DEAR SARA: I’m thinking about buying new floor mats for my car, but I do not want to throw out the old ones. Do you have any ideas? — Melissa, e-mail DEAR MELISSA: I’d use them in the garage, either for under your car to catch any leaking fluids or as door mats to store [...]
DEAR SARA: I have just been thinking that it would be fun to have some kind of festive adult beverage for the season. Nothing too complicated. Any ideas? — Jas, Florida DEAR JAS: You can make sangria, wassail, homemade cocoa, flavored or Irish coffee, flavored or chai tea, egg nog, daiquiris, margaritas, mimosa, mojito, etc. [...]
DEAR SARA: What do you do if you don’t have your oven? For the past two weeks, I have not had an oven, and my mind has ventured onto other options. The computer board of my oven went out, but the stove is still operable. Fortunately, and hopefully, it is getting fixed today (praying here). [...]
DEAR SARA: Do you have ideas for repurposing a hanging three-tier veggie basket? I have two wire three-tier vegetable baskets that I never use. I bought them and didn’t like how quickly the vegetables went bad and ended up just refrigerating them instead. Now, they are stuffed away all lonely, wanting so badly to become [...]
DEAR SARA: I want to make cinnamon butter. Do you have a recipe? — Phaedra, Ohio DEAR PHAEDRA: Making compound butters is easy. For cinnamon butter, it can be as simple as adding cinnamon to the butter and combining it with a fork or mix with an electric mixer. Or try mixing butter, honey, cinnamon, [...]
DEAR SARA: What things do you add to flavor your couscous? I have some dried cranberries. Would that be weird? — Palooka, Missouri DEAR PALOOKA: Much like pasta or rice, there are many different ways to enjoy it. Dried cranberries wouldn’t be weird. Add some diced cucumber, crumbled feta cheese and balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Many [...]
DEAR SARA: Do you have any tips on canning pumpkin? Thank you. — Edie P., e-mail DEAR EDIE: Home canning pumpkin puree is no longer recommended. You can freeze it or home can pumpkin cubes in a pressure canner. Please refer to a recent home canning book, such as “The Complete Guide to Home Canning [...]
DEAR SARA: Iron or dryer? I often will delay ironing until I have a huge pile of it. If I have enough for a full dryer load, which is cheaper: ironing for over an hour or putting it in the dryer for 20 minutes? I have a dryer that’s only a few years old, so [...]
DEAR SARA: I need help with old glass-top canning jars. I was given two boxes of glass-top canning jars. They have the orange rubber seal and the metal that is around and on top of the jar. How do you use these? I wanted to make a small batch of spaghetti sauce. My sister-in-law got [...]
DEAR SARA: I am looking for homemade dish-washing soap recipe. Not the homemade automatic dishwasher kind. — Yvonne, Texas DEAR YVONNE: Here are two dish soap (not dishwasher) recipes. 1/4 cup soap flakes (grated ivory) 2 cups hot water 1/4 cup glycerin 1/2 teaspoon lemon or lavender essential oil Dissolve soap flakes in hot water. [...]
DEAR SARA: I have a garlic salt question. I found a recipe I’d like to try, and it calls for garlic salt. Ignorant question here, but can I use garlic powder plus salt as a substitute? Or is garlic salt something different? By the way, you don’t want to know how long it took me [...]
DEAR SARA: Every time I buy a new shower curtain, I buy new shower curtain hooks to match. I have frogs, flowers, and angels that matched some decor in the bathroom in the years past. Besides donating them, is there any fun, creative things I can do with them? — Palooka, Missouri DEAR PALOOKA: It [...]
photo by billaday A day might come when you need money quickly. Not a situation where you’re simply experiencing a tight budget for a day or two, but when your basic necessities are on the line. Maybe you don’t have enough money to put gas in your car or food is running low. What can [...]
photo by thebittenword Buying in larger quantities can save money, but that’s only if you use it up before it goes bad. Many households waste food. Having a waste-not, want-not kitchen can be a key strategy in this economy. How do you waste less food? Here are a few suggestions. FRUIT: Ripe bananas can be [...]
photo by crystl I’ve always been a cheap date. No, not the “check out my poster collection” type of cheap date, but the kind that enjoys a picnic in the park or splitting the bill. But there’s a fine line between being creatively frugal and fun and being downright tacky. On a first date, if [...]
DEAR SARA: I want to make cinnamon butter. Do you have a recipe? — Phaedra, Ohio DEAR PHAEDRA: Making compound butters is easy. For cinnamon butter, it can be as simple as adding cinnamon to the butter and combining it with a fork or mix with an electric mixer. Or try mixing butter, honey, cinnamon, [...]
photo by philipsphotos While I advocate simplifying your home by decluttering, there are times you might need to pack stuff away. According to the Self Storage Association, 10 percent of U.S. households are currently renting a self-storage unit. For various reasons, such as moving, remodeling, college, military deployment or business, you might be one of [...]
