Sometimes, life can be just too much. And I'm not talking about the big bangs in life - I'm talking about the little ones that just add up. It seems that in His big plan for the world, God put in these little snags just to tease us. You know - car door locks that freeze over when you run out of de-icer spray, and that spot of blood on your favorite blue shirt. We ought to come into this world with a survival manual of how to handle the little disasters that always seem to cause train wrecks in our lives.
Well, this may not be a survival manual, but it can help you with a few easy answers to some of those pesky snags. Hopefully, it will also help to brighten your day a little just to know that some of the little dilemmas of life really do have easy answers.
How to Remove Blood From Light-Colored Material:
You know that spot of blood on your blue shirt that I was talking about? Well, I know it seems like it would be impossible to remove, but it's not. Just pour a little hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) on the material, rub it in, and rinse with water. The peroxide will bind with the blood and lift it off of the fabric to be carried down the drain. This chemical reaction works very well on light-colored materials such as baby blue, beige, yellow, white, chartreuse ... you get the point. Because hydrogen peroxide is sufficiently dilute, it will not bleach the material. If you want to play it safe, however, you can do a spot check by dabbing peroxide on the inside portion of the material to test for bleaching, but you really should not have any problems. If the stain is only partially removed, repeat the process.
How to Thaw The Car Lock:
On cold, winter days when you forgot to buy that handy de-icer for the car door lock and your door is frozen shut, don't dispair - you can still get to work on time. Simply, take your hair dryer and blow dry the lock. The ice melts readily, and the door opens like magic. Blow drying works well on frozen pipes, too!
How to Control Sweaty Palms:
Are you a little nervous about a big presentation or an important meeting? Maybe you appear cool and suave on the outside, but your sweaty palms give you away? No sweat. Rub a little antiperspirant into your palms and trust that your inner butterflies will go undetected.
How to Avoid Halitosis:
Afraid to mingle with people because you're not sure what will come out of your mouth? If you don't want to scare others away with offensive mouth odor, be sure not to skip meals (since skipping leads to a build-up of odor-causing bacteria on the inside of your oral cavity). Also, make sure to brush your tongue as well as your teeth. And for an extra measure of security, take a drink of mint tea (rather than coffee) to keep your mouth fresh and odor-free.
How to Flush A Clogged Garbage Disposal:
When the Holidays come, so does the cooking grease. Whether it's turkey or ham, or anything in-between, it usually ends up down the drain and into the garbage disposal. It you're lucky, it continues on its merry way. But, sometimes we're not so lucky and it keeps repeating itself as it clogs the disposal with lard. When that happens, try introducing ice cubes into the drain and run the disposal unit. Ice breaks down the fat into smaller blobs that can be crushed by the system and sent down the drain, saving the Happy Holidays from disaster.
How to Clean Your Car Windows:
If your car windows have picked up dirt along the way that seems to defy all other cleaners, don't despair. Try using isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol on the glass. This should clear up any stubborn dirt spots. And for waxy spots that tend to build up on the windshield, scrub your glass with a low-abrasive scouring powder.
How to Relieve Itchy Dry Winter Skin:
Now that you've been out and back again and the weather's cold and windy, it's time to relieve that itchy, dry winter skin with a tub of salt water. Believe it or not, one cup of salt in a tub of tepid water does wonders for dry skin. And what better way to end the day than in a relaxing salt water spa? Now, that feels g...o...o...d!
