Tumnus' Tips

Tip 1: Getting the most out of your Budget Gourmet

Tip 3: Wash your hands with cold water

Tip 4: Energy savings using your ceiling fan

Tip 6: Keep the spiders out in the cold

Tip 1: Getting the Most Out of Your Budget Gourmet

DISCLAIMER: This tip deals specifically with the Fettuccine Primavera with Herb Sauce with White Checken meal.

It is important to know the geometry of how they package the goods. The meat and cheese sauce will always be on the left hand side. On the right...pasta and vegetables. Now, you must open a portion of the lid to let steam get out while cooking...but which corner? Indeed, this is a decision that can bring a man to his knees, but do not worry, I have figured out, with scientific know how, the correct corner. It is the bottom right corner.

You do not want to open any of the left hand side corners, as this will allow the chicken to dry out and become rubbery. The best thing is that after the food is cooked, you now have an easy to pour spout to drain the excess water..without risking dumping the 2 or 3 pieced of chicken they include in the package.

Tip 2: Maximize your 1.00 Car Wash

You car is dirty, but you can only scrounge up 1.00 in change...what do you do? Follow these tips to get the most out of your 1.00 car wash.

1) Turn the dial to Rinse...not "low pressure" or "spot free rinse", as these are rip offs. Why would anyone want a low pressure wash?

2) Insert Quarter. If you do not have quarters initially, ask the dirty man with the beard working there if he has change.

3) Quickly, get the entire car wet. You don't need to linger in any one place, just get the entire vehicle wet.

4) Now that the car is wet, you can now start the washing. While you wash, the water previously sprayed on other parts of the car will do it's magic without scrubbing...water is the best solvent on the planet.

5) I suggest the top down approach. Spray off the roof, and then go around the car in a spiral, using a side to side motion, and working your way down. This way, dirt from above will never run onto already cleaned areas.

6) If you are quick enough, you can beat the timer and still have time left over. Use this as an opportunity to spray under the wheel wells, or do some specialized cosmetic work...launch a close up high pressure assault on front bumper bug stains holding the nozzle about an inch away.

Tip 3: Wash Your Hands With Cold Water

It is never a good idea to wash your hands with warm water, unless someone else has just got done doing it, or, you do not pay the bills.

Say you wash your hands with the "warm" water turned on...but by the time you are done, the water never had time to get warm. Well, this is a no no, as you have just wasted energy. Although warm water did not make it to your hands, warm water DID leave the water heater, and stopped short somewhere downstream in your pipes. You just drained warm water from your water heater, and now the heat is going to be dissipated in the pipes rather than enjoyed by your hands. So, if you are not going to run the water for long, just use COLD water...that's what you'll get anyway, and no energy will be wasted in this process.

Tip 4: Energy Savings Using Your Ceiling Fan

We all know having using a ceiling fan in the warm season can make your house "feel" cooler due to a wind chilling effect, but did you also know you can use it to your advantage in the winter as well? Indeed, in the winter, turn you ceiling fan switch to turn in the opposite direction. This will force warm air that has risen to the ceiling outward, and it will hug the walls and windows. The room warms evenly, and drafts disappear. So whether it's 35, or 95 degrees outside...turn on your ceiling fan, and turn on year round, home energy savings.

Tip 5: Home Cooking With Your Conventional Oven

Just in case you still use a conventional oven, I have a tip for you. Whatever you are cooking....turn off the oven a full 10 minutes before the timer goes off. The oven will retain most of it's heat, and your food will continue to cook...all the while you will be saving energy.

Tip 6: Keep Spiders Out in the Cold

If you live in an area that experiences large temperature swings, spiders will come into your home whenever it gets cold. Say for instance it is 75 degrees during the day, but a cold front moves through and the temperature drops dramatically. The Spiders have become energized by the warm weather and have become agitated. Now, the cold air comes and they are suddenly scrambling to find heat energy. Your home is a perfect radiator and is relatively warm...so they will try to come in. Well, you can always be one step ahead of the Spiders. Always have a couple cans of Spider Killer Spray on hand. Watch the weather closely, and right before a drastic cool down after it has been warm, treat all doors and windows. Spiders will try to come in, but the fresh killer spray will stop them dead in their tracks. I recommend "Hot Shot" spider spray, it comes in the orange can.