Paint Your House With Powdered Milk, and Hundreds More Offbeat Uses for Brand-Name Products - Hardcover

Another Word from Our SponsorWhen I wrote "Polish Your Furniture with Panty Hose," I had no idea that anyone else on the planet would actually share my enthusiasm for the hundreds of offbeat uses for brand-name products kept secret from the American public. I was convinced I was all alone, a misguided consumer with too much time on his hands, a fluke of the universe. But with the publication of that book, overzealous Americans from all walks of life came out of the woodwork.

I was inundated with hundreds of letters filled with tips and suggestions for more alternative uses for household products I never considered putting into my first book. I suddenly realized that I could turn my love affair with brand-name products into a full-time career, spending the rest of my life investigating the myriad uses for items like Wrigley's Spearmint Gum, Scotch Tape, Miller High Life, and Crayola Crayons. I was ecstatic. I charged into my new life's mission with all the unbridled e! nthusiasm of a bargain hunter during a Labor Day White Sale. I unearthed some astonishing truths. Wesson corn oil can be used to make bubblebath. Coppertone polishes furniture. Lipton Tea deodorizes feet. Canada Dry Club Soda cleans diamonds. Clorox Bleach prolongs the life of cut flowers. But I needed to know more. How did Scotch Tape get its name? Just what is Cream of Tartar? Who invented Tabasco pepper sauce? Are there actually turtles in Turtle Wax? And, more importantly, will anyone besides me really care? This book is the result of my second sojourn into the heart and soul of American ingenuity. Next time, remind me to bring some Maalox.

"'Paint Your House with Powdered Milk' sounds like Heloise on LSD, but Joey Green's collection of household tips is as fun as it is useful. See how to use Pam No Stick Cooking Spray to prevent tomato sauce stains on plastic containers and to clean soap scum from shower doors. Use SueBee Honey to give yourself a facial, and use Coppertone to polish your furniture. Use this book for more than ideas -- use it for fun." -- Dan Dambom, Arvada Community News, February 6, 1997

"As Green has discovered -- corporations maintain thick files of consumer letters detailing 'alternate' uses for prized brand names. These records sit dormant, claims Green, until 'someone like me' calls and demands to see them. Green has culled this info -- as well as used household hint books, newspaper articles, and his own growing stack of fan mail -- to research 'Paint Your House with Powdered Milk.' Part fact-fest, part tip sheet, it is a sequel to 1995's 'Polish Your Furniture with Panty Hose.'" -- Alexandra Jacobs, Entertainment Weekly, October 4, 1996

"Feet smell? Soak them in Lipton Tea. Lose your guitar pick? Use the corner of a MasterCard. See a scratch in your car's paint? Use a Crayola Crayon that matches the color and work it in. Get chewing gum in your hair? Spray the gum with Spray 'n Wash, rub between your fingers, and then shampoo. 'Paint Your House with Powdered Milk' by Joey Green is a delightful and amazing 192-page book that offers hundreds of alternative uses for more than 30 name-brand products." -- Jill Sell, Cleveland Plain Dealer, October 6, 1996

"To attack some tough stains, you've got to think fast and be creative. Here, Joey Green, author of 'Paint Your House with Powdered Milk,' provides some surprising solutions for dealing with indoor messes by using common household products." -- Ladies' Home Journal, November 1996