I found this out accidentally.....store your cottage cheese upside down in the refrigerator and it will stay fresh longer.

I don't do this any more, living in an APT, but when cleaning an oven or even a BBQ, put the racks in a plastic bag, pour in some ammonia and let sit over night. I used to leave them outside on the deck. They would be very easy to wash off. Dottie

The fake CC idea is a good one!

1. Don't be afraid of a pressure cooker! It's a great tool for quick cooking, and is a money-saver, as well, because it uses so much less fuel. Plus, you can use cheaper cuts of meat and have tender, delicious results quickly.

2. Make a pound of beans in six minutes in the PC, then use them in Chili, tostadas, salads, soups, etc.

3. Put your kitchen utensils in the drawer with the handles toward the back. That way, you can identify the implement without rummaging around in the drawer.

4. If you sew, always sew on the inside of a circle. The garment will follow around the curve naturally.

I love tips!

Sherry

If you use natural peanut butter, store that upside down, too. Stir it once, keep it on the cupboard shelf upside down, you never need to stir again.

Hey Sherry,
I have my Mom's pressure cooker, as she wants us to experiment with it, then teach her. I'm STILL scared to use it. LOLOL

Jasdip, is it a new PC with instructions? You can't go wrong. There are a lot of stories about PCs blowing up, but, you know what? I don't believe them! You have to assemble it properly and stay in the kitchen. Common sense. I'm such a cynic.

If you don't have instructions, there are a lot of online sites to help you with recipes and timing.

Here are a couple tips:
1. It takes longer than you'd think for the PC to get to the point where things are under pressure. Don't give up.
2. Be sure the rubber ring is perfectly seated in the lid, with no gunk under it. The pot will never seal unless the ring is right.
3. You can actually hear the "plip" sound when the cooker seals and the pressure begins to build. Then you'll hear a hissing sound coming from the regulator. You can adjust the hissing sound to barely audible - that's all you need for cooking.
4. While it's working, the PC makes a lot of noises that may worry you. They're normal.

I hope you'll give it a try. I've used one for many years without a hint of trouble. Good luck!

Sherry

I always store extra trash bags in the bottom of my trash cans...Out with the old, in with the new with no effort.

To expand on the painting tip above, if you want to take a break from painting for an hour or two, you can wrap your roller, paint tray, and brush with plastic wrap and just leave it where it is. DS is a professional house painter and last time he visited he was painting a room for me and I suggested us going to dinner. He was ready in no time after wrapping everything and cleaning himself up.

Wrap your celery in foil... it will last much longer.

Oily stains (salad dressing, car oil, etc) will come out in the wash if you squirt some Ronson lighter fluid on the spot before washing. This even works on a lot of set-in stains. I've used it on carpet spots too!

Heres one of my favorites...I put a margarine tub on the inside of my kitchen cupboards with velcro and put my coffee filters in it right by the coffee,,,its been there for 9 years,and I need to update my butter tub!! LOL But its really handy!!!
{{!gwi}}

Turn your coffee filters inside out to make them separate easier as you pull them for use.

A cut potato will remove ballpoint ink stains...at least, the one time I did it, it worked for me.

The first new car I ever had was a '74 Olds cutlas. I was so proud of it. A friend asked me to drive her to Houston, because she didn't like to drive in heavy traffic. Her 5 yr. old daughter was in the back seat. After I dropped them off and got home, I saw that the "precious child" had taken a ball point pen and drew pictures on the back of the front seat, the headliner...which was before they had those "fuzzy" ones, and on the seats.

To say I was sick, is to say the least. I was going to take it to the dealership and see what I could do about it. However, I remembered the potato idea, and I got a potato and cut it in half and rubbed it all over the stains. They seemed slightly less dark, but obviously, wasn't going to work. However, the next day, they were fainter. And within a couple of days...completely gone. I never washed it with anything...just rubbed the potato one time. So, if you have ink stains on a purse or something similar...give it a try. I was amazed.

Ha! Love that margarine tub/coffee filter tip! Great idea.

If you have a door that swings shut all the time, you could do what I did. It's my closet door, I like for it it stay open so it stays fresh in there, so I tied a big magnet to the lever handle and attached another one to the wall with a cup hook and more twine. They click together and the door stays open nicely. If I want to shut it, all I need to do is pull on it. And you can't see any of it, it's all hidden.

Years later, I found a gizmo that you can attach to the bottom of the door and another to the wall behind it and they mate up and it'll hold the door open, too, but my way was done in seconds and only cost me 2 magnets, which I had.

I use cone filters. Keep them in a paper napkin holder to make grabbing one easy. Much easier than trying to nip one out of the skinny plastic bag they come in and the napkin holder keeps them all together so they don't get pushed around in the cabinet and lost.

*Great tip about the fake credit card scrapper! Thanks.

wow I love that filter idea too...I'm going to do that for sure...

When putting fitted sheets back on your bed: they will go on easier if you put them on, securing the corners diagonally, rather than first the head corners and then the foot corners (or the other way around).

(Hope that made sense!)

Lydia's hint about the celery reminded me....do that with romaine lettuce, also. I buy the three-pack and wrap each one separately. It does keep very well that way.

If you haven't tried the green bags yet they work great on celery. Wash, dry, cut then put in the bag, no more mushy brown celery. I buy the "forever green bags" they are half the price of Debbie Myer bags. You can find them at Dollar General.

When shopping for citrus, toss the fruit a couple of inches in the air and catch it with one hand. Do that to several, and buy the heaviest. That one will be the juciest, and you will never end up with one of those pulpy oranges with no juice.

I use the credit cards for spreading glue when doing crafts.

I cut a cereal box down and use it in the cabinet to store the lids to those plastic containers.

I keep my dusting/furniture polishing rags in a 2 gallon zip loc bag,along with the polish.(pledge oil)this way it's always ready when i need it.

I also use the 2 gallon zip locs for my cross stitch projects that i'm working on.Keeps them clean,and everything is together.
Kathi

Great hints! Thanks one and all!

I've been using credit cards for cleaning for many years. They are also quite handy for scraping algae off the sides of an aquarium.

As I age, I need to color my hair often. I always put it off as long as I could because I hated the mess and potential for disaster with plops of color landing in unwanted places. I solved that problem by going to a dollar store and buying the cheap vinyl table cloths, the kind with felt-like backing. When coloring my hair, I throw the cloth down, felt side up. Any spills, splatters or drips hit the felt and are soaked up immediately and don't bleed through because of the vinyl on the other side and nothing gets smeared around if you accidentally step in it.

I use a clear shoe organizer, the kind with lots of pockets that you hang in your in your closet or over a door (see link). I didn't want the door hangers showing on the outside of my door so I removed them and screwed the organizer to the inside of my closet door. I use it to store, belts, scarves, gloves, small purses, fanny packs, hats, etc. It's incredibly handy and they are usually under $15.

Any time I buy a blanket, comforter, mattress pad, etc. I reuse the zippered plastic bag for storing things that I want to keep free of dust. All of my kid's keepsakes are in the ones that I've saved. You can see exactly what's in them (same with the clear shoe organizer) so if you do need to find something, it's easy to do.

Jodi-

Here is a link that might be useful: Shoe Organizer

If you put your garlic into your dish at the beginning of cooking, it will be a mild flavor.

At the end, a stronger flavor.

I make homemade tomato soup a lot. I add a pinch of baking soda to my tomatoes so they don't make my half and half or milk curdle, when I add the two together.

I'm still thinking...

Thanks to everyone that has posted! This is interesting.

Caroline 1947, I think that margarine tub/coffee filter tip is a neat one.

Vicki lv...do you have your tomato soup recipe posted somewhere? I'm looking for one using home canned tomatoes.
Tx
Cream

Know those plastic/wax "bags" that chips/crackers/cereals and the same come in? Those are GREAT for proloning the life of many fresh items in your frig.

We now put our veggies, lettuce, etc in these "wax" bags (sealed tight) and wow, what difference in longevity...

We "hoard" them, and store them, now whenever we can!

If you hace burnt things on the bottom of your pan, put baking soda and water in there and let it boil for a bit and it will loosen up. I have had the black crusty bits float right to the top.

I took Ruthie's advice:

I always store extra trash bags in the bottom of my trash cans...Out with the old, in with the new with no effort.

For those 12 packs of canned soda (coke, pepsi, etc)
Open the box on the end and when empty you can cut
around the middle of the box and it is the perfect size
to store CD/DVDs. And they stack nicely and fit on a shelf.

They can be used to store other things too.

Pooh Bear

Ya'll are just a WEALTH of info...this thread is a definite keeper!!

I use coffee filters in the bottom of flower pots to keep the soil from oozing out while watering.

Unsoiled but wrinkled disposable bed pads cut a bit smaller than size of hanging baskets cut down on need to water as often during our hot summers. (To keep the ugly blue backing from showing put some soil in; press to sides, pad in the center, then rest of soil to plant.) And one pad is enough for several baskets. Better yet are disposable diapers since they hold more moisture. I found a pkg for $1. at garage sale & that doz has lasted three years.

No such things when my kids were little and can't believe how expensive they are!
Suzi

Soak a burned pan in just a little hot water and a tablespoon or so of electric dishwashing detergent. If it is real bad, leave overnight.

When a shirt becomes worn or gets an unremoveable stain, but has a lot of wearings left, I demote it to my 'everyday' wear and replace it with a new shirt. I hang my 'good' shirts on one part of the clothes bar and the 'old' shirts on another section of the clothes bar. The two groups of shirts are separated by other items between these two groups. I mark the 'old shirts' with an X inside the collar. This makes it easy to separate the shirts upon removal from the dryer. Shirts destined for jobs like oil changes and painting are marked with a double XX. When a shirt gets really ratty, it get washed one more time and then is tossed into the rag bin.

Neighbors have seen me doing yard work or servicing a car while I wore a shirt that originally was for office wear. They have wondered if I was rich or just plain careless. What they did not know is that shirt had an X on the inside of the collar.

I love metal tins and pick them up at garage sales for pennies.
I have a lunch-pail style.....a round one with a handle that my basket filters fit in perfectly. Instead of having a big bag of filters I separate a bunch and put them in the metal pail.

My elastics go in a small one, I have rectangular ones that my cracker sleeves fit in. Kind of a quirky thing....love the old metal tins.

Cate, I love your tip about turning the filters inside out. Gotta try that asap.

Cream Please...here is my recipe. Nothing to write home about. It is just my "go to comfort food".

Saute some onion, garlic and celery until soft.

Add desired amount of tomatoes, to which you have added a pinch of baking soda to. Heat until hot.

Add desired amount of milk, half and half or cream to the pan.

You can either eat it like this...or puree until smooth. I prefer to eat it like it is, with a ton of butter, crackers, salt and pepper. It is just comforting to me. I think it all started with not knowing how to cook by either my older sister, me or my younger sister.

I have lots of houseplants, and I like planting cuttings in water bottles. Cut off the top, and you have a nice, tall clear pot. Also good are the clear plastic cappucino cups from coffee shops. You can see easily when your plant needs watered. The whole thing can be placed in a decorative container.
Avocados are great to sprout in a water bottle. Gives the root lots of room to grow.

VINEGAR RINSE. A few months ago, I read that white vinegar can be used in place of those expensive dishwasher rinse-aids like Jet Dry. I waited until my rinse-aid compartment was empty and filled it with plain, white vinegar. Now, my dishes look better and are more spot-free than ever. I love the results I see, but most of all I love the money I am not spending on Jet Dry. I can get a whole gallon of white vinegar for about half the price of a tiny container of costly rinse-aid. Kara, Mississippi

From my Cheapskate daily e-mail.
Leslie

I used double faced tape to fasten some clothespins to the inside of my cabinets. I use them to hold things like seasoning packets, Kool-Aid packets and the like. Also I have a lot of recipes in a 3 ring binder and the ones I use often I have in plastic sheet protectors or laminated. I then just take the plastic covered recipe and close the upper cupboard door on the top of it to hold it at eye level and out of the way when I'm using it. If something should splash, it's protected, easy to read and easy to put away again. I did fasten a clothespin inside the cabinet to hold them but find it works just as well to close the door on it.

Also there was a few recipes I used very often, but never could remember. So I just made a copy of it, laminated it and taped it inside a cupboard door. Open the door for those recipes, then close the door on the next one. When I use a cookbook I use the copy stand from the computer to hold it on the counter. I'll usually put a piece of plastic wrap over it to protect it.

BTW, want to laminate business cards or small items quickly and cheaply? Just take some box sealing tape and tape both sides. You can do larger items if you don't mind a slight overlap and multiple strips. I do this for luggage tags. Make VERY bright colors or designs on a business card sise piece of paper, tape/laminate it several times so it's quite stiff and use a small cable tie to fasten to the suitcase. If your luggage blends in with others, just look for the bright tags. Or put a strip of tape on the side of the suitcases. You'll easily tell which is yours coming down the carousel!

I used to use a glass container for coffee filters. I like the plastic tub idea much better. And really like the inside-out suggestion!

Velcro is so versatile! I use it to fasten a ruler and letter opener on the side of the cabinet where I have my pseudo office in the kitchen. Grab the opener, zip the letter open and hang it up almost in one motion.

And one of my easiest favorites is a magnetic clip on the back door. I use it to hold letters that need to be mailed, notes to remind me if I need to do something and anything else that is important or will save me trips.

When I was laid up and could hardly walk, I took the extra garage door remote and carried on me. I left the back door (into the garage) unlocked. When someone would come to the door that I was expecting, I simply opened the garage door and they'd come in. I didn't have to get up. I also carry it on me when using the mower or snowblower.

And the packrat in me won't let me throw many of those plastic zippered bags that held blankets and the like. But I haven't found great uses for them yet. I will though. I'm sure.

If you have burned something badly in a pot, put a large can of stewed tomatoes in- simmer, then on low for severa hour- the acid(I guess) from the tomato makes the pot like new.

Have you ever watched the luggage go round and round at the airport and realize just how many sets of matching luggage that were EXACTLY alike except a small tag on the handle which you have to grab to read the name?

When travelling I have been known to plaster my luggage with stickers...frogs. When being met at the airport family immediately saw a set of luggage with matching stickers, laughed, knew they had to belong to me, and retrieved them before they even saw me come through the gates. Only two frogs went missing from the 26 that I had put on three pieces of luggage.

Cynic,

You have a lot of good, practical ideas. I live with a packrat too, but I have to admit I'm the one saving the plastic zippered bags. I only have 4-5 of them now. I use them to keep my knitting, other blankets, tablecloths, etc. that don't get regular use. Also, if I have something nice to go to Goodwill, I put it in there to protect it and make it look nicer to sell.

Susan

I had saved several of those clear plastic zippered bags.

This year when I was putting my Christmas stuff away, I used those bags. Tablecloths and kitchen towels in one; outdoor greenery and lights in another. Window candles in another, etc. Different sizes worked great.

No more boxes; don't have to mark the bags since everything is visible.

Sue

My hint has to do with cooking. When I cook, I usually freeze. For example, if i make lasagna, I make two of them and freeze one. When I make chicken tettrazini, I make three or four of them and freeze the others. Meatballs, the same..I make tons of them, freeze them on a cookie sheet, and then throw into freezer bags when frozen. I do the same thing with cookies, so I don't have to have a whole batch out to be eaten right away or go stale. That way you can make just a few at a time. I'm going to do the same thing with butter tarts on Friday.