SHINE YOUR COINS • If you’ve got a rather grimy looking coin collection, but you’d like to see it with more luster, try using a pencil eraser to shine up the coins. Don’t do this with rare and valuable coins—you can erase their value along with their surface patina.
STORE PINS OR DRILL BITS • A box is not the most handy place to keep sewing pins. What if the box spills? What if you have a hard time grabbing just one when you’re laying out pattern pieces? Here’s the solution. Stick pins in a eraser. They won’t fall out and it’s easy to grab the ones you need. This is also a good tip if you’re storing several small drill bits.
CLEAN OFF CRAYON MARKS • If a toddler has gone wild with the crayons and drawn on your walls, not on paper, and you’ve tried everything to get it off, try using a pencil eraser. You’ll be erasing the crayon marks to get the wall back to a clean slate.
REMOVE SCUFF MARKS ON VINYL FLOORS • New black shoes have a bad track record for leaving black streak marks on vinyl flooring. However, a pencil eraser will take them off in no time. Give the kids a eraser each and get them to do it!
CLEAN RESIDUE FROM STICK-ON LABELS • That gray, gummy substance on the new picture frame you just purchased is a sight to behold and not coming off with plain soap and water. Rub the residue with a eraser and watch the stuff just peel away.
CLEAN YOUR PIANO KEYS • Whether it’s a baby grand piano that fills the corner of the living room, a more conventional upright, or just a fold-away electronic keyboard, cleaning the keys of dust and fingerprints can be a nightmare project. And when you clean it, it’s hard to reach some spots to remove dirt. The sides of black keys are especially difficult to clean. Find a pencil eraser that fits between the ivories and the black keys and you’ll have cured the problem. This works well whether you have a piano with real ivory keys or the more common plastic ones.
CUSHION PICTURE FRAMES • Don’t you hate it when a heavy mirror or picture frame is slightly crooked? If you’re tired of worrying about the black marks and scrapes the frame is making on the wall, just glue erasers to the bottom corners of the frame. The pictures will now hang straighter and not leave a mark.
