Economical Home Hints

[sudsmaster]

I was thinking that we could share some hints for economizing around the home. Some of these also have very practical advantages.

Here's one of mine:

Milk on demand:

I don't know if you've noticed, but whole milk by the gallon is a lot less expensive per oz. than milk in smaller containers. I don't drink a lot of it, but it's invaluable for various things, such as making yogurt, adding to coffee, in recipes like pancakes/cakes/scrambled eggs/etc, and so on. I find that if I buy anything more than a quart at a time, though, that it usually goes bad before I'm through with it, and that's a waste.

So I hit on an idea. I bought a two gallon package of milk from Costco - very reasonable, about $4 for the whole thing. One I opened and put in the fridge and used at my usual rate. The other one I used to fill clean 1-1/2 pint bottled water bottles about 4/5ths full, and froze them. That was a couple of months ago. The opened container in the fridge, of course, went bad before I got around to using all of it. So it went down the drain. Today I got a hankering for hot chocolate (made with real milk). I tried some powdered milk but that was awful. So I thawed out one of the pint bottles, and the result was pretty much indistinguishable from fresh milk. There was maybe a little clumping but that disappeared with some stirring.

Next time I'll probably put most of the 2 gallons into the small water bottles for freezing... but given that I have nearly a gallon of the stuff still in the freezer, I won't need to buy (or waste) any more for a long time.

This not only saves money and cuts waste, but keeps the milk much less spoiled than if it sat in the fridge in the original bottle.

So... what's your hint?

 

[appnut]

Rich, my mom used to do that for a long time, but long after I'd left home (so you do the math). But she poured a little off the top of each galon container and then froze the rest. The two of them would use about a gallon a week. She also did it with eitehr 1% or skim milk. I used to do it for a while myself, particularly after I noticed the wife of mybest friend from college doing the same thing. Today, I see people in the grocery store buying 3, 4, & up to 5 gallons of milk in their carts. I do wonder whether they freeze or their families simply use that much milk at a time. OUCH!!!

 

[danemodsandy]

"Open Line" Home Hints and Recipes

If you want several decades' worth of handy home hints, you might try going to the "Open Line" fan page. "Open Line" is a call-in recipe and home hints show on WMT Radio in Cedar Rapids, IA; the show has been going strong since it debuted in 1963 with original host Jim Loyd. The fan page has all the "Open Line" bulletins going back to the beginning; these were newsletters that fans of the show could send off for. Be sure and click on the animated radio icons on the site's home page to hear the original "Open Line" theme music!

Some of the hints are great, and some are no longer needed, because we have products that take care of the problem the old hints addressed. Here's one you'll probably never use:

"Homemade Window Cleaner: Mix 1 cup rubbing alcohol, 1 cup cold water & 1 tbsp. white vinegar. Use in spray bottle."

Here are some fun ones:

"Sending angel food cakes in the mail is easy when you pack them with unseasoned popped corn."

"When shoestrings lose their plastic tips, dip the ends in clear fingernail polish."

"When mixing thickening for vegetables, use the empty vegetable can for mixing."

"Instead of cutting cinnamon rolls with a knife, take a piece of thread, slip it under the roll, cross it at the top & pull for a slick cut that doesn't mash dough."

The bulletins are a treasure trove of vintage recipes, especially desserts, cakes and candies. Those Iowans sure seem to have a sweet tooth!

Open Line Recipes on WMT Radio!

Find all the recipes you have wanted for almost 40 years, from the Open Line, on 600 WMT radio.

www.n-connect.net

 

[pturo]

Throw the full plastic measuring cap for the liquid laundry detergent in the washtub, it will use up the residue for cleaner washes and prevent stickiness and dribbles on the detergent bottle, which is an absolute waste of detergent. Laundry detergent is more expensive than gasoline, by the gallon. At the end of the cycle, you have a nice clean cap and all the detergent intended for the wash was used in the wash, not dribbling down the side of the container, the washing machine, or the floor.

 

[sudsmaster]

Here's another one.

I have a Bearrs (is that ironic?) lime tree that produces far more limes than I could ever use. I give away as much as I can, but there's still a surplus.

I picked up this hint from a TV program a few weeks ago. To polish copper or brass, just cut a quater lemon wedge, and sprinkle some salt on it. Then rub this against the copper or brass item to be polished. I tried it and it works great. Just be sure to rinse the salt and citrus juice off the item before drying it.

Also, I have found that the citrus juice/salt formula also works great to remove rust stains from older porcelain sinks. Just squeeze some of the juice on the stain, add some salt, rub it around, and then leave it for as long as it takes to remove the stain. It might take overnight, but it does work, and it's much less risky than using more aggressive cleaners like Zud! (which can eat holes in porcelain enamel if left on for more than a minute or two... found that out the hard way). Again, rinse well and don't leave it on longer than needed to get rid of the stain.

 

[pturo]

Economy Hints/Help

Put a towel bar over any heating vent or radiator in the bathroom or kitchen where possible,or anywhere else you dont mind looking at laundry. You would be suprised how fast things can be dried there for free, as opposed to using the automatic dryer for small items like undies and socks and dishtowels and even a t shirt, dress shirt, jockstrap or bra.(I try not to dry my jockstrap and bra at the same time what with mixed company, ya understand) You have already paid for the heat in the ducts to warm the place, why not let it perform two tasks? My father's bathroom is right over the furnace below and I use his towel bar to dry a lot of things, and in fact if energy gets any higher in price, I may make the whole wall above said heating duct towel bars. You've got to heat the place in the winter anyways, again, dual purpose.

 

[dalangdon]

I like to keep loaves of French bread, bagels, coffee cake, breakfast plates, anything that is good to have warm first thing in the morning, in the oven overnight. The standing pilot keeps it nice and toasty, and ready to go on cold mornings.

When I'm baking cookies, I always freeze half the batch right off the bat to keep us from pigging out

Cloth napkins are cheap and plentiful at the thrift shop, and really do save on paper towels and napkins.

Here in Seattle, where you are billed by the amount of garbage you put out, but can put out unlimited amounts of non meat or dairy kitchen waste in with your yard clippings, I keep a cookie jar by the sink. All of the potato peelings, coffee grounds, used paper towels, egg shells, stale bread, etc goes in there, then out to the bin at the end of the day, and the cookie jar goes in the dishwasher with the dinner dishes, which wash overnight. I've seen some serious savings in the utility bill since I started doing that.

 

[gadgetgary]

Cloth napkins are cheap and plentiful at the thrift shop, an

I use cloth napkins daily. Makes for more loads of laundry(YAY!) and that can't be a bad thing.

 

[oxydolfan1]

For inexpensive floor cleaner, combine one part non-ammonia window cleaner (I prefer "Glass Plus", another example is "Cinch"), one part white vinegar, and one part plain water in a trigger bottle.

You can doctor this recipe to suit individual needs, but this formula can be used on virtually all floors without worry and really works, without bringing a proper mop and pail out.

IMHO, bottled toilet cleaners are unnecessary and not always effective....the key is a good, strong BRUSH....ordinary store-brand powdered cleanser (which I've taken to using anyway, since Comet was badly reformulated) gets the job done quicker, faster, and more effectively, since the powder contains just enough chlorine bleach to disinfect, etc. I have used it on various toilets for over two decades without damage to the toilet's innards itself.

Soak miniblinds in the bathtub with hot water and clear non-sudsy ammonia and rinse and hang 'em on the line or even on the window to dry. If you are washing a white blind from a kitchen, or if you smoke, you may substitute chlorine bleach and maybe a tiny shot of laundry detergent....just rinse well. But the bubbly messes that are created with Mr. Clean, Fabuloso, etc., are annoying and time-consuming to rinse away, you waste several tubs full of water in the process, and furthermore, don't really get the blinds clean.

When you are in a decent home-goods store, pick up a dry sponge ("Gonzo" is a popular brand). You rub this rubbery device over lamp shades, wallpaper not made to be moistened, composite furniture, roller shades, etc. and it works--to a point where you can resurrect an item you might have previously deemed worthy for the junk pile.

I second the milk thing, but my variation is that I buy "Parmalat" brand milk in large quantities and store it in the closet...

 

[danemodsandy]

Vac Tip

Vacuum cleaners cost a bundle nowadays, and so do replacement parts. The part that wears out the most often is the hose on a canister, and it's easily avoided.

Most people just leave the power nozzle connected to the hose, and the hose connected to the vac, when they're putting the vac away. They just stand the power nozzle in its upright position, and put the vac on the floor. That forces the hose over a very small radius where it connects to the power nozzle's wand, and the result over time is a split, right next to the hose's handle.

Disconnecting the hose from everything else, and hanging it over two nails driven into a wall and spaced about 4 inches apart will keep it from splitting due to this kind of storage; the radius is larger and easier on the hose. Hoses for many brands are $100 or more nowadays. That's an amount of money worth saving.

 

[veg-o-matic]

Unfortunately, Dan, I've found that frozen cookies eat just as quickly as room-temperature ones...

I've always thought that using cleanser in the toilet makes matters worse by making little tiny scratches that hold dirt?

I can't think of any money-saving tips myself, but Mom has (a particularly annoying) one: if she uses a paper towel just to mop up some water, she'll hang the towel up to dry and use it again.

veg

 

[washernut]

I clean my mini blinds an vertical blinds by putting them in the bathtub and covering them with warm to hot water and then sprinkling powdered Cascade dishwashing powder over them and letting them soak a couple of hours. The Cascade has a effervescent action and will bubble them back to new.

Also, Instead of buying different cleaners for the kitchen, bathroom, appliances, walls I use Dow Scrubbing Bubbles on everything. A good friend of mine taught me this. It will cut grease off a stove or backsplash better than anything I've ever seen. But, it's safe to use on wallpaper and washable paint. It's fantastic I always have at least 3 cans on hand at all time. It will really do a job on the inside of a dirty microwave...YUCK!

 

[toggleswitch]

ai papi limpia mi sanitario, por favor y despues decidimos q

~Cloth napkins are cheap and plentiful at the thrift shop, and really do save on paper towels.

IDA know. Polyester touch MY body? *SHUDDERS* For you I'd deal with it. ;-)

~I use Dow Scrubbing Bubbles on everything.
Ida know the idea of a few multi-puropse cleaners rather than every gimmick under the sun appeals to me. I feel Dow Scrubbing Bubbles are bit too "Chemical-y". Similarly I try no to use anything wih a propellant. Just to be exciting I'm gonna get me a bottle and go on a cleaning and de-mucking orgy!

Mom has used powdered cleanser for over 30 year on her *PANK* toilet. Never a scratch, never a problem. Just for fun tried me a pato --er duck-- (lysol with BLEACH Europe, yes BLEACH! *LOL*) with which to clean the toilet. No biggie.

 

[washernut]

Orgy? Toggle I think you grabbed the wrong bottle...(wink)

 

[toggleswitch]

Orgy is technically and properly used to mean any overindugence/affliction. We just associate it with just ONE kind.

In the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrisostom(os) (the "golden-mouthed" one), one of the requests of us to G-d is:

Deacon:
For our deliverance from all affliction, wrath, danger, and distress, let us pray to the Lord.

People:
Lord, have mercy.

affliction, wrath, danger, distress (needs).
=>ORGEIS (orgies), KINDINOU KAI ANAGGEIS

Dictionary.com | Meanings & Definitions of English Words

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[cehalstead]

how about the most obvious one? (or it should be for us)

Don't PRE-RINSE the dishes before putting them in the dishwasher........

 

[dalangdon]

Toggle, how DARE you suggest I have a polyester (even cotten poly blend) napkin in my home!!! ;-)

I go all cotton, all the time. Wash 'em once a week, with the "tea towels", and run 'em through the ironer while I listen to the radio. It's my little contribution to the laundry, and just quaint as hell - you really should see it sometime.

...and don't get me STARTED on rinsing or - even worse - hand washing dishes before putting them in the dishwasher. I finally told John and our renter that they can wash the dishes until their hands bleed, but everything is going in the dishwasher at the end of the day.

 

[sudsmaster]

I hereby propose that we recognize Mr. Toggleswitch as the classic appliance world's foremost authority on orgies.

;-)

 

[rolltideroll]

Has anyone ever soaked an old brick in kerosene for 24 hours or so? Then sealed it in one of those king size ziplock bags. Makes for good emergency roadside heat and is pretty safe to keep in the trunk of the car. Here in Louisiana we don't have to worry too much about blizzards on the Interstate but this one could potentially save a life. i have never burned one for too long of a time but i'm told that the right brick will keep a flame for about 24 hours so carry some soup, opener and a pan in the trunk too.