Summer corn and winter home prep
By Sara Noel
It’s time to think about winter-proofing your home. Many supplies are cheaper in the off months. You’ll save more money if you implement changes before the cold strikes because many changes work well to keep homes cool in warmer months, too. A few examples include blocking drafts, adding insulation, installing a programmable thermostat, servicing your furnace and buying wood if you own a fireplace. You can find more ideas to prepare for winter at frugalvillage.com.
The first reader tip suggests another way to stay warm.
Stay warm this winter: Polar fleece sheets will easily allow you to turn off the heat in your house at night. And you can find them at Costco, Walmart and Cabela’s. I like the Cabela’s ones as they are thicker, better quality polar fleece, but they are more expensive. I’m one of those people who is always cold; I tend to wear socks to bed and now I don’t have to.
They’re just really huge pieces of polar fleece sewn into sheets. Anyone could easily make their own with a little elastic and a serger or sewing machine. But I think you’d have to order the special extra-wide (usually 60 inches) polar fleece online because I’ve never seen it in a store.
Vail, Washington
These are the best sheets ever! If you use them during the summer, they also help to keep you cool.
Debbie, Minnesota
Quick corn: I cook corn-on-the-cob in my microwave. Put it in a microwave dish and cover. One ear takes only 3 or 4 minutes unless it is frozen. It also is good when cooked in the shucks. When cooked in the microwave, you find out how sweet it is. Cooking it in water removes the taste. I also bake my potatoes in the microwave. Prick a few holes in the potatoes with a fork and grease them with butter or oil. Red potatoes are wonderful like this.
Martha Y., email
Save time: When I need stuff from Sam’s Club, I use the click-and-pull. You go to the website and just make a list of everything you need and order it. The store pulls it within 24 hours, and it’s waiting on you when you get there! This saves me money because I don’t walk through and see this or that thing that I just can’t live without.
Lorene, North Carolina
Cookbook rave: After this book, I’m ready to donate, sell and toss most of my other cookbooks! The cookbook is called “More-With-Less” by Doris Janzen Longacre, originally printed in 1961. It is a fabulous basic cookbook. I was going to buy it sight unseen, but took it out from the library instead and brought it with me on a camping trip. The premise of the book is to make good, nutritious food without a ton of ingredients. So really, it was perfect for the RV. I tried several recipes while we were out there, and not one failed me. My picky eaters ate it all. Even the soups were a hit, and my family isn’t a homemade-soup family. I made basic baking mix while out there too. I made pancakes, muffins, banana bread and a type of cobbler with it. Nothing was left uneaten. So after returning from camping, I decided to order it.
Above all the recipes there are reader comments that give suggestions to tweak the recipes. The recipes we’ve tried have been a hit; they remind me of my grandmothers and how they prepared things.
Noelle, Canada
Note from Sara: If you are looking for this cookbook, you can order it here: store.mpn.net/productdetails.cfm?PC=21. It’s the 25th anniversary edition.
Ÿ Sara Noel own Frugal Village (frugalvillage.com), a website that offers practical, money-saving strategies for everyday living. Send tips, comments or questions, write to Sara Noel, c/o Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO, 64106, or sara@frugalvillage.com.