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By: Carol Long / Community Columnist - Updated: 4 days ago

In today’s world, we like to find solutions for some of the simplest things we need to do. Well, today, I will share some of these solutions with you to make your life easier. We all use a hammer at one time or another. Here is a hammer helper. Cover the head of your hammer with felt and secure it with a rubber band. This will keep the hammer from denting wood surfaces as you nail. To keep a mixing spoon from falling while it’ s resting in the pot, clip a wooden clothespin to the side of the spoon. The clothespin will hold it upright. Use your children’s art work to make a card you want to send to a relative or a friend. The children will feel good to know their art is going to make someone happy.

Quick tips for cleaning:  Range-top. If your range does not have a lift-up top, use a long -handled vegetable brush or a bottle brush to carefully reach inside to clean. Computer keys. Clean with a cotton swab dipped in special computer cleaning fluid. Never spray fluids onto the keys. Narrow vases. Put in a few tablespoons of uncooked rice, then add water and a couple of tablespoons of dishwashing detergent and shake vigorously. The rice will scrub off the dirt. Pleated lampshades. Get between the pleats with a soft pastry brush or baby’s old hairbrush. Mini blinds. Put on a pair of old garden gloves; run fingers along each slat. This solution will get rid of the dust and dirt and keep your fingers safe.

Other tips include prop a ladder against the wall and use it to store and display quilts and blankets. Old wooden ladders are the best. Fold seldom-used bed linens and stash them neatly between your box spring and mattress. A to-go coffee cup, a small slit in the lid and a small tissue holder. How do you safely pickup glass slivers? Moisten one side of a piece of bread and carefully wipe the floor with the damp side, says Alicia Barber. The wet bread will hold the slivers of glass.

Life is made easy with brilliant uses for cornstarch. Untangle pesky jewelry knots. Sprinkle the knots with cornstarch and use tweezers to gently pull them apart. Brush away any excess powder. The slippery cornstarch particles act as a lubricant so you can easily pull knots apart and wear your beautiful necklace again.

Here is a solution with yogurt. Soothe a canker sore in a few seconds by swishing a spoonful of yogurt in your mouth for 5 seconds. The creamy treat will provide a cooling sensation while its probiotics help eliminate the bacteria behind the lesion. If you have canker sores often, eat 4 oz of yogurt daily which will strengthen your immune system and prevent sores from forming.

We all use paper bags. Here are a few tips on how to use them for special things. Freshen up stinky sneakers that have gotten wet and smell bad. Stuff the sneakers with crumbled brown paper bags and let them sit overnight. By morning, the fiber in the paper will have absorbed the odor-causing moisture and sweat, leaving your sneakers nice and fresh. Clean your windows and mirrors with brown bags. Spritz cleaning solution onto a crumpled-up bag, then wipe away as usual. The bag’s thick and sturdy fibers knock off and absorb grime without falling apart.

Here are five things you can do with aluminum foil.

1. Iron Quickly – Place a sheet of foil between the ironing board and cover to iron both sides at once. You will be done in half the time.

2.  Tie Things Up – Need to tie the legs on your roaster or veggies you don’t want to fall apart in the oven? A thin strip of foil is the perfect solution.

3. Scrub Burnt Pots – If you’ve run out of steel wool and have a pot with stubborn stains, ball up a piece of foil – it works just as well.

4. Protect Knobs From Grimy Fingers – Are your kids getting messy with paints or dough?  Wrap foil over sink handles and doorknobs to avoid fingerprints.

5. Prevent Yucky Soup Skin – Cut a piece of foil the size of the container and rest it directly on the surface of the soup or stew. Cover and store.

Quick fix to hang a picture. Where is the wall stud?  Studs are usually 16 to 24 inches apart, and you can find one by grabbing an electric razor, turning it on, and moving it horizontally against the wall. When the buzzer gets quieter, you’re over the stud. When it gets louder again, you’ve passed it. You want to place your nail in the middle of the stud.

I hope you have found a few interesting new solutions to try. I found these in various magazines stashed away until I found a time to use them. If you like to look at magazines and find special ideas to try, pick up used magazines and see the interesting tid bits that will help you find new ways of using some of the products found around the house.

Here is a great idea for organizing. The easiest way to organize your stuff, is to get rid of most of it. This Is something I need to do.

I leave you with this thought from Anne Lamott. I found it in First for women. I found some of the other tid-bits from Woman’s Day and Woman’s World.

“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes…. Including you,” said Anne Lamott

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