Handy Hints & A Lesson Learned

Gleaned from a local newsletter (which is really just a batch of ads, masquerading as a news letter):

1. If you have trouble opening a jar lid, put a rubber band around the lid and then twist.

2. If you believe your toilet is about to overflow, quickly remove the tank lid, reach down and push the flush valve closed. It covers the tennis ball-sized opening in the bottom of the tank. That keeps the bowl from overflowing while you clear the obstruction.

Note: you can also turn the valve on the wall beside or beneath the tank to shut off the water supply (if it isn't rusted shut, like ours are).

3. Take your bananas apart when you get them home. If you leave them connected, they ripen faster.

Note: I tried this and it seems to work.

4. To avoid a burglary while you are away on vacation, luggage tags should show ONLY your destination address.

Note: There is another reason for doing that too! In the early 80's, we went to Hawaii on a company trip, and eight of us (four couples) went early and stayed on the Big Island for a week prior to the "company" part of the trip, in Maui. The flight from the Big Island to Maui was short and uneventful, except mr. kenju's luggage didn't arrive with us. Had he not had it for the week prior, it wouldn't have mattered, but for the Maui part of the trip, we needed dress clothing for the parties we'd be attending. Long story short: his luggage came back home to Raleigh, and when the airline called and told my daughter, she told them to send it back to Maui ASAP. It finally arrived, but not in time for the first few events. If we had placed our destination address on the luggage, it would not have made the return trip to Raleigh and then back to Maui.

Lesson learned!!