Fluster Buster

Solving Everyday Problems

Image Map
  • Home
  • Homemaking
  • Recipes
  • Great Ideas
  • Beauty

Household Tips: 30 Unusual Uses for Potatoes (WWII Series)

November 4, 2013 by Robin 4 Comments

This post may include affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy for more information.


For this weeks WWII Household Tips we’re looking at potatoes. Potatoes are one of those vegetables that just about everyone likes. As a matter of fact, I don’t think that I’ve ever met anyone who didn’t like them. The great thing about potatoes is that they can keep for a very long time if they are stored properly, they’re cheap and really versatile. I guess that’s why they were served at almost every meal during WWII.

Household Tips


If you were to think about it, how many ways do you think you could come up with for serving potatoes? Off the top of my head, I came up with at least a dozen. As amazing as they are in the kitchen they are just as amazing outside of the kitchen. This week we came up with 30 unique uses that don’t require serving them for a meal time.

Health
Always consult a doctor before using potatoes as a treatment.

  1. Bruises – to heal, apply potato juice to the area.
  2. Burns – to soothe, apply a mixture of grated potato and
    water to the burn.
  3. Compress (Cold) – to make your own, freeze a cooked potato
    and wrap it in a dish towel.
  4. Compress (Hot) – to make your own, boil a potato and wrap it
    in a dish towel.
  5. Headache – to relieve, rub your temples with a raw potato.
  6. Heartburn – to relieve, drink a potato that has been juiced.
  7. Insomnia – to relieve, eat mashed potatoes made with milk
    before bed.
  8. Sprains – to heal, apply potato juice and wrap.
  9. Toothache – to relieve, bite down on a raw potato for a few minutes.
Beauty
  1. Acne – to help control, rub the area with a cut, raw potato
    and allow it to remain on the area for 3-5 minutes before rinsing.
  2. Blackheads – to remove, apply a cooked potato that has been
    mashed, to your face. Allow it to remain on your face for 30 minutes before
    rinsing.
  3. Blemishes – to reduce, scrub the area with a mixture of
    mashed potatoes and lemon juice. Allow the mixture to remain on the area for
    15-20 minutes before rinsing.
  4. Dark Circles – to reduce appearance, place thin slices of
    potatoes over the eyes for 15-20 minutes.
  5. Eyes – to reduce puffiness, place thin slices of cold potatoes
    over the eyes  for 15-20 minutes.
  6. Warts – to remove, rub the wart with a raw potato daily.
  7. Whiteheads – to remove, apply a cooked potato that has been mashed,
    to your face. Allow it to remain on your face for 30 minutes before rinsing.
  8. Wrinkle – to reduce, wash your face with water from boiled
    potatoes.
Cleaning
  1. Berry
    Stains – to remove, rub with sliced potatoes.
  2. Carpet – to remove stains, scrub the stain with a raw,
    grated potato. Rinse with warm water.
  3. Glass – to shine, rub the glass with a cut, raw potato and
    then wipe with a clean rag.
  4. Rust – to remove, cut a potato in half and rub it on the
    rusted surface.
  5. Shoes – to shine, cut a potato in half and rub on the shoes.
    Wipe with a damp rag and polish.
  6. Silver – to clean, soak silver in the water from boiling potatoes for 30-60 minutes. Wash
    and rinse.
Miscellaneous
  1. Broken Light Bulbs – to remove, turn off the power press a
    potato into the base of the bulb and turn.
  2. Diving Mask – to reduce fogging, rub the inside of the lens
    with a raw potato.
  3. Flowers – to arrange, cut a potato in half lengthwise and
    place in vase cut side down. Poke holes where you want to place the flowers and
    fill with water.
  4. Geraniums – to fertilize, place the stem of a geranium into
    a hole cut into a potato and plant.
  5. Glasses – to keep from fogging up, rub them with a raw
    potato.
  6. Ink Stamp – to make your own, cut a potato in half and carve
    a design onto the potato. Dip in paint or ink and apply.
  7. Soup – to reduce saltiness, place a cut up potato into the
    soup and remove after 10 minutes.
What kind of household tips do you have for using potatoes?
 
* If, by some small miracle, you worked at Amway in Ada, MI in the 1980’s and were the person my mother loaned the notebook to, please Contact Me. The notebook is a small (aprox. 6″x9″) black leather, 3-ring binder, and contains hand drawn patterns (teddy bear), recipes and household tips and tricks. It would mean so much to my family to have it back.

Filed Under: Frugal Tips, Save, WWII Series Tagged With: how to, two cents'

Comments

  1. A Bee In My Bonnet - Leslie Anne says

    November 5, 2013 at 12:00 am

    My husband used to weld and sometimes he would burn his eyes. It wouldn't bother him until he laid down and closed his eyes for the night. So he would get up, slice a potato and place the slices over his eyes. It was the only way to get any comfort, and therefore sleep!

    Reply
  2. Msmoozys Open House says

    November 6, 2013 at 8:02 pm

    I just love to eat them, any way I can…..LOL Great things to now, thanks for posting! 🙂

    Reply
  3. Melissa says

    February 8, 2017 at 7:02 pm

    Have leftovers of spaghetti sauce? Cut a raw potato in half, Then, rub the raw potato around the inside of your food storage container. The sauce won’t stain your containers anymore. Even use it if you’re serving it in a plastic bowl.

    Reply
    • Robin says

      February 8, 2017 at 7:25 pm

      What a great tip. I have lost so many bowls from being stained by spaghetti sauce.

      Reply

Leave a Reply to A Bee In My Bonnet - Leslie Anne Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Image Map
Featured Blog (Sidebar)
Sponsors (Sidebar Header)
The Network Niche
Find Your Influence

Copyright © 2022 · Fluster Buster · Log in · Privacy Policy