Week 14 of handy hints, where has the time gone?  Sometimes I sit to write a selection and the mind goes completely blank.  I wonder if anyone has a suggestion to help me overcome this problem? 😉

If you bathing sponge has become stale-smelling, just soak it in a strong baking soda solution for an hour and then rinse in clean water.

To relieve skin irritations, add baking soda to a bath filled with warm and not hot water.  It will also sooth the itching from measles & chickenpox

A five minute shower uses about a third of the water of a bath.  But power showers can use more water than a bath in less than five minutes.

To clean copper use left over lemon halves together with salt; the acid together with the abrasiveness of the salt really does the trick.

To ease aching muscles after the flu mix 1 tablespoon of horseradish in 1 cup of olive oil.  Let the mixture sit for 30 minutes, then apply it as massage oil.

UPDATE:  This is week 14 of the hints,and there will be a Special 14 on Saturday, so I am adding a little extra tip that I have stolen directly from Kenju who knows all about flowers!

This suggestion should have been posted a week ago! GUYS: If you are planning to order flowers for Valentine’s Day, don’t wait until Friday to do it!! And please consider ordering something other than red roses. The red ones are so ordinary and overdone – and there are many other gorgeous colors of roses available and many other types of beautiful flowers to buy instead of roses. Mixed bouquets usually last longer, too, assuming the flowers are in good condition when you get them.

Go to your local flower shop – and don’t call 1-800 numbers or florists listed on the web, unless you know their shop and can vouch for them. So many places these days are simply call centers which transfer your order to shops that use low grade flowers and charge the same as good shops would, but for inferior products. Part of the money you pay them for the flowers actually goes to transferring the order, so you are not getting full value for your money!

If you are willing to take delivery before Sat., you may be able to get a discount on delivery, and if you are willing to pick up the flowers and deliver them yourself, you’ll save a bundle on delivery fees.