Make Beef Patties Inside Ziploc Bag
Used that method since the early 70s. I spread Saran wrap on the counter, drop the meat on it. Then I sprinkle/spread Hungarian Paprika, Ranch, Garlic and Onion salt. Next I fold the wrap over, pat it down, well actually I slap it a bit, then I use my marble...
Increasing Humidity for Newly Potted Houseplants
Plants NEED CO2, just like you need Oxygen. Dont choke it with plastic! You can safely use an old shirt and spray it with water occasionally. Water in the saucer under the pot also helps. Just dont choke it!
Create a Humid Environment for Plants
Be careful not to suffocate the plants! They NEED CO2, exactly like you need oxygen. That is why all the tomato greenhouses have big propane or natural gas burners in them, to create the necessary CO2. Allow some air exchange and let the plants take care of...
Boiling Eggs to Make Deviled Eggs
I learned the most economical way to boil eggs without the grey bacholerette ring on the yolk from inside an egg carton: Put the eggs into a pot and almost cover them with water. Cover the pot so that it boils sooner. When the lid starts hopping it indicates...
Mason Jars for Storing Daily Medication
Go to the nearest Dollar Store and get a Dosette. It is a light weight plastic container that holds seven daily racks, each with four little boxes with hinged lids. Each little box holds a bunch of pills for somebody with diabetes, heart plus some other ailments...
Pasta Christmas Ornaments
You can get dozens of different shapes of pasta at the Bulk Barn quite cheaply. Make a kid safe glue from flour and water, and let the kids go nuts with gluing ornaments together. They can, of course, also add shells and anything interesting. The best fisnish...
Drying Shoes Without the Banging
Hanging the boot-bag out on the line still works fine too. Onion bag mesh keeps birds from nesting in your sneakers, though it is funny when they do. You can always hang some old and holy sneakers under the eaves. The birds love them! Have fUN! DearWebby
Comparing CFL And LED Lightbulbs
LED lamps can be used for outdoor motion detector lighting. Unlike the CFLs, they light instantly even in very cold weather. I also found that 4 Watt LED lamps are sufficient for the motion activated lights. Have FUN! DearWebby
Use Coffee Grounds In The Garden
Coffee grounds are NOT fertilizer or compost! Quite the opposite! You might as well use sawdust or gravel. I toss coffee grounds onto the path between rows of raspberries. Beats having to mow between the rows. Have FUN! DearWebby
Use a Clothesline or Drying Rack
You dont really need heat for fluffing your jeans or whatever. Just set the dryer to FLUFF, or DELICATE, no heat, add a tennis ball or smooth babys sneaker, and they will fluff up quite nicely. Here it is almost always windy, so line drying takes all wrinkles...
Cleaning Dirt and Tree Sap Off Work Clothes?
When I was living in the bush and when I was logging I tried using gloves at all times. I really tried. The routine procedure for getting sap off hands was to spray some OFF mosquito dope onto the hands and wiping them on the jeans. That was fast and always...
Magnesium and Zinc for Tinnitus
I agree 100%. Tinnitus is not physical, it is mental. Magnesium, Calcium, Zinc, herbal supplements MAY have a placebo effect and help you to dismiss the tinnitus, however, so far there is nothing that works as predictably as a pain killer. Whether you call...
Pressure Cooker Hard Boiled Eggs
If you do not want the ugly grey boundary on the yolk, just put the eggs into boiling water with tongs, bring the water back up to a rolling boil, turn off the burner or move the pot off the fire, and put a lid on it. Let it steep for 5-6 minutes. Pour cold...
Healthy Bean Soup
Personally, I dont buy broth or stock. I just use a heaping teaaspoon of beef-vegetable or Minestrone soup mix from the Bulk barn. Unlike store bought broth or stock, it does not have any phony taste enhancers in it. There is even a kosher sign on the bin. I...
Valentine's Day on a Shoestring Budget
Instead of expensive instant pudding you can use Birds Custard, just like your Great Gramma used. It is still available, though you might have to look on high shelves in the baking supplies isles. In addition to lower cost and better taste, you dont need to...
Using One Outlet in a Room Disables the Other?
1) Make sure your insurance is paid up and all important document stored in your bank deposit box. 2) Since you dont understand outlets and electricity, DONT mess with them! Somebody is likely to get hurt and/or killed. 3) Talk to an instructor at the vocational...
Homemade Dried and Caramelized Onions
Instead of a Mandolin I use a Borner V cutter and make tiny cubes. Aside from being much safer, the little cubes practically disappear in gravies and sauces, just leaving the flavor behind. I also use a lot less oil. I use an ancient Amway window cleaner sprayer...
Not-So Spanish Omelet
I prefer firm, fleshy potatoes like Yukon Gold, and dont waste the peel that has the flavor and the vitamines, so I just boil them for 2-3 minutes, and slice them really thin. I also put paper thin slices of onion in there. The franks or Wieners dont need to...
Crescent Pizza Rolls
Dont forget the Pizza Sauce! I prefer smearing pizza sauce on first, then pepperoni or salami or ham, a paper-thin slice of onion, a sprinkle of garlic salt, then a thin slice of Mozarella. Works OK rolled up or left flat for a square pizza. Whichever way you...
Holiday Candle Holders
To avoid having the tea candles sitting at an angle like the right one in the picture, dont use beans or anything coarse for the ballast. Ballast is supposed to be heavy and even. Plaster of Paris with a tea candle pressed into it before it hardens makes a...
Peanut Butter Banana Puffed Rice Squares
To avoid the dreaded dry and mealy look of the chocolate, dont overheat and wait for it to LOOK melted. Add a bit of butter to the chips and stir vigorously after 45 seconds. That way it will produce a strong, smooth and shiny cover. Have FUN! DearWebby
Effects Of Pollen Transfer Between...
Pollen transfer definitely does cause hybridization. That has been known for ages. That is how you get hybrids! Your tomatoes, oranges, potatoes, etc. are not like the ones you had as a kid. Potatoes were probably the first recorded DELIBERATE hybridization...
Effects Of Pollen Transfer Between...
Pollen transfer definitely does cause hybridization. That has been known for ages. That is how you get hybrids! Your tomatoes, oranges, potatoes, etc. are not like the ones you had as a kid. Potatoes were probably the first recorded DELIBERATE hybridization...
Million Dollar Spaghetti
My mother used to make that in the 50s and 60s. No spaghetti sauce in those days, but tomato paste. Instead of spaghetti noodles she used the fine Vermicelli, and of course did not use all those cheeses. I remember a thin layer of cottage cheese mixed with...
Rooting a Cactus Pad
Remember that Opuntias (Prickly Pear) in the wild get knocked apart by deer and cattle, and are not used to any gentle handling. They do quite well in the poorest of desert soils. Watering them too much or too often WILL murder them. To get them to bloom you...
White Vinegar to Remove Calcium...
If you dont have vinegar or dont like the smell of it, use the cut off ends of cucumbers. Works like magic!
Crocheted Cat Mats
My friend Dianne did the same until she died a couple of years ago. I cropped and sized and uploaded pictures of her cat afghans to http://funk.fire-cat.com/Afghan/index.html, for her local animal shelter to auction / sell. There are probably a few thousand...
Spray Nozzle for Dish Soap Container
I have used an AMWAY spray bottle for that for about 30 years. Still works well. I also use a pump action shampoo dispenser that squirts a fine stream all the way across the sink, depending on how hard I hit the pump top. That one is great for when my hands...
Removing Plastic and Foil Seals from Food Containers?
99% of the time the glue is a thermal (hot-melt) glue that yields quite nicely to steam from your steam iron. Soften it with the steam and if necessary, scrape the rim with a butter knife (not a serrated knife).
Preventing Scissors from Rusting?
If you have inherited plain iron scissors that can rust, unlike modern stainless steel scissors, dip them into a Classic Coke. The phosphoric acid in it turns surface iron into iron phosphate. You could also use Naval Jelly, which is simply jellied phosphoric...
Hearty Amish Soup
You got the salt and the sausage quantities mixed up. Otherwise this is the standard Stewp. When the pot is half empty, you simply add more stuff, and different spices like chili or paprika or even curry. And smoked farmer sausage, of course. It has the fat...
Removing Stain on Laminate Countertop?
That does not look like a stain, but surface discoloration. Lack of color. Dont make it worse with cleaning stuff! Try a thin varnish like marine spar varnish. It will act like it was wet and look quite OK. You can do the entire counter and make it look like...
Baking An Egg?
Way too much heat! Turn down the heat to a quarter of what you used and give it much more time. That dish looks like it was made for Microwave, not for a wood stove oven. Unless you do like dry and crusty fringes, use lower heat and more time.
Cut Porcupine Quills Before Removing
I have pulled many thousand quills from dogs in my thirty years in the Yukon, and I know, that is the only way that works. Snip a bunch with the tiny scissors on a Swiss Army knife, then use the pliers on it to pull the snipped ones. You cant quite pull them...
Tote Bag Made from a Dog Food Bag
I used to make dogsled bags from the big 50 lb bags, but put thin yellow rope into the top roll-over, and use that as a drawstring. No electricity in the bush there in the 70`s, so I used a hand crank Singer. Worked quite well. They are very slippery on snow...
Scrape Crumbs off Tabletop
A small, handheld, rechargeable car vacuum works even better. To pick up pins, use a magnet inside a pin cushion.
Decoupaged Photo on Wood
If your local craft store does not have that or any decoupage glue, you can get it from Amazon. Keep in mind that pictures will be mirror reversed. With most paint programs CTRL M mirrors the picture. That way Aunt Millies tattoo is readable, Ernies 7 hairs...
Floor Cleaner with No Residue
Since my dishes dry nice and clean without residue, I have used a squirt of dish soap per gallon of hot water on my high gloss soft vinyl and gloss hardwood wood floor for the last 15 years. No dull film or buildup at all. My floors are as clean and shiny as...
Dealing With a Verbally Abusive Husband?
Dump the nut and get your head examined as soon as possible! The fact that you put up with this nut indicates, that YOU have some serious problems too. Find somebody, who is stable and ALWAYS respectful and supportive.
No Ground Wire on Nightlight?
Dont worry about it! There is nothing outside of the face plate and no danger of anybody getting shocked. Just connect black to black and white to white, and it will be fine. You got the wrong papers, but the right light.
Recycled Backscratcher
For the rubbery feel of the handle just dip it into Color Guard from Loctite. I have used it for my industrial tools since the mid 80s, and many still have the original colorful rubber. All you do is dip the handle in it, pull it out and let it hang for a minute...
Salt Water for Tarnished Silver Ring
The traditional method of 1 teaspon of baking soda sprinkled onto aluminum foil in a small pot or pan, 1/4 cup warm water and the ring added, and agitated slightly, works in a couple of minutes. Works not only on jewelry, but is the recommended method for fine...
Painting the Hot Plate on a Coffee Pot?
Open it from the bottom and pop out the metal lid. Sandblast it or sand it with very fine sandpaper or steel wool until you see shiny metal. Quite often shiny metal looks pretty enough and does not require paint. If you do want to paint it, let it dry well...
Breaker Keeps Arcing?
That breaker is worn out and/or damaged. They are not repairable. Replace it, and smash the bad breaker with a hammer to ensure it will never be used to burn your house down.
Making Perfect Pasta
Before pouring the pasta and water through your colander, add a cup of cold water. That separates the free starch (the glue) from the pasta. It wont stick and will be like just boiled if you microwave it later.
Homemade "Croakies" Eyeglass Holders
Why re-invent the wheel? Go to Home Depot or Home Hardware and get some Loctite Color Guard or Dipit Liquid rubber. Both come in many colors and also in black, and are a liquid rubber made for tool handles. They are extremely tough and made for tools, that...
Stackable Potato Tower
I did something similar in the Yukon. I got a bunch of same size tires from the dump, stacked them, hammered in two pieces of concrete rebar for guides just inside the tires, and then tossed dirt and potato pieces into it. The tires absorbed more heat, and...
Growing Saskatoon (Service Berry) Trees?
My Saskatoons are 8 -10 feet tall 6 foot diameter bushes, not trees. Sounds like you need to fertilize and water them. Especially in fall and in early spring you have to water them, or they wont grow. Once the shoots are 5 - 6 feet produce high and produce...
Growing Saskatoon (Service Berry) Trees?
These are typical Saskatoons, not quite ripe, but you see the remains of the blossom. By the time they are ripe, those remains have shriveled to almost nothing, but are still recognizable. You see how thick Saskatoon bushes are. Definitely not a tree.
Mark Sizes on Cake Pans
For easy and cheap permanent marking get a Nissen Marker. They are about $5 - $6, depending on which type you get. I prefer the ball pen type, just from old habit, but they have many different types. http://www.nissenmarkers.com/product-category/product/industrial...
Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Cracker...
My version uses Graham Crackers, and just a very light smear of peanut butter on the A side, and a smear of some tart wild raspberry jam on the B side, then stick them together. For the chocolate I always use 7/8 Bakers Semi-Sweet and 1/8 Bakers Unsweetened...
Save Electricity with LED Bulbs
Joan, you got the pig tail fluorescents mixed up with this. LED bulbs dont have mercury. The LED bulbs are about as expensive now as the pigtails were, when they were new. LED bulbs CAN be used in combination with garage doors and motion detectors, and they...
Save Electricity with LED Bulbs
They are available in higher wattage at Home Depot, and probably Amazon too. However, if you try to replace a 150 Watt workshop or dance hall light, you will have to get a Y adapter that turns one socket into two. Just like 150 Watt incandescent bulbs are getting...
Colloidal Silver for Treating Burns
Colloidal Silver or Silver Water is an antiseptic, can be applied topically for burns, or drunk to get rid of flu or similar bugs. It is NOT for cleaning bird cages or kitchen counters. Use Hydrogen Peroxide for those. Silver water is not made by generating...
The Best Way To Separate Eggs
Just hold your hand over whatever needs the egg-whites. I usually wet my hand beforehand, but that is just a habit. Might not be necessary.
Function of an Electrical Junction Box?
The purpose of a Junction Box is to provide an accessible place for connecting wires, so that the junctions are not at some inaccesible place inside a wall. That is all. And that is REQUIRED by the electrical code. Blowing up a computer motherboard is not realistic...
Caring for an Air Plant
Once you get the idea of air plants, you can get to some fantastic night-blooming cacti, that are just air plants. They live off CO2 and airborne dust, and the odd bit of water. Once a year they produce buds, and then one night you hear a POP and notice a very...
Cleaning a Keyboard with Microfiber Cloth
MF cloth is OK for the top surface, but proper cleaning takes a totally different approach. There are different methods for laptops and regular keyboards. (b)Laptops:(/b) Turn the laptop off. Turn it upside down and rub your flat hand over all the keys to see...
Easy Way to Shuck Corn
You have to cut the boiled or microwaved cob at exactly the largest diameter spot. Then grab the hairy end where it narrows down, and give it a good and hard squeeze. If you squeeze hard enough, the cob will emerge from the husk. If your hands cant squeeze...
Removing Burnt Oil From a Frying Pan
Why the noise, and no proofreading? Best way to clean burned oil from frying pans is to sprinkle some Comet onto wet surface, wait a minute, and put half an inch of warm water onto it. Let it soak half an hour, and rinse. The oil will be gone without scraping...
Circuit Breaker Not Working Properly?
You have a serious problem and could burn your house down. Get a REAL electrician to check it out and fix the problem. Some of your devices are running via the white. grounded wire. Quite possibly at one time some clown was trying to cheat the electrical company...
Asking Boyfriend to Prom?
Ask him if he has clothes to go to a prom, then if he is free on that evening. That keeps it low-stress and lets him be helpful.
Web Pages Load Slowly with Google Chrome?
Web page load is about the same with Chrome and Firefox. You have a slow connection, and changing browsers wont make a difference. Getting a new computer wont help either. If you want fast loading, you need a fast connection. Have FUN! DearWebby
Heating Problem in Truck?
Dont worry about the air duct flap. Find the fluid control valve, that sends hot radiator fluid to the small interior radiator. Most likely that valve is stuck. On most vehicles that valve is a rotary type valve, and luckily, some WD40 and some energetic cranking...
Asking a Guy to a Dance?
Wanna dance? will do just fine. Depending on the occasion, you could try Shut up and dance! like the song. If the guy has not danced yet all evening, try: Do you want to dance or fake it like I do? Whatever you say, say it loud and face on to facilitate lip...
Ramen Noodle Omelete
Same as KD flavor packets, those flavor packets are best reserved for poisoning pigeons in the park. A Tablespoon full from a 79 cent can of condensed vegetable soup will give your Ramen noodles just the right amount of flavor, and some token veggies on top...
Dealing With a Thoughtless and Verbally Abusive Husband?
Forget it! You can NOT mold and change him, as you should know by now. He will only get worse, if you try. Even jail wont change him for the better. After 5 - 6 heartbreaks he will mature enough to gradually become better. By then he wont even remember your...
Keeping a Rug Runner from Sliding?
Double-sided rug tape wont help much. You need hook strips like the carpet layers use for anchoring wall-to-wall carpet. You nail or screw the strip through the carpet to the floor underneath. Dont worry about damage to the carpet. A few tiny nail holes wont...
Salt Spout Mason Jar
For best results dip the cardboard cut-out from the salt box in spar varnish or any good, waterproof varnish. Even spray on varnish works. You will have to wiggle the spout a bit while the varnish is setting up, so that it does not lock. When I was living in...
Splitting Pills without Crumbling
An old credit card, with one side cut with scissors to get rid of age worn, rounded edges, works even better than a stack of playing cards. Beats the silly blade cutters from the pharmacy 100:1!
Splitting Pills without Crumbling
I have used an old credit card for that for many years. Works well for me. A flush cutting side cutter works well too.
Outlet Making Crackling Popping Noise?
NO! Dont touch it! If crackling in an outlet mystifies you, then you need to call an electrician or at least a handyman. Otherwise you are likely to burn down your house and maybe kill somebody. An electrician is a lot cheaper than a mortician. It is a cheap...
Arranging Cookies for a Cookie Exchange?
To keep the emphasis on the cookies, not on a glitzy packaging, many exchanges specify: 12 paper plates, may be Christmas themed; cookies piled evenly, so that an empty test paper plate set on top does not slide off; a business card size label with the name...
Alcohol and Tape
I spent 30 years in the Yukon and some time in the NWT, but have never used Alcohol on any bites. In spring, until my immunity and ability to repel the bugs by being more ornery than them was back in shape, I sometimes used duck tape on bites, that caused swelling...
Soak Off Jar Labels
Steam from a steam clothes iron works fast to remove labels, even from Ziploc baggies. The trick is to get them hot enough to come loose, before the paper gets too weak.
Christmas Cactus Buds Dropping Off?
Ignore all those contradictory pieces of advice. Christmas / Easter cacti dont care, as long as they have lots of wind during summer and fall. Just like your legs have to move for the calves to help pump the blood, those plants need to flex. Dont worry about...
Removing Stamps from Envelopes?
Yes, of course it is ethical to remove stamps from unsolicited junkmail. The silly mooches should be glad you are not pasting that envelope onto a box of rocks. 10 seconds of steam from your steam iron, or a few drops of water on the stamp and then nuking it...
Ghost Light
I would highly recommend to use a $1 solar light from the Dollar Store. Some kid is bound to grab the globe, and start a big howl, if the globe is heated by a candle. If you cant afford a solar light, glue sugar cube size rocks at the bottom of the globe to...
Painting With a Roller Left Lines?
There is no easy cheat for that. You can scrape the lines with a wide putty knife, that has the edge filed sharp at a right angle, then sand, and repaint. Anything else will just make a bigger problem. Have FUN! DearWebby http://webby.com/humor
Choosing the Centerpiece When Making Wind Chimes?
CDs in colorful onion bag sleeves last many years. I found that drilled CDs shatter in the first good storm. Different lengths and thicknesses of wooden dowels make a fairly pleasant sound in the wind. You can stain them, but dont paint them. Paint ruins the...
Using Shampoo and Conditioner as Body Wash
I have been using that method for dozens of years. I use a pump action dispenser on a large family size bottle of shampoo/conditioner. Sometimes I just transfer the pumper onto a new large refill bottle. Occasionally those are even cheaper than those with pumpers...
Container Gardening on a Deck
You can use extra buckets 3/4 filled with dirt as pedestals for the actual flower or veggie buckets. That raises them to a more comfortable height and is still nice and stable. Dont put them on top of upside down empty buckets or the first good wind might knock...
Bacon Pancake
If you are in a hurry, you can use Costco or Hormel crumbled bacon and mix it in with the dough. If you want to cut back on flour, mash in a couple of bananas instead. Dont forget a bit of baking soda to make them light and fluffy. You can do them in 2 x 60...
Cleaning Zinc Canning Jar Lids?
Hi Paula, They are just galvanized iron sheetmetal. Get some Naval Jelly from a hardware store or Phosphoric Acid from a drug store, and scrub rusty or discolored areas with it. The phosphoric acid will turn rust into iron phosphate, which is stable. If you...
Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs (CFL)...
Incandescent bulbs will NOT be phased out, even though certain stores only carry the more profitable CFLs. Eventually consumer groups will demand and get warranties for CFLs. They CAN be made, so that they last a few years in any condition. (Regular light bulbs...
How Do I Make White Glue?
If you are thinking of PVC glue, like the white carpenters glue, forget it. It would cost you twenty times as much to make it, than to buy it at Home Depot. If you just want a cheap household glue for fun and crafts, that dont have to go out into the weather...
Removing Rust From Detergent Dispenser on Washer?
First check to make sure you are really dealing with rust and not a build-up of detergent residue or water impurities. Vinegar usually gets rid of those quite safely. If you have real rust, which is actually quite rare, you can convert it to gray iron-phosphate...
Inexpensive Stepping Stones
There is a much easier way to do that. Get a bag of ordinary ready-mix concrete and some chicken mesh. Peel the lawn where you want a step, round, heart shaped, like a Sasquatch imprint, whatever, and hammer it nice and hard. Pour some ready mix into the hole...
Removing Shells From Hard Boiled Eggs?
(format_html)I used to do it the hard way too, until I found the absolute easiest way. Poke a pinhole through the narrow end of the egg shell, just through the outer shell. For just a few eggs use a knife tip, if you have lots to do, a small screw from inside...
Problems Refinishing a Table Top with Varathane?
The fastest method is to sand it off and start over. With Varathane and epoxy any other method will soon look like a klutzy repair job. Have FUN! DearWebby http://webby.com/humor/blog
Strawberry Refrigerator Jam?
The idea behind refrigerator jam is to eliminate or at least drastically reduce the use of sugar as a preservative. If a recipe calls for a cup or more of sugar, its NOT refrigerator jam. Here is what works for me: Cut the leaves and hard cores and toss them...
Painting A Microwave?
First clean it well with a steel wool pad and let it dry. Then use some Naval Jelly to convert the rust to iron phosphate. Iron Phospate is a stable oxide and wont break down. It will also protect the metal under it from oxidizing. When all rust has turned...
Cleaning Aluminum Cookware?
Engine shampoo for aluminum blocks works fine. Spray it on, let it work for a minute or two, lightly scrub or agitate with a soft dish-washing brush or sponge, rinse with warm water. This does not dull the shine of polished aluminum. It also works well on stainless...
How Do I Clean Dull Dingy Floor Tile and Grout?
You can rent a rotary bristle floor scrubber or manually do it, but you have to scrub it down to nearly sterile. A strong cleaner like Automotive Simple Green will help. Use a wet-vac to vacuum up as you proceed, dont let dirty puddles sit for even a minute...
