DIY Life

Most of us have a can of WD-40 sitting around the house. Got a squeak? Give it a spray. Tight bolt? Squirt, squirt. But it might surprise you to see how many other uses it has (one of my favorites is the removal of adhesive goo).

I once worked for a very small company whose owner was, um, a bit peculiar. Shortly after moving into the new office, we were having a little house-warming party in the conference room. There was a huge white board on one wall.

During a particularly inspirational moment, the owner went over and wrote her name on the white board in five foot tall letters. The problem? She used a permanent marker. The solution? WD-40, a rag, and elbow grease.

But the uses of WD-40 don't stop there...

• Keep snow from messing up your satellite dish: spray the dish and the snow will slide off.
• Got a snow plow? Spray a coating on the blade and the snow won't pack up on it.
• Make it easier to remove light bulbs: spray the threads lightly before you install the bulb.
• Roofing tar on your hands from fixing a leak? WD-40 will get the tar off!
• Use WD-40 to remove grease and road crud from your car's fenders.
• Bug splats on your car's grill and fenders? WD-40 works better than expensive sprays.
• It kills weeds too!

Oh, happy day! Winter has arrived! Now is the time for sledding and snow skiing and making snow men. Along with cold, frozen noses and fingers, we must give precedence to all the frozen locks that hungrily eat our keys. Seriously, try inserting that worn out key into a lock and see what happens, but don't say I didn't warn ya!

The next time you are unlucky enough to break off a key, don't panic. Doityourself.com tells us how to remove a broken key from a lock. With a little bit of patience and the right tools, you can remove the broken key with little fuss. It pays to carry a needle nose pliers, some WD-40 or cooking spray, and a small saw blade in your purse, carry-all or briefcase, just is case a key break could happen.

The article is explicit in detail, telling you how to remove the broken key and how to check your key to make sure it is in tiptop shape so you never have to experience the agony of a broken key. I don't know about you, but I am going to lubricate all my locks and check my keys right now. I can't imagine anything worse than trying to get a broken key out of a lock when it is only 10 degrees outside!

Did you know that petroleum jelly has been around since the late 1800's? It can be used as a lubricant for all sorts of little jobs around the house. I use my little jar of petroleum jelly to lubricate the annoying hinges on the doors of my bathroom sink, for coating my chapped lips in the winter, and even dab a little on my toddler's bottom when she gets a little too red.

Gomestic user Darlene McFarlane has compiled an awesome list of uses for petroleum jelly. She writes about everything from removing water rings on wood to using jelly to shine your shoes. How about using Vaseline to protect cuts and scrapes? It works just as well as Neosporin, in my opinion. It works wonders as a moisturizer, especially if you have sensitive skin like I do. I get really dry skin on my hands and feet, so I slather them with a layer of petroleum jelly and put on socks, allowing the jelly to be absorbed into my feet overnight. Voila, in the morning I have nice soft footsies. I do the same thing with my hands. Yeah, I know, it isn't the most romantic thing in the world to do, but I can get away with it on weeknights since my husband works second shift and I am sleeping by the time he gets home. Check out the rest of what Darlene has to say, I am sure you will find her list just as useful as I do.