This is a great site on tips for the frugally inclined and those that want to learn to be, here are a few samples:

http://members.aol.com/frugally4u,frugaltips.html

When starting your garden seedlings indoors, plant the seeds in egg shell halves. Simply crack the shells around the roots of your plants and transplant them outdoors~the shell is a natural fertilizer!

To determine whether an egg is fresh, immerse it in a pan of cool, salted water. If it sinks, it is fresh~if it rises to the surface, throw it away.

Keep the linings from cereal boxes~they make great substitutes for waxed paper!

WD-40 will take off almost any residue from stickers on glass & other surfaces!

Bags secure - Always keep a bunch of clothes pins in your cupboard, they're very handy for turning down bags, cereal, snacks, etc...

It appears they update with new tips from readers. I thought the planting in eggshells to be a particularly novel/helpful idea, lots of good stuff in organic things for plants.

Anyone else have good idea sites to check out? I am using this type of site to encourage myself in independence and strengthen self-sufficency as much as possible.

-- Sammie (sammiex0@yahoo.com), January 14, 2000

Answers

Please be sure to carefully WASH out your eggshells VERY very well --- there is simply so much salmonila food posioning from eggs, nowadays.

-- (nobody@nowhere.com), January 14, 2000.

Are you sure that is the correct URL? AOL is saying "no such thing" when I type it in.

-- GA Russell (ga.russell@usa.net), January 15, 2000.

Sorry for the mistake in the URL I went back and copied this correct URL for the site:

http://members.aol.com/frugally4u/frugaltips.html

-- Sammie (sammiex0@yahoo.com), January 15, 2000.

When I bake a ham or chicken I always save the drippings and liquid to use for seasoning. The ham liquid is great for beans. I pour the liquid in a mason jar and place in refrigerator until needed. It is easy to remove the fat from the drippings after it has cooled but I leave it in the jar until ready to use.

-- Carol (glear@usa.net), January 15, 2000.

Question . . . is this correct or the other way around? To quote the previous post: To determine whether an egg is fresh, immerse it in a pan of cool, salted water. If it sinks, it is fresh~if it rises to the surface, throw it away.

When making a mixture for corned beef (I used bear meat) the recipe said to float an egg in the salt water. If there was enough salt in the water the egg would float. If the egg sank, you should add more salt to the mixture.

My Cooking Alaska Cook Book says: When making brine-salting solution ". . . Check the salinity of the brine to see if it will float an egg. Add more salt until it will."

So which is it? I would tend to go with the cookbook. Does it make a difference if the water is cool or warm?

Penda

-- Penda Zone (Pendaz@exciet.com), January 16, 2000.

Answer to salt water recipie / egg question:

To test eggs, you don't need any salt at all. For the recipie, it's testing how salty the water is, *not* how fresh your egg is....even a human body will float without effort in water that's salty enough! Don't use this recipie to test egg freshness...has nothing to do with it.

In normal, *non* salted water: An egg that lays on the bottom is fresh. An egg that stands on end is still useable. And egg that floats is rotten...break it open in your garden and use it to keep deer away.

-- KK (micahfourfour@jahoopa.com), January 16, 2000.

KK is right about the eggs. The reason is, as an egg ages it develops an air pocket which makes it float. Also, if you hardboil eggs, try to use the ones that aren't the freshest - they'll peel easier. By the way, I have eggs from my chickens that have been in the fridge for weeks - and they're still fresh and hard to peel if hardboiled! Wonder how old the eggs are in the grocery store?

-- Jill D. (jdance@mindspring.com), January 16, 2000.

To tell if an egg has been hard boiled or if it is fresh, stand the egg on it's "large end" and using two hands, try to "spin it" like a top. A fresh egg will spin very reluctantly if at all, and a hard boiled egg can be spun easily. (Apparently there is some difference with the "insides" sloshing about which affects the "spin-ability.")

Howard Hessman with hair? That's almost like James Taylor with hair, except he doesn't sing so well. Is it true that Charles Bronson has an "advancing" hairline?

Best regards, a balding but happy,

-- Joe (KEITH@neesnet.com), January 17, 2000.