You don’t have to overcook your budget to revamp your kitchen. Be willing to get your materials from unorthodox places, as well as learn how to do some of the improvements yourself, and you can end up with a better-looking kitchen than your neighbor at a fraction of the cost. [More]
kitchen
Peel A Head Of Garlic In 10 Seconds
By 9.30.11
Peeling garlic can be a pain in the tuchus but here’s a method for peeling a whole head of garlic in less than 10 seconds. Really! [More]
To Keep A Sponge Clean, Snip A Hole In It, Hang It On The Faucet
By 9.30.11
To keep germs and grime from building up on your sponges, you can just snip a little hole in them and slip them on the faucet. Handy dandy! [More]
OXO Saves Day, And Possibly A Finger
By 9.29.11
A few weeks ago reader Elizabeth bought a discount “as is” mandoline slice from Bed Bath and Beyond. It didn’t have the food holder so she bought some cutting gloves from Amazon, which fit her, but not her husband. In vain, she searched for the replacement parts online. So she sent OXO an email asking if she could buy one directly. She was pleasantly surprised by their reply. [More]
Turn A Milk Jug Into A Sandwich Box
By 9.26.11
With a few deft maneuvers of the scissor, you can transform an empty milk carton into a reusable sandwich or snack box. [More]
Instead Of A Kitchen, Best Buy Leaves You With 3 Big Empty Spaces
By 7.28.11
Best Buy sent some real stumblebums to install Amy’s stove, dishwasher. and kitchen range. First, Best Buy sent the wrong kind of workers, then they sent the wrong dishwasher, and then the right guys showed up with the wrong tools. Now she’s going to have to end up waiting a total of five weeks to have all the appliances in her kitchen installed correctly. Kind of a crappy way to treat someone who just plunked down for three major appliances with you. [More]
Scrub Glassware With Aluminum Foil
By 4.18.11
Don’t just toss out that perfectly lovely piece of aluminum foil. Save it, and use it to scrub your glassware, says Real Simple. A bit of dishwashing liquid and a small piece of foil can do the work of a steel-wool soap pad when getting stubborn stickies and food stains from glassware and oven racks. Plus it’s cheaper! [More]
Make A Fruit Fly Death Trap With Apple Cider Vinegar And Dish Soap
By 9.27.10
Fruit flies can be an annoyance but you can get rid of them using stuff right from your kitchen, no tools required. One method is to pour apple cider vinegar in the bottom of a glass along with some dish soap. Come back after leaving it out for a few hours and you’ll have yourself a nice cup of dead fruit flies. [More]
Fix Up Your House Because You Want To Live In It, Not Profit Off Of It
By 5.3.10
The kids over at Consumer Reports are working on their August kitchen-remodeling story and are finding that there is less emphasis on remodeling homes with ROI in mind. [More]
Make Your Own Pop Tarts!
By 4.30.10
Here’s a cool recipe for making your own Pop Tarts at home from SmittenKitchen. Sturdy crust, not soggy filling – the secret is a lil’ thickener – and, according to the author, “the buttery, flaky, no-toaster-required-to-soften-it transcendence the grocery store aisle version can only dream about.” It’s fun, it’s tasty, it’s HFCS-free. [More]
How To Take Care Of Your Dishwasher, Washing Machine, And Oven
By 3.15.10
My friends broke the high-efficiency (H.E.) washing machine in their new apartment last year because they were using too much soap. Alina Tugend at the New York Times says it’s a common problem–one repairman told her that “most people use 10 to 15 times the amount of soap they need.” [More]
Kenmore Fridge Doubles As Easy-Bake Oven, Saves Valuable Space In Kitchen
By 8.13.09
It’s good to have an Easy-Bake Oven around for those times when you want to serve a tiny, partially baked cake-like product to your parents or little sister. The last thing you want, though, is another appliance cluttering the counter. Kenmore has solved that problem with a built-in fridge model with light bulbs that stay on even when the door is shut—and explode when you try to unscrew them! Okay, the exploding glass part is maybe not so convenient.
Chantal Cookware Keeps Your Tea Kettle Whistling
By 7.19.09
After two years, the whistle on Ruby’s Chantal Cookware Livestrong teakettle finally gave up its zest for life. Chantal Cookware’s cleaning recommendations couldn’t revive the ailing whistle, so Ruby resigned herself to buying a whole new kettle. Before pouring another $60 down the drain, she emailed Chantal Cookware to ask if it was at all possible to replace just the whistle…
Morning Deals
By 8.29.08
- Lenovo: Employee Pricing on ThinkPad and IdeaPad Notebooks, up to 42% off (login with passcode 536686)
- Woot: Sandisk Clip 2GB MP3 Player for $19.99
- Newegg: ESET NOD32 Antivirus Home Edition v3 for $14.99 (Best antivirus around, won’t slow down your computer)
Highlights From Dealhack
- Buy.com: Kingston 4GB USB 2.0 Portable Flash Drive $14 Shipped
- Hanes.com: Save 15% off Complete Order on All Clothing
- Vann’s: Sony FX820 Portable 8-inch DVD Player $150 Shipped
Highlights From Bargainist
- Amazon: Kitchen & Home Labor Day Sale: Save up to 65%
- Linens ‘n Things: BOGO 50% off bath furniture, more + 20% off coupon
- American Eagle: 40% off purchases coupon
Sears Is Out Of Kitchen Appliances
By 8.23.08
He just laughed when I went through my story of frustration with the Sears service personnel and told me he had had 75 similar calls in the last 2 days. His bottom line: Sears is not sending him product and he has nothing to deliver.
Kitchen Distributors Of America Closes All Chicagoland Stores Right After You Tear Out Your Cabinets
By 4.11.08
Representatives with KDA and its owner, Design Ventures, were not available for comment Thursday. A regional manager for KDA said he couldn’t comment on the store closings or the status of customer orders.
By 1.3.08
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Clean the coils on your fridge monthly to save energy and extend the life of the appliance. “Clean the coils by brushing them off or by using the brush attachment on a vacuum cleaner. If the coils are behind a grill, remove the latter and use a brush made just for this purpose.” [Chattanooga Times Free Press]
Roasting Pan Tips From Some Butterball Lady
By 11.17.07
Mary Clingman, the director of Butterball’s help line, gave Newsday some advice on finding a good roasting pan for your Thanksgiving dinner. Her advice: get a shallow pan 2 to 2 1/2 inches deep that’s large enough to place a rack inside to sit the turkey on. You can buy a new, reusable one at a restaurant supply store or Sur La Table for between $35 and $200, but the next best thing is a cheap disposable aluminum one from the supermarket: “Place four-five whole carrots on the bottom and rest the turkey on them. Put a cookie sheet underneath the foil pan for extra support.”
