DIY Life

Do you have a dog? If so, do you brush its teeth? Though I grew up with dogs, I have no recollection of anyone ever worrying about doggy dental care -- which probably explains why they all had really bad breath.

"Dog breath" was our highly original term for it. I had no idea this meant they were likely suffering from periodontal disease, which left untreated could lead to bacterial infections which could hit any of a large number of my poor pets' internal organs.

You can help keep their teeth clean by feeding them hard, crunchy foods and specially-designed dog biscuits. Beyond that, though, your dog does indeed need his teeth cleaned, two or three times a week.

Just how does one accomplish this?

I'd taken the kids to their grandparents' some years back, and my eldest managed to brush her hand against a hot element on the stove. It was a mild burn, but painful!

While I was racing for an ice cube, Grandma simply reached for the plant in the window over the stove, snipped off a bit of its pointy leaf, gave it a squeeze so that some clear goop oozed out, and then rubbed the damp innards and goop of the leaf onto my daughter's hand. Grandma repeated this a few times that day. It seemed to do the trick.

"It" was an aloe vera plant, of course. Not only did Grandma use it for burns, but for mosquito bites, bee stings, and just about any other surface skin pain. I always wondered if this was just psychosomatic: My kids all believed 100% in the healing properties of Grandma's "magic plant", but a little research shows that it really does do all that stuff! (It's also pretty effective as a laxative. Who knew?)

It turns out they're not hard to grow, either. It's best to get yourself a large one. Not only are the larger ones more potent in their healing properties, but the plant grows slowly. Don't hesitate to nip off a section of leaf as needed, though: even as it heals your skin, the plant heals quickly, too!

If you'd like to grow your own aloe vera plant, Tipnut provides some sound basic information.

If you're a coupon-clipper, you'll know the challenges:

• how to keep those bits of paper, plastic, and cardboard from taking over your purse or the drawer in the kitchen,
  
• and how to develop a system that ensures they get used before they expire.

The super-helpful people at Tipnut have put together a list of suggestions that pretty much guarantee you'll find the system that will work for you, whatever your organizational style -- or lack thereof! You like the casual efficiency of envelopes? You can do that! You prefer an accordion file or a wallet, a card file or a binder? It's all there!

I have sponges, rags, and cloths for every cleaning job in the house. Sometimes it is hard to remember which sponge or rag I used for cleaning the toilet, so I just keep the rags apart from my regular laundry so that a particularly dirty rag or sponge doesn't contaminate anything else.

Tipnut reader Margie says she separates her cleaning cloths from her regular "good" items by clipping off a corner of the cleaning sponge, rag, or towel. That way, she won't get nasty, dirty grunge on her nice hand towels, or use a germ-filled sponge to do her dishes.

I buy all my cleaning sponges and rags in bulk, so many of them are the same color, and it is sometimes hard to remember which sponge is for dishes and which one is for cleaning up a mess on the floor. With the clip tip, I no longer have to worry about germ transference.

Sleep. We all need it, many of us get far to little of it and all of us are always in pursuit of the perfect night's sleep. How many times have you laid down at night feeling like you would fall asleep as soon as your head hit your pillow only to have your eyes pop open and stay that way? When this happens to me I usually end up reading for hours until I can no longer see well enough to keep reading. Sadly this doesn't always help. Then there is warm milk...... ok ,I have never been able to get myself to try this one, its just doesn't appeal to me. If reading doesn't help and warm milk is out what else is there?

Your wedding ring is probably something you wear all the time. Many people never take off their wedding ring until they find a real need to and then find they CAN'T get it off! Weight gain, pregnancy, altitude changes and many other causes can make getting that ring off seemingly impossible. What can you do to remove that ring without hurting your finger too much?

Tipnut.com has a very cool list of ideas that should work. Most of the suggestions have something to do with getting your finger slippery or trying to reduce the size of your finger. While I haven't don't it I know people who have used the dental floss method and I have been known to pull out the lotion when my ring is being difficult. Do you, our wonderful readers, have any ideas not mentioned in the article? If so please share them with us.

Here at DIY Life we love our "many uses for" lists. We have showed you that lemon juice can be used for clean, vinegar can remove pet smells, WD-40 can do everything, and Cheerios are for so much more than eating. But what about the lowly pillow case? Your sheets have worn out, been ripped or used to tie your canoe to the car but you pillow cases are still in fine shape with no purpose. Not anymore! Here is a "many uses" list for your pillow cases so they can once again be given a purpose and a new lease on life.

Let's begin with number one on the list "Pack camping gear, hiking boots and supplies, make them into placemats for camping trips, trunk storage bags." Not your most glamorous of uses but maybe they will get to take the canoe trip with the sheets.

You can also make them into pet beds or doggy bandannas. Just be sure to have that vinegar handy to get rid of the smell later. How about laundry bags to wash your delicates? Cut them up for rag rugs or open the up and give them to your kids for super hero capes. Let us not forget the lovely skirt our own Jessi Chartier showed us how to make. You could even let your cat hide in them, if you have a cat that is.

Check out the article for the full list and find many more ways to make your pillow cases happy again.

To me candles are simply a part of what I have come to expect to have around during the holidays. I love the scent, the lighting and the simple but lovely ambiance they provide. Candles can be a bit pricey sometimes, especially when they aren't the color or scent you want. There have been many times when I have wanted a color to match a room and the smell was...... not so nice.

I'm sure you have had it happen to you. You buy a new baking pan, mug, vase or some other item that doesn't come in a package and had that darn price tag refuse to let go.

You can try many things to get it off but sometimes, even once the paper part of the tag comes off, you are left with a sticky spot where the tag was. What can you do? You may think that there isn't much you can do but tipnut has changed that for us.

Silver. Beautiful, classic and so easily tarnished. How do you clean it quickly and easily? You can buy liquid cleaner, but that's messy and not all that fast. Creamy polish is also messy and a bit time consuming.

I found this recipe to make your own polishing cloths over at Tipnut. You need to gather a few things for this concoction but it seems fairly easy to me.

Christmas is a mere eight weeks away (I know, GASP!) so that means now is the time to start your Christmas crafts. Somehow, nothing says Christmas like pine cones. Buying them, however, costs an ungodly amount for such simple and plentiful objects. What is the thrifty and crafty DIY'er to do? Use that collection of pine cones that you have hidden in the basket in your basement, of course. Or you could always go find a forest and do your collecting now.

Once you've hunted down your cones, either out of storage or from your brave venture into the wild, what should you do with them? The lovely and talented folks at Tipnut have your answer. Before you tie your cones into a wreath, or use them in any other craft, you must first prepare them. Tipnut has detailed instructions on how to prepare and preserve them so they are ready to make your Holiday centerpiece the work of art you are envisioning.

There are a few methods of making sure your pine cones are clean and bug free, but the second one sounds much safer to me. There are also instructions for bleaching them white. If you do choose to use the oven method, remember the very important step of watching for fire and smoke. (Like I said, the water method sounds safer)

Like many of you I have some old China dishes that were my grandmother's. I want to take care of them but am not always sure how. How do I wash them? How often do I wash them? How do I get those ugly stains out, and how should I store them?

Tipnut.com has compiled a list that answers those questions as well as others. There are answers to all your burning question as well as suggestions on what soap to use to wash them. Thanks to tipnut we can now do our best to take care of those precious heirlooms.

Being a frugal person, I am always trying to save money. I can't stand wasting my dollars on things that I can only use once before I have to throw it away. I cut my dryer sheets in half so I get two loads of fresh smelling laundry instead of one. My clothing smells just as nice as if I had used an entire sheet.

How about eliminating the dryer sheet altogether? You can eliminate fabric softener by adding 1/4 to 1/2 cup of vinegar to your load of laundry and amazingly, it works. It also means that your clothes are odor free. If you like a nice smelling garment, TipNut has an excellent article with instructions on how you can make lavender dryer bags that can be used over and over again.

All you need is some cotton muslin or cheesecloth squares, some thread and some lavender. Sew your pieces of cloth together, throw in some lavender, and finish stitching up the bag and you are ready to dry some laundry. Best of all, when the lavender no longer has smell, you can crush it up and drop it on your carpet. Then when you vacuum, you'll have nice smelling rugs. I am so going to try this awesome idea! How about you?

I hate bugs. No, really. I really hate bugs. They dart around, they get into things and are just plain nasty. Fortunately for me I have never had to deal with cockroaches. I live in a place where they do not. I did visit a place where they do live one time and it made very glad that I don't have them in my home.

However I know that many of you, our dear readers, do have to deal with these disgusting pests. So, when I saw this article I knew I had to bring it to your attention. Tipnut has a DIY recipe for cockroach balls. With an evil sounding combination of white flour, boric acid, confectioners sugar or brown sugar and water you can brew your own cockroach killer.

Tipnut warns that if you have small children and pets you need to be VERY careful where you place the balls. You don't want to place them anywhere that they could be found by a curious hand or sniffing nose.

According to the article, this mixture should get rid of the cockroaches in a month or so. Since I am lucky enough to not have to deal with these pests I can make no personal claims to the effectiveness of this recipe. Good luck and remember, these are very toxic, keep them out of the reach of children and pet and for heaven's sake resist the urge to taste them yourself.