Helpful Hints...add yours!

Miso paste for quick, super cheap soup base. Just stir about a tablespoon into hot water. I add brown rice vermicelli and either chicken or shrimp, and I'm good to go. Right now I'm using red miso.

I think the pack of miso costs about $5, and it makes gallons of broth. The noodles were $2.15 at Gourmet Gallery, and I think I've made at least 6 bowls from it.

One of these days I'll add spinach.

To remove bat guano from a surface,... put a small piece of wet/soapy paper towel on it. Come back in 15 minutes and it lifts right off. (tu):-o

To ease the pain and eliminate the blisters from fire ant bites, spray your skin with ordinary white vinegar.

To remove bat guano from a surface,... put a small piece of wet/soapy paper towel on it. Come back in 15 minutes and it lifts right off. (tu):-o

Wonder if that would work on Peacock poop! That stuff dries to non removeable super glue strength. *-)

Lots of helpful hints here!

i have a radio that has a soft plastic coating. it has now got this sticky residue on it-does any one have a hint on how to get rid of that

Try nail polish remover

will try that, thanks

For centipede bites/stings, a mixture of equal parts baking soda and meat tenderizer dampened with rubbing alcohol on a paper towel will take out the venom and the sting. I keep baking soda and tenderizer in the medicine closet for this purpose.

Bleach is your friend on everything! I use it on floors, in the laundry, on the walls, in the kitty litter boxes.

To keep centipedes away, spray your doorsills with pesticide spray (your choice) once a month - if they do get in, they die fairly quickly as they are very sensitive to pesticide. This will also kill those horrible millipedes (shudders).

The best way to keep spiders out of the house is to adopt a Crucian kitty from the animal welfare center! My spider getter gulps them down as soon as he sees them!

A vacuum sealer (like a Foodsaver) can be worth its weight in gold. I seal (and re-seal) all my dry goods, beans, flour, sugar, pasta, etc., as well as packages of batteries and other household items that don't last long with humidity. My husband jokes that one day he's going to wake up sealed in a giant plastic bag, ha ha!

I try to remove all cardboard when buying bulk items and repack in zipper lock bags or plastic tubs saving a label if needed or reseal with vac seal.

Found my old canning jars from the states are great for dry goods and then also for dry storage liquids when the large containers are almost empty and taking up too much space.

Knocking on wood lol... no bug issues, but love the tips and did save them just in case !

But for insect repellent ..Back in the states and here on island also, I have heard folks that use good old "Avon skin so soft" as insect repellent and they swear by it !

I second "Skin So Soft" as a mosquito repellant. Also, buy at least one mosquito racquet from either Gallows Bay or Gannet (they have one with more ZAP)! They are SO much more effective than spraying bug killer, poison-free, and when you kill a mosquito the spark and the "ZAP!!" is very cathartic, seriously. We have three and they just move around the house during mosquito seasons.

If you have laundry with a mildew smell that can't be bleached, add a cup of vinegar to the water and detergent in your washer, and once it is full and has swished around a bit, turn off the washer and let the laundry soak for about an hour, and then turn it back on and let it finish the cycle.

If your house isn't sealed, don't bother buying mildew removers (like DampRid) - they really don't work.

Not that anybody does this, :D, but if you burn food when cooking, and there's charred food in the pan, sprinkle the pan liberally with baking soda, add a little water to make a paste, let it sit for a while, and then use one of those small Home Depot plastic putty knives/scrapers to scrape it out.

I use natural mosquito repellents with neem oil. Not a fan of Skin So Soft.

I've been told to put bay leaves in flour, sugar, pasta, etc. to keep bugs out. I haven't tried it yet (since I seal everything!) but I have friends who swear by it.

Here's a link I came across for keeping avocados fresh.

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/how-to-keep-cut-avocados-fresh-for-a-week-video.html

JulieKay: I have tried the Bay leaves and they work very well but never used in sugar. Rice, pasta, flour, grains, etc.
Helps prevent weevils and those moths that will lay larva in all kinds of things.
If I have something that comes in a box without sealed protective interior packaging, I place the box in a sealed baggie to prevent any pest infestation tho sometimes you get them for free, already, in the box.:-o
Plastic bagging also helps prevent them from contaminating other boxed or packaged food stuff.