Introducing Simple Solutions

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It’s been in the dropdown menu for some time now. We didn’t mean to tease you. It’s just that getting the mechanics of the column into place and having sufficient content to get rolling has kept the launching of Simple Solutions on the back burner. Well start with some disclosures about the “hints” or ” hacks”, as they’re seem to be known as in today’s language.

All of the ideas in Simple Solutions have been not only tested, but used regularly by our contributing expert.

These useful tricks are intended to save you money and generally make your life easier in the process. None of them cost more than a few cents if anything at all. Using illustrations would probably be most useful but The Herald staff may not be able to figure out how to include them. We will try, however.

I’m quite certain that none of the Solutions include anything that can explode, cause debilitating fumes, ruin your clothes, or make your spouse want to ask for a divorce. They are all useful in and around the home. And, did I mention, they’ll save you money. They may even save you LOTS of money in the long run.

Hacks, tips, timesavers….all are popular terms for simple solutions. Over the years, we’ve read, seen, or heard about little tricks that will make our lives easier, enhance our recipes, or help solve/avoid a cleaning or “fix-it” problem.

Here are a few “Ah-ha!” moments from our family’s and friends’ collection. Future columns will contain more. We hope that readers will enjoy and OFFER THEIR OWN to be included in the coming issues. Full credit will be given to the person first providing a useful idea when included in The Herald’s column. All ideas will be tested and approved before being published.

By the way, each hint will be numbered sequentially, throughout this column’s history. You’ll be getting #1 and #2 in this issue, the #3 and #4 in the next, and so on. By reading back issues of The Herald, you will be able to easily search for past tips.

Tip #1

Having trouble corralling the family when a hot meal is ready to be served? Cover the served plates with pot lids that you have heated by placing over your gas or electric range burners. This trick will keep the food warm, without cooking it more, for 5-8 minutes. If you are the late-comer, it gives you plenty of time to throw your cookware into some hot water/detergent to soak, making clean-up easier after dinner, and still enjoy a warm meal.

Tip #2

#2 A great tip for determining your freezer’s food safety if you’ve been away, or after an electric outage. Fill a small plastic container with 1.5″ to 2″ of water. Place in freezer, and freeze until water is solid. Once fully frozen, put a penny on top of the frozen ice and place container back in freezer. If you’re away traveling, check your freezer and the container upon your return. Look to see if the penny has dropped. If so, that means that there was a power outage that may have affected the items in your freezer. Is the penny is on the bottom of the container? That means that your food, too, has thawed and refrozen. If you have only been away a day or so, it is probably alright to cook the items…Longer than that, and meat contamination becomes a serious health hazard.

I hope to be sharing some of your tried and true, economical ideas soon, as well.

Sayre

George Custer

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George Custer lives in Oakridge with his wife Sayre. George is a former smokejumper from his hometown of Cave Junction, a former captain in the U.S. Marine Corps. and ran a construction company in Southern California. George assumed the volunteer duties as the Editor of the Highway 58 Herald in 2022. He loves riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle, building all things wood, and playing drums on the weekends in his office.

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