PENNYWISE Another Tool in the Fine Art of Money Management By Paula Vogelgesang Email: Pennywise at pennywise@gwtc.net.
How To Save Money by Home Preser ving PRESERVING: An old-fashioned word for saving things; in this case, FOOD for your table. I keep hearing talk in the media about folks being ‘food insecure’, which means they don’t know where their next meal is coming from. Perhaps they could take a lesson from some of the ‘old folks’. Home canning is one of the most effective ways to save those precious grocery dollars. The fine art of canning food was one of the first things I began to master as a new bride. I raised my first garden with the help of my father-in-law and some of my neighbors. They shared plants from their established gardens, and gave me a lot of helpful advice. I still have the gooseberry and raspberry bushes, asparagus bed, rhubarb patch and the ever-bearing strawberries to this day–old heirloom varieties that are probably long gone from the ‘official’ list of garden plants.
away! The pea patch was always the biggest ‘draw’. Raw peas straight from the pod were like candy to those kids. We would walk down to the garden after the kids had been visiting and my husband would say, ”Looks like the Jolly Green Giant has visited again” as he viewed rows of peas stripped of their bounty and between the rows, empty pea pods. Needless to say, we didn’t have many frozen peas that year. (Those same kids would look at cooked vegetables on the dinner table and remark, ”I don’t like that stuff!” having never tried it at all–until they ate it fresh from the garden and decided it was pretty good after all!)
Canners, jars and rings, lids, picking wild fruit, plums, chokecherries, buffalo berries, currants for jelly-making (complete with chigger/tick bites) was all part of the learning experience of this town girl when I married my cowboy and moved to the country. I did get a lot of free information from the Extension Office. The agents have all sorts of recipe books and instructions on safe canning/freezing procedures that were more than useful to me. This is one service of our federal government that I am much in favor of: Teaching people how to preserve food for future use. Good food, with no chemicals or additives. There are groups in several towns now that have a program called ‘Bountiful Baskets’, where a person joins and pays a fee for the produce. It is very fresh, and varies from one delivery to the next. (What a great way to introduce your children to new foods.) Farmers Markets abound in most urban areas as well as in the smaller towns. The food is perfectly fresh, and you can visit with the one who grew the food!
We had lots of company as the new couple in the neighborhood, and some of the relatives stayed for several days at a time. My sisters and brothers and various assorted cousins and neighbor kids taught me that kids will try anything at least once! We didn’t have a garden when I was growing up so the raw green beans, peas, radishes, and other things eaten right in the garden was an experience. My cousins would sit in the green bean rows and gobble down several handfuls of freshly picked green beans, pull up the radishes and carrots, wipe the dirt off on their jeans and chomp
Most people assume you have to have a huge garden in order to be able to do much canning. That’s not necessarily true–just put the word out’ that you will take any excess garden produce from others. Your friends will give you baskets of tomatoes, peppers,
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Make Your Own Wet Wipes, Critter Catcher, Lemon Oil Polish, and more! NEW USE FOR TAPE Right about now, lots of the ‘creepy crawlies’ start finding their way into our homes to make nests for winter away from the wet and cold. I don’t like to spray if I don’t have too. If it doesn’t bite or sting, I use the ‘tape it’ method to dispose of a critter that finds it’s way to a windowsill or is walking around on the curtains, wallpaper, or that new paint job. No kidding, this really works: Grab your trusty clear tape, and simply stick a piece of tape to said bug! It can’t get away and can be disposed of real quickly and neatly. I just fold the tape over the critter, smash it with my fingers and drop it in the wastebasket. If it’s a beetle type, I will just step on it and then dispose of it. I know it’s just a bug, but I can’t stand the thought of it escaping and invading my space again. –submitted by MA, VT
with their birthdate and anniversary date. To make it extraspecial, make notes of how this person is related to or close to your family–grandmother/grandfather, step grandparents/ cousins, kids of cousins, old family friends, etc. With families of today living on both coasts, overseas and several states away, this little book can be invaluable for anyone who receives it. This makes a great gift for any new bride entering a family. –submitted by NF, OR
MAKE YOUR OWN WET WIPES You need a paper towel that can be used in the microwave for this one; the reason is that cheaper towels are made from recycled paper and may have tiny bits of metal imbedded in the paper, which could cause an injury to the skin.
QUICK COVER UP
First, take the cardboard core out of the center of the roll of towels and discard, and then cut the roll of paper towels in half. (I found that a bandsaw did the best job of cutting the towels with the least amount of tearing.)
My friend has very dark hair that will start showing grey around the edges, so in an emergency, she takes her mascara brush and lightly colors the ‘greys’ with that. It works great as a quick camouflage and washes out. –submitted by NV, SD
Next, mix 2 cups of water, 1 tablespoon of baby oil (scented or not, your choice), and 1 tablespoon liquid hand soap in a container with a lid. (Ask a friend who buys wipes if you can have an empty container or two.)
GIFT IDEA FOR NEW FAMILY MEMBERS: OUR FAMILY ADDRESS BOOK
Now put the half-roll of towels in the container and pour the water, oil, soap mixture over the towels and let it soak up. Put the towels out from the center of the roll to use them. – submitted by GW, MN
You can get spiral notebooks that look quite nice at office supply stores and some even are alphabetized. Fill in with the names and addresses of friends and family members along
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DISSOLVE STAINS AND MINERAL DEPOSITS Sprinkle a cup full of powdered Borax around the rim of your toilet bowl before bed. It will work overnight to dissolve the mineral deposits and stains. It may take more than one treatment if the porcelain is badly stained or the minerals are pretty thick. –submitted by SK, AZ
MAKE-IT-YOURSELF LEMON OIL POLISH Buy a one-ounce bottle of lemon oil at a craft store and a bottle of mineral oil at the drugstore. Mix 1 ½ teaspoons lemon oil with 2 cups of the mineral oil. Put this into a spray bottle and shake to combine. You can then spray the furniture, or just soak a rag in the mixture to use when you want. I keep my rag in a plastic bag alongside the bottle of lemon polish.. –submitted by MM, IL
RECYCLED KNEE PADS I love to garden, but my old knees will only stand so much and then they rebel. I was at a yard sale a while back and spotted an old sports coat in the free stuff, so I took it home and repurposed the shoulder pads. I stitched them into the jeans I wear when I’m down on my knees weeding–the extra cushion has made a big difference! The rest of the coat went into the dog kennel for extra padding. –submitted by DD, MI
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