By Greer Barnes
You’ve heard the saying “Moms know everything.” And the truth is, you probably do know a lot. Between cooking, cleaning, working, and taking care of the kids, you’ve picked up a trick or two that makes getting the job done easier and faster. Learning something new never hurt anyone though, and you probably haven’t heard about these under-the-radar life hacks. From beauty tips to health tricks, these five pieces of advice are ones you’re going to want to write down, save on your computer, and share with your fellow moms.
- Use sugar to remove fingernail polish from a hard surface.
We’ve all done it: spilled bright red fingernail polish on the wood coffee table or the kitchen linoleum. No amount of wiping with a cloth and water can rid the surface of that faint tint of color. Plain, table sugar will do the trick however. Simply pour a liberal amount of sugar on the fingernail polish and wait for the liquid to adhere to the sugar particles. Now the polish can be easily removed with a paper towel or cloth and the sugar can be swept up with a broom. Though this trick works on most fingernail polishes (which are usually oil-based) this hack won’t work on water-based nail polishes.
- Use Crisco oil to kill lice.
Every mother’s nightmare is a lice infestation. As much as kids learn, play and eat together, though, the chances of your child having a lice episode are fairly high. However, you won’t have to worry about applying chemical treatments to your child’s hair if you use Crisco. First comb the hair, then slather every inch of the scalp with a thick coat of Crisco, and then cover the head with a cloth diaper, an old towel, or any other fabric you have on hand. Leave the oil on for as long as possible. If you can manage it, have your child sleep with the fabric on her head. (Perhaps you can tie it like a bandana and tell her to pretend she’s a pirate.). The next morning, remove the fabric and shampoo like normal. All or almost all of the lice should be gone; repeat this process as needed to remove any remaining lice.
- DIY a heating pad with rice and a tube sock.
Heating pads are lifesavers, but they can also get dangerously hot when left on or plugged in. Better yet, you don’t want your kids touching what they think is a pillow only to get burned. When you place rice in a long tube sock, and heat it in the microwave for a minute, you’ll get a temporary heating pad that cools down on its own. Heat it again and again to soothe aches and pains. This DIY is especially good for warming cold feet in bed at night or soothing menstrual cramps.
- If you scald your hands, run them under cold water for 15 minutes and follow with a cold compress.
You know that when you burn yourself you should immediately add cold water to the affected area, but just how long should you do that? Often in an effort to quickly remedy the situation we don’t take the necessary time and means to actually take care of ourselves. If you ever scald yourself, immediately run cold water over the injured area for NO LESS than 15 minutes. The longer you let the water run, the better chance you have of a scar not forming. After the 15 minutes is up, cover the area with a cold compress and wait it out. You’ll be surprised at the absence of scar or the formation of only a small one.
- Place cloves in your dresser drawers to ward off mice.
You don’t have to live in an old house or apartment to deal with mice. Wherever there’s food and a warm place to sleep, mice usually find their way there. Winter is primetime for mice to start searching your cabinets and drawers for food. To rid your small spaces of the pesky rodents, simply place whole cloves in the areas. The strong odor of cloves serves as a natural repellant and allows for one less chemical you have to bring into your home.
