From The Tips Box: Coat Hooks, Door Stops, Grease Stains

Readers offer their best tips for impromptu coat hooks, making your own swinging door stops, and getting grease stains out of clothes.

Every day we receive stacks of great reader tips. From the Tips Box is where we round up some of our favourites. Got a tip of your own to share? Add it in the comments or send it using our [contact text=”contact form”].

Make Impromptu Coat Hooks with Over-The-Door Hangers

Jesse shares a tip for making sure guests can hang their coats:

Our house has small closets, so naturally they’re full with our own stuff. When we have company, we always end up putting coats on a bed somewhere and then having to go look for them later.

Our solution was to use an over-the-door hanger that has multiple hooks and put it on the outside of a closet door when we have company. The closet is usually in a better location (close to the front door) and the jackets are easy to find, plus it keeps them from being tossed on couches or on the floor. And if you don’t have a door in a great location, just put it on the outside of a bedroom door. People can still find their coats, but you don’t have to clean your room before they come.

Photo by Ryan Dickey.

Create a Door Stop with a Pool Noodle

Jonathan shares a tip for creating a quick, removable DIY door stop:

We wanted an easy way to make a removable door stop that would protect our kids from getting their hands caught between a swinging door and the wall. Our solution was really simple. Just cut a section from a pool noodle and place it over the edge of the door. You can pick up pool noodles for super cheap and they have other fun uses, too. The bright colour makes it obvious at a glance that the stopper is on the door and our kids’ hands are safe.

Remove Grease Stains from Clothes with Baby Powder

Denise shares her method for getting grease stains out of clothing:

All you need is any brand of baby powder, which usually has corn starch in addition to talcum powder. Dab up what you can of the stain with a paper towel. Don’t rub, just blot up the excess. Completely cover the stain with a generous helping of powder and then wait 5-10 minutes. You can see the powder absorb the grease. Finally, gently brush off the powder with your fingertips and the stain should be gone. Sometimes you’ll need to do it a second time. Then wash as usual.

Note that when you wash anything with a stain, be sure you check to make sure the stain is completely gone before tossing it in the dryer. The heat from the dryer can set the stain and make it much harder, if not impossible, to remove.