Tips With Southern Style

Southern ladies are raised on little tips of the trade. We are taught to sit up straight or our chest will sag, chew with our mouths closed or you'll look like cattle, and always, ALWAYS wear clean under-roos in case of an accident. My mother always went to the extreme of keeping a pair in the glove compartment of the car...she took this one seriously.


In growing older I've realized that those pearls of wisdom that slipped out of my mothers head as easy as her please and thank-yous are not as well known as I had assumed. Some of them were my moms way of tricking me into unwanted activities. It took years for me to realize that bread crust does NOT actually make your boobs grow bigger.

The tips that I hold dearest are the ones I was taught long before google search was invented. I've picked out my favorite 5 to pass along to those poor kids not raised on grits and good advice.

(Disclaimer: Some of these tips might not necessarily be southern. But when presented to you by a loud woman in rollers cooking bacon in a skillet, they are instantly typecasted as southern in your memory bank.)

5 Sharable Southern Tips
5. Lemon Juice Highlights:
This one might be a little more well known then most, but it's an old favorite. If your a cheeky blonde looking to put a little more "oomph" in your style, this ones for you. Add a little lemon juice to your hair and sit out in the sun for a bit. Gives you a lighter side to your sun soaked do.

4. A little Vinegar:
This trick I HATE! Hate with the deepest passion! The smell of vinegar is repulsive to me, even when added to salt and put in a chip form. But this trick works. If your facing a sticky situation in your microwave or need to loosen old food from it that refuses to give up its microwave status, then this ones for you. Boil a cup of vinegar for about 3-5 minutes. Something about that smell must make the microwave ick want to make a run for it because it loosens all that mess and makes it 100% times easier to clean.

3. Aloe grows on trees?!:
This one is another simple one but I'm
amazed at how many people
don't realize that that big jug of aloe you buy at Walmart for sunburns can be readily available in your kitchen for other issues. A tiny little aloe plant in your kitchen window is a huge help on Knicks and burns that need a little less oww. I picked mine up for 25 cents at the flee market and it has already doubled. Looks like all my favorite friends will be getting a little aloe plant love for Christmas this year.....unless I have to buy flower pots for them...... maybe I should start saving empty yogurt cups and tell them I'm going green?

2. Baking Soda, The Original Magic Eraser:
Counters dirty, glass stove top refusing to clean up, bathtub need a little loven? Baking sodas your cheap and easy friend. Add a rag, a little water, and BAM stains be gone. My dad brushed his teeth with that stuff (not advised, probably not good for the enamel)!

1. Moms Secret Weapon:
When turning 16 In our home you were given two gifts; your car keys and meat tenderizer. Meat tenderizer is ammo against natures natural defenders. Rubbing it on neutralizes anything from ant bites to jellyfish stings. It's quick, easy, and stores very well over time in your glove compartment.


There you have it, little tricks you may not have known or needed. But isn't it always fun to learn something new :).