Legions of people swear by the supposed mosquito-repelling powers of Avon's Skin So Soft bath and body oil. Personally, I'm not a believer. (Here's why.) I am impressed, however, by the sheer creativity of SSS fans in coming up with alternative uses for the product. While creative doesn't always mean good, (No, I will not be spraying it on my cat!), sensible suggestions abound for using Skin So Soft around the house.

1. All-purpose polish. Use SSS to shine natural wood surfaces, scuffed shoes, and even vehicle dashboards and tires.

2. Versatile gunk-remover. SSS dissolves grease from stove hoods and other kitchen surfaces, removes oil-based paint from skin and paintbrushes, helps gets gum out of carpet or hair and sticky price tag residue from glass or plastic products, and aids removal of soap scum and hard water deposits from bathroom surfaces and fixtures. Also, try it to remove crayon from household surfaces, or to eliminate ink stains and tree sap from hands.

Raise your hand if you still have Christmas lights strung along your front porch and have yet to take down the ole Tannenbaum. Sadly, I'm right there with you, although my New Year's resolution each year consistently includes a vow to take down my holiday decorations in a timely manner.

Regardless, it's January 11th, which means it's high time to bid farewell to those sparkly December fixtures. And just in case you're a procrastinator who needs a swift kick in the pants (read: me!), I've got a handy little organization list for the toughest decoration to store... EVER: the ornaments.

Of course, it's always a good idea to retain the original packaging of newly-purchased ornaments, but just in case that ship has sailed, here's how to store those glass bulbs without cursing piles of broken glass next November:

By now, your region is probably suffering through at least a few inches of snow on the ground, so today, we're talking igloos. Not your average igloos, of course, because like most things, there's a serious art to the creation of the igloo. Just ask Remo from Toy Report, who devoted an entire post to making an expert igloo with a few childrens' blocks and a whole lotta patience:

Remo worked with a traditional storage bin to craft his igloo, but I'd recommend an IKEA GLES storage box for a whopping $1.50. Once you've got your tool set, it's time for a few tips:

Did Santa bring you gift cards this holiday season? If they're for stores you actually like, then shop away! But what if your gift cards are for places you consider more ho hum than ho, ho, ho -- and you know you'll never use them? Letting them sit in your wallet unused is just a big waste of money. The retailer gets paid, and doesn't even have to sell any merchandise.

It's estimated that 5 billion dollars from last year's gift card sales will go unspent. Yes, 5 billion! Don't become a statistic; instead, make the most of unwanted gift cards with these 5 smart strategies:

1. Sell/swap. Thanks to sites like Ebay, Plastic Jungle, Swapagift, Gift Card Buy Back and GiftCardRescue you can now buy, sell or swap gift cards online. MSN Money has a great article explaining some of the ins and outs of using gift card swap/sell/buy sites.

2. Shop for others. Use your card's balance to buy stuff for this year's birthday gifts or even next year's holiday season. Who says the balance has to be spent on something for you, anyway? Free from Broke has a bunch of ideas for maximizing your gift card's spending power.

Are your bed pillows are old and musty-smelling? If they're cheapies, you're better off chucking them. But if they're quality pillows, you'll obviously want to wash and reuse them. Question is: how to wash your pillows without ending up with an ugly, lumpy result? That's my conundrum, and for advice I turned to those icons of domesticity: Woman's Day and Good Housekeeping.

According to the expert consulted by WD, any pillow – yes, even feather pillows! – can be machine-washed. Just stick with both a gentle cycle and a gentle detergent. Finish up by machine drying with some clean tennis balls, which help to re-plump loose fillings.

You've seen it, right? The unbelievably slick Schaschlik knife block I've been eyeing for months? Surely I'm not the only one.

In fact, I'm definitely not the only one. Fellow DIY crafter Chris Diclerico craved the same design, yet rather than shelling out $110 for the original, Chris got to work and created his own Schaschlik hack. And after checking out the Flickr photos of his creation, I'm loving Chris' design almost as much as the original.

Your cell phone. It's your lifeline! It's your phone book! It's your portable photo album! So, okay, maybe it's time to invest a little time theft-proofing your cell just in case it gets stolen. While the best protection is commonsense stuff (for example, keep your phone in a zipped purse or the front pocket of your jeans) there are a bunch of other measures you can take.

1. Know Your Phone. Note down your phone number, SIM number and/or IMEI number, the make and model, and your provider name and 800 number. If your phone ever disappears, you'll have all the essential info at your fingertips for reporting it stolen (to the police, your provider) or advertising it as lost (via Craigslist, your local paper).

Remember: call your provider immediately that you realize your phone is missing. One cell phone thief can rack up horrible long-distance charges in just a matter of hours, so deactivate your account or have the number disabled as soon as possible!

Sure, Christmas is over, but these Holidash drinks are drool-worthy year round. Check out a few of our favorite recipes!:

We're in the big crunch now. There's simply no time to get creative and come up with a-mazing things to bake and make. However, there's always time to perk up your holiday beverages -- the aspect of any holiday meal that usually gets ignored. We always make festive roasts, wonderful mountains of cookies ... but what about the Christmas Day drinks? They deserve our attention just as much as the rest of the holiday eats.

Eggnog: Martha Stewart's Favorite Eggnog or Nonalcoholic Eggnog