Handy Tricks with Household things

Saw this on MSN and it give some of the BEST ideas! Thought I would pass them along. Here is the link and below are listed some of my favorites:

Repurpose an old frame for a vanity tray that's pretty as a picture. Place a piece of colored paper or fabric inside as a finishing touch.

A Twister game mat makes a spot-on tablecloth for a child's birthday party: Sticky spills and icing wash right off.

At a party, stash ice in a colander set on top of a bucket or a bowl. Water will drain out, and guests will get only the solid stuff.

Make no-mess pancakes with the help of a ketchup bottle: Pour in batter, then squeeze out precise portions.

Stop searching high and low for hair clips and elastics: Store them tidily on an empty TP tube.

Pick up interesting cardboard coasters at restaurants and bars you visit along your travels. Punch a hole near the edge, thread some ribbon through, and voilà: homemade gift tag.

Vegetable oil will put a shine on leather shoes. Use a damp cloth to remove any dirt, then run a soft cloth with a drop of oil over the surface to (literally) add polish.

One of readers' all-time-favorite ideas: the LifeSaver as birthday-candle holder. (Candies in the original rolls provide the best fit―LifeSavers sold in big bags are larger and don't work as well.)

Forget unruly plastic bags that seemingly regenerate under your sink. An empty tissue box keeps them neatly corralled and ready for use.

A giveaway shower cap becomes the perfect wrapper for shoes when traveling, preventing them from dirtying clothes packed in your suitcase.

A clever way to keep straight whose drink is whose: Mark each glass with removable window decals.

A binder clip serves as a key chain/money holder you can clamp to your waistband for a purse-free morning walk.

Pretty ribbon revives an old lamp shade. Apply a thin layer of glue and press on each piece of ribbon, matching the ends neatly.

No more oops! moments when painting, if you cover doorknobs and hardware with aluminum foil.

Who says a towel rack has to be the dedicated realm of, well, towels? Mounted over the kitchen sink, it can also hold a collection of cleansers.

Why pack with Styrofoam peanuts when you can pack with popcorn (plain and air-popped). No air popper? Be sure to cover the item with a plastic bag.

Slide bobby pins onto a hem to hold pleats in place as you iron them.

Bridge the gap between too-short stems and too-deep vase by sliding on trimmed clear plastic straws.

Attach a magnet to the inside of a metal medicine cabinet, and you can promptly pluck tweezers (or nail clippers) when needed.