House Guru

The kitchen has traditionally been the heart of the home. It remains so to this day. Most family members consider the kitchen the home base. Except late at night, for most activities the odds are that at least some family members and friends can be found in the kitchen at almost any hour of day.

The kitchen is also an endless treasure trove of useful tricks to solve even the most perplexing dilemmas within minutes. There's a solution for almost any household problem somewhere in the kitchen!

If you’ve been cooking with odorous ingredients like garlic or fish, rub your hands with a stainless steel utensil under running water. The smell will magically disappear!

If pans have burnt-on food, fill them halfway with warm water and add three tablespoons of salt or baking soda. Let them sit overnight. In the morning, bring the pan to a boil, then let it cool. The burned food should wipe away without much effort.

If you have stains on your hands after working with paints or inks, cut a potato in half and rub the cut end on your the stains on your hands. In minutes the stains will be gone.

Potatoes aee also good for another kitchen solution. Place a raw, peeled potato into an over-salted dish. Allow the combined ingredients to cook for five minutes. The potato will absorb the excess salt.

To sharpen the blades of a coffee grinder, toss in a handful of rice every few months and grind the rice up. This procedure cleans and sharpens at the same time.

If your children have spilled glue on furniture or put decals and stickers on furniture and other items around the house, don't run for expensive remover solutions. But there is a simpler solution right out of the kitchen.

Apply a moderate amount of vegetable oil to the glue, decal or sticker. With a soft, clean cloth, apply a moderate amount of pressure. Slowly rub the offensive material off and away.

Vegetable oil does not damage furniture while removing glue and such. Unfortunately, even some of the best selling commercial products on the market cannot guarantee the same safety.