Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Fireplace or stove "wood"

Who doesn't have toilet paper tubes? Seal one end then stuff them with crumpled paper, sticks, nutshells, whatever will burn cleanly, seal the other end and use them to keep a fire going. Bigger tubes, like the kind that aluminum foil and wax paper come on, work better and burn longer.

Monday, October 28, 2013

Use your sour milk anyway

Still out of milk? If you have sour milk or buttermilk, and want to bake something, just add baking soda to the recipe. A teaspoon is the usual amount. Substitute half of the baking powder for baking soda or just add baking soda to yeast recipes.

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Got milk? No?

Any dairy or dairy like product can be used in deserts. Non dairy coffee creamer, mixed with water (try one part creamer and 3 parts water), ice cream (thaw first and cut back on sugar), cream or half and half (add three times as much water as cream).

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Cheap liquid hand soap

If you're not satisfied with other methods, try this: Buy one of those foaming liquid soaps in a container, then when you run out, replace it with dish detergent. Mix cheap detergent half and half with water, or go for the more expensive kind that promises to be kind to your skin and mix it three or four parts of water to one part detergent. It has to be thin for the foaming dispenser to work.

Monday, October 7, 2013

Emergency acid neutralizer

Dump baking soda onto acid spills to quickly neutralize them. It works on everything from battery acid to baby spit up (stomach acid).

Friday, October 4, 2013

Eating out

Just got to get out for a meal? Make a picnic lunch and go to the park or eat in your back yard.

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Heat just enough water

Would you bake a cake, eat a slice of it, then throw it away? No? Then don't heat a full kettle of water, then use just a cup of it. Only heat the exact amount of water that you need. It uses much less energy.