Household Hints (1944) AND VOTE FOR ME

EDIT: Just as I was about to publish this rather dry little post today, a text came through on my phone: “Are you aware that your website is listed as a contestant for Lulu’s Vintage people’s choice top 10 vintage clothing websites?” NO, NO I DID NOT. I realize that any ol’ person can write in any ol’ shop, but it is SUCH AN INCREDIBLE HONOR to know that one (or more) of my customers or colleagues submitted Tiddleywink for this annual competition! To be mingling with such fabulous company is just blowing my mind right now. And hey, yeah, vote for me! I do my best to find you pretty, affordable items, to research them thoroughly, and to list them with honesty and integrity. My shop is pretty terrific. 🙂

I now return you to today’s regularly scheduled programming.

Handy Hints from The Work Basket, Volume 9, No. 4 (January, 1944)

• To prepare sour milk quickly for use in baking soda recipes use 1 1-3 [sic] tablespoons vinegar in a cup, adding the sweet milk until the combination of milk and vinegar equals the quantity of sour milk required. Mix well. The resulting sour milk will react with ½ teaspoon soda. It can be used in place of sour milk or buttermilk in any baking soda recipe.
• When buying buckles or buttons to be used on wash dresses, don’t get the kinds that are glued on to the shanks. They will come off in laundering.
• After towels have been wrung out of last rinse, fold them as you would to put away on shelves, then run them back through wringer. Unfold once and lay towel over line, with crease of fold running along the line. They dry straight and are ready to be put on shelves.
• To avoid wrinkles in the legs of trousers caused by hanging across wire clothes hangers, cut a piece of fairly stiff cardboard two inches wide and two inches longer than the rack. Notch in one inch from each end and fit to rack. Trousers hung over this do not wrinkle even when left on for months.
• To make sure fudge will reach its destination in a good creamy condition, pour the warm candy into the box which you have previously lined with waxed paper. Allow to harden without cutting. Seal the top with Scotch cellulose tape.
• Cook liver first over high temperature to sear. This keeps in the juices. Then lower heat.
• The flavor of an apple pie is greatly improved if the juice of half a lemon is squeezed over the apples after they have been placed on the lower crust.
• Buttons which have been torn off children’s rompers or underclothing can be replaced by sewing the button securely to a small piece of strong tape. Push the button through the hole, leaving the new square on the wrong side of the garment. Fell this down to the garment beneath the button. Thus you are patching as well as sewing on the button.

Tomorrow: Christmas in July! A delightfully awful mid-century “glazed” ham that should never grace any holiday table.