Tuesday Tip Day: In the Car

Along the road to Portland (a 3 hour drive for me), a lot of things can happen if you're not prepared when you have kids. Let's face it, things can happen when you're sure you're only going to run a 15 minute errand too! In this week's tip's we're going to discuss cheap ideas to help you have a successful trip no matter how long it takes you to get to your destination! Feel free to post your own ideas and links, just no spam, please...in fact, I'd really like to hear them!

What's in my console?
Wet Ones (Get the trial sizes and use $1/1 Walmart IP or .75/1 IP Make sure the wording doesn't exclude travel or trial sizes.
Johnson and Johnson Travel First Aid Kit These are usually pretty cheap at Walmart, and if you're lucky enough to come by a $1/1 coupon, use it! These are small and fit perfectly into your dash or console!
Tampons, panty liners, and pads (I like to keep at least 3 tampons and liners, and just one pad). The pad can be used for soaking up big spills too!
Barf bags I got mine from the hospital for free. I had a couple of surgeries last year, and for some reason they sent these home with me! You can use regular old brown paper bags too! I found out the hard way a couple of years ago that car sickness can strike ANY time when you have kids!
Canvas tote I put mine in between the dash and console in the middle, where most people put their plastic drink consoles. I didn't like very much making a turn and having the dang thing tip over with my coffee in it! My tote is big enough to hold water bottles, AC plugs, my purse and more. It is about a medium size. These are pretty cheap around the fall and spring, so if you wait for them to go on clearance, you score extras for your house! Don't pay more than $5 for one.
Small store plastic bags for trash (free)
Activity car kit I made these for my nephews, nieces, and my 4 year old for Christmas. Each cost only $5-6 to make! At Big Lots, I just looked around and found color-on character puzzles, markers, pens, stickers, small notebooks, etc. that young kids like to do. I found some pretty cute plastic zip bags with pockets in them to organize them. I added a pencil sharpener and colored pencil set I got at Office Max for only 10 cents each in the fall for my older nephew. These were a huge hit!
Envelopes, pen, pencil, small notebook
Gum (I clip my candy/gum coupons from the inserts when I get them and carry the envelope with me so I have a coupon if I need to buy gum at a minute's notice)
Cough drops These are free at Safeway right now, but the sale will end today. Double .50/1 SS insert to make them free!
Gerber tool Even a cheap one will do when you need one!
Nail Clippers and file
Packing Tape I hate it when I get to the post office and have to buy packing tape because I forgot mine.
Bottle of Tylenol or Aleve Come on, people, I really don't need to explain why I'd need these with 4 kids in the car, do I?

So what are your handy things you always have in the care with you?

Jessica

Living frugally and helping you live frugally!

Tuesday Tip Day

I thought is would be nice to have a weekly tips post with short, easy tips from everything like teaching a kid to tie shoes to how to peel an egg! For this, you can contribute too! Here are the rules: Just make your tip relevant to the weekly topic. So, if the weekly topic is baking tips, your tip needs to be about baking. Also, if you host a website or blog that has tips, feel welcome to include your url address in your comment. PLEASE no spamming! I will remove comments that are spam, including ones that have weird websites that are only intended for one to make money off of. So...let's start tipping!

This week's topic is....drum roll.....cooking tips!

Image from Dreamstime

Peeling an egg can be time consuming and downright hair pulling and frustrating! My husband's best friend gave me a great tip one day on peeling eggs when he was visiting us. Just add some oil (I add about 2 TBSP) to the water and while they are boiling, the oil will get under the shell. Dip them in a bowl or sink full of ice water so that the egg will shrink inside (heat causes it to expand). Then when you peel the egg, she shell just slides right off after you crack it!

One of the problems I have in the kitchen is converting measurements. The last thing I need when I'm baking is to be guessing if I'm converting correctly or not (baking is NOT my forte). Here's a great conversion chart you can print out and keep on your frig!

One thing I do when I'm making a new recipe is gather all of the measuring cups and spoons I'll need beforehand. That way if I have sticky hands, I don't get gunk all over my drawers and other utensils while looking for the right size.

If you run out of eggs for a recipe, you could substitute 2 tbsp of mayonnaise.
Speaking of substitutions: Here's a great substitution chart.

Now it's your turn! Which tips have gotten you through some problems in your cooking life? PLEASE!! Add to the list! We'd love to hear from you! Were any of these tips helpful?