Kitchen Tool Fixer Upper

Posted on February 20, 2013 by Mary Hunt in Tips 10 Comments

A can opener with a dull blade is pretty useless, but who likes to throw out kitchen tools? If we don’t, we have kitchen drawers that barely close. That’s why I love Marilyn’s tip. Now, all I have to do is find my can opener and see if it needs a rebirth.

canopener

CAN OPENER REBIRTH. I was ready to throw out my can opener, but decided to get my knife sharpener and work on the can opener’s cutting wheel. It worked like a charm. It was like having a new can opener. Marilyn, Wisconsin

SUNDAY, SANS ADS. I don’t start reading the Sunday paper until I’ve gone through it and thrown out all the ads. I don’t even look at the ads—I just toss them. This keeps me from seeing a need I didn’t have before I got the paper. I’m no longer tempted to shop, and it has really helped curb my spending. Beck, EC Blog

STOP THE PASTA BOIL-OVER. To stop my pot of pasta from boiling over, I spray the insides of the pot with nonstick spray before I fill it with water. This breaks the water’s surface tension and prevents it from boiling up and over. ThriftySoul, EC Blog

DETERGENT’S LITTLE SOMETHING EXTRA. I mix my generic laundry detergent with a little bit of expensive name-brand detergent. This makes my laundry detergent last longer, it cleans my clothes really well, and they smell so nice, too. Kay, EC Blog

PEPPERMINT REMEDY. I began having tension headaches and went in for a massage. The masseuse suggested that when I sense a headache coming on, to massage my neck and shoulders and then massage in a drop or two of peppermint oil. This has really helped. It feels great, brings a little warmth to my shoulders and neck, and most of the time gets rid of the headache. Georgia, Minnesota

BIRTHDAY COUPON BOOK. My mom and sister-in-law create a “Birthday Coupon Book” each year for the kids in the family. They design a colorful book of about 10 coupons that are tailored to each child’s interests, and can be cashed in whenever the child wants. Some of the favorite coupons are “$5 Shopping Spree at the Dollar Store with Grandma,” “Skip Piano Practice Day,” and “Dinner Out with Mom” or “Dinner Out with Dad.” This gift not only spreads out the birthday celebration and the cost, but creates special times and memories for each child, parent and grandparent. N.N., email

SEALED WITH A CLIP. I have used clothespins for years to close food bags and containers. I’ve also added a couple of other items that now have a dominant role in my kitchen. Rubber bands and 2-inch binder clips, purchased at the local office supply store, are durable and between the two can handle any size package. I have wire shelving in my pantry, so I attach the binder clips to the front lip of a shelf until needed. A generous bag of rubber bands takes little space in a drawer. Janet, email

Question: Do you have a kitchen tool that has had a rebirth? Tell us here. 

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Posted on February 20, 2013 by Mary Hunt in Tips 10 Comments
  • Maryann

    I make a vegetarian bean patty that I eat as a meat substitute several days a week, and one of the ingredients is a can of fat-free refried beans. Sometimes I don’t have those in my pantry, however, so I take a can of whatever beans I do have on hand and use my very heavy meat tenderizer tool to mash the beans in a bowl before adding the other ingredients. It works really well and gets the beans to the perfect consistency for my recipe!

  • Josephine Eckert

    I use stand up file holders for all the different size plastic covers I have. Keeps them all contained in a neat way. I also use one in the cabinet above my coffee maker for my coffer creamers that come in those little cups. Also keeps the cabinet neat. Got lots of compliments for these ideas.

  • Michael S

    I personally have found that the greatest invention ever made for pasta is the original Fasta Pasta. I love it! My expensive cookware says to avoid high temps and I squirmed every time I boiled water for pasta. Then I found the Fasta Pasta. It is fairly economical, easy to find online ( I just discovered after a year with the one I bought with a retailer that they have their own website), it is made in the U. S. A. , it is easier to clean and keeps the kitchen cooler because it works in the microwave. Yes, I checked and can report that it IS microwave safe. I’m always careful to promptly remove and drain noodles because they tend to stick Only if I don’t get them out promptly. I break the noodles in half for easier eating and boiling. It cooks all kinds of stuff I haven’t tried yet. Their website is cool as it has it in red and green colors instead of the white I purchased it in originally. I bought it in green so if it ever wears out, I have a backup, and it arrived quickly, with a small recipe book and a pampered chef knockoff measuring cup. I bought 3 for relatives! It’s much easier to cook pasta now. I cook 2 measured by the holes in the top, servings of thin spaghetti in 12 minutes! My microwave runs hot. Drain in the top. What’s not to love?

  • rbm

    My husband’s favorite money clip finally wore out and he was preparing to go to Nordstrom to find a new one. I gave him a gold binder clip from a package I had bought for our home office and suggested that might suffice. Two years later, the binder clip is still going strong and he’s so proud of it, he points it out to anyone who will listen. We saved about $30 on the money clip and who knows how much on clothes he might have found at Nordstrom!

  • drp6149

    Please explain how you get the little cutting wheel on the can opener into the knife sharpener???

  • dyoung5

    Can’t figure out how you would get the wheel into the sharpener.

  • Martha

    It’s not a kitchen tool but it is using something meant for one thing for something else. I was packing to go out of town and was taking different sets of earrings and wondering how I could carry these without losing or breaking them. I found an old weekly medicines container, put one set in each day. No breaks or losses.

  • jeanne

    I wash my food cans before I recycle them and saved some of the pull-lids from the chili or soup cans. I noticed that they would balance on the tab if bent correctly. So when I attended a dessert pot-luck I knew how I would label them. A Sharpie works fine on the metal, but I also used some glitter glue and that just looked jazzier (and I got more compliments). This idea would be a cute idea for place cards, too.

  • hj

    I like Janet’s suggestion of using binder clips for snack bags, etc. A few years ago I saw a tip about keeping rubber bands in the freezer to make them last longer and it works for me. I use it for the big bands that are quite expensive and I need occasionally. A package will last years. My grandson thinks it is funny when he sees them in the freezer.

  • Pat

    It seems that more and more foods come in packages which have to be opened
    with a pair of scissors. I was frustrated having to dig out my scissors from a

    kitchen drawer every time I went to cook. I found a metal clip attached to a magnet which I keep on the side of my refrigerator, and I clip a small pair of

    scissors there within easy reach of my stove.