Useful household tips and tricks

• Slice vegetables into big pieces, so that it won't loose vitamins.        
• While washing silk sarees add a little lemon juice. The colour won't fade and it will give a glossy finish.
• Cleaning the furniture with shoe polish will lend an excellent sheen to it
• The furniture becomes more bright and shiny if it is cleaned with  the cloth dipped in strong tea.
• Apply some wax or soap on the sides of the drawer for easy movement.
• The furniture becomes more shiny if it is cleaned with mixture of olive oil and vinegar.
• The gold will become more brighter if it is cleaned in pumpkin juice.
• To remove the stain of wine from cloth  clean that portion with the cloth dipped in soda.
• To remove the stain of henna from the cloth, dip the cloth in warm milk for half an hour and wash with soap.
• To remove ink stain from clothes, rub the area with a cotton bud soaked in eau-de-cologne.
• While mopping the floor add two teaspoons of salt to the water to keep flies at bay.
• To remove stains from utensils, add bleaching powder in a tub of water and dip the utensils before washing  with detergent.
• Used mosquito mats is an excellent blotting agent.
• To keep a vaccum flask clean and odour free, fill up half the flask with vinegar, hot water and pieces of egg shell.
• If two stamps stick together, keep it in a freezer for some time and peal them out. 

• Vinegar is an excellent cleanser for glassware. 

• To prevent silver fish from attacking your clothes, keep a few 'kalonji' seeds tied in a muslin cloth in your cupboard. 

• Soak your silver articles in tamarind water for 30 minutes and wash off with fresh water, if you want them to shine like new. 

• To remove mud and mud strains from clothes, rub the affected area with potato stock and wash it with water. 

• To remove the tea stains from the vessels, take some water and add 2 teaspoon sodium bicarbonate  and boil it. After some time, wash the vessel with  detergent. 

• To remove lipstick stain, apply Vaseline on that portion and wash it with soap after some time. 

• To sharpen a sewing machine needle, stitch through a piece of sand paper. 

• Keep the water in your flower vase odourless for along time put a piece of charcoal in it. 

• Rub toothpaste over the fine scratches on glassware. It acts as a slight abrasive and smoothens out the area. 

• Soften hardened shoe polish with a few drops of white spirit. 

• Instead of scratching off candle wax from an object, hold the object close to a flame or some source of heat for a few seconds till the wax melts away.

• Clean dust particles and  dirt from your steel or iron sieve by holding it over the fire for some time. After the grime burns to soot and falls off, wash with soap and water. Your sieve will look better and shine like a new. 

• To soften a tight leather shoe, apply some curd on their inner surfaces at night.

• 'Agarbatti.' ash can be used to  clean silver and brass articles. 

• In order to keep away the termites and insects from your bookshelves, keep few pieces of sandalwood. 

• Hardened glue becomes soft and useable again if you add some glycerin and warm water to it . 

•  To remove the stains from  white foot wear, soak a small cotton wool  in nail polish remover and rub briskly on your foot wear. 

• Use a few drops of after shave lotion  to get rid of a stubborn dirt from shoes. 

•  Clean the silverware with dry ash or common salt for shiny appearance. 

• To clean your diamond ornaments, soak it in water for 15 minutes, add some washing powder  and boil for 7 to 8 minutes and wash it in running water. 

• Put some bits of lemon peels in the pressure cooker while cooking, the cooker will remain white inside. 

• To remove the chewing-gum stuck to the floor, clean it with a little kerosene. 

Unstitched Salwar Kameez