To keep your bananas fresher longer, cut a small piece of clear plastic wrap about the size of the palm of your hand, wrap it tightly on the top crown of the bananas and they will last 3–5 days longer.

If you want to clean a pan that got badly burned, you can use:

1 cup vinegar

2 tablespoons of baking soda

1 cup or so of water

Fill the bottom of the pan with a layer of water, add the vinegar, and then bring the pan to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat and add the baking soda. Empty the pan and scour as normal. If necessary, add more baking soda.

You can make your own spot remover from hydrogen peroxide, Dawn dish soap, and baking soda. You need 2 parts of peroxide, 1 part Dawn, and 1 part baking soda. Mix very well. Scrub your stain with a brush and let it sit for about an hour. Then wash like normal. The stains usually come out very well with this method.

You can use Dawn to make your own ice packs. Fill a Ziplock bag with Dawn dish soap and freeze it. You end up with a gel type homemade ice pack and you don’t have to have anything toxic in it.

You can also use Dawn to get stains out of carpet. Just use Dawn mixed with peroxide to get the stains out.

You can make your own salt sock, good for kids who come down with earaches. Take a clean all-white cotton sock (do not used a colored sock). Then take 1 to 1½ cups of coarse sea salt. It must be coarse and it has to be sea salt. Carefully pour the salt into the sock. Tie a knot on the end about the size of your hand. Heat it in a clean skillet on medium heat for about 4–6 minutes. Pick it up and shake it around and flip it every minute or so in order for it to heat evenly until very warm, but not burning to the touch. Cover your ear behind your jaw bone with the sock and relax. Do not heat in a microwave. You can also add some essential oils like lavender if you like.

Gail Hochman has been a resident of Bergen County for over 30 years and has been blessed with many grandchildren.

By Gail Hochman