frugal « Lisa’s Blog

April 21, 2010

101 Uses for Coffee Filters

Filed under: Frugal Homestead, Homestead Kitchen, Homestead Simplicity!, Tips from the Homestead — Tags: coffee filter uses, frugal, Homestead, kitchen, Simplicity — Lisa @ 6:52 am

Okay–so maybe not 101, but they are SO versatile! I buy coffee filters with more in mind that filtering my coffee, but who’d of thought of just HOW useful these little gems are?! I buy mine in packages of 700 from Costco at around $2.50–!~

Here at our Homestead I use coffee filters for TONS of things! My favorite use for coffee filters is what they were designed for, filtering my favorite Dillanos Coffee, Mmmmmmmm!

However, they have TONS of other uses! They are a GREAT item to have a bit of extra stock on hand of! I am constantly using mine for straining all kinds of things– toss in an old canning jar and old ring and you’ve got a great, yet cheap system for straining just about anything! Coffee filters are so multi-purpose, here are some ideas:

Straining raw goat milk!

Cover bowls or dishes when cooking in the microwave. Coffee filters make excellent covers. Prevent lots of mess & additional clean up from spatters.

Straining my Vinegar Herbal Rinses.

Cleaning windows, mirrors, and such. Coffee filters are lint-free, so they work great!

Protect Dishes by placing a coffee filter between them!

Protect Cast Iron, coffee filters absorb moisture, so when placed between Cast Iron–they can absorb any moisture which can cause Cast Iron to rust!

Ever break a cork off in your bottle of vino, and have those lovely little cork pieces floating around your glass of wine? Filter it thru a coffee filter! Voila!

Filter cooking oil for reuse!

Coffee filters make excellent taco holders! Homemade tacos get messy quick, place them in a coffee filter and they are much easier to eat and clean up after! Coffee Filters make great messy food holders!

When you give the youngin’s a popsicle or frozen treat on a summer day, poke the stick thru a coffee filter to minimize drips and messies!

Use them over and under your pressed flowers, between your wood pieces or old phone book pages–absorb moisture and keep any flowers from sticking!

When fryin’ up our homemade ‘chicken strips’ or turkey bacon–they absorb any grease really well!

Coffee Filters make great snack bowls–for popcorn, chips, dried cereal, granola, raisins, etc., etc.! No dishes either–now that is a ‘win win’ !

When saving your heirloom seed, put the seeds in a coffee filter, not only do they absorb moisture but they keep the seeds all in one place

Great cut fruit holder for snacks!

Make great mess free spoon holders when cooking!

Strain Soup Stock!

Fill with a bit of baking soda and tie up with twine or yarn, insert into shoes to absorb odors and dry shoes or hubbys work boots!

Fill with Herbs to make disposable drawer sachets!

Fill with Herbs for your soup stocks, tie off top leaving one string long to tie off on pot handle–when done, just pull up your ‘herb sachet’ and toss Easy–no clean up!

In hard times, or if you’ve just let the pantry run low? Coffee Filters CAN be used in place of TP! Cheap, takes waaaaaaay less space than TP and biodegradable!

What ‘other things’ do you use yours for?

~ Lisa

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April 16, 2010

Keeping the Pantry Stocked

Filed under: Frugal Homestead, Homestead Kitchen, Homestead Simplicity!, Lessons Learned at the Homestead, Musings from our Homestead to yours!, Tips from the Homestead — Tags: canning, easy, frugal, Simplicity, soups — Lisa @ 8:41 am

How do you keep your pantry stocked? I do it primarily via canning. I love to can, and we’ve been really putting our pressure canner to good use lately! It’s really simple to do, results in the best food (cause YOU made it, of course!) you know what is in your food, your know how long ago it was canned (unlike the stuff from the supermarket that is sitting in that nasty tin can) and you get it made exactly how you want it! One other thing I LOVE about canning to fill my pantry? The convienence of it–it’s so easy on a busy day (evening–or anytime for that matter), to open a couple jars of soup, heat it–toss in some homemade bread or cornbread, maybe a jar of home canned fruit–voila– SUPER SIMPLE and healthy homemade lunch (or supper). Not only that–but what happens if Mom is sick (it DOES happen on occasion!) or Dad is injured or ? Having a stocked pantry makes it easy on me, my husband or children to prepare a homecooked meal in minutes with ease! Also, compare your costs vs store bought (you can’t compare the health bene’s!) you’ll be pleasantly surprised! Even WITH my best couponing efforts I could not beat the price and I know there is no comparing the quality.

I also hear from folks about the time it takes to can. Really–it is purty simple. Get a batch of chili or soup or stew going (prep is key–the day before I plan to can, I soak my beans, get the burger out of the freezer, chop my onions, etc etc.) on canning day I whip it all up! Let it simmer or cook (depending on what you’re canning) and I either get my canner and equipment ready or have it prepped ahead– and fill my jars, get ‘em in the canner and let the canner do the work Now–I do stay real close by the canner at all times–for safety’s sake–so I plan to do things close by. My kitchen could always use a little cleaning, I can bake bread ahead to put in the freezer, cook up dinner, do up a freezer meal or 2, bake cookies–(I do attempt to can when I know the little ones (little wee ones that can get burned) will be otherwise occupied)–I’ll even bring my laptop out to the kitchen table and attempt to squeeze in some work while canning!

A little prep and pre-planning and it really is easy–we’ve been averaging a couple batches of soups or chili lately, per week–this week it was chicken vegetable soup & bean soup! This keeps the pantry stocked and makes good use of veggies that we tend to buy in bulk–before they go south, AND with all the new animals and gardening season starting–it’s starting to get really busy around here—having the pantry stocked will be a huge blessing!

Happy Cannin’

Lisa

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March 25, 2010

Hang it up to dry!

Filed under: Frugal Homestead, Homemade Clean, Homestead Simplicity!, Lessons Learned at the Homestead, Musings from our Homestead to yours!, Tips from the Homestead — Tags: frugal, hang dry, homestead tip, laundry — Lisa @ 8:36 am

I love hanging my laundry out to dry, truth be told, I hang my laundry INDOORS too when the wet wintery weather abounds! *gasp!*

My husband hung me a line right thru our, hm, what would this room be called? Let’s just call it our multipurpose room (aka office, sewing room, school room, family room, etc., etc., etc.!) this is the room with the wood stove in it too, so it works great to get the laundry dry in good time

Hanging your laundry is not only better on the clothing itself (less wear and tear than you get with a grid / system tied dryer–your clothing, etc., will last longer!) it won’t fade your laundry, in fact, when hanging on the line outdoors–the sun acts as a natural brightener, this is especially great on whites and diapers! It is (obviously) less expensive than using a grid powered machine, frugal and have the children join in the hanging–teaches them not only how to dry their clothes without the machine, but gives us another teachable moment, and time spent together–make every moment count!

I would also recommend using a 1/2 to full cup or so of vinegar in your rinsing of the laundry, as a fabric softener–whether you hand or machine wash–this really helps the laundry come out softer when you hang dry!

A lil’ frugal tip from our homestead to yours!

~Lisa

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