Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Thursday Thirteen #29 - Random Tips


I'm going from geeky tips to random household (and work) tips this week.
  1. If you microwave soup in a bowl, place a potholder under the bowl before putting it in the microwave. That way you don't burn your fingers on the bowl trying to get it out.
  2. Use a plastic knife to fish toast out of the toaster. This is especially handy at work where plastic knives abound.
  3. I use chopsticks at home for the toaster and toaster oven. Just don't use a metal knife!
  4. Use a plastic knife to cut brownies in the pan. Works better than a spatula and doesn't scratch up your pan like a metal knife.
  5. If you make brownie bites in a mini-muffin pan, grease the pan generously and run a toothpick around the edges to free them up afterwards.
  6. When making a 13"x9" cake, run a spatula around the edges and underneath as much as possible, put a cutting board over the top and flip. I've been baking these forever and on the last rectangular cake I made, I totally forgot and tried to catch the cake with my hands only to have it fall apart into three pieces.
  7. If you eat trail mix or something that comes in a bag, pour out a serving into a small bowl so you don't overeat. I have one of the kid's snack cups at work just for this purpose.
  8. If you have a small fridge that doesn't defrost, store english muffins that come in a plastic bag with a paper tray upside down so that the condensation ends up on the paper and not sogging up your muffins.
  9. Use the back of a business card for your grocery list. They fit really well in your wallet, especially if you're like me, and have about 500 to spare.
  10. If you really want to be creative with your business cards, try making a Menger sponge.
  11. Keep a bunch of address labels at work so if you need an envelope, you can paste over one with a company logo. Usually 2 labels will cover over most logos and return addresses. Who says you can't use more than one label on an envelope?
  12. If you're like me and have a stash of bags from trade shows and conferences, use them as yarn bags for knitting projects or storage. No need to buy separate yarn bags or let these bags go to waste!
  13. If you're a knitter, learn to weave in ends as you go, I love efficiency.

10 comments :

suchsimplepleasures said...

#6 i learned by trial and error...i made a cake for my daughter, last year...and had to redo it, a couple of times...so, i'm a slow learner!!

Anonymous said...

Useful tips!

Melanie said...

Great tips..thanks!

Anonymous said...

I'll remember that one about the potholder. Thank you.

My Busy Life said...

A great list!! Thanks for sharing these ideas and tips. I am up too.

Anonymous said...

Great tips, thanks!
Maribeth
www.marnini.wordpress.com

Melissa said...

The english muffin one is good, too. Don't know how many times I've done that one...:)

Deb said...

Those are very useful tips - thank you! :)

Julie Pippert said...

Useful!

Melissa said...

ok..all fixed now. :) Sorry about that.