Throughout this year, several bloggers will engage in a conversation here and on their blogs — asking questions of each other and responding. Others are absolutely welcome to join the conversation, as well. Learn more about the ladies of Blogversation 2012.
Today’s question comes from Mary Jean Babic, a Brooklyn-based writer and a new blogger on a Tumblr site called Her Royal Babicness.

I’m a real Hints From Heloise kind of gal.  Inspirational, inner-searching advice is all well and good, but super-practical tips for day-to-day living totally rev my engine.  Pour *fast* from a just-opened carton of juice, and it won’t dribble down the sides and slosh all over the place.  Tough out the first half hour of a mosquito bite without scratching, and it’ll stop itching altogether.  If you’re in the stroller years of parenting, buy a raincoat with a hood because you won’t always have a hand free for an umbrella.  When I learn things like this, I feel like I’ve found keys to a secret world, one that’s a little less messy, itchy, annoying, and befuddled than this one.
Sometimes I figure these things out on my own, but more often I learn them from someone.  Pouring fast came from my Aunt Anne; I think of her every time I open a fresh carton of juice or milk.  Lou was the first one to stop my hand from scratching my skin down to the bone, and he helped me grit my teeth through that  thirty minutes the first time.  It’s a nice connection to have with someone.  Not long ago I sent an email to my friend Nick to tell him that I had had sushi that day, and I remembered that he was the one, years ago, to show me how to mix soy sauce and wasabi in the little bowl that comes with sushi.  He was pleased to hear it and said he, too, remembered who taught him that.
So here’s your chance to earn some lifelong gratitude and lodge yourself in another person’s memory:  What practical tips can YOU pass along?