20 quick tips you probably haven't heard before

I got an email the other day with several great, quick tips around the house. Here they are with a few of my own:

1. Homemade foam carpet cleaner - Mix 1tsp vinegar, 1/2tsp ammonia, 3Tbs dish soap, and 1/2 cup water. Beat with and egg beater until foamy. Works just as well as commercial carpet cleaner!

2. Reheat Pizza - Heat up leftover pizza in a non-stick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it really works. Mona, Orlando, FL

3. Expanding Frosting - When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar/calories per serving. Kathy, Mesick, MI

4. Reheating refrigerated bread - To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster. Dave, Camden, DE

5. Foggy Windshield? - Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car. When the windows fog, rub with the eraser! Works better than a cloth! Alicia, Tampa, FL

6. Conditioner - Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's a lot cheaper than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it in your hair... Kerry, Canada

7. Broken Glass - Use a dry cotton ball to pick up little broken glass pieces of glass - the fibers catch ones you can't see! Olive, Santee, CA

8. No More Mosquitoes - Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away. Diane, Moran, SC

9. Measuring Cups - Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill it with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry the cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out. Kim, Goldsboro, NC

10. Reducing Static Cling - Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and - voila - static is gone. Pam, Maple Rapids, NH

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11. Flexible vacuum - To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings. Donna, Anderson, SC

12. MINE - If you purchase a new bike for your child, place their picture inside the handle bar before placing the grips on. If the bike is stolen and later recovered, remove the grip and there is your proof who owns the bike. Janet, Carthage, IL

13. Newspaper weeds away - Put layers of wet newspaper around your plants overlapping as you go. Cover with mulch and forget about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening plastic they will not get through wet newspapers. Linda, Monmouth Jct., NJ

14. Reopening envelope - If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Voila! It unseals easily. Mary, Lockhart, TX

15. Squirrel Away! - To keep squirrels from eating your plants sprinkle your plants with cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the squirrels won't come near it. Kathy, Maumelle, AR

16. Goodbye Fruit Flies - To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass fill it 1/2" with Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dish washing liquid, mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever! Barbra, Birch Run, MI

17. Get Rid of Ants - Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it "home," & can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, esp. if it rains, but it works & you don't have the worry about pets or small children being harmed! Teresa, Mitchell, SD

18. Take baby powder to the beach - Keep a small bottle of baby powder in your beach bag. When your ready to leave the beach sprinkle yourself and kids with the powder and the sand will slide right off your skin.

19. Easy Deviled Eggs - Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg. Just throw bag away when done easy clean up. Janet, Killeen, TX

20. Keep rabbits out of the garden - Sprinkle dried blood around your plants, or mix a tablespoon of dried blood in two gallons water and spray plants. The rabbits and deer will leave your plants alone.

Got a favorite tip? Let's hear it in the comments..