Tips of all kinds!

[Weedygarden]

Also, they have to test you to make sure you're not allergic to the antivenom. A friend in high school lost her father because he got bit and went to the hospital. They gave him the antivenom without doing the test. He died almost immediately.
I had no idea about the benedryl though. It's not something I keep on hand but might be worth having some in the trailer as we do have rattlers.

I haven't gone to get more yet, but I want to. I want a bottle in my car, my overnight bag, in my first aid kit, and in my medicine cabinet. I keep a bottle of aspirin in those places and my purse. I think Diphenhydramine is as important as any pain medication. I have just not used it much in my life, less than one bottle.

I did a copy and paste of information about Benadryl. Benadryl and Nytol are the same thing. Benadryl can be and is used as a sleep aid. You can purchase Diphenhydramine under a few names, and are cheaper than buying Benadryl.

Benedryl's generic name is Diphenhydramine
Common brands: Benadryl, Nytol, Banophen
Antihistamine
It can treat pain and itching caused by insect bites, minor cuts, burns, poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac when applied topically. In its oral form, it can treat hay fever, allergies, cold symptoms, and insomnia. In its injected form, it can treat severe allergic reactions, motion sickness, and symptoms of Parkinson's disease.
Brands: Benadryl, Nytol, Banophen, Diphenhist, Banophen Allergy, Unisom SleepMelts, Wal-Sleep Z, Pharbedryl, EZ Nite Sleep, Geri-Dryl, and more
Availability: Prescription sometimes needed
Pregnancy: No known risks
Alcohol: Interactions can occur
Drug class: Antihistamine

 

[backlash]

This is a post I saw and thought it was worth sharing. It could be much shorter to get the point across, but it is worth it, IMHO.
There is a generic version of Benadryl that is much cheaper than Benadryl. Benadryl does make you drowsy so it can be used as a sleep aid as well.

"For all of us in Rattlesnake country: I have learned something new that I thought was important enough that I wanted to pass on. Our hired man was bitten by a rattlesnake a few days ago. He was getting ready to bale and turned over a windrow to check the moisture and the snake was in it. It wrapped around his arm and bit him on the underside of the wrist. Luckily it was not a severe bite, the fang marks were clear, but not deep enough to draw blood. He came straight to the house and we got ice on it and had him to the hospital within an hour. I called ahead so the emergency room was ready for him. By the time he got there his arm was starting to swell to the shoulder and his throat was getting tight. The first thing the emergency room did was give him Benadryl. Apparently antivenom must be received within 4 hours of the snakebite, but the immediate threat is swelling and death of tissue, which was treated with the Benadryl. The swelling in his arm and throat started going down right away. The anti-venom medicine had to be prepared and was not ready for a couple of hours. He ended up getting two doses of antivenom and spent the night in the hospital, where they drew blood every three hours, but came home healthy the next day and went back to work.
I have always carried liquid Benadryl in all of the pickups because I am allergic to bee stings. After this happened I went out to check my supplies. All three of the bottles I had been carrying behind the seats in my emergency kits had been in there quite a while and had cracked and the liquid was gone. So that wasn’t going to be any help at all if we did need it.
My daughter, who is a nurse, told me to go buy the children’s chewable Benadryl instead. It is given according to body weight, so can be used for adults also, just give a larger dose. She said if you chew it and hold it in your mouth it will absorb just as fast or faster through the membranes of the mouth than from the stomach. The box doesn’t take much room and can be thrown into the glove compartment or saddle bags or a back pack if hiking, etc. Makes sense to me, and it might save a life."

Good suggestion. I keep benadryl handy because of allergies. I live in rattlesnake country but in all the time I spend outdoors I have never even seen one in the wild.
I look for them when I'm in their habitat but no idea why I haven't seen one. My buddies are all amazed by that.
The gun club I belong to has a sign warning people to watch for snakes, but still no snake seen. I would never hear one because of my hearing loss.

 

[GrannyG]

Check out this cute gift idea for Christmas or anytime...even a printable recipe card...


https://www.roseatwater.com/taco-soup-bag-great-gift-idea-10/

 

[LadyLocust]

I like gifts like that @GrannyG Gifts in a bag or gifts in a jar are great - both to give or receive. I have a couple gift in a jar recipes that I make up and keep in the pantry. Saves time having most the measuring done.

 

[Weedygarden]

Check out this cute gift idea for Christmas or anytime...even a printable recipe card...

https://www.roseatwater.com/taco-soup-bag-great-gift-idea-10/

This is a good preparedness item as well. There are people who do meals in a bag often in gift bags.

 

[Caribou]

Just cheated a bit and used canned spaghetti sauce as a base for my spaghetti and, soon, lasagna. I noticed that they used an Atlas mason jar for their packaging. I'll be replacing those sauces with that brand for the essentially free mason jars.
Soaking the jar overnight and a stainless steel scrubber made light work of the label.

 

[zoomzoom]

DID YOU KNOW ...

Coffee filters .... Who knew! And you can buy 1,000 at the Dollar Tree for almost nothing even the large ones.

1. Cover bowls or dishes when cooking in the microwave. Coffee filters make excellent covers.
2. Clean windows, mirrors, and chrome... Coffee filters are lint-free so they'll leave windows sparkling.
3. Protect China by separating your good dishes with a coffee filter between each dish.
4. Filter broken cork from wine. If you break the cork when opening a wine bottle, filter the wine through a coffee filter.
5. Protect a cast-iron skillet. Place a coffee filter in the skillet to absorb moisture and prevent rust.
6. Apply shoe polish. Ball up a lint-free coffee filter.
7. Recycle frying oil. After frying, strain oil through a sieve lined with a coffee filter.
8. Weigh chopped foods. Place chopped ingredients in a coffee filter on a kitchen scale.
9. Hold tacos. Coffee filters make convenient wrappers for messy foods.
10. Stop the soil from leaking out of a plant pot. Line a plant pot with a coffee filter to prevent the soil from going through the drainage holes.
11.. Prevent a Popsicle from dripping. Poke one or two holes as needed in a coffee filter.
12. Do you think we used expensive strips to wax eyebrows? Use strips of coffee filters..
13. Put a few in a plate and put your fried bacon, French fries, chicken fingers, etc on them. It soaks out all the grease.
14. Keep in the bathroom. They make great "razor nick fixers."
15. As a sewing backing. Use a filter as an easy-to-tear backing for embroidering or appliqueing soft fabrics.
16. Put baking soda into a coffee filter and insert into shoes or a closet to absorb or prevent odors.
17. Use them to strain soup stock and to tie fresh herbs in to put in soups and stews.
18. Use a coffee filter to prevent spilling when you add fluids to your car.
19. Use them as a spoon rest while cooking and clean up small counter spills.
20. Can use to hold dry ingredients when baking or when cutting a piece of fruit or veggies.. Saves on having extra bowls to wash.
21. Use them to wrap Christmas ornaments for storage.
22. Use them to remove fingernail polish when out of cotton balls.
23. Use them to sprout seeds.. Simply dampen the coffee filter, place seeds inside, fold it and place it into a plastic baggie until they sprout.
24. Use coffee filters as blotting paper for pressed flowers. Place the flowers between two coffee filters and put the coffee filters in phone book..
25. Use as a disposable "snack bowl" for popcorn, chips, etc.

 

[backlash]

Just cheated a bit and used canned spaghetti sauce as a base for my spaghetti and, soon, lasagna. I noticed that they used an Atlas mason jar for their packaging. I'll be replacing those sauces with that brand for the essentially free mason jars.
Soaking the jar overnight and a stainless steel scrubber made light work of the label.

I use a heat gun to remove stuck on labels.

 

[Weedygarden]

DID YOU KNOW ...

Coffee filters .... Who knew! And you can buy 1,000 at the Dollar Tree for almost nothing even the large ones.

1. Cover bowls or dishes when cooking in the microwave. Coffee filters make excellent covers.
2. Clean windows, mirrors, and chrome... Coffee filters are lint-free so they'll leave windows sparkling.
3. Protect China by separating your good dishes with a coffee filter between each dish.
4. Filter broken cork from wine. If you break the cork when opening a wine bottle, filter the wine through a coffee filter.
5. Protect a cast-iron skillet. Place a coffee filter in the skillet to absorb moisture and prevent rust.
6. Apply shoe polish. Ball up a lint-free coffee filter.
7. Recycle frying oil. After frying, strain oil through a sieve lined with a coffee filter.
8. Weigh chopped foods. Place chopped ingredients in a coffee filter on a kitchen scale.
9. Hold tacos. Coffee filters make convenient wrappers for messy foods.
10. Stop the soil from leaking out of a plant pot. Line a plant pot with a coffee filter to prevent the soil from going through the drainage holes.
11.. Prevent a Popsicle from dripping. Poke one or two holes as needed in a coffee filter.
12. Do you think we used expensive strips to wax eyebrows? Use strips of coffee filters..
13. Put a few in a plate and put your fried bacon, French fries, chicken fingers, etc on them. It soaks out all the grease.
14. Keep in the bathroom. They make great "razor nick fixers."
15. As a sewing backing. Use a filter as an easy-to-tear backing for embroidering or appliqueing soft fabrics.
16. Put baking soda into a coffee filter and insert into shoes or a closet to absorb or prevent odors.
17. Use them to strain soup stock and to tie fresh herbs in to put in soups and stews.
18. Use a coffee filter to prevent spilling when you add fluids to your car.
19. Use them as a spoon rest while cooking and clean up small counter spills.
20. Can use to hold dry ingredients when baking or when cutting a piece of fruit or veggies.. Saves on having extra bowls to wash.
21. Use them to wrap Christmas ornaments for storage.
22. Use them to remove fingernail polish when out of cotton balls.
23. Use them to sprout seeds.. Simply dampen the coffee filter, place seeds inside, fold it and place it into a plastic baggie until they sprout.
24. Use coffee filters as blotting paper for pressed flowers. Place the flowers between two coffee filters and put the coffee filters in phone book..
25. Use as a disposable "snack bowl" for popcorn, chips, etc.

I got a big bag of coffee filters for very little. I have had them for a few years and have used some to line pots before I fill them with soil. It prevents soil from falling out the bottom, but allows moisture to.

 

[Neb]

We save money on coffee filters by only changing them out when they are full. Just keep adding grounds when a new pot is made.

Ben

 

[Tootsie]

B

Just cheated a bit and used canned spaghetti sauce as a base for my spaghetti and, soon, lasagna. I noticed that they used an Atlas mason jar for their packaging. I'll be replacing those sauces with that brand for the essentially free mason jars.
Soaking the jar overnight and a stainless steel scrubber made light work of the label.

before you buy a bunch of spaghetti sauce for the jars, try a band and lid on one first. Sometimes they look like canning jars, but the diameter is off just enough to make them unusable.

 

[Caribou]

B

before you buy a bunch of spaghetti sauce for the jars, try a band and lid on one first. Sometimes they look like canning jars, but the diameter is off just enough to make them unusable.

Thanks Tootsie, it says Mason right in the glass so it supposedly meets all the standards of strength, size, and threads. I did double check it, per your suggestion, and it takes a regular ring perfectly. Good idea.

 

[Weedygarden]

We save money on coffee filters by only changing them out when they are full. Just keep adding grounds when a new pot is made.

Ben

I do the same.

 

[Caribou]

We save money on coffee filters by only changing them out when they are full. Just keep adding grounds when a new pot is made.

Ben

I save money by using a permanent filter.

 

[zoomzoom]

We save money on coffee filters by only changing them out when they are full. Just keep adding grounds when a new pot is made.

Ben

Dang. When I make a pot of coffee, the filter is filled almost to the top with grounds every time.

 

[Amish Heart]

Mine, too. We drink it strong.

 

[Neb]

Dang. When I make a pot of coffee, the filter is filled almost to the top with grounds every time.

My hands are shaking just thinking about coffee that strong.


Ben

 

[ClemKadiddlehopper]

B

before you buy a bunch of spaghetti sauce for the jars, try a band and lid on one first. Sometimes they look like canning jars, but the diameter is off just enough to make them unusable.

Some one is going to faint when they read this, but I re use the original lids. They seal very well for multiple uses. Sealed is sealed and the jars and lids are better quality then the home use ones.

I just unearthed 2 cases of jars from the 1980s. They are far better quality then the current offerings.

 

[Meerkat]

Some one is going to faint when they read this, but I re use the original lids. They seal very well for multiple uses. Sealed is sealed and the jars and lids are better quality then the home use ones.

I just unearthed 2 cases of jars from the 1980s. They are far better quality then the current offerings.

They sure are! Like most everything else manufactured today.

 

[phideaux]

My wife has been using her kids multiple times for years .
Works fine.

Jim

 

[Tootsie]

Some one is going to faint when they read this, but I re use the original lids. They seal very well for multiple uses. Sealed is sealed and the jars and lids are better quality then the home use ones.

I just unearthed 2 cases of jars from the 1980s. They are far better quality then the current offerings.

Yes, the glass is much better. And though I haven’t re-used lids, an old timer told me you could get more uses safely. And self sealing kind of jars, like baby food jars and some supposed one time use jars, they’re good for repeat use. As you say, if they seal, they look good, and unseal without doubt, why not? Old lids can be reused. Not sure I’d trust the paper thin ones now as much.

 

[Weedygarden]

Dang. When I make a pot of coffee, the filter is filled almost to the top with grounds every time.

I only make a few cups at a time.

 

[WVDragonlady]

Those lids with the gasket inside ( baby food, pasta sauce, olives etc) will seal better if you warm them up before using.
I use an old hand towel and my old heating pad set on low. Cover the pad with the towel, then lay the lids on top metal side down and then fold the towel over them to trap the heat. When they're warm to the touch you can use them. It softens the gasket

 

[Caribou]

Those lids with the gasket inside ( baby food, pasta sauce, olives etc) will seal better if you warm them up before using.
I use an old hand towel and my old heating pad set on low. Cover the pad with the towel, then lay the lids on top metal side down and then fold the towel over them to trap the heat. When they're warm to the touch you can use them. It softens the gasket

Anything that touches the food gets boiled before use so the seals are softened then. I also use old jars from the store with good lids. A buddy of mine taught me that trick. He grew up poor and they used what was available. Any jars that don't seal are eaten first.

 

[WVDragonlady]

okay well the topic of this thread is TIPS of all kinds so I was just giving a tip to people.
Not gonna get in a "discussion" of what other people do or don't do

 

[freelove]

I save the wrappers from sticks of butter and use them to grease baking pans.

 

[MoBookworm1957]

I use an oil filter wrench to open jars.
Arthritis lives here.
I also use wine bottle corks on the ends of knitting needles.
Have used knee highs as a screen or sieve to drain pasta.
Just use whatever I have on hand.

 

[backlash]

Have used knee highs as a screen or sieve to drain pasta.

I think I will pass on that one. A strainer is only a dollar at the dollar store.

 

[MoBookworm1957]

I think I will pass on that one. A strainer is only a dollar at the dollar store.

I wasn't at the Dollar Store.
I was actually going to use the knee high for something else.
The knee high was stretched over strainer.
Holes in strainer was two big, knee high was just the right size.

 

[Neb]

I wasn't at the Dollar Store.
I was actually going to use the knee high for something else.
The knee high was stretched over strainer.
Holes in strainer was two big, knee high was just the right size.

Please tell us it wasn't used.

Ben