Clever tip test: Does spaghetti work as a candle lighter?

Reader Rebecca Maupin of Matthews made the following tip. Try it yourself and post to the blog and let us know if it works. One  person will win a $5 Bojangles card.


 If you need a long match but don't have one, grab a piece of dry spaghetti from your pantry. Strike a match, and hold the flame under the spaghetti until it ignites.   Once lit, extinguish the match and use the lit spaghetti to light the candle.  This tip  works for fireplaces & charcoal grills too.

Clever trick for solving Christmas Tree allergy

My family loves live Christmas trees. After several years of noticing that allergies got worse after the tree was put up, I decided to give the next tree a shower before we brought it in the house. Thanksgiving afternoon is always tree shopping time, we bring the tree home to a large bucket of water for a few days. While it's outside soaking up water, we hose it down to remove dust and pollen. End of allergy problem for Christmas! Gail Judy, Concord

Clever bedroom trick for keeping track of the remote

A Tip from a Clever reader........

After years of losing the bedroom TV remote under pillows, between covers and on the floor, I took an old eyeglass holder (non-rigid and open on one end) and attached it to the middle of the headboard. Now, either my wife or I can use the remote, replace it in a findable place and forego the endless searches we used to endure.

Ed Carlson, Charlotte

Smart Storage Tips.

I use the clear plastic containers that Asian restaurants put soup,etc. in on my work benches. As they are see through, you can put nuts, bolts, screws or any small hardware in them, and see exactly what's inside.
Matt Nowell, Charlotte

This is my hint for storing all those pocketbooks we ladies accumulate:
I bought an inexpensive package of metal shower rings and clipped them together into several chains of different lengths. I then screwed a large teacup hook into the back of my closet wall and hung the chains. In the hooks I hung my pocketbooks by the straps, and now no more bulky bags in dresser drawers or stacked on shelves.
Jeanne Stamm, Charlotte

Clean your headlights with toothpaste? Plus: Farmer's Almanac giveaway

Turns out thousands of people are curious about headlight cleaning kits, who knew?  Here's a frugal tip from David Paul of Newton. Proceed at your risk.And if you do, post to the site and let us know how it works.

Rather than purchase a kit, I reasoned that the abrasiveness of the polish in these kits had to be gentle enough not to ruin the headlamp.  This seemed to be the same principal behind toothpaste.  For our 2001 Toyota Sienna, I applied a small amount of toothpaste to a damp cloth and proceeded to polish the headlamp by hand, using no more pressure than I would if I were hand washing the car.

I repeated the procedure, then removed the toothpaste with a wet cloth.  I expected the oxidation to return in a few minutes, but it didn't. Although the headlamps do not look new, the results were about 90% effective. It has been several months since I polished the lenses and the oxidation has not returned.

I have a free copy of the 2012 edition of the Old Farmer's Almanac. Make your pitch to clever@charlotteobserver.com and be sure to include mailing address and one great clever tip to be eligible.

Clever party tips. Yours could win a $10 gift card

This week's 'Clever; winner: We all know how frustrating it can be to get ice from a cooler when there’s also lots of water from melting ice. A great way to retrieve ice – not water – is to put a festive funnel in your cooler for your party friends to use. Ice can easily be scooped out and water is no longer a problem! Patti Alexander, Shelby

Cool wine glass tags

I had a group of friends coming over for a party. I do not own wine tags. (And I have been at parties where people can’t remember which one is theirs, anyway.) So, I grabbed Post-it Sticky Flags (super narrow Post-its). I plopped a permanent marker next to them and told everyone to choose one and initial it.

We stuck the labels on the base of the glasses and it worked like a charm. No one forgets their initials! And I don’t have to store tiny items. Emily Lekoski, Charlotte

Got more party tips?

Win a $10 Lowe’s card with your smart or frugal tip Send your tip, name, address and phone to clever@charlotteobserver.com or Home Section, Charlotte Observer, P.O Box 30308, Charlotte, NC 28230-0308.

Does headlight polish kit work? Readers weigh in.

When we asked readers to try out and review the Sylvania Headlight Restoration Kit, we heard from more than 60 people who wanted to give it a shot. Amazing. We picked two people at random: Andy Christy, who happens to be a planner for the city of  Concord, and Patrice Ross, of Charlotte. They both raved at the results of the $20 kit. We'll check back with them in six months to see how the lights held up. (This is not about cleaning lights, it's about removing scratches that can affect visibility.)

Anyone got another suggestion for a product to review? Email me at clever@charlotteobserver.com

Andy Christy: I used it on a 1996 Honda Civic, which still has it's original headlights. The headlights were very cloudy and made seeing at night difficult. I planned on replacing the headlights but decided to try the Sylvania kit first. The directions were very straightforward and easy to understand. It took me about 20 minutes to complete the process. It was very easy to follow the instructions and minimal effort was required. I was actually surprised at how clear the headlights turned out. They look brand new! We took the car out tonight and the difference in the dark was obvious. I'm curious as to how long the clarity will last. This was much easier and cheaper than buying and installing new lenses, which would have cost $60. I would recommend this product to a friend

Patrice Ross:  It's is easy to use and the instructions are simple. What I liked best is the fact that the kit contains everything you need except water and paper towels.  With other products, you have to buy the cleaner and the sand paper and and any other items needed to complete the job.The application process is a simple 4 step process and to do both headlights took only about 35 minutes.

The results were phenomenal, in my opinion.  I can actually see down the road at night. My headlights look like they are new. Would I reccomend this product to my friends......YES!!!

Save money on paint containers

From: A reader

Hi, My Son does alot of painting on his job. He also has done quite a bit of painting for me at my home. It seemed he was forever buying those little paint buckets, which are quite flimsy. I save my empty Maxwell House Coffee containers. They are a solid blue plastic with a handle on them and a wide opening. They also have a snap on lid so you don't have to worry about any paint drying out in them if you should need to carry your project over to another day. They can also be washed out easily and used over and over again. As a contractor he absolutely loves my idea and says that they work great.


Footnote

In researching this important issue, I happend across a web site
http://www.wackyuses.com/maxwell.html called Joey Green's Wacky Uses for Maxwell House Coffee. He had another great suggestion for empty coffee container: Waterproof Toilet Paper Roll Storage.

This is why Al Gore invented the Internet....
Roland Wilkerson

Coming Up soon: Reader reviews of the Sylvania Headlight Polishing Kit

Win gadgets that power your gadgets

On Saturday, I reviewed several different devices that will charge your cell phones, smart phones, and other gadgets when you lose power. With more people than ever giving up land lines for phone service, that can be a public safety issue.

I got the items free to review, and now I'm giving you the chance to win them. It's part of a shameless appeal to readers to book mark this blog for frequent visits. We'll offer money saving tips from readers, and maybe more product reviews.

We have two readers trying out a headlight-polishing kit at the moment.

E-mail clever@charlotteobserver.com to make your pitch for the following items. Include name and address. Winner names will be published.

The Duracell Instant Charger is a rechargeable battery you can use to charge mobile devices that come with USB power cords. It can be charged either off your computer or household current. Retail: $29.99.

K-Tor Pocket Socket: If you ever worry about being stranded and don’t trust battery rechargers, this is for you (www.k-tor.com). But cranking is not for the feeble. Retail: $45.

Eton Rover Radio: This hand-crank device delivers both flashlight and radio without batteries. One minute of cranking gets you 20 minutes of light or about 33 minutes of radio, though you can get both at the same time. Quite amazing. You can also use it to charge a phone but it took me nearly 10 minutes to get my iPhone going. Strictly a last resort as a phone charger. Retail: $50.

Save money on bed sheets?

This tip came in from a reader......

I have noticed that my bed sheets wear out at the foot area so when I buy new bed sheets, I use a permanent magic marker and mark one corner. I usually wash my sheets and put them back on the bed because it is easier for me. I always take notice of which corner my mark is on and move it a quarter turn so my sheets wear evenly. They last much longer that way.

Want to review a headlight restoration kit for 'Clever'?

Up Date: We heard from more than 60 people wanting to review this. We've picked two. Stay tuned for their findings.
Roland Wilkerson


Sylvania has sent me two car headlight restoration kits for Clever readers like you to try out and review. As you know, many cars today have plastic headlight covers that scratch and become fuzzy with age.

Here's the product claim: The Headlight Restoration Kit from SYLVANIA was designed to remove thousands of miles of damage and restore headlight lenses to provide durable and like-new performance in light output. This do-it-yourself kit helps reduce headlight glare by up to 70 percent and removes the hazy yellow appearance on lenses. Retail: $19.99


I'm looking for two different readers willing to give it a shot. No tools required but we need you to commit to a little elbow grease. No tools necessary, according to the kit.

You'd need to be able to:
A. Pick up the kit from the Observer.
B. Be able to shoot "before" and "after: JPEG photos and email them to us. We'd need your photo, too.

C. Write a 100 word (max!) review telling us if the kit worked, was worth the money and reaonably easy to accomplish.

Still interested? Email clever@charlotteobserver.com

Should you let pets drink your air conditioning water?

I've heard from a lot of people who are excited to recycle the water pumped out by air conditioning units to water plants and pets. I even got an email the other day from someone who said it was a great source of free drinking water.
I couldn't help but think: IS THIS REALLY A GOOD IDEA?
I contacted public health and environmental microbiologist Otto (Chip) D. Simmons, III at N.C. State.
His Advice:
1. Not only is it a bad idea to collect that water for drinking, you should not give it to you pets, either.
2. In fact, you should be careful about using the water on anything in the garden you might end up eating.
He Explains:
"I believe the water to be unsafe because it can have some concentration of metals from either the coils or from the drip pan or there is a high likelihood that there are microbial contaminants in the water.
It is not uncommon for the drain pans in air conditioning units to "plug" due to biofilms which are comprised of bacteria, fungi, and algae. There are reports of many bacterial pathogens associated with things like drain pans, including Legionella, a bacterial pathogen with significant adverse health consequences.
This practice is also extremely hazardous as the family pet could potentially become sick and then infect the rest of the family.
I would strongly suggest against using this water in gardens for growing vegetables that will be consumed raw or only partially cooked. I believe the water can be used in flower gardens with little consequence, but again, suggest strongly against using it in a vegetable garden. "

Today's tip:

Recently we used Glad Press 'N Seal Plastic wrap to cover my mother's shoulder and wrist after surgery so she could take a shower. The plastic wrap adhered to her skin without irritating her stitches and was waterproof enough for her to get it wet. Melissa Cannito, Charlotte.

Post comments on the blog.
Send tips to clever@charlotteobserver.com

The blog about saving money

In February 2010, the Features Department of the Charlotte got a letter from someone who used an ATM envelope as their own personal stationery. Whoa.

We figured there were a lot of super-frugal people out there who had money-saving tips and asked readers to send them in for a week-long series called "I'm So Cheap."

It was so popular, several people wrote to say we should keep going. We listened, and it became a regular feature in Saturday's Home section. We eventually changed the name to "I'm So Clever," because many of you objected to being called 'cheap.' Being thrifty, 'green' or just plain smart doesn't make you 'cheap,' several of you said. Fair enough.

No we've added an online conversation. Send your clever ideas for what we could do here and ways to expand conversation. For instance. I'm thinking readers looking for help with a problem could use this forum to get answers from others. I know there are better ideas out there. After all, you're the clever ones. To be eligible for the $10 Lowe's card, email tips to clever@charlotteobserver.com
And, of course, we'll continue publishing them in the paper, and running more tips right here.

Here's one from Ruth Hart in Mint Hill:
Baking season is here and you come accross several recipes for small amounts of vegatable oil. Save a dishwasher soap container/ clean very well / fill with vegatable oil and label. Since it has the small opening it is very easy to measure small quantities without handling a large bottle.



Roland Wilkerson