Spoon
Original Use:
An eating utensil, best used for liquids such as soups.Was made famous by running away with the dish in a children’s nursery rhyme “Hey Diddle Diddle”, and can be re-purposed as a verb to describe cuddling (“spooning”)…
Double Agent Uses:
A parlour game (make it balance on your nose), or an eyelash curler.For real! Take any spoon (plastic or metal), close your eyes, and cover your eye with the bowl of the spoon (the curved-in part), while getting your eyelashes to stick out from the upper rim of the spoon.
With your other hand, use your fingers to bend your lashes up against the outside of the spoon and hold it for a few seconds. Warm fingers work best. And you can curl in sections.
Aspirin
Original Use:
To stop headaches caused by a number of factors, including annoying people on the train.Double Agent Uses:
An salicylic acid treatment (for acne). Crush it up into a fine powder and mix with water. Spread it on your face and let it dry. Go to bed. Wake up pimple-free. The reason why it works is because aspirin has properties of salicylic in it.
Conditioner
Original Use:
Great for conditioning your hair to make it feel soft and silky by covering it in a thin film of conditioning agentsDouble Agent Uses:
Moisturizing Body Wash or Shaving Cream (I actually prefer it over actual shaving cream).
Dental Floss
Original Use:
Getting gunky bits of food out from being wedged in between your teeth; Keeps your gums healthyDouble Agent Uses:
As a shoelace fix or a piece of string to tie something up in a pinch. It is surprisingly strong as it is made out of many little fibers, like spidersilk.Have you ever tried ripping a piece of that stuff in half with your bare hands!? (Rhetorical. I of course, have tried.)
Toothpaste
Original Use:
Used as a gritty paste to help scrub plaque away from your teeth. (I’ve switched to baking soda, same diff)Double Agent Uses:
To clean sterling silver. It is surprisingly effective and cheap. Dab some on a Q-Tip & start scrubbing.Avoid using whitening toothpaste on silver, and don’t leave the toothpaste on the silver or it will start to grow mold.
Honey
Original Use:
Made by bees, coveted by bears, stolen appropriated by humans.
Double Agent Uses:
A moisturizing, sticky lip gloss in a pinch. It works, but it isn’t very liquidy, I must admit. And then there’s the problem of eating it off your lips without knowing it…
Hey, these are short-term quick fixes!
Olive Oil
Original Use:
To eat and to dip soft pieces of French baguette into, with a splash of balsamic vinegar. Mmmmm…
Double Agent Uses:
A lip balm in a pinch, or my perennial favourite, an all over body moisturizer!
Be forewarned, it doesn’t absorb into your skin completely, as it is a pure oil. It WILL leave a film all over you, so I tend to do this mostly on my legs, and when I’m wearing skirts..
Oh and apparently butter and other oils work as well. I prefer olive oil, however…
Hand Sanitizer
Original Use:
Made to kill 99.9999% of all germs (bad AND GOOD bacteria). Used A LOT by paranoid, frantic mothers in playgrounds when little Timmy touches the miniature walking neighbourhood petri dish Tommy. (I am more of a warm water and soap kind of girl…)Double Agent Uses:
A quick way to refresh your roots when your hair is too oily.Instead of using baby powder (recommended for light-coloured beauties), use a small dab of hand sanitizer which is made out of alcohol, on your roots.
An alternative is to use witch hazel to rub into your roots. That’ll also refresh your hair.
Baby Powder
Original Use:
Used to pat on the bottoms of babies, around the world, to keep them feeling dry and smelling like a baby instead of a walking pooping machine.Double Agent Uses:
As a deodorant or as a in-a-pinch dry shampoo.As a deodorant, you can rub a little bit of it under your armpits and wear a long-sleeved shirt. In the summer, I almost like to spread it all over my body (on the parts that will be hidden to avoid looking like I played in a big tub of white flour) to keep dry and smell-free.
As a dry shampoo, this should only be used for light-haired beauties. You can also use corn starch instead of baby powder if you don’t have any around.
Yoghurt
Original Use:
To eat, to receive those awesome belly-friendly bacteria to keep your tummy happy and regulated.Double Agent Uses:
Plain yoghurt is great as a masque. I spread a table spoon or three, all over my face, leave it for half an hour (no fear of licking it off, it is gross without any sugar in it).. and my face feels refreshed, soft and more even-toned.
Rubbing Alcohol
Original Use:
Disinfectant for when you fall and scrape yourself. I think I also saw a hobo try to drink it as a cheap form of alcohol.. something I DO NOT recommend doing.
Double Agent Uses:
Use it to wash your feet and your armpits with. It will kill the bacteria responsible for causing that stink in your feet that you get from sweating a lot.
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Great tips. must try out soon. Olive oil works wonders at taking off make-up, especially waterproof eye make-up. You can also clean make-up brushes with the oil to dissolve waterproof eyeliner. just make sure you wash the brush with a mild shampoo afer
Ooh I never knew you could use hand sanitizer in place of dry shampoo. Genius! And definitely won't leave any white residue. Thanks!
Great post there are a lot of things I did not know about like the spoon, conditioner and a few others.
There is one old wives tale that I have tried and that actually works. If you sprain your ankle (which I have done a lot) you can take a brown paper bag and cut or rip into strips then soak the strips in vinegar which can be used for cooking or cleaning or even cleaning out your drains mixed with baking soda. Wrap the strips on your ankle and then apply your ace bandage or a very tight sock to hold in place and viola your swelling goes down and you can walk again. It may take a couple of applications but much cheaper than seeing a doctor unless you absolutely need or want to.
Thank goodness! Wow, Intense Debate was down for me so I couldn't post on your blog! What I wanted to say eons ago was, "Thanks for the tips." I've also heard of toothpaste as great acne killers, but that mess burned me one time and it took nearly 6 months for the scar to heal.
Interesting! I used to use the asprin thing all the time. Except I crushed it up mixed it with water and put it on. Once dried I would rub it in as I washed it off for a little exfoliating action.
I'm curious about the hand sanitizer thing as my bangs get super greasy.
Awesome post, FB!
I didn`t know most of these. I would also
Baker`s yeast
– good for cooking (duh!)
– also good as a vitamin and mineral supplement. This stuff is one of nature`s little wonders. It`s filled with vit from the B complex plus loads of minerals. I`m talking about the fresh stuff, not the dried yeast which comes in a sort of powder. Just eat a small 1cm cube piece in the morning and you`ll see, it does wonders for you. A very powerful detox agent.
– also good as an anti-acne treatment. Mix a small piece with water or fresh milk and apply as a mask.
A little cornstarch can help suck up the oils in your roots as well, if you don't feel like washing your hair.
But it mostly works for light coloured hair, right? Because cornstarch would make my head look grey…
Actually, I've got dark red hair and it still works. You just have use it sparingly and brush it through VERY thoroughly . If you dump half the box on your head and half-ass it, you will probably end up looking like you're going for a 'granny' costume. You can also use a little water at the roots if you put a little too much on.
LOL!!!!!!! granny costume. Thanks for the tip 🙂
This is quite interesting! Wouldn't the hand sanitizer dry out your hair too much though (because of the alcohol?) I guess it would work in a pinch but would wreak havoc on my hair.
Olive oil is also good for hair…I heard one of the stylists at the hair salon tell her client to continue with the olive oil treatment because her hair looked amazing (and indeed, it was full, shiny and silky). I have yet to try it though. Don't really have patience to wash oil out of my hair.
I have used dry shampoo (the white powdery kind) and I find that if I rub it in well enough and then brush my hair out, it doesn't leave a white or grey residue. Of course it requires more work than all the light haired chicks, but my hair looks great! Lots of volume and it looks clean.
Great post!!!
Another one that I thought of is lipstick. Original use to make lips look plumper and colourful. Double agent use: getting gum out of hair. No more taking scissors to those lovely locks, lipstick and some patience will get it out. Trust me, I've unfortunately used the technique.
I love this! I've used conditioner as a shaving cream many times (especially when travelling and I don't want to bring shaving cream) and it works great. Also a nice way to use up conditioner that you don't like for your hair 😉
I've never heard of using hand sanitizer as a hair refresher… I will have to try that one.
Wow, this is an awesome post! I definitely didn't know about most of these tips. But I definitely agree with the conditioner-for-shaving cream thing. My legs feel sooo much nicer when I use conditioner as opposed to actual shaving cream.
Great list!
I don't know if this happens to others– but, every once in awhile (like every stick or so) my body stops responding to my deodorant. (It does the same thing with shampoo! Sometimes as I'm finishing up a bottle I find I'm just not getting the same volume I used to) When this happens, I switch to using a hand sanitizer instead of deodorant.
I'm actually using it right now because I can't afford a new stick (and I want to switch to a chemical-free kind, so they're a bit more pricey). It works great.
Great post! You can hang pictures with dental floss – or fishing line. I have got rid of ants by making a line with talcum powder in front of the cabinet they infested, in front of my front and back doors. I thought it was a wives tale, but it worked. Apparently they don't like getting chalk on their feet. Prefer this to poisons even though I have no children or pets.
<3 using conditioner as shaving cream, except when *ahem* people buy salon hair stuff. *smh* Why would y'do that to me?? 😛
And a spoon as an eyelash curler?? Really? *goes to kitchen to try*