Marion Nee, the Martha Stewart of Lanikai.

I want to share some of my favorite household hints. I am always looking for a better way to do things and save time, energy, and money. Some of these are from folks I know who have shared their favorites and some are my own creations. Next month for part two of the household hints I will be sharing my neighbor, Marion Nee's incredible hints. We call her the Martha Stewart of Lanikai. This is a column you won't want to miss.

Reheat Pizza
Heat up leftover pizza in a non-stick skillet on top of the stove, set
heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No
soggy micro pizza. In my house we have lots of reheated pizza.

Easy Deviled Eggs
Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all
broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up
mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg.
Just throw bag away when done easy clean up.

Expanding Frosting
When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with
your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to
frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less
sugar/calories per serving.

Reheating Refrigerated Bread
To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place
them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will
keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.

Newspaper Weeds-Away
Start putting in your plants, work the nutrients in your soil. Wet
newspapers, put layers around the plants overlapping as you go, cover
with mulch and forget about weeds. Weeds will get through some
gardening plastic, they will not get through wet newspapers.

Broken Glass
Use a dry cotton ball to pick up little broken pieces of glass - the
fibers catch ones you can't see.

No More Mosquitoes
Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away.

Mold and Mildew Smells
Place dryer sheets under the cushions of your furniture and in the linen closet. Also place in storage bags when storing the blankets and winter clothes.

Winter clothes for storage.

Flexible Vacuum
To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an
empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can
be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.

Reducing Static Cling
Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a
clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when
wearing panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and static
is gone.

Measuring Cups
Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill it with
hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry the cup. Next, add
your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes
right out.

Foggy Windshield?
Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the
glove box of your car. When the windows fog, rub with the eraser. Works
better than a cloth.

Reopening Envelope
If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include
something inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an
hour or two. It unseals easily.

Conditioner for Shaving Legs
Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's a lot cheaper than
shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way
to use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it
in your hair.

Good-bye Fruit Flies
To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass fill it 1/2" with
Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dishwashing liquid, mix well. You
will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever.

Get Rid of Ants
Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it
"home," & can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so,
especially if it rains, but it works and you don't have the worry about pets or
small children being harmed.

Take Baby Powder to the Beach
Keep a small bottle of baby powder in your beach bag. When you're ready
to leave the beach sprinkle yourself and kids with the powder and the
sand will slide right off your skin.

To Restore Mildewed Leather Jackets or Pants
Rub the item with baby oil and let it soak in for 10 minutes. Wipe away the excess oil and shine with a dry cotton cloth. Save your leather garments and avoid the high cost of having them professionally cleaned.

Sponge Germs
If you do not want to throw away the old sponge every week as I do, then microwave it each night for one minute on high setting in your microwave. The heat kills lots of germs.

I am always searching for interesting things to do in my home to make life easier so I can have more time to go to the beach. How about you?  Do you have any household hints that you can share with folks who live here on the islands of Hawaii?  Leave a comment or email me. Thanks for reading my column. You are welcome to print it out as a reference. Remember to spread the Aloha spirit where ever you live.