Slacker.

With the holiday last week, I didn't blog. I didn't even think about blogging. I know all of you are DYING to get to the next letter of my FABULOUS uncommon uses for common household products. So we'll get right to it.

H
HAIR DRYER:
*Clean silk flowers--your feather duster doesn't seem to make a dent in the dust accumulating on your favorite floral arrangement. Try using your hair dryer on the lowest setting to blow the dust off your silk or dried flowers.
*Soothe the itching under a cast--got a cast? Can't scratch? Don't despair-just shake some baby powder inside the opening of your cast and blow it in with a hair dryer. Just be sure to use the cool setting. (I sure wish I had known this when I broke my arm in the 4th grade and I was in a cast for 2 months)
HAIR SPRAY:
*Remove ink stains from clothing--your favorite ink pen leaked all over your favorite skirt. You may have to buy a new pen, but the skirt can be saved with an old remedy for ink spots. Just spray hair spray in the stained area, blot until the stain comes up, and wash as usual.
*Keep that zipper up--got a zipper that's always sneaking down? Spray it. That's right. Cover the rest of the garment so it doesn't get ruined and spray hair spray onto your zipper. Let it dry and no more worries. For this to work, make sure your hair spray contains lacquer.
HANGERS:
*Remove static cling from clothing or hair--static can make your hair stand on end and make your skirt embarrassingly clingy. One simple solution is to run a wire coat hanger over your hair or skirt, or between your skirt and slip. The static electricity will transfer from you to the wire, and you should be static free.

I
ICE CUBE TRAYS:
*Handy frozen veggies--if you've got extra onions, celery, peppers, or other seasoning vegetables, go ahead and chop them up. Place a couple of tablespoons into each compartment of an ice cube tray. Fill with water and freeze. Put the frozen cubes into labeled freezer bags. Next time your favorite hot recipes call for veggies, you're ready to go.
ICE CUBES:
*Remove fat from soup--you're on a diet, and you're trying hard to eat low-fat. Try sliding a few ice cubes into your soups and stews to remove excess fat. The fat will congeal around the cubes as they melt, and you can fish it all out with a spoon. Reheat, and you have an ultra-low-fat dish to enjoy.
*Fresh tasting rice the second time around--reheat leftover rice in the microwave with an ice cube on top. The added moisture will really perk up the taste.
INNER TUBES:
*Let slipping rugs lie--does your area rug slide around on your hardwood floor? Put the brakes on it by stitching a few patches of old inner tubing to the underside.
IRON:
*Hot tip for repairing furniture--if you've got a dent in your wood furniture, don't despair. As long as no wood fibers have been broken-you'll have to look at the damage carefully to determine this-you can literally iron the dent out. Grab a damp cloth and place it over the dent. Set your iron on medium, and hold it on the cloth. When the cloth has dried, re-dampen it, and apply the iron again. Repeat this until the dent is lifted.

(Just a side note--I definitely do not come up with this wording on my own. It is straight out of the book. And speaking of, it is time I gave credit where credit is due. This glorious book is called "Uncommon Uses for Common Household Products" and was written by the editors of FC&A. This particular copy was printed in 2002 by Frank W. Cawood and Associates, Inc. I also, for a brief second, thought about formatting this citation like I would on a works cited page, but quickly changed my mind...correct citation is not a strong point of mine.)