Great Isn’t it Obvious MoneySaving Hunt: Tell us the secrets you didn't know you had

A_fiend_for_life

troglodyte wrote: »

I do loads of the little things on here without even thinking of them - it's just second nature. I have just thought of something though. A couple of years ago I made a cosy for the teapot (from left-over Ifleece fabric and wadding) which is fantastic - very simple to make, just an oblong shape, and it keeps tea in the pot hot for up to two hours! I also made one for my cafetiere - saves having to re-heat drinks or make fresh ones, without the hassle of pouring into a flask etc. Now when reading about cooking veg, pasta etc I just had a thought - why not make a pot-cosy? Then bring the pan to the boil, turn it off and pop the cosy on (not the other way around in case it catches fire!) and it should continue to cook, right? I will definitely try this as soon as I get a chance to make one - has anyone else ever tried this? A sort of easier alternative to hay-box cookery I guess!

Perhaps I could do with learning some needlecraft. At the moment I just put a doubled tea towel on top of the lid. Though it has to be dry otherwise it will reduce the benefits of the insulation. Also keeping the temperature low enough that you only have minimum steam coming out through the lid. I use electric though.

I was wondering if the material for fire blankets could be used for this it would then be suitable for gas cooking as well. Just sufficient to cover the lid and provide an inch of flap might be enough. Perhaps a layer or partial layer around the outside wall of the pan and one for the lid. Providing the flame doesn't overlap the base of the pan. Though I am not sure how fire retardant this material is over time.

Kettle I suppose you could peg a tea towel around it I don't have one of those energy meters though so I can't test it.

gillette147

wadge wrote: »

It IS the clock. You have to set the oven in maunal or timer mode. Set the clock and check what mode the oven is in the report back.

Yep. I already messed and it works.......thanks tho.
I still stand by my theory that one thing blowing up from switching them on and off will negate all our small savings.

Raksha

she_grinch wrote: »

I used to buy a pack of makeup remover wipes every couple of weeks but now I make it last almost a year! As I only wear eyemakeup on a daily basis I was using a whole wipe to clean my eyes and threw it away, what I do now is tear a strip off of the wipe and put the rest of it back in the pack, this means each wipe is used about 7or 8 times so the pack lasts for ages

Store any 'wet wipes' like this upside down - the the top ones don't dry out.

Do be careful re using a wipe on your eyes though - breeding grounds for bacteria

Raksha

troglodyte wrote: »

I do loads of the little things on here without even thinking of them - it's just second nature. I have just thought of something though. A couple of years ago I made a cosy for the teapot (from left-over fleece fabric and wadding) which is fantastic - very simple to make, just an oblong shape, and it keeps tea in the pot hot for up to two hours! I also made one for my cafetiere - saves having to re-heat drinks or make fresh ones, without the hassle of pouring into a flask etc. Now when reading about cooking veg, pasta etc I just had a thought - why not make a pot-cosy? Then bring the pan to the boil, turn it off and pop the cosy on (not the other way around in case it catches fire!) and it should continue to cook, right? I will definitely try this as soon as I get a chance to make one - has anyone else ever tried this? A sort of easier alternative to hay-box cookery I guess!

Tupperware used to make a rice cooker - large outer plastic bowl and inner 'strainer/seive' - you put your rice in the inner bowl and added boiling water to the outer one and let it soak for about 20 mins - result perfect rice........

stilernin

Raksha wrote: »

Tupperware used to make a rice cooker - large outer plastic bowl and inner 'strainer/seive' - you put your rice in the inner bowl and added boiling water to the outer one and let it soak for about 20 mins - result perfect rice........

I remember reading about and trying the 'oven' method of cooking rice.

Put your rice in a casserole, add twice the volume of boiling water, put the lid on and cook for approx 40 mins (I think). When it came out, all the water had been absorbed and rice was fluffy.

Stock cubes, spices or herbs could be added too.

Can't remember the temperature or the exact time, but I'm sure a few experiments would get it right. All you need to be doing is simmering it just as you would on the hob.

For economy, I'd only do this if the oven was on for something else though and you could double up on quantities and freeze a batch.

troglodyte

I've just thought of something else I had to pass on:
Never fill your kettle direct from the cold tap but keep a jug or something beside it and fill that up, then when you fill the kettle (assuming you didn't fill the jug immediately before) the water will already be at about 20 degrees (room temp) instead of about 10 degrees when it comes straight from the cold tap. You save the amount of energy that would be needed to heat the water by 10 degrees - try it, you'll find the kettle boils quicker. I started to do this because I have a jug water filter (so removes scale and stops the kettle furring up, which is also a money-saver) but I noticed the difference so now I would do it anyway.

badm88n

We had some new radiators fitted and I bought a roll of that silver reflective stuff that you put behind the radiators (from Wickes, other retailers are available). Anyway we had some silver stuff left over and I found the perfect use for it, a custom fit sun blind for my Volvo :j

I made a paper template of the front windscreen and then cut the silver reflector to match. To give it some rigidity I stuck two silver pieces back to back.

Its a perfect custom fit, I just pull the sunvisors down to hold it in place. On hot days I return to a cool interior, no more boiling hot steering wheel, sizzling dashboard or warm leather seats

Ok I admit to watching Blue Peter when I was younger and building things out of Fairy Liquid bottles (what was the other one Why Dont You?)

Charis

troglodyte wrote: »

I've just thought of something else I had to pass on:
Never fill your kettle direct from the cold tap but keep a jug or something beside it ... I started to do this because I have a jug water filter (so removes scale and stops the kettle furring up, which is also a money-saver) but I noticed the difference so now I would do it anyway.

I kept my filter jug out of the fridge one summer but found that algae started to grow on the insert that holds the filter and around the rim of the jug. I didn't notice at first because the insert is dark blue. From then on I kept it in the fridge. I don't use it at all now, got fed up with paying out for cartridges.

Charis

Raksha wrote: »

Tupperware used to make a rice cooker - large outer plastic bowl and inner 'strainer/seive' - you put your rice in the inner bowl and added boiling water to the outer one and let it soak for about 20 mins - result perfect rice........

I've got one of these, had totally forgotten I could use it to cook rice as well as keep it hot. There's a thread on MSE, I have just discovered: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=45112&highlight=rice+steamer The picture is no longer there as the post is old but the Tupperware thing looks like a colander in a large plastic box with a lid, square with rounded corners.

BigMummaF

You have a pair of sheets on your bed....Remove the BOTTOM sheet for laundry & use the top sheet as the 'fresh' bottom sheet & a clean sheet for the top. Repeat ad infinitum:D