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Vinegar, Duct Tape, Milk Jugs & More: 1,001 Ingenious Ways to Use Common Household Items to Repair, Restore, Revive, or Replace Just about Everything in Your Life
With his trademark folksy wisdom, Earl Proulx tells you how to recycle those things we all have lying around the house into ingenious solutions without spending money on fancy cleaning solutions, or pricey gadgets. Some of Earl's particular favorites are kitty litter (as a cleaner for oils pills and as a base for a soothing facial mask) and, of course, vinegar (to clean just about anything, unclog showerheads, as well as trap fruit pests), duct tape (as both tick remover and a protection against blisters), and milk jugs (bird feeders and clothespin holders). His fun and inventive ideas also
Ant-proof your home with lemon juice
Cover up furniture scratches with a dab of iodine
Use powdered milk to soothe sunburn and remove makeup
Make an earring holder out of window screen
Recycle bubble wrap for a toilet tank insulator
Organized by location inside and outside of the house, Vinegar, Duct Tape, Milk Jugs & More will make you pause each time you start to throw something (old blue jeans, ice cube trays, coat hangers, egg cartons) out in the trash.
Ant-proof your home with lemon juice
Cover up furniture scratches with a dab of iodine
Use powdered milk to soothe sunburn and remove makeup
Make an earring holder out of window screen
Recycle bubble wrap for a toilet tank insulator
Organized by location inside and outside of the house, Vinegar, Duct Tape, Milk Jugs & More will make you pause each time you start to throw something (old blue jeans, ice cube trays, coat hangers, egg cartons) out in the trash.
400 pages, Paperback
First published September 11, 1999
6 people are currently reading
99 people want to read
About the author
Earl Proulx
15 books1 followerWhen Earl Proulx died in March 2002 at age 88, he’d written Yankee‘s “Plain Talk” advice column for 22 years.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
December 12, 2015
Nice little book all about household hints. Easy read - some good hints, some not so good and some crazy! As stated on the book cover - "From the attic to the basement; From the kitchen to the bath; From the home to the office; From the garden to the garage." Covers it all - plus - recreation, gift giving, sports, hobbies, day trips, travel, weekends, celebrations and pets. And OMG the uses for a gallon milk jug - endless I tell you - endless! Quick effortless read.
September 11, 2022
Informative book about how to improvise. It reminded me of my childhood years growing up in a poor household and having to make-do with what we had.
However, I will say it is a bit dated and risky, like “kitty litter face mask”… back then it was just clay (maybe), nowadays I wouldn’t dare, too many chemicals are in everything. But to be fair there was a disclaimer in the beginning of the book to advise your own caution.
Take what you will with this review.
However, I will say it is a bit dated and risky, like “kitty litter face mask”… back then it was just clay (maybe), nowadays I wouldn’t dare, too many chemicals are in everything. But to be fair there was a disclaimer in the beginning of the book to advise your own caution.
Take what you will with this review.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 9, 2021
A lot of good tips in this book however I would not condone cleaning with ammonia.
July 16, 2023
An impressive set of uses for vinegar and baking soda.... Earl's main message also seems to be throw nothing away and everything has a new use. Entertaining and enlightening, really.
January 2, 2012
Unlike the last "helpful" household tips books I read (1,628 Country Shortcuts: From 1,628 Country People), this one is actually good and, yes, helpful. It even has an index, which makes me really happy. With an index, I can actually find a solution when I need one.
Also helpful is a ten page list at the front of the book of the author's "very best out-of-the-ordinary uses for ordinary items around the house. So if you want to know what to do with old jeans or powdered milk or soda bottles, just consult the list for ideas.
The tip I like best so far is the suggestion to use a game board from a no longer played board game as a lap desk. I have access to an old Scrabble board that I plan to cover in clear contact paper (as soon as I find some cheap clear contact paper at the thrift store). Once it's covered, it will be easy to wipe glue off. (The clear contact paper idea is mine and not from the book.)
This book also has some of the weirdest household ideas I've ever encountered. Here are three examples:
1) To keep chemicals from a home perm from dripping into eyes and ears and onto neck, "dig out some sanitary minipads that have an adhesive backing. After your hair is up in the bonnet or on the pins and curlers, and before anyone applies anything liquid, attach the minipads sticky side down to the forehead, temples, and back of your neck...."
The picture in my head of some frugal old lady sitting around with panty liners stuck to her neck and face just cracks me up!
2) If you want a glass of water on the nightstand but don't want to knock it over, use a shoe. "A low-top tennis shoe or a lady's flat shoe with fairly rigid sides will work well. Just polish or machine-wash it, then cut a shoe liner-size scrap of towel to fit inside...Choose a glass that the shoe will hold snugly but that will come out easily. If you like, hot-glue buttons, shells, or beads to the shoe in a decorative pattern that matches your bedroom decor."
I could not stop laughing when I read that tip. The idea that someone who would stick a glass of water into an old shoe and still think they have bedroom "decor" cracks me up. And as if hot gluing buttons or shells to the old shoe would somehow dress it up...that's hilarious. I am all about reusing, but this idea seems very odd, even to me.
Ok, here's the worse household hint I have ever heard...
3) "Here's a perfect plant stand for the corner of your living room or family room: an old commode chair. Just choose a ceramic pot...that fits in the hole in the chair seat. Plant your greenery in the pot and slide the pot into place."
I think that's just going to far. Imagining having (dead) Granny's potty chair stuck in the corner of the living room is pretty much horrifying to me. I'm a frugal gal, I don't like things to end up in the landfill, but I bet I could figure out better things to do with an old commode chair (like giving it to another person with mobility problems who could put it to the use for which it is intended) then to have it stuck in the room where the family hangs out. Plant or no plant, this is just too much! What was the author thinking?!
I am skipping around reading this book, but i can already tell that I like it. It's got good ideas and hilarious ones too. Perfect!
Also helpful is a ten page list at the front of the book of the author's "very best out-of-the-ordinary uses for ordinary items around the house. So if you want to know what to do with old jeans or powdered milk or soda bottles, just consult the list for ideas.
The tip I like best so far is the suggestion to use a game board from a no longer played board game as a lap desk. I have access to an old Scrabble board that I plan to cover in clear contact paper (as soon as I find some cheap clear contact paper at the thrift store). Once it's covered, it will be easy to wipe glue off. (The clear contact paper idea is mine and not from the book.)
This book also has some of the weirdest household ideas I've ever encountered. Here are three examples:
1) To keep chemicals from a home perm from dripping into eyes and ears and onto neck, "dig out some sanitary minipads that have an adhesive backing. After your hair is up in the bonnet or on the pins and curlers, and before anyone applies anything liquid, attach the minipads sticky side down to the forehead, temples, and back of your neck...."
The picture in my head of some frugal old lady sitting around with panty liners stuck to her neck and face just cracks me up!
2) If you want a glass of water on the nightstand but don't want to knock it over, use a shoe. "A low-top tennis shoe or a lady's flat shoe with fairly rigid sides will work well. Just polish or machine-wash it, then cut a shoe liner-size scrap of towel to fit inside...Choose a glass that the shoe will hold snugly but that will come out easily. If you like, hot-glue buttons, shells, or beads to the shoe in a decorative pattern that matches your bedroom decor."
I could not stop laughing when I read that tip. The idea that someone who would stick a glass of water into an old shoe and still think they have bedroom "decor" cracks me up. And as if hot gluing buttons or shells to the old shoe would somehow dress it up...that's hilarious. I am all about reusing, but this idea seems very odd, even to me.
Ok, here's the worse household hint I have ever heard...
3) "Here's a perfect plant stand for the corner of your living room or family room: an old commode chair. Just choose a ceramic pot...that fits in the hole in the chair seat. Plant your greenery in the pot and slide the pot into place."
I think that's just going to far. Imagining having (dead) Granny's potty chair stuck in the corner of the living room is pretty much horrifying to me. I'm a frugal gal, I don't like things to end up in the landfill, but I bet I could figure out better things to do with an old commode chair (like giving it to another person with mobility problems who could put it to the use for which it is intended) then to have it stuck in the room where the family hangs out. Plant or no plant, this is just too much! What was the author thinking?!
I am skipping around reading this book, but i can already tell that I like it. It's got good ideas and hilarious ones too. Perfect!
November 26, 2007
This book is great, it is full of great suggestions on how to make fun things, and all those things listed above. Clean things. Also gives great ideas on how to reuse things normally just tossed away. I made a bird feeder out of a milk-jug and the birds love it! The kids love watching the birds come and eat.
July 28, 2011
Good idea book with new suggestions for old items you already have. Great for people who want to learn to use or recycle items in new ways. Some of the ideas I already knew. All in all a good book. Worth owning if you want to use items instead of throwing them out to end up in the landfill.
January 11, 2012
OK, first of all, this is not a good book to give to a hoarder. The author saves every can, bottle, egg carton and milk jug he ever purchased. I can't really say that I will do anything suggested but I was amused when he said if you don't have an ice scraper you can use your library card:)
July 11, 2016
This is kinda like the dictionary for those of us who look up a word and keep on reading..... I needed some information on cleaning a shower stall without using chemicals and BAM! There it was, plus so much more! Dawdled my way through the whole book. The shower still isn't cleaned tho....
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June 30, 2010Awesome...
July 9, 2010
Meh. Well, this book was published in 1985 or so; I already knew about a lot of the tips and tricks.
November 14, 2012
Repurposing is all the rage, and reducing our carbon footprint is optimal. This book was doing both before it was "the thing" let alone " the rage."
January 20, 2013
Great reference.
January 28, 2013
reminded me of things my mom and grandmother used to do and teach me.
February 20, 2015
loved the ideas and the helpful hints.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews