Cheap-O-Bob's Newspaper Holder
(Page 2 of 3)
— Rita O' Sullivan
Midlothian, VA
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Old-Fashioned Baby Powder
When my daughter
Jessica suffered from diaper rash, I tried several
over-the-counter and prescription medications but none of
them seemed to help.
One day I left Jessica with an older woman who had raised
three daughters. I told her about Jessica's rash and the
pharmacy ointment I was using to treat it.
While I was gone, she "cooked up" her own diaper rash
remedy. By the time I returned, the mystery powder was
already healing the tender area. What was it? White flour
browned slowly in a skillet!
— Karen Ann Bland
Gove, KS
Homemade Oil TankDetergent
Here's how to clean oil out of an old tank.
First, paint the tank black and put it in the sun with the
drain hole at the lowest point (over a container, of
course). The solar heat will thin the oil and in a few days
most will be out. Then put in about 100 pounds of gravel, a
pint of Dawn dishwashing detergent, and five or ten gallons
of water.
For the next few weeks, roll it all over the place for
exercise. (My kids learned to walk on our 500-gallon tank.)
Then, drain the container. Wiggle it around and get all the
gravel out. Hoist it in the pickup and take to the nearest
coin-op car wash. Soap, then rinse, getting the wand
everywhere you can. (Removing any extra plugs in the tank
helps.) Take home, fill, and drain till you're bored with
it. Fill one more time and use the water on a few test
plants. If it doesn't hurt them, then you're probably OK.
If there's damage, start over at the gravel stage.
There is no way to do this without some release of
petroleum into the environment. Good stewardship requires
you to keep it to any amount less than the pollution caused
by the manufacture, delivery, and acquisition of a new
tank.
—John Walker
Otley, IA
Sunlite Solar Cones
About five years ago I came up with the idea of building my
own solar cones. These cones allow the gardener to start
plants earlier in the spring. They are not very hard to
build and cost very little.
