HOUSEWIFE’S NOTEBOOK

Wairarapa Times-Age, 18 September 1941, Page 2

HOUSEWIFE’S NOTEBOOK

USEFUL HINTS. A ball of string will keep tidy and always close at hand if it is placed in a tin funnel of suitable size, and hung on the wall in the kitchen. First draw the end of the string from the centre of the ball through the stem of funnel. To prevent, an aluminium teapot getting that ''tannin’’ taste that spoils a good cup of tea, rub the inside once a week with half a lemon dipped in salt. On cold mornings butter will spread more easily if a tea-cosy is placed over the butter dish the night before. Granulated soap powder can be kept in a tin flour dredger which will keep it quite dry. The amount required- can be economically shaken out instead of being poured out carelessly from the packet. When peeling onions rub a little butter on your fingers. This will prevent the unpleasant smell from clinging to them. Always take rings, with stones in, oft' the fingers -before washing or the ■stones w'ill become discoloured. To take stains out of linen hold the article in milk while boiling on stove. The stain will soon disappear. } To take marking ink out of linen use a solution of Cyanurat of potassium applied with camel hair brush. After the ink disappears wash the article well in cold water. When velvet is crushed from pressing, etc., hold the parts over a basin of boiling water with the inside part to the steam. The pile will soon rise and assume its original beauty. To destroy flies: Half a teaspoon of black pepper, 1 tablespoon of cream, 1 teaspoon of brown sugar. Mix well together, and place In the room on a plate, where flies are troublesome. They will soon disappear. Apples intended for dumplings should not have the core taken out, as the pips impart a delicious flavour to the dumplings. Vegetables should always be put into boiling water, in which is placed a little salt. The quicker they boil the greener they will -be. Vegetables generally sink when done enough. Turn them cut immediately, or they will lose their colour and goodness. If a minute too long they lose their flavour. Do not use soda. When washing blankets do not put them through the mangle or wringer; hang on the line with the water dripping from. them. The weight of the water prevents blankets from shrinking. Burned saucepans should be left standing overnight with water in which some common salt has been dissolved. Boil up next day, and they will be easily cleaned with an ordinary pot-scraper. Cheese that has become hard can be made soft and eatable again by wrapping a piece of soft clean muslin soaked in vinegar round it. Leave ; for several hours. Eggs will not crack when boiling if .cold water is poured over them before putting them into the pot. Fruit stains of any kind can be removed if rubbed well with a piece of camphor. Let the article stand a few hours, and wash in the ordinary way. Muslin curtains can be stiffened to just the right degree by adding a little methylated spirits to the rinsing water. Always remove stains before washing, as boiling water makes them permanent. Tea stains that have been boiled into linen can be removed by rubbing with a blue bag and boiling again. A shabby leather coat can be improved by rubbing the worn parts with ordinary vaseline. To keep tables or benches spotlessly ’white pour the contents of your starch bowl into the blue-water on washing days and use this to scrub them down. To preserve lemons, rub them oughly with a dry cloth until the skins .are quite clean; then roll them in beaten white of egg. Let them dry and they will keep for months. When required rub the coating off with your hands and they are exactly like fresh lemons. Golden rules in the home: Do everything in its proper time. Keep everything in its proper place. Put everything in its proper place.