Baby Powder
Got a tangled necklace? How about a grease stain on your shirt? Baby powder is the solution (strange but true). Just sprinkle on a knotted necklace to make it come undone quicker and sprinkle it on that grease stain before putting it in the wash. Oh, and if you have a squeaky floor, another sprinkle there will make that disappear, too. Three problems solved beyond diaper rash.
Sponge
There's nothing like a few sweater pills to make your clothes age a lot faster than they have to. Sweep a sponge (or a pumice stone works just as well) over the sweater to gently de-pill it and make your knits look like new.
Hair Dryer
For minor fender benders, blowing a hair dryer on the spot can help encourage the dent to disappear. Similarly, the heat of a hair dryer can also fix the fit of your glasses if they need some adjusting and you don't have the time to make it to the eye doctor. Finally, want to give a cake a professionally frosted look that Martha Stewart would approve of? Use a hair dryer in one hand while you smooth out the frosting with the other.
MORE: Must-Have Beauty Tools
Lint Roller
When you're not removing pet hair off your black pants, a lint roller is a genius way to rid your purse of miscellaneous crumbs, gum wrappers, hair ties—you name it—without having to dump it all over your kitchen table. Also, in the event of breaking anything made of glass, use it to pick up the hard-to-find shards, especially on the rug or carpet.
Used Dryer Sheets
Oh, the wonders of used dryer sheets. To repurpose these goodies, use them to wipe pet hair off furniture or your clothing, dust your TV or computer screens, stuff in stinky shoes or pat on your hair to tame static. And if you have any issue with mice, find where they're entering the house and stuff a used dryer sheet in there. They won't want to chew through the material.
Toothpaste
In addition to removing plaque and tartar from your teeth, toothpaste can take away ink and lipstick stains from shirts, watermarks from your furniture and crayon marks from the walls. Just apply a small dab and scrub with a brush.
Lip Balm
If you have a blister and aren't able to change shoes, apply a layer of lip balm (preferably unflavored and uncolored) to soothe the area.The same trick works for cracked cuticles, a raw nose after too many tissues and on your dog's paws whenever they're getting cracked or chapped.
Hair Spray
Another ink stain problem-solver: Spritz some hairspray on the stain and then throw in the washing machine. It will come out ink-free. A couple of other nifty hairspray tricks: Spray on your nails to make the polish dry faster, spray a new pair of tights to prevent runs or stop one that's already started and spray on curtains to keep them dust-free.
Clear Nail Polish
When a button is getting loose on a coat or shirt, dab the threads with some clear nail polish to keep it from falling off. You can also brush nail polish onto the tiny screws in your eyeglasses or sunglasses to keep those from loosening, as well.
Vaseline and Erasers
To remove scuffs on patent leather boots or shoes, just dab a little Vaseline on the spot and rub until it's gone. As for suede shoes, using an emery board or an eraser will do the trick.
Epsom Salts
Besides helping you relax in the bathtub, Epsom salts have some pretty ingenious uses. Before removing a splinter, soak skin in warm water with Epsom salts to reduce inflammation and soften the splinter. In the kitchen, sprinkle it on crusty, dirty dishes as a natural abrasive. In the bathrooms, use with liquid dish detergent to effectively clean tile and grout.
Coconut Oil
The uses for coconut oil are too numerous to list, but here are a few of our favorites that go beyond cooking or baking: It removes cradle cap; acts as an eye-makeup remover; is a natural bug repellent (when combined with rosemary or catnip); can soothe itching from poison ivy, mosquito bites or chicken pox, and can be used as a natural shaving cream.
