I’m not too short: both my feet reach the ground.  :) 

Still, I do have trouble reaching top-shelf items in my cabinets. So I was pleased today when I discovered an unexpected benefit of using plastic ice cream tubs to store my flour, sugar, salt, dry milk, and cornmeal. My long spatula can hook the handles and pull the tub right off the top shelf for me. Cool tool!

These tubs are much easier to use than the Rubbermaid tubs I used to use. The tubs can be heavy when full, but the handle keeps them easily manageable. I keep a working supply handy in the tubs, and store the large bags in the chest freezer or pantry. Even things that don’t come in large bags are easier with the handles, such as dry milk and salt.

The tubs are not air-tight however, so keep a small bag of desiccant (silica gel) in with the salt and sugar to prevent lumps.

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How to Shop Online Without a Credit Card

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

A vast amount of people shop online for the seemingly endless selection of goods, and for the convenience of buying what you want from your own home. However, those without access to a credit card are often unable to enjoy these benefits. The set of instructions below outlines a very simple way to enjoy online shopping without having to use a credit card.

Steps

1. Get the amount of money you need to what you want in cash.
2. Now somehow get all of this cash in change. Some ways to do this are to use a quarter machine at a laundromat or arcade, go to the bank, or ask for ten dollar rolls at a supermarket.
3. Find a Coinstar machine. These machines usually take your change and exchange it for cash for a small fee, but they also have another function. You can give it your change and it will exchange it for a gift certificate to Amazon.com for no counting fee.
4. Go to Amazon.com and use the search function to find what you want. Once at the checkout screen, just enter the code from your certificate in the designated space and click "apply".
5. If Amazon doesn’t have exactly what you want, just purchase an e-certificate off of them and use it on the desired website. They will send your e-certificate code via email, so it is very convenient.
6. Or you could just buy a Visa Giftcard. They are available at just about any convenience store. When you buy it, it will come with a link to a website. Go there and register. Then shop online using your gift as you would a normal credit card.

Tips

• If you don’t know where to find a Coinstar machine, just go to their website and punch in your zip code and they will tell you where the closest one to you is.
• this should work for UK too.
  • Virtual credit card numbers offered by some major card issuers offer a similar level of protection without all the hassle.

Warnings

• Before you go to the Coinstar machine, make sure you have ALL the money you need, for both the item itself, shipping, and maybe sales tax.

Related wikiHows

• How to Save Money Shopping on the Internet
• How to Create an Account on Citisbest.Com
• How to View Your Phone Bill Online
• How to Get Companies to Send You Free Stuff

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

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Presto is a toy. All American is real, i.e. professional.
Anything with rubber gaskets is not what you want

The comment above was made recently at an online homesteader/organic gardening group.

I am always amazed when I encounter this type of reaction. Some people may be able to afford $300 canners, but many more of us simply cannot.

My canner cost me more than I could afford. My choice was a Presto canner versus NO canner. My canner is 20 years old, true, but it is in excellent condition, sturdy, with gasket, dial, and weights all functioning properly. I fully expect it will last 50 more years with no problem except occasionally replacing the gasket, which costs less than $10, and is simple to do.

Here are some tips regarding pressure canner use and safety. These tips have been gathered from personal experience, manuals, the internet, and books, not to mention the advice from fine online groups.

Before Use

Check the rim of both pan and lid to make sure there are no nicks or damage to the interlocking tabs.

Make sure the safety pressure release (usually a rivet-like rubber plug) is still present and soft and moving freely in its slightly oversized hole. Make sure the pressure vent is clean and open, and that the seat for the pressure release weight is smooth and fits well.

Check the gasket that goes between pan and lid for cracks or hardening. If pressure from a thumbnail leaves a permanent dent in the rubber it may be too brittle for use. The gasket will really let you know when it needs to be replaced–it will spit steam and you will not be able to build up pressure. This is not dangerous, except that you don’t want to be burned by escaping steam or liquid. If your cooker is old and the gasket seems to be leaking, give it a few minutes as it may expand and work fine as it warms up.

Replacing a gasket:

You can find replacement gaskets at most hardware stores. Just write down the model # from the bottom of the canner and match it to the label on the gasket at the store.

Before you heat it up the first time, wash the gasket with warm soapy water, dry it, then lightly coat with mineral oil or Vaseline to condition the gasket. Insert gasket into its groove in lid. If it is either too shrunken to fit to the edge, or too stretched to lie smoothly in the lid, it should be replaced.

You should always have extra gaskets on hand. You can vacuum seal spares for long term storage. Put them in something first to preserve their shape… don’t compress them, as otherwise them might deform over time.

For emergency or disaster preparations, you can make your own gaskets from readily available materials such as neoprene, gum, hard rubber, or gasket rubber purchased in sheets. Use your old gasket as a template to cut the new one.

Risks of Exploding

The difference between our grandmothers’ canners and the ones today, is the pressure relief plug.  Modern canners, whether Presto, Mirro, or All America, have very little chance of building enough pressure to explode mainly due to improvements in the pressure relief valve system.

Cultivate the habit of checking the plug before every use.

(information from www.stason.org)
- If it is a metal alloy or composition metal plug that screws into the lid, do not try to remove it.
- If it is a rubber plug, use the thumbnail test to see if the rubber is still pliable enough. If pressure with thumbnail leaves a permanent dent in the rubber it is too brittle for safe use and should be replaced.
- If either type of plug has been blown out by overpressure in the canner, it must be replaced by a new plug. Do not try to reuse the plug that blew out.

Canner Storage:

(information from www.stason.org)
- Turn the lid upside down and rest it on the canner. The weight of the lid should not be resting on the gasket during storage as it could deform it.
- For long-term storage at the end of the season, wash and dry the canner well. Be sure all the parts (safety weight, rack, etc.)
are in the canner. A few crumpled newspapers in the canner will absorb moisture and odors.
- If you unscrew the gauge or vents, coat the threads lightly with petroleum jelly to prevent rust and make them easier to replace.
- Coat the gasket very lightly with petroleum jelly or oil.

Helpful Web sites:

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What is your favorite kitchen tool? I have a few that I never knew I needed, but now I could not live without.

My first and absolute favorite tool is my 2 cup silver measuring cup. It is thick metal, and made by Cuisipro. I got it online from a company that sells roses and garden stuff, for less than $15 including shipping. (Amazon has it but it is more expensive.)

$15 may seem like a lot for a measuring cup, but it has made it so much easier to make things I use often, like bread, cornbread, rolls, pizza crust, and pancakes, that I have been more likely to make my own, instead of buying ready-made. So over the last couple of years it has paid for itself. (I’m still searching for a 1.5 cup size, if any of you know where I can get one for under $20…)

Another favorite item is my set of odd-size measuring spoons. They are thick metal, and made by Cuisipro. The set has pinch, 1/8, 2/3, 1-1/2, and 2 teaspoons sizes. The 1-1/2 teaspoon size gets a lot of use! I found this set at Amazon.com for around $15 including shipping.

I also love my combination 1 and 2 tablespoon measure. It is made of black plastic, and I found it at Wal-mart in the coffee isle for less than $2. It is a fairly sturdy plastic, but nothing like the solid-metal quality of the 2-cup and odd-size-spoons set.

My final absolutely-could-not-live-without kitchen tool is my set of plastic measuring cups that includes a 2/3 cup and a 3/4 cup size. Most measuring cups sets have only 1/4, 1/3, 1/2, and 1 cup sizes. Amazon carries a metal set of 7 measuring cups by Cuisipro ($30) that has the 2/3 and 3/4 cup size included, but since I found a plastic set at a yard sale for a quarter, I’m waiting for someone to give me the nice, metal set as a gift. Did I mention that I’ll be 50 years old on May 22?

What’s your favorite kitchen tool?

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Speaking of rice, I found a microwave rice cooker for just a few bucks at Wal-Mart (Amazon.com has it too). It’s basically just a tall bowl with a tight fitting lid. I’m surprised it works so well.

Just add 1 cup rice, 2 cups water, and microwave for 10 minutes. Much faster than making rice on the stove.

Very Cool Tool

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I want a Kindle so bad!

It allows you to download books instantly from Amazon. Most of them cost around $9, but I saw many that were less. Also, it can store books in the public domain for free, such as from Project Gutenburg, plus it can store Word, .PDF, mp3 and other documents after conversion.

You can go online from anywhere (free!) to download books from Amazon, or the internet. I read a Kindle blog that says you can even check your google email if you use Google’s .mobi site for mobile phones. The internet service is free from Amazon.

The only catch is the Kindle 2 costs $350! Ack! I could buy 100 books from www.paperbackswap.com for that much money. Hopefully the Kindle won’t take too long to come down in price, because I’m getting old…fast. (Yesterday Jesse (10 years old) asked me if they had bicycles when I was little. Ack!)

. 

Update: Link to a wonderful Kindle bag to make for yourself: IoniaQuiltWorks.BlogSpot.com

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I’ve kept a super-market price book since 2003. I use it to record the prices of groceries, so I could know if a “sale price” is really lower or not. I don’t record every receipt, but at least every few weeks I try to record the prices from my receipts.

I keep the “book” as an Excel spreadsheet, but you could do it with a notebook and pencil just as well. (Click on the image at left to enlarge it.) I record the name/description of the item, the price, the month and year, and the name of the store. To keep it more manageable and easier to find things, I have put meat on its own tab, fresh produce on its own tab, and then everything else on the “grocery” tab in the spreadsheet.

Now, when grocery store fliers come in the mail, I can tell if the “10 for $10″ is really a lower price or not. And when I can see that something is offered at a really lower price, I can stock up on that item, and know that it really was a good deal. I have a printed version that I take with me to the store to compare prices.

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I found a pressure canner for $35!  It was listed on www.CraigsList.com, and was only about a half hour drive from here.  I’m so happy! It is a 22 quart Presto, model 1780. It is big and very sturdy and looks to be in good condition. Yay!

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