alcohol will remove ballpoint pen ink marks.

Candles chilled for 24 hours in the fridge will burn longer and won't drip if placed in the freezer for at least 3 hours prior to burning. Also, white candles drip less than colored ones.

Baking soda on a damp cloth will remove grime and grease from a glass oven door.

Window cleaner will clean and polish the exterior of appliances.

A mixture of half salt and half hot vinegar rubbed on brass will clean and polish.

To re-smooth Teflon pans, boil 5-10 min in a pan a mixture of 1 c. water, 2 tbls baking soda & ½ cup liquid bleach. Wash in suds & rinse thoroughly. Before using, wipe the surface with salad oil.

To remove gum from hair, rub a plain chocolate bar in hair, then wash. Really, it works.

A cloth wrung out of a solution of 1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in one quart of water, will make windows and mirrors sparkle.

Cold tea, coffee grounds, or egg shells make a good fertilizer for house plants & act as an insecticide, too.

If you must smoke indoors try waxing your ashtrays. Ashes won't cling, odors won't linger & they can be wiped clean with a paper towel or tissue.

Stamp a few moth balls into the ground near flower beds to keep dogs & cats away.

Add a little salad oil when you cook macaroni or spaghetti and it won't boil over or stick.

A bowl of vinegar placed in a stuffy or smoky room will help absorb tobacco smoke or the smell of paint, and keep the air fresher.

Rinse a pan with cold water before heating milk to prevent it from scorching.

To make sour milk from sweet milk, add 1 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice to 1 cup sweet milk.

Put a layer of marshmallows in the bottom of a pumpkin pie, then add your filling. You will have a nice topping, as the marshmallows will rise to the top. The kids will love it.

Cut drinking straws into short lengths and insert through the slits in pie crusts to prevent the juice from running over and permit the steam to escape.

Flies or bees bothering you? Spray them with hairspray and they will take a quick dive.

Sealed envelope? Put in the freezer for a few hours, then slide a knife under the flap. The envelope can then be resealed. (hmmmmmm...)

Use empty toilet paper roll to store appliance cords. Keeps them neat and you can write on the roll what appliance it belongs to. This works wonderfully.

For icy door steps in freezing temperatures: get warm water and put Dawn dishwashing liquid in it. Pour it all over the steps. They won't refreeze.

Crayon marks on walls? This works wonderfully! A damp rag, dipped in baking soda. Comes off with little effort (elbow grease that is!). Wish I had know this when my sons were small.

Permanent marker on appliances/counter tops (like store receipt BLUE!) rubbing alcohol or nail polish remover on paper towel (try a small spot first).

Whenever you purchase a box of SOS pads, immediately take a pair of scissors and cut each pad into halves. After years of having to throw away rusted and unused and smelly pads, I finally decided that this would be much more economical. And now a box of SOS pads lasts indefinitely! In fact, I have noticed that the scissors get sharpened this way, too!

Opening brand new jars can be a feat in itself. Well, I have found a way to make it the easiest thing to do. Instead of banging a jar of jam, pickles, etc., with a knife until it loosens up, I simply reach into the drawer and pull out the handy nut cracker. It adjusts to the size of the jar and I simply give it a good twist and off pops the lid!

Use vertical strokes when washing windows outside and horizontal for inside windows. This way you can tell which side has the streaks. Straight vinegar will get outside windows really clean. Don't wash windows on a sunny day. They will dry too quickly and will probably streak.

Put a dab of essential oil on the light bulb in any room to create a lovely light scent in each room when the light is turned on.

Place fabric softener sheets in dresser drawers and your clothes will smell freshly washed for weeks to come. You can also do this with towels and linen.

To clean artificial flowers, pour some salt into a paper bag & add the flowers. Shake vigorously as the salt will absorb all the dust & dirt & leave artificial flowers looking like new! Works like a charm!

To easily remove burnt-on food from your skillet, simply add a drop or two of dish soap and enough water to cover bottom of pan, and bring to a boil on stovetop (I know this works!).

Spray your Tupperware with nonstick cooking spray before pouring in tomato based sauces and there won't be any stains.

When a cake recipe calls for flouring the baking pan, use a bit of the dry cake mix instead and there won't be any white mess on the outside of the cake.

Wrap celery in aluminum foil when putting in the refrigerator and it will keep for weeks.

When boiling corn on the cob, add a pinch of sugar to bring out the corn's natural sweetness.

Don't throw out that leftover wine: Freeze into ice cubes for future use in casseroles & sauces.

To get rid of itch from mosquito bites, try applying soap on the area for instant relief.

Ants, ants, ants everywhere ... Well, they are said to never cross a chalk line. So get your chalk out and draw a line on the floor or wherever ants tend to march. See for yourself.

Use air-freshener to clean mirrors. It does a good job & leaves a lovely smell to the shine.

Easy Tick Removal: Apply a glob of liquid soap to a cotton ball. Cover the tick with the soap-soaked cotton ball and swab it for a few seconds 15-20, the tick will come out on it's own and be stuck to the cotton ball when you lift it away. This technique has worked every time I've used it (, and it's much less traumatic for the patient and easier for me. This is great, because it works in those places where it's some times difficult to get to with tweezers: between toes, in the middle of a head full of dark hair, etc.

Now look what you can do with Alka-Seltzer:

Relieve urinary tract infections. Just dissolve two tablets in a glass of water and drink it at the onset of the symptoms. Alka-seltzer begins eliminating urinary tract infections almost instantly even though the product was never been advertised for this use.

Clean a toilet. Drop in two tablets, wait twenty minutes, brush and flush. The citric acid and effervescent action clean vitreous China.

Clean a vase. To remove a stain from the bottom of a glass vase or cruet, fill with water and drop in two Alka Seltzer tablets.

Polish jewelry. Drop two tablets into a glass of water & immerse the jewelry for 2 minutes

Clean a thermos. Fill the bottle with water, drop in 4 tablets, soak for an hour

Unclog a drain. Clear the sink drain by dropping three Alka Seltzer tablets down the drain followed by a cup of white vinegar. Wait a few minutes, then run the hot water


This information, is not intended for diagnosing illness, prescription, or advice, or if you have sensitive skin, and should not replace proper medical attention. Consult your Doctor or other health care practitioner regarding health issues.
EWPR assumes no liability for any use or misuse of this information.