Friday Food For Thought

Last night Chris and I went to his parent's house for dinner. We are so fortunate to have 2 sets of parents who are constantly calling us to hang out, eat dinner, or watch a movie with them. One of the many perks of living close to them. Although I felt different 3 years ago, I am grateful now to be close to the people we love. So anyways, we are at their house and they asked us if we needed another freezer- they are looking to get rid of the one they keep in the garage. Chris and I got a great deal on a second fridge/freezer combo when we moved this past summer, so we have more than enough refrigeration. It did get me to thinking, though, about what we could do with our own unutilized freezer space. Here are the ideas I pulled together from various sources around the internet.

* Candles: Keep your wax candles in the freezer and they'll burn longer, especially table tapers that burn very fast. One word of caution, the candles your grandmother used to burn were actually made of natural waxes. Today's candles are made up of non-typical waxes from petroleum products because they are cheaper, but they burn hotter. If you place these candles in the freezer, when you take them out to burn them moisture from the air will condense on them leading to spattering, much like adding water to a hot pan of grease. Stick to only cooling the tapers and not the fatter candles to avoid the risk of fire.

* Batteries: Storing batteries in the freezer helps them retain their charge longer, but this is more true for NiMH and Nicad batteries, which can boost battery life by 90% after being frozen, and this is less true for alkaline batteries, which boost their life by only about 5%.

* Plant Seeds: Many (but not all) types of plant seeds will keep longer and germinate more successfully when stored in the freezer. Many of the planet's most important seeds are being stored in a chilly seed vault in Norway for an unforeseen doomsday.

* Plastic Soda Bottles Filled with Water: Some people do this to have a cold drinking bottle ready for a long day out in the sun, but back in Grandma's day, many kept water filled bottles in the freezer to insulate it and help keep cold longer if the electricity failed.

* Wine cubes: If by some chance you find yourself with leftover wine, which is easy to do if you and a friend open a full bottle, pour it into an ice cube tray and freeze it. "Wine cubes" are perfect for cooking.

* Pantyhose: Not sure if I believe this one, and I cannot remember the last time I wore pantyhos, so please let me know if you do and decide to test it out. Keep your pantyhose in the freezer, they're less likely to run and they last longer. (Oh yeah, and don't forget to thaw them out ahead of time to wear them... burr!)

* Atypical Freezer Food: Put flour (and spices) in the freezer to keep bugs out. Some people even keep their scrap food (a.k.a. trash) in the freezer until trash day. Doesn't save money but saves on the smell in the trash can. Also, freeze leftover broth in ice cube trays to add to soups or casseroles, helps to cool down down soup while not watering it down.

* Toys: Some doctors recommend freezing your kids' stuffed animals once a week or so to kill dust mites and prevent allergies.

* Laundry: Freeze your damp laundry in a plastic bag- some claim it makes it easier to iron, but a better reason is to prevent your wet laundry from having mildew and eventually that musky smell it gets over time.

* Money: Well we have all heard about the people who stick their money in the freezer... I could not find a good reason behind it other than hiding your money. If only freezing our credit cards to save money worked- it wouldn't even take up a lot of freezer space. Just a thought...

Hope you found some practical applications here. If nothing else, at least it is some food for thought. Happy Friday!