Thrifty Thursday: Ice Cubes

First off, sorry about not having a Working Wednesday yesterday -- I was having severe Internet difficulties. But I'm back now with a whole list of things you can use ice cubes for!

Remove dents in carpeting
If you've recently rearranged the furniture in your living room, you know that heavy pieces can leave ugly indents in your carpet. Use ice cubes to remove them. Put an ice cube, for example, on the spot where the chair leg stood. Let it melt, then brush up the dent. Rug rehab completed.

Mask the taste of medicine
No matter what flavor your local pharmacist offers in children's medicine, kids can still turn up their noses at the taste. Have them suck on an ice cube before taking the medicine. This numbs the taste buds and allows the medicine to go down, without the spoonful of sugar.

Pluck a splinter
Parental challenge #573: removing a splinter from the hand of a screaming, squirming toddler. Before you start jabbing with that needle, grab an ice cube and numb the area. This should make splinter removal more painless and quicker.

Prevent a blister from a burn
Have you burned yourself? An ice cube applied to the burn will stop it from blistering.

Reheat rice
Does your leftover rice dry out when you reheat it in the microwave? Try this: Put an ice cube on top of the rice when you put it in the microwave. The ice cube will melt as the rice reheats, giving the rice much-needed moisture.