**To ward off gnats and mosquitoes, mix one tablespoon of vanilla extract with one cup of water and apply to skin. It's safe for babies and around eyes.

**When making a roast in the oven, add as much ice as you can. This keeps the meat from getting too warm before it actually starts to cook, and it makes liquid for gravy.

**Make the most of limited linen-closet space and keep sheets and pillowcases pressed and matched by storing as follows: Tuck a folded fitted sheet, flat sheet and pillowcase into a second pillowcase and fold it over once into a square stackable bundle.

**Before leaving home for several days, put a few ice cubes in a plastic bag and leave it in the freezer. If, upon your return, the ice cubes look like they melted and refroze, it'll alert you that a power failure occurred and some of your frozen goods may be spoiled.

** Are your spools of thread a jumble on the bottom of a sewing drawer? Try gluing golf tees to the bottom of the drawer, they make excellent spool holders.

**Don't discard marshmallows when they dry out and harden. Just put them in a plastic bag with a fresh slice of bread. It'll soften them.

**Squirt lemon juice on windowsills and the bottom of doors. Ants hate it.

**Add a few grains of rice to your salt shaker to absorb moisture and keep the salt from clumping together in humid weather.

**Get rid of fruit flies by setting out a container filled with 1/4 cup of vinegar and one drop of liquid soap. Set it well away from the fruit.

**If you drop a raw egg on the floor, sprinkle salt on it and it will wipe up easily.

**To quickly dry fingernail polish, dip your nails in ice water. The polish will harden much faster.

**If you have trouble with a zipper, rub some liquid soap up and down over it.

**If you want ice cubes in a hurry, use boiling water in the trays; it freezes faster.

**To clean mini blinds or shutters, use a clean paint brush. It's a lot cheaper than buying expensive blind cleaning tools.

**If you run out of whipping cream, try adding sliced bananas to the white of an egg. Beat until stiff. This makes an excellent topping for puddings and pies.

**To remove onion smell from hands, put your fingers on a stainless steel utensil, and hold your hands under cold running water. It works.

**A slice of stale bread placed on top of cabbage while cooking absorbs the odor.

**If you need to move heavy appliances in the kitchen, rub a small amount of cooking oil on the linoleum, it will move easier and won't scratch the floor.

**Steel wool scouring pads won't rust if you sprinkle baking soda in the bottom of the dish you store them in.