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This has already been quite the busy week, most of which has been spent reminding myself that I’m an adult and have to do things like renew my tag, visit the bank, and make lots of boring phone calls. I tend to procrastinate on these kinds of things more than I’d like, but I suppose that’s a good thing since they’ll pile up to a single week of getting lots of things crossed off my to-do list, for which I can then procrastinate until they pile up again. #circleofbills
And remember: as kids, we were willing to trade these adult responsibilities for the prospect of being able to eat cake for breakfast and stay up as late as we want.
…I just wish I still had the metabolism to not gain weight when I did those things (#suckered).
Anyway, I thought that this week could use an infusion of something fun for you guys to get out of this busy week, regardless if I have time to photograph some new projects or not (I should have one up before week’s end though). Hence, a giveaway. And it’s also from one of my favorite brands and they seem to love it when I ramble on nonsense like this, even when it has nothing to do with clothing, gear, or coveting their awesome leather bags.
Oh — and Father’s Day is coming up, so this is a pretty decent chance to not get him a tie he won’t wear. Two of you will win a $50 gift card, which you can either give to him, give to someone else, or keep for yourself. No judgement here.
Giveaways are never fun unless I ask you to answer a funny question, so once again we’ll keep this simple as usual with you providing some entertainment in the form of Q & A. So here’s the question you’ll have to answer in the comments:
Q: What was the STRANGEST advice you ever heard, but that actually WORKED?
As usual, I’ll answer first! A: Duct tape gets rid of warts. I’m serious. It works. I tried it on the bottom of my foot back in high school, and it saved me from an extremely painful foot surgery.
I’m using Rafflecopter for this giveaway, so if you have trouble entering or seeing it on a reader, you’ll probably need to click through (you’ll have to click through to leave the comment anyway, so this shouldn’t be much of an issue).
Onto the giveaway! Here are the other rules/details:
- Prize: $50 gift card to Duluth Trading Company
- Number of winners: 2
- Giveaway ends: Sunday, June 14 11:59 PM
- Ships: U.S. only.
- To enter: leave a comment answering the question above & mark that you’ve entered on Rafflecopter (you must do both to achieve entry).
I was going to say the duct tape/wart thing too! I had the exact same issue in high school and duct tape did the trick. My husband thinks I’m crazy, but it really works!
Hey, cool. Thanks :) The weirdest advice I ever got was to write down what I want to come true. I was all, whatever, shut up, that’s dumb, I don’t believe in magic, shut up some more. But then I did it and it works. I wrote down stupid stuff since I thought it was a stupid exercise, like Go to Brasil. Then I ended up less than a year later going to Brasil, without really any foresight or planning. It’s worked for tons of other big life events as well. I don’t go back and look at what I wrote until maybe a year later or more, and by that time I’ve totally forgotten what I wrote. I don’t know HOW it works, but my belief system is 100% science-based so I imagine it’s something to do with registering it subconsciously and it sticks with you in your day-to-day. No clue. But try it, really, all you have to lose is like 2 minutes and 1 piece of paper.
Orajel on mosquito bites – stops the itching in its tracks. Immediately. Forever. Try it – it has changed my life.
soak crusty dirty greasy stove grates in a bag with a few tablespoons of Ammonia over night and they will be sparkly new in the morning! I never scrub anymore.
Peeing around your backyard to keep bobcats away. Sometimes, you just need to keep them from eating lunch on your back porch and I was told to basically let me husband have a boy’s night, give them a bunch of beer, and let them loose in the backyard. Ugh…
I have a light fixture that uses the delicate little candelabra bulbs. They burn out frequently and the glass part often disassociates itself from the metal base when I try to remove the burned out bulb. Raw potato pushed into the socket is a good bulb base sticker-on-er-remover tool. And edible (do not eat bulb base)
drinking a glass of water upside down while plugging your ears gets rid of hiccups. you look ridiculous and it take some talent, but it works!
If you burn yourself, touch the injured part to the fatty, bottom part of your ear. It sucks the pain right out. Really works, don’t know why. This probably only works with your hand and fingers. If you burn a toe, it would look goofy trying to get that to touch your ear!
Crest toothpaste to dry up zits. It totally works!
What was the STRANGEST advice you ever heard, but that actually WORKED? A teaspoon full of sugar makes hiccups go away – it always works for me thanks to my grandma!
Wear sunscreen. I heard it in a song once ;)
(…as I sit here with my back totally sunburned)
I am trying the old put a bar of soap between sheets to help with leg cramps….so far, so good! Would love to win!
I ride a motorcycle and I was once told to use furniture polish (like Pledge) on the plexi visor to clean it. It seemed weird to me at the time, but it does seem to work. I’ve looked online since then and others use and it have been doing so for many years!
Drinking water from the far side of the glass while you are hunched over gets rid of hiccups!
Eat a spoonful of peanut butter to get rid of hiccups. When I heard about it I thought I might as well try it – if it didn’t work at least I got to eat some peanut butter – but I’ve done it several times now and it is 100% effective for me.
Great tip! And great news… you’re one of the winners! Congrats!
toothpaste on minor burns
As a Boy Scout, I came across many strange tips and tricks. The weirdest? You can easily catch fish with only spit and your shirt. Simply wade into the water, submerge your shirt, and spit on the surface of the water. Minnows and smaller fish will think it is food and swim over your shirt, which you can quickly lift out of the water, catching them. If the fish you catch are not big enough for your needs, you can easily use them as bait for larger fish.
The best part? It works.
If you put an ice cube in the dent furniture leaves in carpet, as it melts it magically fixes the dent. Even worked when my grandpa sold his house where the couch had been sitting in the same spot for 50 years… Didn’t fix the faded colors though :)
I’ve always heard that peanut butter cures hiccups. So I keep a jar of peanut butter and a spoon and when I get the hiccups, it just takes one spoonful of peanut butter and hiccups are gone!
Wash your hands with vinegar to prevent basic grout from burning skin on your fingers (grout strawberries).
The strangest advice I’ve heard is to put onions in your socks to break a fever, and it does work.
I was told to put Vicks vapo rub on my toenail to get rid of fungus. (By a doctor.) Didn’t work for me!
I was advised to put cucumber slices in my bra when I had mastitis. It really helped cool the burning and reduced the pain – plus, no bra chafing. Weird but true.
Plus, you can use the rest of the cucumber for a refreshing drink/great salad =). It may be a weird tip, but also a great one… because it won! You are one of the winners for the Duluth Trading GC. Thanks so much for participating!
A spoonful of honey helps soothes a cough.
Good tip! I’ll have to try duck tape on my one knuckle! Thanks! Also Duluth Trading Company is ah-MAZ-ing!!!
Put meat tenderizer on bug bites. It stops the itch. I learned that in summer camp many, many years ago!
I was told to put a dollop of toothpaste on a zit overnight to dry it out.
Toothpaste takes the hard water grime off of glass shower doors/panels — works like a charm! I’m never going back to regular bathroom glass cleaner for our glass enclosed shower!
I grew up putting chewing tobacco and meat tenderizer on wasp stings and it always works!
What a great prize, thanks!
Oh man!
I’d say gargling with straight up garlic extract for a sore throat. It is so gross but nothing has ever worked better and when you’re in that kinda pain, you’ll do just about anything.
also, that bag is super gorgeous!
Strangest advice came from my doc when I had a blocked salivary gland. “Go home and sucked on a cut lemon 2 or 3 times a day.” Worked. Nothing like being told to suck on a lemon as professional advice!
Rub a cut onion on your hot grill to prevent food from sticking.
White vinegar on mosquito bites takes away the itch – leaves you smelling like a pickle though…
You know how in cartoons, when someone goes to sneeze and ends up with a finger laid under their nose to make it stop, and it works? Cartoons or not, someone told me that there is a pressure point right at the middle base of your nose and if you press hard, it will stop a sneeze. Totally works!
Hands down, putting cabbage in your bra when your milk first comes in (talking about nursing babies here) to relieve pain. It seemed crazy as hell, but OMG it worked!
The tinfoil baking soda trick to clean silverware!! Science :)
I was told to use a mixture of honey and vinegar for chest congestion. Don’t know if it works. I didn’t have the nerve to try.
When someone has the hiccups ask them a totally random question to get them to stop. My default is, “when was the last time you saw a purple unicorn laughing and sneezing when crossing the street”? For some reason, making them think about your obscure question totally makes the hiccups go away!
I was told to soak your feet in Listerine mouth wash if you have toenail fungus.
Your own saliva will take out your own blood stain, learned from my mom who is a quilter and it works!!
demureprincess7(at)gmail(dot)com
My grandma would put either egg whites in your hair to make it shiny. It totally works!
Cabbage leaves for breast engorgement..works like a charm.
Soak your nails in mayo for easy cuticle removal.
To put a cup of anomia in the oven overnight before cleaning. The oven cleans up easier, IT WORKS.
I was told that people love to talk about themselves, so if you can get them to talk about themselves, they’ll like you because of it. I used this at a job interview and beat out 20 other applicants.
Apply Vicks vapor rub/mentholatum to get rid of toe nail fungus. This really works too! My fungus and husband’s was gone in 5 weeks!
I’d say the strangest advice I ever heard was to pee on a jellyfish sting. Glad to say that I’ve had the opportunity to try it out.
Oh dear, that was meant to say that I’ve NOT had the pleasure of trying it out.
Changing your pillow case every night will clear skin.
I tried this recently ,& it worked! Our car’s headlight’s were not seeming as bright as they once were. Upon a suggestion of a friend, we cleaned them w non-gel toothpaste. It worked ever so much better than windex!=^_^*=
When you get your hair colored and it leaves a stain around your hairline you can use Windex to remove it.
Use vinegar & nothing else for basic cleaning like counters etc
The best advice I’ve ever been given: You’re workout isn’t done until you drink all your water. “All” in my case is the first 30oz of my day, my entire Blender Bottle. Sometimes I’m done working out and then stand by the door of the gym and won’t let myself leave until I finish my water. That little trick helped me lose 80 pounds. It works!
To eat peanut butter to get rid of hiccups. I’ve been using it for years and it works every time (the tongue pulling one, not so much).
weird but true my grandmother told me slap a banana peel (the inside part) on an itch caused by a bug bite or poison ivy; this bring down the inflammation and relieve the itch. & it work’s
Apple Cider Vinegar gets rid of skin tags. Thank you for the wonderful giveaway.
Erin
Use black pepper directly on a cut to stop bleeding – it coagulates the blood.
Shallow containers of cheap beer will attract and kill slugs to keep them away from plants like strawberries.
Drink water upside down to get rid of hiccups. Sounds complicated but you just bend over and drink from the other side of the cup. So when the rim of your water glass would normally go around your nose, it goes around your chin instead. Hope that makes sense. Works everytime!
Cornstartch for dry shampoo (if your hair isn’t real dark) AND for setting your makeup! I used to spend insane amounts of money on fancy translucent powders, now I use nothing but the lightest dusting of cornstarch. Lasts all day and is SO CHEAP. It’s the best!
Eat a spoonful of sugar to cure hiccups! It totally works!
I think I may have been the last person to learn about the superpowers of vinegar, as now I see the tips everywhere but basically use it to clean anything and everything. My favorite use is when I inevitably forget clothes in the washer too long and they have that horrible smell to run a quick cycle with just vinegar, smell gone instantly!
Put a little pouch of coffee grounds in your gym bag to get rid of unwanted odors!
Taking a shot of apple cider vinegar for acid reflux – it seems totally counter-intuitive, but if Tums ain’t workin, it’s b/c you don’t have enough acid in your stomach to digest your food…. ACV FTW!
Gently boil painted hardware on the stovetop (or in a crockpot) to strip the paint off (and make sure you don’t use your pot for regular cooking after!)
Also, use coconut oil to cure diaper rash – is there NOTHING coconut oil can’t do?!?!?!?
Using peppermint essential oil on a cotton ball to keep ants off your counter tops.
I was definitely browsing the Duluth website earlier this morning while waiting for a report to load. How is Father’s Day only 10 days away? Anyway, I was told that scaring someone helps get rid of the hiccups. Sure enough, it seems to work!
An oldie but a goodie- mud on a bee sting.
The strangest good advice I ever heard came from, not kidding, an episode of Jeopardy. If you have a tension headache, put a wine cork between your teeth for a few minutes to relax and stretch out your jaw muscles. It feels weird when you’re biting down on the cork, but when you take it out, voila, tension gone.
Apple cider vinegar for indigestion. My dad suggested while I was pregnant, and I was completely skeptical. I was also tired of carrying around a bottle of Tums. Tums that weren’t even working for me. So I braved the spoonful of vinegar, and magic! It totally works!
When you’re stuck and can’t decide between 2 options, flip a coin. Then examine your feelings about the
“winner” and “loser”. You don’t have to choose the ‘winner’.
Add your crusty stove burners into a ziplock bag with 1/4 cup of ammonia, seal it up and leave it overnight. Thanks to the ammonia fumes, the grease will wipe off easily with a sponge.
The strangest advice I’ve ever received is to get rid of hiccups like this: put a butter knife blade side down into a glass of water, but the end of the handle in the center of your forehead. Now, tip your head back and drink the water from the cup. You can stop drinking for a second if you need to but you can’t put your head down and the knife has to stay on your head. Finish all the water and your hiccups should be gone!!
It has worked for me a number of times.
I have a cold closet I stored onions in one year, and even though I thoroughly cleaned it, I could not get rid of the lingering onion smell. A friend told me to put a plate or bowl of charcoal in the room. I had heard of charcoal filters before as part of an air purifier, but I figured air had to pass through the charcoal to work….so I didn’t expect her suggestion to work but it totally did. I ended up buying plain charcoal briquettes and putting them in a cotton pillowcase, and put it in a corner of the room and viola! no stank!
Use peppermint oil in trash cans to rid of rodents of your trash
Opening a beer bottle with a lighter? I mean, this was in my 20s when it shocked me (happily).
Coconut oil for cradle cap. Worked great for my baby when nothing else would!
Eating garlic can stop a cold from coming on, it really works!
LOL..i hate admitting this..but i was young ok..bury boxer shorts of the man you want to love you in the front yard and water it for a week..the dude would not leave me alone..lol
Turn bend over at the waist and drink a cup of water while your head is upside down to get rid of the hiccups. I’m sure the redirected concentration must be what makes it work, but for whatever reason, it has worked for me!
If you have sciatica, place a folded up hand towel under your butt cheek on the side that hurts. It shifts the spine just enough to relieve the pressure on the nerve.
A swig of apple cider vinegar during a leg cramp will relieve the pain in mere seconds. Or maybe it’s just the nasty taste that is distracting!
drink a cup of coffee before taking a power nap! works like a charm
I just learned that if you lift one leg in the air while you are in the dentist’s chair, you won’t gag when they are doing things like taking X-rays (which always makes me gag. TMI?) It’s made going to the dentist so much more pleasant!
Have the hiccups? Hold your breath and swollow 4 times!
Elmer’s school glue (the old white stuff that’s been around forever) has all sorts of uses in quilting.
Where to start? There have been way too many to list, but one I keep going back to is putting honey on my lips. You’d be amazed at the results. Cold sores? Ultra-dry lips? Dab on a little bit of honey – it is excellent for repairing dry and cracked skin, while simultaneously warding off bacteria. No more expensive chap sticks for me. And the best part? It’s all natural and available almost anywhere for when I need it in a pinch!
Apple cider vinegar rinse to fix swimmers hair. My daughters hair went from straw like to soft in just a couple of treatments!
Spray Lemon Pledge anyplace that ants come into your house and they will never come in. It really works!
don’t use antibacterial soap to be healhier!
Don’t make any changes to your new house or garden without living with it as is for a while.
super glue is great for closing up cuts, especially if you can’t keep a bandage to stay put
I think everyone already knows this one, but it still blows my mind that rice will dry our and save a soaked phone. I’ve seen it work on a laptop, too!
A spoonful of sugar as a hiccup cure. Something about the gritty texture or focusing on swallowing, or maybe it was the excitement of being allowed to eat straight sugar as a kid that worked.
The strangest advice, hmm that’s a hard one. Is use a potato skin as a bandage. For a bruise or burn, A raw piece of potato placed directly on the wound has been shown to alleviate pain and reduce inflammation and it works.
Smear Preparation H Cream on Your Face to Smooth Wrinkles, but it really works! I have tried it and it helps.
Most recently I learned that Vanilla air fresheners keep flies away.
Use dryer sheets to clean the TV screen and the computer screen and use newspaper to clean windows. Do not get streaks either way.
to take a tablespoon of honey when I start to feel sick, and it works
I had the hiccups for the longest time. One of my coworkers came up to me and said I will buy those hiccups from you for a quarter. She gave me a quarter, and I guess I gave her my hiccups, because they were gone. I have tried this with other people, and it worker. crazy.
I was once told that if you really want to win something you have to act like you are but that you really don’t care. It works all the time for me! Though I don’t know why I would want another gift card. Sigh!