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Wednesday, December 1, 2010

6 Alternate Uses For Your Freezer

by Shirley

6 tricky problems your freezer can easily solve.

Eliminate unpopped popcorn

Don't you just hate the kernels of popcorn that are left at the bottom of the bowl? Eliminate the popcorn duds by keeping your unpopped supply in the freezer.

Remove wax from candlesticks
Grandma's heirloom silver candlesticks will get a new life if you place them in the freezer and then pick off the accumulated wax drippings. But don't do this if your candlesticks are made from more than one type of metal. The metals can expand and contract at different rates and damage the candlesticks.

Extend candle life
Place candles in the freezer for at least two hours before burning. They will last longer.

Unstick photos
Picture this: Water spills on a batch of photographs, causing them to stick together. If you pull them apart, your pictures will be ruined. Don't be so hasty. Stick them in the freezer for about 20 minutes. Then use a butter knife to gingerly separate the photos. If they don't come free, place them back in the freezer. This works for envelopes and stamps too.

Clean a pot
Your favorite pot has been left on the stove too long, and now you've got a burned-on mess to clean up. Place the pot in the freezer for a couple of hours. When the burned food becomes frozen, it will be easier to remove.

Remove odors
Got a musty-smelling book or a plastic container with a fish odor? Place them in the freezer overnight. By morning they'll be fresh again. This works with almost any other small item that has a bad smell you want to get rid of.
Does anyone else have any household tips they would like to share? When it comes to cleaning, I just have one tip...hire a maid!!

31 comments:

Tina~in_ut said...

Good Moaning~

Tina~in_ut said...

love the popcorn one Shirley~ thx~

Bebbilane said...

Good morning Tina!


Wow, on the one about pots with stuck black stuff...how awesome. Great tips..I had NO idea! :)

whabbear said...

I liked the tip about making candles last longer by freezing them first! Thanks, Shirley!

Now, can anybody tell me a sure-fired way to avoid ice-cream freezer burn? Let me guess... I should microwave the ice cream for a couple of seconds every day? LOL!

DeeDee said...

I don't really know any tips involving freezers...ut a friend did show me this...

Putting just the right amount of gin in your goldfish bowl makes the fishes' eyes bulge and causes them to swim in an amusing manner....

and...in a pinch...an empty aluminum cigar tube filled with angry wasps makes a wonderful inexpensive vibrator....

Shirley(NCC-1701) said...

Morning/almost afternoon Owls!

Tina you moaned your way into 1st again, I see!

Bebbi let me know if that one works. I was skeptical about it.

Whabbear, "To avoid freezer burn in ice cream, wrap the container in aluminum foil or plastic wrap with the lid off, then replace the lid." But my question to you is how freakin long do you have ice cream in your house that it gets freezer burn? EAT IT!!!

DeeDee I knew I would get some great tips from you guys today. But could you use bees instead of wasps?

DeeDee said...

yes...I suppose you could use bees...for a lighter buzz Shirley.... Tina told me that you can also use "Mexican Jumping Beans"....its just whatever you are used to....

Ahhh...that takes me back to when my cook...Lupe...first came to work for me. I was hosting a small luncheon....Lupe got some of her beans mixed in with the other 2 types of beans that were to be served in the salads....

Well you can imagine the looks on my guests faces when Lupes beans began to jump around in the bowl..onto the table...and in one case...into the cleavage of one the invitees!!

Then there was the time I sent my son out to buy...oh I don't know...an airplane or something...and he came back with a hand full of beans...said they were magic beans....

well I was so angry I just threw them out the window! And the next day....OMG!!!

ah..hang on just a sec...I need to check my pill box....

sacBarb said...

Happy Wednesday Owls.

Shirley, I have put popcorn in the freezer, but it didn't work all that well. Maybe my popcorn was too old before I put it in the freezer.

Since I don't cook that often, I put pasta in the freezer to keep it from getting buggy. I put a bay leaf in the flour container for the same reason. It works really well. I got that from my mother.

sacBarb said...

Tina, Good Moaning to you Ms. Pretty.

Bebbi, Does that mean you burn food? :0

DeeDee, Yes, you def need to check your meds. :)

Bear, I agree with Shirley. The best way to avoid freezer burn on ice cream is to EAT IT. Frankly, I didn't even know that could happen.

Mary, How's Vegas. Have you been out of your room yet?

Dianne, I hope you are feeling better.

Lynn, Where are you? Has Ritchie tied you up?

Zona, I hear there are record lows in AZ. How are you surviving with no heat?

bonachichi said...

What neat tips. Here's mine; Tame an alligator by putting it in the fridge. When you take it out, you'll have a good 30 minutes before it starts chasing you round the kitchen again.

Mary/MI said...

Waving from our last night in Vegas.
I am feeling "normal" again!
I stayed out until the wee hrs last night. Mr Mary made a nice bundle and shared :)
This is my Birthday month so I have to Casino hop to get my freebies. Mostly just free money plays to the slots.

The best tip I got was getting spilled wax off the carpet. My son's old roommate dropped a candle with a lot of melted wax. I was nominated to get it out!
I cut out a paper bag in large pieces and placed over mess and ran a warm iron over it. Worked great!

We should be home by midnight tomorrow.
Stay safe all & happy Hanuka to all my Jewish friends tomorrow!!!!

Mary/MI said...

"Hanukkah", I wonder why spell check didn't correct me??

Tina~in_ut said...

i was thinking about correcting you~ ....but I was too lazy~

DeeDee said...

I'VE GOT IT COVERED!!!!!! lol

Maureen said...

Good evening feathered friends!

TINA...good moaning to you!

SHIRLEY...good tips to know. I am trying to think of any hints I know, but my mind is frozen!

Ohhh, I know. Take a freezer strength zipper bag and put in two cups water and 1 cup rubbing alcohol and place in freezer. It makes a slushy kind of ice pack that will conform to the area you use it, instead of using peas!

Bebbilane said...

Barb: The food is not done until the fire alarm goes off, when I cook..he he I usually don't burn it, but it's very close.

DeeDee: OMG>>..your posts have ME LOLing... you are so funny!

Shirley: May not be trying it for a while... I am still carrying around that darn list of grocery products. I will get it done..it's on my "to do" list..I forgot to do it the night before Thanksgiving when I went to the grocery store!

whabbear said...

Shirley, THANK YOU! I will try that in the future!

Sorry folks, but just can't eat ice cream every day!

Maureen said...

WhABBY...can't or won't? A big difference! Just a thought, but perhaps you and HUZ can use some of that ice cream in some sort of foreplay? ijs!

Maureen said...

OMG...look what I just found...

Grant, Jennifer. Good Stuff: A Reminiscence of My Father, Cary Grant. Knopf. May 2011. 192p.

When Grant was born, her father—debonair Cary Grant—was 63. Blessedly, this does not appear to be a dig-the-dirt, get-even memoir but an evocation of life with the great actor among Hollywood’s most glamorous stars. Grant may now be an actress herself, but she graduated with a degree in history from Stanford, so I’m guessing she can write. For all those folks still pining after her father; with a four-city tour to Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Washington, DC.

It's gonna be a good May!!!

Shirley(NCC-1701) said...

Thanks everyone for your comments! I enjoyed the tips!

Shirley(NCC-1701) said...

Sending out (((((HUGS))))) to Dianne, Lynn D and...oh hell, hugs for everyone!!!

Shirley(NCC-1701) said...

Hey Birdee you better get your feathery ass in here some time soon too! It's been too long!

Lani and Goldie you too!

Shirley(NCC-1701) said...

Now I can go to bed! Nighty night Owls!

Shirley(NCC-1701) said...

Maureen you need a new hobby! ijs :)

whabbear said...

Ice cream during foreplay? Hmmm... I'll suggest it to Huz... it's the Yeast I can do!

Mary/MI said...

Whabby, never mention "yeast" to a woman! ijs!!!

I better get to bed. I will be back in my time zone tomorrow. We are flying into Grand Rapids.I hear we may be flying into some lake effect snow ick!!
Niters everyone, and to all the lurkers too :)

Just_Lin said...

Tina You and McDreamy were both extra beautiful today.

Shirley Thanks for the tips. My mind is like a sieve, however, and by the time I need one of these tips, I will have forgotten it. LOL

Just_Lin said...

Oops! I still have this dang old turkey. Guess I better fix that.

Just_Lin said...

Let's try this one.

Just_Lin said...

Or this.

Just_Lin said...

Moweenie Happy Hannukah!!!