Home hints

Georgina Bitcon gives advice on removing deodorant marks, dyeing Easter eggs, cleaning shower screen tracks and more.

Flash idea for flash drives

If you have a drawer full of unidentified USB flash drives, sort and colourcode them with sticky dots, then store them in a plastic fishing tackle container or embroidery floss box, available from craft stores.

Armpit marks are the pits

If you accidentally get white deodorant marks on your clothes while dressing, wipe them away with a pair of pantyhose or a new or used dryer sheet – do not add any moisture.

Easter made easier

Instead of using cups and glasses when dyeing Easter eggs, use a large muffin tin to dye several different-coloured eggs at once, turning them with tongs or gloved hands.

Vinegar’s superpowers

Clean your shower screen tracks by soaking paper towels or cotton rags in white vinegar, rolling and laying them along the tracks for 30 minutes, then scrubbing the track with an old toothbrush before rinsing.

Pizza puzzle

To fit two pizzas on one rectangular oven tray, cut them in half and align the straight edges along the straight sides of the tray, with the curved edges towards the centre.

Broad brush strokes

To clean your hairbrush of excess hair, use scissors to cut the hair between the lines of bristles and it will be much easier to remove completely.

Keep bins in line

If using supermarket bags as bin liners, secure them with binder clips to hold the bag in place.

Surface level

Defrost frozen food on a stainless steel or aluminium surface – it will defrost faster than on wood, ceramic or plastic.

Sew quick

When sewing your own garments, if you have several smaller pieces to interface, apply the iron-on interfacing to a single piece of fabric before cutting. It wastes a small amount of interfacing, but saves a huge amount of time.

Seed scoop

Use an ice-cream scoop to remove the seeds from a pumpkin – it is faster, neater and easier than using a spoon.

SHARE YOUR DOMESTIC SECRETS

Send your handy hints or questions to: Home hints, The Australian Women’s Weekly, PO Box 92512, Wellesley Street, Auckland 1141, or email awweditor@bauermedia.co.nz with “Home hints” in the subject line. While every effort is made to ensure the efficacy of each hint, we cannot take responsibility for individual results.

Prefer healthy brown rice, but hate how long it takes to cook? Soak it in water in the fridge for six hours or overnight and it will cook as quickly as white rice.