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Posts with tag petroleum jelly

Window pins keep burglars at bay

Food for thought: it's said that criminals tend to break and enter when it's easy to do so. Usually that means they poke around until discovering a vulnerable dwelling with unlocked or poorly secured windows and doors. One simple home improvement project should be on the To Do list of any DIY'er -- the installation of window locks. That is, clever yet inexpensive locks in addition to the ones your windows already came with. Why? Many of those locks can be easily defeated by someone with the know-how.

Lots of older houses (mine included) have wooden-framed double-hung windows. Here's how to install window pins that will help prevent this type of window from being pried open:

Step 1) Get your tools ready! You will need a drill with drill bits, a hammer, a tape measure and a pencil. And, of course, your window pins. You can use one pin per window or two -- one on the left side and one on the right. Your choice.

Step 2) Close and lock your first window. Use your measuring tape and pencil to locate and mark the point to drill your first hole. This is where the window pin will go when the window is in the closed and locked position.

Continue reading Window pins keep burglars at bay

Vaseline candles for the survivalist in us all

Should you ever catch yourself out in the wilderness with some aluminum foil and a little vaseline for those chapped lips, rest assured in the knowledge that you too could create a small fire for warmth or for creating a larger fire for cooking.

Lighters may fail, matches may become wet, but if you wrap up some cotton balls soaked in petroleum jelly an wrap a few of those combos in some smaller pieces of aluminum foil, that may be the best thing you can do for the moment when you need to create a fire but don't have an easy combustion source.

As long as you have a waterproof flint (like the keychain kind you'll find in survival stores), you should be good to go after following the directions here. This is a must for any backpacker's survival mainstay or for those who like to camp way away from civilization -- or must travel through dangerous parts or roads of Mother Nature. John Rambo would be proud.

22 ways to use petroleum jelly

my jar of petroleum jellyDid 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.

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