Brown bag wasp chaser
A Nebraska reader wrote: Take a brown paper grocery bag, stuff it with old newspapers and hang it where wasps gather to build their nest. They will think there is already a nest there and leave because they don’t like the competition for food. The reader said that they tried this last year and it really does work. She said that one of her family members is terribly allergic to wasp stings and works around the buildings fixing machinery and they always are buzzing around there, as well as around the porch on the house. She hung several bags around the buildings as well as the house. Her remark was, “I didn’t have a wasp near the area all summer!”
Super sink cleaner
Rubbing alcohol is great for cleaning those stainless steel sinks. The stains just scrub away and any germs will go with it, and will also disinfect the drain as well. I also use it on my counter tops and plastic table tops as well. They are germ free and I don’t have to worry about spreading anything that would make somebody sick.
Camper hint
It’s a bit early to be thinking about going camping but a reader sent this idea. He says to save your toilet paper tubes and put them next to the dryer. When you clean out the lint filter, put the lint in the cardboard tubes and then store them in a bag to go in the camper. For your evening fire, just put a couple of the lint filled tubes in among the firewood and light them. He also said that you could put a bit of candle wax on some of the lint if you think you will need to help it burn faster.
Recycle broken needles
You can make use of that broken sewing machine needle instead of buying an expensive picture hanger. Jut use your hammer to pound the skinny part of the needle into the wall and then hang the picture on the thick part that is sticking out. I like this idea because the hole in the wall is very small and won’t hardly show when the picture and the hanger are removed.
Cheap yarn holder
I make a lot of afghans and blankets for folks and, of course, they take a lot of yarn. I used to keep it in the bag, but the bags began to multiply and I had a hard time locating the color that I wanted. Then a friend gave me a hint that I’ve used ever since. She said to go to a grocery store and ask for boxes that hold liquid ‘anything’……The boxes usually have at least 20 to 24 dividers in them depending on the size of the bottles. My friend covers her boxes with plastic-backed sticky paper and then can tell the size of the yarn by the color of the box. This idea has saved me so much frustration and time I just had to share.
Cool cats and dogs
Summer is almost here and a lot of folks will be traveling with their pets. We have two dogs that go with us everywhere and keeping them hydrated when its over 100 degrees can be a problem. We take a bag or two of ice in our cooler and put several (only 3 or 4 at a time) of the cubes in the dog dish at a time (they ride in the back seat and their water dish is on the floor where they can always get to it. We have never had any water spill and the dogs are happy and so are we.
If you have hints or ideas to share, send them to PennyWise, Box 518, Kadoka, SD 57543; or email them to [email protected]. If you send me your name and address, I’ll send you a free copy of the PennyWise Newsletter. Please mention High Plains Journal when you write.
