Tricked Rather Than Treat?

Halloween is among my favourite holidays, and celebrating it in my own house this year has made it one of my most memorable. I carved pumpkins for the first time since I moved away from home and prepped my porch to welcome the little witches and goblins this evening.

When I moved in nearly a year ago, I was faced with the 'morning after' that's left behind when the ghouls and goblins head home. On November 2, the remnants of eggs were almost still wet on my front porch and windows.

What if your home has become a victim of "Devil's Night" or tonight's trickery?

Check out this advice from Good Housekeeping magazine, courtesy of John Tesh, Intelligence for Your Life.

• If your car gets “egged”, you need to act fast – both egg yolk AND egg white can corrode painted surfaces. Hose off the gunk ASAP. Be careful with the shells – rubbing them or trying to scrape them off your car can scratch. Just keep hosing, and they’ll eventually loosen and wash off. The same rule applies if your house or mailbox gets egged – pressure-wash it with a hose until the stuff comes off.
  
• What if your yard gets toilet-papered? You’ll want to clean up the TP before it rains. Soggy paper can take weeks to weather off. Clear long streams of TP out of tall trees with a yardstick or broom.Then, wrap a piece of duct tape – sticky side out – on the end of your long object and wave it in the trees.The smaller pieces of toilet paper should stick.
  
• Your house gets covered in “silly string.” This gooey stuff eventually stiffens and sticks to surfaces when dry. So pick it off ASAP. If some lands on your car, DON’T pick it off with your fingernails! It’ll scratch the paint. Instead, hose off as much as you can, and use a cotton swab to lift off the remaining bits.
  
• Your car windows get “soaped up.” This is when someone rubs a bar of soap all over your windows. If it happens to you, use lots of water and a soft scrub brush – something that won’t scratch the glass – to get rid of the lather.

Have a ghoulishly great Halloween! Check back tomorrow to see my costume!

Happy Halloween!