Okay, it's July and people are outside as much as possible. I have an inexpensive ways to solve some of their summer dilemmas. It's called vinegar, ordinary everyday vinegar.

Not only is it good to keep fleas and ticks off of your pets by mixing half water, half vinegar in a spray bottle and spraying your pets lightly once a week, but its also good for bee stings and bug bites. Mix a little vinegar with cornstarch to make a paste. Apply the paste to the sting or bite and let it dry.

A poison oak or poison ivy rash can be soothed by making a vinegar compress. Mix ½ cup of vinegar and enough water to fill a pint container, shake to mix thoroughly and put the container in the refrigerator to chill. When thoroughly chilled, dampen a cloth or some gauze with the solution and apply to the rash.

Vinegar will also cool sunburn. Just splash it over your sunburned area and then lightly rub it into your skin. You can also cool sunburn with the same diluted mixture you that you have in the spray bottle to spray your pets with.

If you have ants in the house look for the opening that they are coming through to enter the house. If you find the point of entry wipe it down with a lot of undiluted vinegar. You can also spray vinegar on thrash lids, near sinks and near appliances or anyplace else that ants gather.