Reader tips save the day

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Our lives are often filled with small frustrations, like peeling boiled eggs, getting the baked-on grease off bakeware and the cabinets that you’re afraid to open for fear items will launch an offensive. Help is here. The following are simple solutions to these issues and a few more pearls of wisdom.

EGGS-ISTENTIAL ISSUES: I plunge eggs in ice water directly after cooking and then roll them on the counter. The shells slide right off. — Julie, Florida

Buy your eggs at least a week before you need them. Older eggs peel easily. New eggs are a pain to peel. — Amy, Canada

Start eggs in cold water to which you have added salt. Use a couple of heaping tablespoons. It sucks the calcium out of the shells and makes it easier to peel. — Robin, Oregon

GREASE: IT’S BETTER AS A MUSICAL: To get that icky brown/yellow baked-on splatters of grease off glass bakeware, fill the dish with water and throw in a fabric-softener sheet. If it’s on the edge or the outside of the dish, wet the sheet and lay over the area in need of cleaning. Let it set overnight, rewetting if necessary. In the morning, it will wipe away clean. — Heather, New York

Don’t use hot water to soak pans that have cooked eggs or flour products. The hot water will further cook the food, and it will stick. — Elain, e-mail

RECIPE FOR ORGANIZATION: I have a binder filled with clear plastic sleeves. When I print a recipe, I put it in the binder. — D.J., Missouri

I use an accordion-style coupon file and label the tabs with recipe categories, and I print them in a 3- by 5-inch size and tuck them into the file. I’m done with the dozens of folded pieces of paper. — Sara, e-mail

WALLPAPER MULTITASKS: I use wallpaper to line dresser drawers and shelves. — Nancy, Massachusetts

I use the rolls as wrapping paper. — Debra, Nebraska

I cover shoeboxes for storage in my linen closet. – Julie, via forums

I cover schoolbooks. It works great and doesn’t tear easily. — Darlene, New York

You can use it for scrapbooking, decoupage, making bookmarks and gift tags, and to decorate plain notebook covers. — M.Mcdowell, Iowa

PUT A LID ON IT: Keeping the lids in a basket or plastic dishpan helps to keep them in one place. — Amy, e-mail

FOODIE HEAVEN: I make big batches of cookie dough and use an ice-cream scoop to scoop it out. I put the dough on a cookie sheet, freeze it and place it in a large plastic baggie with name, oven temp and baking time written on it. I do not thaw the cookie dough. Works like a charm. — Wandering Grandma, e-mail

Add sugar to the water instead of salt when making corn on the cob. It sweetens the corn. — Carolyn, Georgia

DENTED FLOORS: Place a wet cloth on the dented area and then use an iron on it. The heat and moisture will raise the grain. — Carolyn, Nevada

KETCHUP WITH YA SOON!: Reuse condiment dispensers for cake decorating and water toys. — Michelle, Texas

DEALS ON APPLIANCES: Ask for discounts on floor models that might have minor surface scratches. — Michelle, e-mail

Posted by Sara Noel on November 20 2007. Filed under Frugal Tips.
Sara Noel owns Frugal Village, LLC and is a nationally syndicated columnist with Universal Uclick. Bio, Follow me on Twitter, Join us on Facebook