Removing musty odor from stored clothing.
Believe it or not, I saved a lot of my kid’s baby clothes. Unfortunately after storing them in plastic bags in tightly sealed containers, they smelled like old plastic & not at all good for ANYONE to wear, much less a sweet little baby! Since they were still in good condition & worth saving, I set out to figure out the solution. Here is what works:

• Measure about 3/4 cup Borax and dissolve in a couple of gallons of hot water – enough to cover a load of clothes that fill a dishpan 3/4’s full.
• Add the clothes & push down into the hot water (I used a wooden spoon).
• Let them sit until the water is cool or a couple of hours.
• Wash regularly with a small amount of Dreft (or other mild detergent) and use 2 Tablespoons of vinegar in the rinse solution.

This works well except for really dark clothes – just use warm water for them. Honestly, I never tried using only cold water – it may have been just fine!

I probably should have pack them with some cedar planks in boxes rather than tightly packed in plastic tubs. Another observation… elastic is not so elastic after 30 years. Duh.

Homemade Bath Salts.
1 part Baking Soda (1/4 cup)
3 parts Epsom Salts (3/4 cup)
6 parts Coarse Sea Salt (1 1/2 cups)
Add 10 drops natural scents (2 drops less if using lavender since its stronger)
Package up nicely – tie with a ribbon and give as a gift.

Finger tip cut off? I figured out that if you almost cut off the tip of your finger it works well to use saran wrap to stop the bleeding. If you use something like cotton or paper towel, then when you peel it off it sticks and you have to start all over again. Once the bleeding stops put polysporin and a bandaid on it and it works pretty well.