EXTRACT SALT FOR SOUP • If you go overboard when salting the soup, it’s not a problem. Just cut a few potatoes into large chunks. Toss them into the soup pot still on the stove. When they start to soften, in about 10 minutes, remove them and the excess salt they have absorbed. Save them for another use, such as potato salad.
REMOVE STAINS ON HANDS • Your family’s favorite carrot soup is simmering on the stove, and you’ve got the orange hands to show for it. Hard-to-remove stains on hands from peeling carrots or handling pumpkin come right off if you rub your hands with a raw, cut potato.
REMOVE A BROKEN LIGHT BULB • You’re changing a light bulb in the bedside lamp and it breaks off in your hand. So now the glass is off, but the stem’s still inside. Unplug the lamp, cut a potato widthwise and place it over the broken bulb. Twist, and the rest of the light bulb should come out easily.
REMOVE TARNISH ON SILVERWARE • High tea is being served at your house later today, and you’re out of silver polish. Grab a bunch of potatoes and boil them up. Remove them from the water and save them for another use. Place your silverware in the remaining water and let it sit for an hour. Then remove the silverware and wash. The tarnish should have disappeared.
MAKE A HOT OR COLD COMPRESS
Potatoes retain heat and cold well. The next time you need a hot compress, boil a potato, wrap it in a dishtowel and apply to the area. Refrigerate the boiled potato if you need a cold compress.
Here’s a way to demonstrate the power of air pressure.
Grasp a plastic straw in the middle and try to plunge it into a potato. It crumples and bends, unable to penetrate the potato. Now grasp another straw in the middle, but this time, put your finger over the top. The straw will plunge right into the tuber. When the air is trapped inside the straw, it presses against the straw’s sides, stiffening the straw enough to plunge into the potato. In fact, the deeper the straw plunges, the less space there is for the air and the stiffer
KEEP SKI GOGGLES CLEAR • You can’t keep a good lookout for trees and other skiers through snow goggles that fog up during your downhill descent. Rub raw potato over the goggles before you get on the ski lift and the ride down should be crystal clear.
HOLD A FLOWER ARRANGEMENT IN PLACE • If you have a small flower arrangement that you’d like to stabilize but have none of that green floral foam on hand to stick the flower stems in, try a large baking potato. Cut it in half lengthwise and place it cut side down. Poke holes where you want the flower stems to go and insert the stems.
MAKE A DECORATIVE STAMP
Forget those expensive rubber stamps that go for up to $20 or more apiece. A potato can provide the right medium for making your own stamp for decorating greeting cards and envelopes. Cut a potato in half widthwise. Carve a design on one half and start stamping as you would with a wooden stamp.
END PUFFY ‘MORNING’ EYES • We all hate waking up in the morning and looking at our mug in the mirror. What are those puffy spots on your face? Oh yeah, those are your eyes. A little TLC is what you need. Apply slices of raw, cold potatoes to your eyes to make the puffiness go away.
RESTORE OLD, BEATEN-UP SHOES • Try as you might, your old shoes are just too scuffed to take a shine anymore. They don’t have holes, and they are so nice and comfy that you hate to throw them away. Before you give them the brush-off, cut a potato in half and rub those old shoes with the raw potato. After that, polish them; they should come out nice and shiny.
