There must be a group for people like me — I am a recovering paper towel junkie.

Every month, I thrilled as I picked up a new 8-pack of Brawny, ready to keep the house, hands and more clean and sanitary.
But then the recession hit home in 2007, and I had to find a way to save money — any money. So I finally looked long and deep at my paper towel habit.

And that’s really what it is.

Sure, I still indulge every once in awhile, but our house has switched to using dish towels nearly 80 percent of the time. First, it saves money — I am spending about 66 percent less on paper towels, usually only picking up an 8-pack every three months. Second, it’s better for the environment — fine with me. Third, did I mention I am saving money?

We go through about 12-14 dish towels a week, but they are just tossed in that week’s laundry. Normally, I would have gone through about two rolls of paper towels in the same time. Now, I go through a roll about every three weeks.

I still use paper towels for the bathrooms — can’t get past that. And I use them when I am drying chicken (for obvious reasons) and cleaning up greasy messes. But for every day wiping down kitchen counters, etc., it’s the dish towel now. I usually even maximize it by either cleaning the bannisters, a quick wipe of the bathroom counters or even the molded doors before the towel gets the final toss into the laundry basket.

In an even more cost-cutting measure, we re-use paper towels to pick up the “deposits” Andy the puppy leaves on a much-too-regular basis on the back patio. I just toss the half-used towels in a drawer and pull ‘em out to do my business after Andy does his.

So, this week, try to be more conscious of when you use a paper towel. Perhaps you could just use a kitchen towel instead — and you’ll save money!

Last night, our A/C decided to die (thankfully a $250 repair should do it tomorrow), but I still need to make dinner tonight — and I am all prepared!

I won’t have to turn on the oven at all, because I had some cubed, cooked chicken from this suggestion about roasting all the chicken breasts in advance. *Then* I had stocked up on some Pasta Roni using this grocery shopping skill, and finally, I had snagged some broccoli crowns for 88 cents a pound and froze them cut up for such an emergency, as suggested in this tip. (What a great idea and it froze beautifully!)

So now, I willl have a hot dinner on the table tonight without ever turning on the oven or stove (because I will do all the prep in the microwave).

Thinking ahead will save you so many times! I’m so proud of myself!

It hit 95 today so I thought it was appropriate to re-post some “how the heck do I cool off in this weather” tips.

When I lived in a stacked condo (apartment style) with a wall air conditioner, I learned the best coping tactic was to hang out in the living room, as close as possible to the A/C. I augmented this with a fan to boost the cooling factor. A fan blowing on you lowers the perceived temperature because it evaporates any (no way to say this nice) sweat faster.

This same method works just as well now that we live in a two-story home. No “dual-zone air” here, so the first floor always cools down the fastest. I can turn up the temp on the A/C if we plant ourselves down in the living room, with fans adding to the cooling factor.

But you have to eat. I know they say don’t turn on the oven — thanks for that news flash — but a quick fry on the stovetop is not bad. But make it quick. Tonight, we’re having breakfast for dinner — eggs served on a bed of black beans on a tortilla, with cool salsa and even cooler sour cream. Yum. Burner will be on for 6 minutes max. But, if that doesn’t work, a cool tuna salad on toast will satisfy just as well.

This post had a lot of great ideas on how to deal with heat without air conditioning. Hope you get a good tip or two. But please let us know how you deal with the heat — you can help so many sweltering folks!

Obviously from the lack of posts for the past week, you may have figured out that I’ve been busy with work — so much so that I’ve only done one major food shop in the past three weeks.

How did we survive? The good ol’ pantry.

Our new house has a walk-in style one that I love, but I’ve also lived with just a couple cabinets in which to stock … well, stock in.

I’m a firm believer that everyone should have the makings of at least three to five dinners in their pantry. And I am talking a supper in which you don’t need to run to the grocery store for one thing. This is the simplest way to save money at dinnertime because you won’t be tempted on a busy day to say, “Let’s go out” — cha-ching — or call in for a pizza (easy $20 out the door). Instead, you can call on one of your go-to, “I haven’t been to the store in a week” dinners.

Check my Recipes category here for some ideas on what you could make. Tuna Noodle Casserole is one of my favorites for a pantry dinner — nearly everything is there — noodles, tuna, cream of celery (or mushroom) soup, canned peas, and I usually have an onion and celery in the house.

I also use our freezer as the pantry. I stock up on basics — ground beef, cheese, chicken, etc., when it’s on sale, so I can always pull something out (and got the best price). Or, I use one of my “cook once, eat twice” dinners, pulling out that second entree when I am just too pooped to cook.

Hope this gets you thinking about how you, too, can better use your pantry, so like Scarlett, you can say, “I’ll never go hungry again!” (Cue the “Tara” theme.)

I love when a post nets a comment months and months later, and such was the case tonight by a thankful Internet surfer. So from September ‘08, I give you “how to unclog a toilet” again

WARNING: Do not read this post while eating.

You may not need this tip today, but trust me, at one point you will — and will thank Prohomemaker. Yes, I am talking clogged toilets today.

I am going to teach you the secret, mess-free way to unclog the commode. No plunger, no bent hanger, no paint stick (ick, a method I just read). Believe it or not, the only material you will need is a pot or bucket of water!

My Mom taught me this trick from years of owning apartment buildings — and it works!

A caveat: This method concerns clearing a toilet clogged in the traditional manner. Please, please don’t make me define that. Just know this will not work if your child decided to send Barbie to a watery grave.

With that, here is how to perform the miracle:

1. Walk away – This means if the clog just occurred, leave the toilet alone for 10 minutes to allow the water to subside. We don’t want a flood.
2. Prepare the materials – Put a Dutch oven on the stove filled with water and heat on high until boiling. Or, if the bathroom is far from the kitchen, grab a bucket and turn the tub water on scalding hot.
3. Tackle the task – Lift the lid and seat up, and pour the hot or boiling water in the commode in a forceful stream. That means don’t dribble it in — we want to create suction — but don’t (ahem) dump the water in one fell swoop. Think about creating a healthy, flushing amount of water.
4. Repeat – Normally, one-two buckets of pots of hot, hot water will do. The worst usually takes three. Important: Let the water subside for 10 minutes in between toilet assaults. We don’t want a flood — God knows.

And that’s it! You will soon hear that welcome flushing sound. I don’t know exactly how this works, but I believe the hot or boiling water breaks down (ummm) “material” in the toilet quickly, and the forceful introduction of the water creates a suction, removing the matter.

The best part is you are left with nothing to deal with after such a disgusting task — no dripping plunger, no hanger with goodness knows what on it — just a free-flowing throne!

Hallelujah!

Now that the toilet is done, you may wish to address more bathroom issues with these posts.

I can’t wait till you can use this tip! … Well, you know what I mean.

I didn’t realize I was a thief! My neighbors were kind enough to bring food over, but I kept their plastic ware!

This post came to mind when I was making Cornbread Dressing tonight for my Mom’s Mother’s Day present (to go with my favorite Roast Chicken recipe) - a great gift, as I suggested in this post. (More on that tomorrow.)

I looked in the cabinet and asked myself, “Now who brought this dish over?” It’s one of three neighbors, but I have no idea. And that reminded me of “The Case of the Missing Casserole Dish.”

Yes, I, too, am a victim of missing Corningware. But the worst part was I went to the friend’s house, spotted the casserole, and said (in the nicest way), “That’s mine,” and she said it was her dead mother-in-law’s. How the heck am I gonna prove her 88-year-old MIL didn’t buy my Corningware Casual Elegance 1.5 quart casserole circa 1996?!?

There’s no way.

Since then, I have learned to tape a big Post-It, or at least an address label, on any dish I bring to a friend’s house that I want returned — especially if it’s a party with a lot of people (the most common “loss” situation). Your best bet — tape the Post-It with clear packing tape — it can’t fall off in the dish water.

Yes, I waved “goodbye” to that dish, but I learned. And I hope you, too, can learn from my experience and never have to say, “Ummm, that’s mine.”

I had a good day today — was busy with work, but still put a great dinner on the table (chipolte chicken, with rice and beans). To wind up the day, I just prepared a meatloaf for tomorrow, and that brought to mind today’s post — Some of my favorite Prohomemaker skills in action. Just click the bold faced items, and you will get the full story.
Let’s back up the day to late this afternoon (at 5:30) when I wound up my workday. I already knew what I was making for dinner, because I had thought ahead, defrosting chicken legs that I got for 49 cents a pound. I had found a recipe for chipolte sauce, when I was doing some 15-minute spring cleaning the day before and had cooked the pinto beans in the slow cooker overnight (that tip later). I rounded out the dinner by easily cooking rice on the stove, and adding some cilantro sprinkled on top (which I chopped in a heartbeat using this tip).

Since dinner was all planned, I had time to hit the grocery store to snag the loss leaders for this week one more time — butter for 99 cents, for example. Back home, I put the chicken legs in the oven, and set the table.

After dinner was done, I used one of my money-saving tips and put the dishwasher detergent in the big cup and used regular dishwashing liquid in the pre-rinse cup. (This is a great money-saver — dishwasher detergent has really gone up in price!)

We watched some TV tonight, and I chatted with two friends on the phone. But once the house was quiet, I was ready to do a little prep cooking again. I had put some of my loss-leader ground beef in the sink to defrost after dinner, which I had separated into one pound packages — this one uncooked.

“Meatloaf, that’s what I will make,” I thought. We all know it requires an hour to cook and 15 minutes rest time, but by preparing the night before, I made it do-able for dinner tomorrow.

I could whip it up fast because I had the onions pre-chopped and used this tip to make my own bread crumbs. I put the meatloaf in the pan on top of old bread (a great tip!). Tomorrow, I’ll pull it out of the fridge all prepped and just have to top it with the gourmet meatloaf glaze (which is pre-mixed already in the fridge). I just need to make mashed potatoes tomorrow (using this easy peeling tip) and toss in a veggie on the side, and dinner is done!

My point is that a little efficiency here and there can make your life so much easier — and save you money. All the skills and tips I wrote of do really build on each other. Hope these hints are some you had not read before, and try at least one and see what a difference it makes.

I thought I would do a grab-bag post tonight — some great hints, but not big enough for a full-length post, as well as just some general thoughts from yours truly.

So let’s start:

OK, readers, that’s it for tonight. By the way, if you ever wonder why I post so late, it’s because that’s when the last work emails are done (last one came in at 10:11 p.m.) and I have time for something I enjoy — like you. Thanks for reading, and please tell your friends.

I have been busier than a one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest with work, but this is when my Prohomemaker skills come into action big time.

After wrapping up most of my work, I stopped by one grocery store to snag two specials — boneless ham for 99 cents a pound for a 4 pound ham and asparagus for 99 cents a pound (cost 72 cents). I cut the two hams in half, and have the makings of 8 dinners (and leftovers) for 2 people! Hitting the specials at one store is a great tactic to save money, as noted in this post.

After I got home, I took care of more work, but still had time to make this easy recipe for yummy scalloped potatoes to go with my ham — no cream and no soups. Just easy and good!

I needed chopped onions, but I had some ready to go in the fridge, as noted in this post, so it was no problem at all. I had the potatoes in the oven in less than 15 minutes. (Why do you think I can write now, because everything is cooking!)

I am going to have to work this weekend, too — that will make 14 days straight with no day off. But I have dinner set for one day, because I used the “Cook once, eat twice” tactics noted in this post, so we will still have a homemade dinner of Chicken Divan even though I had to work. I will probably make a soup for the other night. But I have the ham, so just have to throw the stuff into a crockpot for split pea soup.

I didn’t get a chance to hit Walgreens today to hit the specials noted in this post, but I will shoot for tomorrow. Free is a reason enough to make ths stop. And, Farmers Wife, the rebates are easy — I will post details later.

So, I wanted to say again, see how these tactics add onto one another? They will make your life easier! I have not been crazy all day.

By planning, and thinking ahead, my life has been manageable. Honestly, these tactics work!

I got this email today and was so surprised. I did not know it, and it’s true!

Anyway, here is the tip:

I had to go into the kitchen and check this out for myself. Whoever looks at the end of your aluminum foil box? You know when you try to pull some foil out and the roll comes out of the box. Then you have to put the roll back in the box and start over. The darn roll always comes out at the wrong time.

Well, I would like to share this with you. Yesterday I went to throw out an empty Reynolds foil box and for some reason I turned it and looked at the end of the box. And written on the end it said, Press here to lock end. Right there on the end of the box is a tab to lock the roll in place. How long has this little locking tab been there? I then looked at a generic brand of aluminum foil and it had one, too. I then looked at a box of Saran wrap and it had one too! I can’t count the number of times the Saran wrap roll has jumped out when I was trying to cover something up.

I’m sharing this with my friends. I hope I’m not the only person that didn’t know about this.