Category Home Problem Solver

Cupboard crafts

  • Glitter from salt

Bring some glitz to children’s projects by mixing 1 tablespoon liquid water colour with 2 tablespoons table salt or rock salt, then shake the salt and colouring in a plastic bag to distribute the colour evenly. Spread the mixture on paper towels on a flat microwaveable plate and microwave on High for 2 minutes. Cool and break up clumps with your fingers. Store in a dry, airtight container.

  • Play dough hair with a garlic press

Roll up a small ball of play dough, put it in a garlic press and slowly press out the strands. Use a small paintbrush to dab a little water on the spot where a strand will be attached; then press the piece in place with a toothpick or the pointed end of a small knitting needle.

  • Pasta art

Even little children can make beautiful abstract designs with this old favourite: look in your cupboard for stray, half-empty boxes of dried pasta. Make different shapes and sizes by breaking up long strands of spaghetti and lasagna, add small macaroni pieces and colour as desired with non-toxic food colouring. When dry, the possibilities are endless:

  1. Make a personal treasure chest by covering the top and sides of a shoe or cigar box with the pasta, using craft glue.
  2. Draw designs on folded construction paper or card stock and glue on pasta for a personal holiday or birthday card.
  3. String coloured macaroni or any tubular pasta to make necklaces and bracelets.
  4. Glue pasta shapes to hairclips, bobby pins and even belt buckles.

Credit: Reader’s Digest

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Kitchen solutions for children

  • Homemade bubbles

The ingredients for homemade bubble-blowing liquid can be found at your kitchen sink — washing-up liquid and water. Pour about 2 table-spoons washing-up liquid into a plastic measuring jug and fill with tap water (1 part washing-up liquid to 15 parts water), then mix gently. This bubble solution performs best when left to sit overnight before use. Hard water will yield poor results, so test your tap water by making a small batch of solution. If you can’t get bubbles to appear, switch to distilled water.

  • Making play dough sculptures

Why buy colourful sculpting dough when you and your child can make your own from inexpensive cupboard staples? Here’s how: mix 1/2 cup (90g) salt together with 1 cup (140g) flour. Using your fist, make a deep indent in the mixture and pour in 2/3 cup (180ml) water. To add colour, simply use some non-toxic water colour paint or food colouring. Knead well and shape into a ball. Roll out and hand your child some blunt-edged biscuit cutters to cut out shapes, mould into sculptures or make into ornaments. Store it in an airtight container, and you’ll be able to use it again.

  • Make your own super slime

Slime is a favourite of children everywhere. To make it, combine 1 teaspoon ground psyllium husks (available from pharmacies, health food shops and online) with 1 cup (250ml) water in a lidded jar and shake vigorously for 3 minutes. Pour into a microwaveable container and add a few drops of green food colouring. Microwave on High for 3 minutes (stop the process if the slime starts to ooze out the top of the container). Let rest for 3 minutes and microwave for another 5 minutes. Remove carefully and let cool for an hour. Store in an airtight container.

  • A kitchen cupboard toy box

Most babies know that the kitchen is where the real action is: it’s full of shiny things, interesting sounds, yummy smells and — food. It’s always important to childproof your kitchen, to install safety latches and plugs, and to make sure that anything even remotely dangerous is out of reach. Once you’ve done this, you can designate one floor cupboard to be a baby’s kitchen toy box and stock it with a few specific items that your child can play with: smaller pans and lids, a few plastic containers, a wooden spoon, a sturdy set of measuring spoons and nesting metal measuring cups that he can bang to his heart’s content.

  • Shake, rattle and roll

Some metal and plastic food packaging, such as a Pringles chip box, comes with a plastic lid. Turn them into fun noisemakers by cleaning and drying an empty can or canister, making absolutely sure that all sharp edges have been removed or filed down and putting in a small amount of dry pasta, cereal, hard lollies, dried beans or rice. Secure the plastic lid with gaffer tape, testing the noisemaker to be certain the top won’t come off. A quieter alternative is to put crunchy cereal into a cardboard biscuit box and secure the top with tape. When rolled on the floor, this homemade rattler makes a great swooshing sound.

  • From milk bottle to toy caddy

If there are too many small toys under your feet, you can bring some order to the toy invasion by making a simple toy carrier from an empty 4-litre juice bottle or household bleach container with a handle. With scissors or a utility knife, carefully cut a large opening out of the top third of the bottle, leaving the handle area and the plastic cap intact. Cover the cut edge with gaffer or masking tape (although the cut edge could be filed or sanded smooth, taping gives extra protection). Let your child decorate the carrier with permanent markers and then fill it with small toys. It may be a good idea to create a toy caddy for each child in your family, to avoid disputes that inevitably erupt at playtime!

  • Invisible lemon-juice ‘ink’

If your child has a taste for the mysterious, teach him the secret of invisible writing. All that’s required is a small bowl of lemon juice, a cotton bud and a piece of paper. Dip the bud in the juice and write on the paper. When the paper is dry, there will be no sign of the lemon-juice ‘ink’. Then hold the paper near to, but not touching, a hot light bulb, moving the paper slowly over the beat source. Magically, the writing will turn brown and legible —it’s a trick worthy of Harry Potter and his friends.

  • An egg carton game

 Here is a fun activity that can help pre-school children to master counting and sorting skills. With a marker, write the numbers 1 to 12 (or 15) in the sections of a large egg carton. Then provide edible items such as shaped cereal or raisins and get the child to put the right amount in each numbered section. You can play a similar sorting game by having him separate different shapes and colours of cereal, dry pasta or dried beans.

Alternately, give the child a bowl of raw fruit and vegetable pieces — sliced carrots and apples, peas, grapes, mandarin segments, cherry tomatoes, broccoli, small button mushrooms —whatever you have on hand and get him to sort the food into the egg sections by type.

  • Food colouring to brighten snowy-day play

After they have pelted one another with snowballs, children can get fidgety for more fun on a snowy day, so try this: fill several plastic squirt bottles — tomato-sauce bottles are ideal —with water and add a few drops of food colouring to each. Children can ‘draw’ designs on the snow with the coloured water.

  • A carrier for precious papers

School children occasionally have important papers or homework to take to school — such as term projects that ate up hours of their time (not to mention yours!). Tubes from rolls of paper towels, standard-size plastic wrap, aluminium foil or waxed paper are just the right size for A4 sheets of paper. For larger projects, think about saving longer tubes from wrapping paper or oversized aluminium foil. Be careful not to cram too much into a cardboard tube, though, or the papers could be difficult to extract, coming out in less-than-ideal condition.

Credit: Reader’s Digest

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Super splashy bath toys

  • Educational floaty toys

If you are teaching your child to recognize letters or to spell her name, buy some inexpensive floating craft foam from your local craft shop. Available in bright colours, they can be cut to resemble every letter of the alphabet, making them perfect for bath-time learning. Or cut out some numbers and teach her to count.

  • Playthings from the kitchen cupboard

Many of the best bath-time toys are likely to be found in the kitchen. Plastic food containers like margarine/butter tubs, measuring spoons, large cooking spoons, funnels, colanders, cups, milk cartons — if it floats, pours, stirs or drips, it will inspire your child’s imagination. Plastic lids become floating platforms. Funnels create waterfalls. Plastic mesh fruit baskets will create masses of bubbles in soapy water. (It’s best to avoid wooden and metal items; wood will splinter and get mildewed and metal rusts.) Simple, sturdy plastic items are safe and easy to clean; just wipe down plastic bath toys routinely with a water and bicarbonate of soda solution or run them through the dishwasher.

  • Go fishing with a kitchen strainer

A small plastic vegetable strainer lets toddlers scoop up sponges or shapes cut from craft foam and promotes hand-eye coordination, too. An aquarium net will also work. (Thoroughly wash and disinfect a used net first.) Help your toddler to drop her ‘catch’ into a plastic container and count the items together when she gets tired of fishing in the tub.

  • Commander of the fleet!

Save wax-coated milk and cream containers, snip the spout off, close the top with a bit of gaffer tape and paint a fleet for your little seafarer in his or her colour of choice, using water-insoluble paint. Give each boat a name, add numbers to the sides and a lollipop stick mast and you’ll have a no-cost bath-rime armada ready to command.

  • Throw in the sponge

Raid kitchen drawers and storage cupboards for plain kitchen and household sponges of all sizes and colours, and cut them into lots of different shapes. Your child will be able to play stacking games with floating circles, triangles, stars, crescent moons, leaves, keyholes, doughnuts and whatever else your (and his) inventive mind can come up with. Caution: before turning the playthings over to your child for the first time, disinfect used sponges by either (a) soaking them in a mild chlorine bleach solution and rinsing well or (b) wetting them and then microwaving on High for 1-2 minutes. After the bath, start a good habit by getting your toddler to help wipe the tub with a designated ‘clean-up’ sponge.

  • Produce-bag storage

Turn a large, plastic-mesh produce bag from the supermarket into a storage bag for bath toys. (Avoid string bags made of natural materials such as cotton, which can become mouldy and harbour germs.) If a plastic mesh bag has a paper label, it can be soaked off in warm water. If the bag’s drawstring isn’t strong enough, replace it; a length of strong ribbon or plastic string, knotted tightly, works well. Be sure to remove any metal staples or plastic tags that may come with the bag. After your child’s bath, put the bath toys into the bag and rinse them under running water. Then hang the bag from a tap handle or shower head so that the toys can drip-dry.

Credit: Reader’s Digest

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Bath time brilliance

  • A laundry basket ‘bathtub’

When your baby can sit by herself but is still too wobbly to go in an ordinary bath, a plastic laundry basket — the kind with perforations in the sides — is a great solution. Set the laundry basket in the bath, add a few centimetres of water and put your baby in this ‘bathtub playpen’. Be sure that the holes in the laundry basket are large enough not to catch your baby’s fingers or toes and that all plastic edges are smooth and safe. And follow the number one safety rule: never leave a baby or small child unattended when she is in or near water.

  • Infant seat in the bath

If you need an extra pair of hands when bathing a baby, a plastic infant seat will make bath time safer and less stressful for everyone concerned. Remove the seat pad, buckle and straps, and then line the seat with a soft towel folded to fit. To prevent slipping and sliding, lay another towel on the bottom of the bath and set the seat on the towel. Then put your baby in his place and run just enough water into the tub for the bath. The infant seat supports your baby and lets you use both hands to bathe him with ease.

  • Petroleum jelly = no tears

Many babies can’t stand getting anything in their eyes at bath time, be it shampoo or water. Whether you have no-tears shampoo on hand or have to make do with a bar of mild soap, dab a tiny drop of petroleum jelly across your child’s eyebrows, gently wiping off any residue with a soft cloth or tissue. The jelly will help to deflect water and shampoo from the eyes and keep your baby happy and comfortable.

  • Cotton gloves and slippery babies

A wriggling infant in a soapy bath can feel as slippery as a wet banana skin, but you can get a better grip by wearing a pair of cotton gloves.

  • Padded knees

Anyone who has bathed a child knows how tough kneeling on the cold hard floor can be. Athletic knee pads are a great remedy.

  • Soap in a sock

This is an excellent use for the many mismatched socks that your washing machine hasn’t swallowed. Fill a sock with soap fragments or a small bar and tightly tie the sock closed. Children like to wash with sock-soap because it doesn’t fly out of their hands.

  • Reusing novelty bottles

Tear-free shampoos and liquid bubble bath in Colourful moulded plastic bottles can be expensive everyday products. If your child enjoys shampoo or bubble bath from a bottle shaped like a duck or a frog, save the bottle and refill it with less expensive bath products. Your child will have his bath toy, you’ll save money and you’ll help the environment by reusing plastic.

  • Bath-time help from the kitchen

Set a kitchen timer to go off when it’s time for a bath — and also time for a bath to end. For youngsters who are inclined to delay, setting the timer to buzz 5 minutes before bath time is an early-warning system. If your child likes to stay in the bath until he gets wrinkled, the buzzer will remind him to get a move on. Using a timer can help children acquire a better sense of the time required for a specific task. Timers may also be useful when older siblings are competing for time in the bathroom.

  • Stop itching with bicarbonate of soda

Adding a cup of bicarbonate of soda to your child’s bath may help to relieve the itching caused by insect bites, heat rashes, sunburn and even chicken pox. Allow the child to have a good soak and then gently pat him or her dry with a clean, soft towel.

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Problems with ‘plumbing’

  • The little red infection fighter

To prevent urinary tract infections (UTIs), drink 11/2 – 4 cups (375-1000ml) unsweetened cranberry juice each day. Capsules and tablets of dried cranberry powder are also available — the usual dosage is between 500-2000mg per day; check the label. Medical researchers learned as early as the 1840s that the hippuric acid in cranberries inhibits the growth of E. coli bacteria, the most common cause of UTI. The acid also keeps E. coli from adhering to the urinary tract walls and from spreading from the bladder to the kidneys. Caution: cranberry juice can interfere with the action of anticoagulant drugs such as warfarin, so consult a doctor before using.

  • Eat parsley to ease your pain

Crush parsley leaves, add 1 teaspoon to 1 cup (250ml) boiling water and let it steep for 3-5 minutes. Strain, then drink up to 3 cups (750ml) parsley tea a day. Because a volatile oil contained in the leaves and roots of parsley has diuretic properties, parsley tea is useful for treating mild bladder problems, reducing urinary tract inflammation and even helping the passage of small kidney stones. Caution: if you have chronic kidney disease consult a doctor before using parsley; excessive ingestion of the herb can cause the skin to be photosensitive.

  • Cornsilk — a natural diuretic

Cornsilk — the ‘silk’ or fronds from maize — is a natural diuretic. Buy capsules of freeze-dried cornsilk from health food shops, or dried cornsilk from online suppliers. Use 2 teaspoons chopped dried herbs to 2/3 cup (180ml) boiling water. Steep for 15 minutes, then drink 3-5 cups (750-1250ml) daily. This natural remedy has been shown in tests to have anti-inflammatory properties that fight UTIs; it is also a traditional remedy for cystitis and inflammation of the urethra and prostate.

  • Learn to love lovage

To ease the discomfort associated with mild inflammation of the urinary tract, make lovage tea by pouring 1 cup (250ml) boiling water over 1 teaspoon crushed dried lovage root, which is a member of the carrot family but tastes more like celery. Steep for 10 minutes, then strain and drink. Caution: do not use lovage if you have a history of chronic kidney problems.

  • Drink to the health of your kidneys

Making sure you drink one 250-ml glass of unsweetened cranberry juice a day will help the overall health of your kidneys. Too much commercially sweetened fruit juice, however, can overload the kidneys. For example, the ascorbic acid in orange juice may be too acidic for cystitis sufferers. A teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda in water can help to make urine more alkaline. If you have high blood pressure, check with your doctor before trying this remedy. Caution: do not drink cranberry juice if you are taking warfarin or other anticoagulants.

  • Praise the weed and pass the teapot!

Dandelion has at least two benefits for the kidneys: it increases urine flow and reduces fluid retention resulting from kidney disorders, and it may be able to speed the passing of a small kidney stone. If you feel the pain that signals movement of a stone, drink as much dandelion tea as you can. A strong diuretic, dandelion stimulates blood circulation through the kidneys, increasing urine output and helping to flush out the stone. Dandelion tea bags are available, but you can also make your own. Wash dandelion leaves and roots thoroughly and then chop finely. Add 3 tablespoons to 2 cups (500ml) water boil for 3 minutes and let it sit for 10- 12 minutes before straining.

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Healing cuts, bruises and other skin problems

  • Treat a cut with garlic

To treat a cut or abrasion, gently wash the wound with warm soapy water and pat it dry with a clean soft cloth. Then bruise a peeled clove of garlic and press it against the cut for 5-10 minutes, securing it with a bandage if you like. Garlic contains allicin, which has been shown to inhibit the growth of several kinds of bacteria and protect against infection. (Caution: fresh garlic is an irritant, so never leave it in any form — infused, crushed or whole — on the skin for more than 20 minutes at a time. Remove it immediately if it irritates the skin.)

  • Black pepper stops bleeding

Shaking a good amount of black pepper onto a bleeding cut will stop the blood flow swiftly. It works because the pepper constricts the blood vessels. Many people who have tried this remedy also claim that a wound treated with black pepper heals with less scarring.

  • Reduce bruising with an onion

If you have just bumped your arm, leg or knee (or other body part) and you’re worried about bruising, immediately press the cut end of a raw onion onto the bruised area and keep it in place for 15 minutes. The allicin in onions (the compound that makes your eyes water) helps to stimulate the lymphatic flow in the body, helping to flush away excess blood in the just-injured tissue that creates the discoloration we call a bruise. Caution: use onion only on intact skin, not on skin that is broken.

  • Soothe sunburn with green tea

Just add 3 green tea bags to 1 litre just-boiled water, remove the saucepan from the heat and let it steep for 2-3 hours. Use a cotton wool ball or a very soft cloth to dab the sunburned area with the cooled tea and allow the cooling tannins to do their work.

  • Conquer lice with tea tree

When it comes to head lice, the bottom line is that you have to put in a few hours’ work to get the desired result. Combine 1/2 cup (125ml) olive oil with 1 teaspoon tea-tree essential oil. Massage the oils thoroughly into your hair and scalp, cover with plastic wrap and leave for 30 minutes. Using a special nit comb (available from pharmacies and most supermarkets), comb out your hair in sections, wiping the comb after each pass to remove any nits or lice. Shampoo with a mixture of 1-2 tablespoons regular shampoo mixed with 1 teaspoon salt and 5 drops each of tea-tree and peppermint essential oil. The tea tree and salt are natural antiseptics and peppermint has a cooling effect. Repeat the oil and shampoo recipe every couple of days, and check hair with a lice comb daily.

  • Camomile salve

Melt 4 tablespoons petroleum jelly in a double boiler and stir in 1 tablespoon camomile flowers. Heats for 2 hours or until the flowers are crisp. Tightly fit a jam strainer on top of a glass jar and squeeze the hot mixture through. Once the salve cools, apply to a mild skin rash up to four times a day. For best results, choose the more efficacious German camomile (Matricaria recutita) over Roman or English camomile (Chamaemelum nobile).

  • Double-duty paste for bee stings

A bicarbonate of soda—vinegar paste applied to a bee sting immediately after you remove the sting will help to reduce the pain. Use 2 parts bicarbonate of soda to 1 part vinegar to make a paste, apply it to the sting, allow to dry, and then wipe it off with a clean damp cloth.

  • Rolled oats and pantihose to cure hives

Cut the leg of a pair of pantihose off at the knee and put these four ingredients into the foot: 3 tablespoons each rolled oats and powdered milk, and 1 tablespoon each dried camomile flowers and lavender. Knot it off and hold it under warm (not hot) running water as you fill your bath. Submerge the bag and let the water cool. (Hot water makes hives worse, not better.) Soak for half an hour, and every 5 minutes or so hold the bag over the rash and squeeze to release the soothing stuff inside.

  •  Witch hazel for skin rashes

The bark and leaves of the witch hazel plant contain high proportions of naturally astringent tannins and an aromatic oil — the perfect recipe for soothing itchy skin rashes.

  • Spot-buster pastes

Applied to spots and pimples, these quick and easy homemade pastes will encourage blemishes to disappear quickly. Try these three:

  1. Bicarbonate of soda Moisten 1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda with a few drops water and dab it onto spots. Leave for 5 minutes, and then wipe off with a face washer dipped in cool water.
  2. Rolled oats Use some of your morning porridge as a scourge for spots. Dab the cooked, cooled porridge onto blemished skin, cover with a warm-water face-washer compress and let it sit for l5 minutes. Repeat daily until the spots are gone.
  3. Cornflour and lemon juice Make a paste with 1 teaspoon cornflour and 1 teaspoon lemon juice. Apply to spots and let it sit for 4-5 minutes before gently washing your face with cool water.
  • Sunscreen and spot buster

The white zinc-oxide cream that sportsman spread over their noses as a sunscreen is also an effective acne fighter. Dab on a little zinc-oxide cream before bed and it will not only help to dry up pimples but is also said to prevent scarring.

  • Wards off vampires, too!

Rubbing a freshly cut clove of raw garlic onto a pimple will help to dry it up and make it disappear. Treat pimples just before bedtime, as garlic doesn’t have to be on your breath to make those around you back off fast!

  • Seal in moisture with margarine

Dry skin and some rashes may benefit from a soak with a cool, wet face washer for several minutes, then a gentle rub-down with a bit of margarine. Cover the affected area and leave it on for 1-2 hours. Wipe the margarine off with a clean soft cloth and repeat daily or as required. Caution: if you have an inflammatory skin condition such as eczema, see your doctor before trying this remedy, as it may further inflame the rash. If you have an adverse reaction, stop applying the margarine.

  1. Two ways to stop shingles from itching

Shingles, or herpes zoster, is caused by the varicella-zoster virus — the same virus that causes chicken pox. (It isn’t as contagious as chicken pox but can be passed on to anyone who’s susceptible.) The rash consists of small, crusting blisters that itch terribly. Both of the following home remedies may bring some relief:

  1. Aloe gel Apply gel to affected area to calm the itch.
  2. Cornflour Soak for 15 minutes in a tepid bath with 1 cup (140g) cornflour added to it.
  3. Aspirin Mash 2 aspirin tablets and mix with 2 tablespoons hydrogen peroxide in a small cup. Stir until the aspirin dissolves. Use a cotton bud to apply to blisters only; avoid undamaged skin.
  • Remove dead skin cells the easy way

An excess of dead skin cells is a feature of many common skin conditions. You can soften and exfoliate your skin without having to resort to scrubs or potentially damaging abrasive commercial products. Due to its high content of alpha-hydroxy acids, mashed pawpaw flesh is a great exfoliant. Rub it into dry, rough skin such as elbows and feet, leave for 10 minutes, and then rinse it off with warm water.

  • Rosewater for chapped skin

To make a lotion for chapped skin (and a fragrant one, at that) mix 1/2 cup (125ml) rosewater with 1/4 cup (60ml) glycerine and rub it into the skin as needed. This essential cupboard companion is very popular in Asia and the Middle East, where it is used to flavour food as well being included in rituals. You’ll find it in pharmacies, many supermarkets and health food shops.

  • Tropical wart remover

Make several shallow cuts in an unripe green pawpaw and collect the sap that it releases. When it congeals, mix it with water to make a thin paste. Before applying the paste, protect the skin surrounding the wart by swabbing on a thin layer of petroleum jelly (papain, the enzyme in pawpaw, is an irritant so powerful that it’s an ingredient in meat tenderizers). Using a cotton bud, carefully apply the paste to a wart morning and night until it breaks down and disappears. Papain breaks down proteins in dead tissue, making it a wart remover of long standing.

  • Cure warts with a ‘garlic press’

Slice a freshly peeled garlic clove, place it on a wart and bind it with a gauze bandage. Leave the garlic in place as long you’re able to and repeat the process morning and night. Because of its general antiviral activity, it has been claimed that garlic can cure warts even when other methods have failed. It’s worth a try!

  • Turmeric for treating ringworm

If you have a bottle of the spice turmeric in a kitchen cupboard, you have an antiviral powder on hand that has been used in Asia as a ringworm remedy for centuries. In a small bowl, mix enough of the powdered root with water to make a paste. Apply the paste to the affected area with a cotton bud, cover it with a bandage and leave it on for 20-60 minutes. Repeat three or four times a day. Caution: turmeric may irritate sensitive skin, so test it first on clear skin; if redness develops, try another treatment.

Credit: Reader’s Digest

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