27. Washing Hair Brushes.—To wash hair brushes take a piece of washing soda, dissolve it in warm water, and stand the brush in it, taking care that the water covers only the bristles. It will almost instantly become clean and white. Place it in the air to dry, bristles downward, and it will be as firm as a new brush.
28. Loops on Towels.—Always have a loop on each end of the kitchen towel, where a roller is not used. Otherwise all the soil and the wear come on the lower end.
29. Changing Pillow Slips.—To change pillow slips without scattering the feathers all over the house, sew up the clean tick, all except a space of about twelve inches. Take the full pillow unopened and baste one side of the empty one to the full one. Then with a knife slit open the seam of the pillow, the twelve-inch space. Quickly baste the other sides together so they will not come apart easily. Then slowly push the feathers into the clean and empty tick, and when finished undo the basting and sew tightly. Soak the soiled ticks in cold water immediately to remove remaining feathers.
30. Use of Old Linen Collars.—Cut them up into narrow strips and use them for gas-lighting instead of using wax tapers. They make a steady flame and do not drip grease.
31. Discarded Toys.—My baby came in the other day hugging to his breast a toy tin goat. It was evidently one of the discarded playthings of a neighbor's child. On inquiry I found that the toy had been given to my boy, and he has taken so much pleasure in this castoff plaything that I have been saving his old toys and passing them on to other children of the neighborhood. I have discovered that in their baby hearts these are as good as new, because they have never played with them. It is nothing to them that they are not just out of the store.
32. To Clean Silver.—Try curdled milk for cleaning your silverware. Let the silver stand for several hours in the milk, and you will be surprised at the result.
33. Removing Stains.—Damp salt will remove egg stains from silver and tea stains from cups.
34. To Keep Free from Mould.—Jelly and jam can be kept entirely free from mould by pouring a thin layer of melted paraffin on top. This paraffin can be saved when the jelly is taken from the glass and used the next season so the cost is very small.
[860 MOTHERS' REMEDIES]
35. Hanging Out Clothes.—The other day I came across a peculiar clothes bar. It was the same as any other, except that the crossbars had been removed, and for them ropes had been substituted. The owner told me she had had her husband fix it for her the previous winter when she was bothered with salt rheum. "I hang up all the baby's little things, fastening them with clothespins, right here in the house where it is warm," she explained. "Then it is but the work of a moment to take the whole thing out of doors, and there is no fishing around for the tiny things when my hands are so cold they feel as though they would drop off."