How to prevent socks from getting holes

1. Trim your toenails regularly. Ensure you have neat and short toenails that do not cut into the fabric
   
2. Air dry or sun your socks. Do not dry them in the clothes dryer and the high heat will destroy the elastic
3. Wash your socks with mild laundry detergent. Avoid harsh chemicals such as stain removers and bleach as they destroy the elasticity as well
4. Wash your socks with cold water. Scalding hot water loosens the elastic quickly
5. Avoid walking around with only your socks on

How to clean artificial or silk flowers

1. Fill a large brown paper bag with a cup of salt
2. Remove a stalk from the floral arrangement and placed it into the paper bag.
3. Close the paper bag and shake it vigorously
4. The salt will help to remove the dust from the petals and leaves
5. Remove the stalk and gently shake off the remaining salt
6. Replace the stalk back into the arrangement and repeat the above steps for the remaining stalks.

How to remove lighter fluid stains on clothes

1. Rub the laundry detergent undiluted on the stain and let it stay for 5 minutes before rinsing it out
   
2. Soak the garment in vinegar solution, 1 part vinegar 1 part water for half an hour to remove the lighter fluid odor. Rinse it out, OR
   
   For non-white garments, soak the garment in coke solution overnight, 1/2 can of coke 1/2 cup of baking soda 1/2 bucket of cold water. Rinse it out.
   
3. Launder the garment in the washing machine as usual, according to the instructions on the garment label

How to remove toilet ordor

Here are some suggestions:

1. Open the windows and door wide to allow fresh air to circulate through the toilet; and
2. Light a match in the toilet and douse it by throwing it directly into the toilet, OR
   Light a lighter in the toilet for 1 minute to burn up the methane in the air
3. Add indoor plants in the toilet such as money plants,  OR
4. Add a few drops of essential oil or aromatherapy oil into the toilet bowl, let it sit for 5 minutes then flush the toilet, OR
5. Pour a cup of vinegar into the toilet bowl and flush it off immediately.

How to remove tissue or lint from clothes without lint removers

In case of laundry accidents, whereby bits of paper, bits of tissue paper was washed together with the whole tub of laundry, all the clothes will emerge from the washing machine with lots of lint and papers pulps sticking to all the clothes.

Here's what to do:

1) Dry the laundry first
2) Use a lint remover to remove all the dried up tissue on the clothes; OR

Use sticky tape or scotch tape or masking tape to remove the paper bits

Cleaning up raw egg dropped on the floor

Ooops...... Crack!! There goes the egg. It all messy on the floor now. If we bring out the paper towels for that, it will take tons before every last drop in wiped up.

Try this:

1. Pour lots of salt to cover up the egg mess. 
2. Let it sit for awhile. The egg will absorb the salt and become firm.
3. Once the egg mess firms up, pick it up and dump it off

Remove excess fat or grease in the soup

I have just made a pot of clear chicken soup for dinner and just realised that the soup is too greasy! Oh, nightmare! The soup is ruined for good!

Here goes some tried and tested methods:

1. Keep the fire going for the soup. Shift the pot slightly to one side of the burner. The excess fat will be concentrated to one side of the pot. Use a skimmer and skim the surface to remove excess fat
   
   Or
2. Pop some cold lettuce leaves into the soup and remove them immediately.
   
   Or
3.  Drop some ice cubes into a slotted spoon or ladle and skim the surface to remove excess fat.
   
   Or
4. Drag a clean paper towel over the surface of the soup to soak up the fat.
5. Refrigerate the soup to chill it. The excess fat congeals at the surface of the soup. When that happens, lift it off with a spoon. However, do note that refrigerating the soup takes hours (at least 3 hours) before the fat congeals.