Alternative uses for common household items...

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

My mom has to do both. Dad insists on homemade cranberry sauce, and I pitch a fit if I can't count the ridges from the can. The homemade stuff is sour, nasty stuff.

If the homemade sauce is sour, then you aren't using enough sugar! I think it's actually a bit sweeter than canned, but you can taste more of the cranberry flavor.

 

[Xath]

Here's something I don't understand. Homemade cranberry sauce is SOOO easy to make, and tastes SOOO much better than canned, yet everyone eats canned cranberry sauce. You go through allthe trouble of cooking a turkey, cooking veggies, making dessert, and then BAM, you throw a 50 cent can of cranberry sauce on the table. :\

Here's a better way:

1 bag of fresh cranberries
2 cups water
2 cups sugar
a little lemon juice or orange juice

boil the water, add the cranberries, add the sugar. Boil and stir until the cranberries pop and everything starts to gel. Add the juice to taste, cook for a few more minutes until desired thickness. Eat warm or put in the fridge to chill.

BEST. SAUCE. EVER.

My dad's side of the family does homemade cranberry sauce, while my mom's side uses canned. It depends on your tastes. I, personally don't like homemade cranberry sauce very much, whereas I love the canned. You can't slurp homemade sauce.

 

[Viking Bastard]

My grandfather only needed 2 things to fix anything that was broken: duct tape and WD-40. If it's too loose, duct tape it. If it's too tight, WD-40.

I don't know what WD-40 is, but if you can't fix something with duct tape, you aren't trying.

 

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

I don't know what WD-40 is, but if you can't fix something with duct tape, you aren't trying.

WD-40 is the #2 item in every fix-it kit, right behind duct tape.
http://www.wd40.com/Brands/wd40.cfm
http://www.twbc.org/wd40.htm

 

[Viking Bastard]

I've never seen that before. I wonder if you can get that here.

 

[Old One]

Does he hit stuff with it? Maybe he'll be a drummer. It's not a far walk from "bangin' on the pots and pans like a chimpanzee" to "bangin' on the bongos like a chimpanzee."

That ain't workin'.

...that's the way you do it,
Get your money for nothin' get your chicks for free.

Jeez...I can't believe no one picked that up...

Rel, Rodrigo, CL...what's wrong with you guys?

~ OO

EDIT: Doh! Just noticed John Q jumped on it...at least there is one purist on the crew !

 

[orchid blossom]

I just realized another item I use in a different way.

Those metal shower curtain rings can really come in handy. I bought two packages of the ones that are shaped like light bulbs. I used a couple to shorten the chain on the chandelier in our apartment, tall people were always banging their heads on it.

We also have some metal shelving in our kitchen. It is a kind of metal grid style. So I use the rest of the hooks to hang things from the shelves like the pans and coffee mugs that otherwise take up a lot of cabinet space.

 

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

We have dedicated a broom to being used to get tennis balls out from under the sofa, as our dog has decided that they need to hide there so he can bark at them. It's a stretch, but hey, it's a tool being used in a way other than it's primary purpose...

 

[Rel]

This one is a bit of a stretch in terms of being called a "common household item" but it's one that I like and use:

Get a sturdy bucket and fill it with sand. Then, if you have to change the oil in your car or lawnmower, dump the dirty oil into the bucket (if, like me, you don't change your own car oil, you can just buy a quart of motor oil and dump it straight into the bucket). Now you've got this bucket filled with oily sand, right?

When you get done using your gardening or yardwork tools like shovels, hoes or mattocks, stick them down into the bucket a few times before you hang them up. The sand will tend to scour any remaining garden soil or clay off of the tool and the oil will put a nice, rust-resistant coating on the tool to help it last longer while in storage.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

2. (not really an item but...) If you can't open a jar with a twist off lid, try turning it upside down and giving it a swift bang on a table or countertop. (make sure the surface is sturdy) If the jar has developed a vacuum seal, this will shift it and make the jar much easier to open.

I prefer a different approach I learned from my HS Physics teacher, Mr. Martin.

Generally, the lid of a jar will be made of a thin material, usually metal. Just hold the lid (ONLY THE LID) under hot water for about 30-45 seconds, and it will expand just a little bit, and twist off easily.

Another one from Mr. Martin:

If you are trying to get a thick substance (like katsup) out of a bottle, especially one that has just been opened, don't hold it upside down and slap the bottom (and PLEASE don't contaminate the katsup by sticking a knife inside). You're fighting a vaccuum.

Instead, hold it at a 90 or so degree angle (like pouring a drink) from the target surface and tap the neck. This will break the vaccuum more quickly than most methods. I've been using this for years.