EVERYDAY ECONOMIES

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 112, 2 August 1927, Page 5

EVERYDAY ECONOMIES

THE WITS-END CLUB A new novel may be selected by the winner each week as a prize for the most original household hint or recipe that has been tested and found to save time, labour or money. Many folk might be glad to have the benefit of your experience, so send in your suggestions, addressed to The Homecrafts Editor, Women's Page, THE SUN. Auckland.

The prize this week has been awarded to Mrs. M. Wilson, Papakura, for the following hints: TRIED TIPS Try a piece of fresh mint when your fruit cocktail seems a bit flat and you’ll have a cocktail with a “punch.” * * * When the doctor orders hot fomentations for your patient, don’t scald the hands trying to wring the flannels out in a towel. Before pouring the boiling water on the flannel fold it the required shape and clip each end in a clothes-peg. Then turn one peg forward and the other backward, and the flannel will be wrung out easily. A thick pad of metal-wood tacked to the end of an old dish-mop or suitable stick will enable you to clean saucepans without soiling the hands. * * * To dry the hair, get a wide-brimmed hat —a coarse, stiff, flat shape is best —cut out the crown and bind the ragged edges of the brim with calico, then, after washing the hair, put it through the opening in the hat and spread it evenly over the brim all round and sit in the sun. Your hair will dry quickly and your face and hands will be left free for reading, sewing, etc. * * * Sufferers from chilblains will find kerosene splendid. Spread on gently, it takes away irritation and saves many a bad lTroken chilblain. The white of an egg makes an excellent substitute for a toilet cream if well beaten. Smeared on overnight and left on till morning, it will make the skin smooth. * * * PEELING ORANGES When making a fruit compote or salad, try soaking the oranges first in boiling water to cover, letting them stand five minutes. You will find that the white, pithy part will come off quite easily with the skin and the orange is left clean for slicing. A MONEY-SAVING HINT FOR MOTHERS Instead of throwing baby’s bottle teat away because it collapses, put a thread of cotton across the top of the bottle and hold it with your first finger and thumb and put the. teat on. The cotton allows enough air to enter to stop the teat collapsing. * * * FOR THE SICK ROOM

A sick room hint which was highly commended by an Auckland doctor some years ago: My sister was nursing a case of septic pneumonia, the weather was unbearably hot and the patient most distressed, so she had freshly-cut grass sprinkled on the floor of the patient’s room each day. It was surprising how cool it made the room. * * * To get rid of unpleasant odours in a sick room in a few seconds, lightly screw up a piece of brown paper, put it on a shovel and set it alight, and burn bundles of dried lavender stalks.

FOR FURNITURE To freshen up dull and soiled upholstered furniture, carpets and floor rungs, take scraps of Dennison paper, place separate colours in saucers, pour boiling water on to take out the dye. Now go over the chairs and carpets, dabbing the faded parts, browns and greens where required and light colours on the flowers. The effect *s magical and lasting. * * * HELPFUL HINTS To prevent the swelling caused by the sting of various insects, crush half a knob of common washing-blue into powder, mix with pure water into a thick paste, plaster thickly on the stung part, cover with a wet cloth keep in position for 15 minutes. It is imperative that the paste should be wet but thick, kept When door-mats and small rugs have been in use a while they begin to curl at the edges. To remedy this, thread a --king-needle with twine and sew some strips of oilcloth to the edges on the undersides of the mats. * * * The shells of Cape gooseberries are an excellent and cheap substitute for hops. They may be used successfully for making yeast or any purpose whatever where hops usually are employed. Bread leavened with yeast made from gooseberry shells is delicious. The shells should be stored in paper bags and kept in a dry place until required. * * * USEFUL SUGGESTIONS For convenience when ironing embroidered initials and other things that need a soft surface, have a small block about twelve inches square attached to the broad end of the ironing-board. The block should be firmly padded and fastened to the board with two pieces of leather cut from an old belt. The pad can then be swung up into position when needed, and yet is out of the way while the ordinary work is in progress. * * * A large salt-shaker filled with six parts of salt to one part of pepper is useful for seasoning meat, etc., when cooking. * * * To remove creases from clothing, hang the garments in the bathroom and turn on the hot water until the room is full of steam. Leave for an hour, dry in the air and press on the wrong side with a rather cool iron. * * * To remove indelible pencil marks from clothing, rub them with methylated spirit until they disappear. A picture-framer once told me always to mix Epsom salt with the paste when pasting in photographs or pictures; then moth and silverfish will never go near them.