In my never-ending effort to get rid of “stuff,” I decided to recycle Mary Ellen’s Best of Household Helpful Hints.  I have no idea how long I’ve owned it, but its cover price of $3.95 and its yellowing pages hint of old age.

Nowadays, it’s so easy to ask the Internet how to prevent drops on your head when you’re painting a ceiling (push the handle of the paintbrush through a paper plate) or prevent peeled bananas from darkening (sprinkle with lemon juice).  Why keep the book?

I took a last look before throwing it away.  That quick “look” solved a big problem. I had been unable to remove a few dabs of paint left on my just-refinished kitchen floor when I re-painted the baseboards.  According to Mary Ellen, nail polish remover would do the trick.  I tried it.  It removed the spots and not the finish. I was thrilled.

Next I found a list of forty-five things you can do with WD-40 tucked into the back of the book.  Among its uses, WD-40 keeps glass shower doors free of spots.  Even more important, it keeps flies off cows. 

Who knew?