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Show i ii m'm m mm mv m m m m m.f w w m I ' . It Makes I Is there anything more embarrassing embar-rassing than a clinging skirt? Everything Ev-erything seems o.k. when you leave home, but once you slide over the car upholstery and head towards the store or wherever you're going, you suddenly realize that your skirt and slip are hugging each other like two terrified children. What to do? Wet your hands and dampen your slip, or even your skirt, if you're where dampening your slip would be embarrassing. (Not as effective as wetting the slip itself, but this will help dispel the static electricity that causes the clinging. Rubbing your slip (or skirt) with hands moistened with lotion helps too, or you can carry a small bottle of anti-static spray in your purse. (Not an aerosol bottle, though. They explode if they get too hot). Running a wire coat hanger between be-tween your dress and slip will also draw out some of the electricity and lessen the clinging, just as touching something metal helps when you generate static electricity while walking on some carpets. Anti-static slips that are supposed sup-posed to be cling-proof aren't always al-ways reliable, I've found, but now comes up a simple remedy that works-starch. Yes, all you have to do is starch your slips. Isn't that neat? Which reminds me: starch sprayed on new white tennis shoes will help keep them looking new. When washed, the dirt comes right off with the starch. Another thing that "bugs" me is the way hems and cuffs of denim pants and skirts turn up once the garment has been washed. The solution: so-lution: Affix strips of iron-on mending material (the kind used for patching) to the underside of hems or inside problem cuffs. Summer time means insect-spattered windshields and headlights. Scrub them off with baking soda and plastic bags-the kind onions come in. (Stuff one bag with several sev-eral others to make a pad. Wet it, dip it in soda and rub away). The soda is also effective for removing traffic grime. Don't despair if you're unfortunate unfortu-nate enough to get tar on your car when summer heat softens that dreadful black stuff on a newly-surfaced newly-surfaced roadway that you have to drive through. Kerosene will quickly remove it without damaging dam-aging the finish. Kerosene is also good for removing bumper and windshield stickers. For smaller jobs, and lacking kerosene, you can substitute the more costly lighter fluid or nail polish remover. Summer time also means rough heels and hands for those of use who like to go around in sandals or no shoes at all and who begin gardening gar-dening chores with gloves on but soon have them off. If you haven't tried this before, you'll be amazed at the instant smoothing power of petroleum jelly and common table salt thoroughly rubbed in. Perfume lasts longer on oily skin than on dry, so before applying it, rub on a little Vaseline. Which reminds me, to remind you that Vaseline is merely petroleum pet-roleum jelly, lesser-known brands of which cost considerably less. I didn't believe it but I tried it anyway. I brushed my teeth with a crushed strawberry. This left them feeling delightfully clean and they did look whiter. Just my imagination? imagina-tion? Perhaps, but a dark stain between be-tween a capped tooth and its neighbor neigh-bor had definitely disappeared--after just one brushing. Fresh strawberries! What a delectable way to clean the teeth. I think I'll freeze some singly on a cookie sheet and bag them later so that I can remove one at a time and have a year-around supply of strawberry tooth paste. Dear Vi: In browsing through my scrapbook of handy hints, many of them from your It Makes Cents, I found one that has helped me immeasurably. I was depressed because be-cause of the food stains on our baby's shirts and tops so I tried your suggestion of presoaking them for fifteen, minutes or longer (colorfast items only) in a gallon of boiling water with 12 cup of dishwasher detergent and 14 cup of chlorine bleach, then running them through a regular wash cycle. Thanks, Vi, for this suggestion. I'm glad I kept it. Oh yes, it's sometimes necessary to rub really tough stains a bit, but almost all of them will disappear with only a little rubbing. Be sure to wear rubber gloves. Dishwasher detergent deter-gent is strong. Marva Jenkins, Provo, UT Readers: This is your feature. Send your good ideas to "It Makes Cents", 328 South 300 East 5, St. George, Utah 84770. If your letter is used here, I'll send you S2.00 or one of my booklets, Kitchen Tricks, Discard Tricks, or All About Rhubarb. Rhu-barb. Please state your choice. |