Tips, Tips and More Tips from November 2011

Vintage table linens should be washed by hand as soon as possible after dinner. Wash with mild detergent, rinse thoroughly, then squeeze (do not wring) dry. Do not put them in a clothes dryer. Heat damages the linen. Iron on a low setting. Do not use starch.

People sometimes hide “treasures” in their homes and when they die the family has no idea where to look for them. Check any clothes chutes where laundry items could be dropped to the basement. We heard of a guy who found a plastic bottle at the end of a string hanging from a nail inside a clothes chute. There was $500 cash inside the bottle.

If you don’t have a pie bird, you can use macaroni to vent a pie. Make decorative holes in the top crust and insert about 5 pieces of macaroni. These “mini chimneys” allow steam to escape and keep the pie juices from boiling over.

Scratches on leather may be partially hidden by polishing the leather with saddle soap.