Monday Q&A | Soap Slivers, Thawing Meat, and Questionable Donations
Every Monday, I answer a few of the questions that my readers send me. If you have a question you'd like me to answer in a future Q&A post, just leave me a comment here or email me (thefrugalgirl [at] gmail [dot] com) and put Q&A in the subject line. I look forward to hearing from you!
How can we use every little piece of a soap bar?
Mary
I don't use a lot of bar soap, but when I did, I used to just push the last bit onto the new bar of soap. I did this even when I was a teenager living at home, and I wasn't paying for the soap. I just don't like to waste things!
I am wondering how you defrost meat. Between buying a section of a cow and going to the grocery store only once every two weeks, I would imagine you have some experience with storing meat in the freezer. I love to stock up on meat when I see a good deal, but I feel like it takes forever for meat to defrost once I pop it in my fridge (2 days+), and I get squeamish about defrosting meat in the microwave.
-Patricia
It does require some thinking ahead, that's for sure!
If I'm organized enough, I get my meat out and defrost it in the fridge. But if I'm in a hurry, I thaw it at room temperature on a metal baking sheet (this makes meat thaw faster for some reason.)
I know food safety experts don't recommend that you defrost meat this way, but I'm careful not to let the meat get warm, and I cook it to a safe temperature anyway.
So, (disclaimer ahead) I can't officially recommend that you thaw meat at room temperature, but it is what I personally do sometimes.
Very occasionally, if I am desperate, I will use the defrost setting on my microwave. I really don't like to do that, though, as the edges of the meat sometimes start to cook before the middle is thawed.
I'm the mom who previously wrote in about expecting triplets. Now that we are a family of eight, I am inspired to streamline and declutter even more. We have large collections of things like towels, plastic ware, toys (just to name a few). As I cull them down to the most precious and most useful to keep, I'm left with three major piles: keepers, donations and stuff not quite worth donating but still should stay out of a landfill. Things like towels with visible wear, toys that are missing minor pieces (decals, little accessories), less than sturdy but still usable storage bowls, clearly well-loved but still cute holiday dishes, obscure and sometimes not very good books, oddball art supplies. What are your thoughts about donating less than perfect stuff?
-Kristin
I try to be careful about that, since thrift stores will often throw away things that they can't sell. And I really don't want my stuff to just hit the landfill if it's avoidable.
So, Freecycle is where I try to get rid of things like this. Someone might not buy your less-than-fabulous items at a thrift store, but they might want them for the wonderful price of $0. I am continually surprised at what I can give away on Freecycle, so give it a shot!
I also try to find ways to repurpose old items if possible. I wrote an ebook about how I repurpose clothing (though at this stage of your life, probably only the simplest ideas in the book would be manageable for you!), but I also look for alternative uses for other items.
For example, an old plastic file cabinet because our Easter egg storage bin, and we use a worn teflon dutch oven from Mr. FG's bachelor days as a container for our Magnetix toys.
For the question about soap slivers, I, to piggyback my slivers, glom one sliver onto the new bar. But sometimes I also will put them in a jar of water, with other soap bits, and allow to stand for a few days, then use as liquid soap for the dispensers, or pour into the washing machine as part of the detergent.
For the question about giving away items in less than perfect condition. With clothing, you can check with the donation center for a local thrift shop, asking if they accept clothing that is resold for rags. Many industries, buy laundered, used clothing to use as rags in their manufacturing. And other non-clothing things can just be put out in a free pile at a garage sale. You'd be surprised what gets taken!
I know that Goodwill bales clothing that is not fit to sell in their stores and sells it as fiber. It's used to make things like those blankets that movers use.
I've donated towels to our local animal shelter for use with the animals. That might be a possibility for you.
I was going to say this too! The animal shelter was super grateful when we took old ratty sheets and towels to them. 🙂
I had to jump in here and make a comment to the previous poster! In regards to your old towels.. I was at my vet on Saturday and they had a sign up saying they were taking donations of old towels. That would be an awesome place to donate to.. you local vet or humane society. I know that I take my blankets when they get ratty and the humane society is extremely grateful (as are the little furbabies).
Many will also take old pillows or stuffed animals--just check around with shelters and rescues.
If you've ever seen a dog prefer laying on your sweater over his bed, you'll know why. 🙂
I'm not sure what the USDA would say about this one but when we've forgot to pull out meat for dinner and are in a hurry, we toss it in a bowl of warm water in the sink. If I'm paying attention, I'll change the water once or twice. Depending on the amount of meat you have this usually takes an hour or two. The defrost feature on the microwave starts to cook the meat if you go too long. We have our meat vacummed packed so it's not a big deal. If you wrap meat in butcher paper, put it in a baggie first.
I also send worn blankets and towels to a local animal shelter. The cat shelter also takes stuffed animals and various items that the cats crawl into, on, over, etc. For example I took some towels in a "milk" crate and she asked if she could keep it.
I have read that animal rescue places welcome old towels. Odd-ball art supplies can be donated to schools. Your public library will take the books and, if they can't add them to their own collection, will sell them at a library book sale. Our library will also take magazines and put them on a "Free" table in the library for anyone to take and share -- though obviously not ten years of National Geographic:) You do have to be creative with donations. It takes more time than dropping everything off at one Goodwill stop, but it is worth it if you really don't want your things to be added to the landfill.
Here is a link to a fact sheet from the USDA about safely thawing meat
Check out "Cold Water Thawing." The key to doing it quickly is to change the water every half hour or so. More changing will speed things up a little, too. The meat really must be in a water proof container--if it's not, just slip it in a zip top bag before putting it in the water. I use a metal bowl because it seems to work a little faster, but I've never read that anywhere else so maybe it's in my imagination (maybe it transmits warmth from the air to the water more readily? I don't know!).
Anyway, you can use this method to defrost a pound of ground beef in less than an hour! So, as soon as you think, "Dang, I forgot to the defrost the [insert meat product], throw it in some water. Dinner won't be THAT much later. 🙂
Oops! here's the link http://www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/Big_Thaw/index.asp
There is even such a thing as hot-water thawing now, and it only takes minutes!! http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/08/dining/a-hot-water-bath-for-thawing-meats-the-curious-cook.html
The metal bowl probably helps warm the cold water. Metal is an excellent conductor of heat, so heat from the surrounding air can more easily move into the water through a metal bowl than a glass, plastic, or ceramic one.
I use this method of thawing frequently. It even works in the fridge. Water conducts heat a LOT better than air, and it has a much higher heat capacity (it takes more energy for a given volume of water vs. air to heat up or cool down, so it can has much more heat to "give" to the frozen object, so the overall temperature of the water doesn't drop as much as the temperature of an equivalent amount of air would drop), so if you want to speed up the fridge-thawing, just toss the frozen meat into a plastic bag and stick in the fridge in a bowl of water. Instead of 2+ days, it will thaw between breakfast and dinner.
Problem: defrosting meat.
Answer: semi-defrost in microwave, then finish in fridge.
IOW, take the meat from the freezer, defrost it partway in the microwave. This will cut at least half the defrosting time without cooking the meat at all. Then put it in the fridge to finish defrosting.
The metal tray trick works because metal is a good conductor of temperature. The cold is absorbed by the metal, transmitted throughout the tray, then radiated into the surrounding air.
Problem: well-loved toys, storage containers, oddball art supplies
Answer: see if local day care centers or preschools want them.
My thought here is that stuff gets pretty beat up there, so maybe the fact that your stuff is already battered won't make that much difference. This may take time, though, so perhaps it's not worth using the little free time you have.
I have an idea! You know how people are always telling new moms (not the dads so often, for some reason...) "Let me know if I can help." Ask a couple of them to do this.
Soap slivers- if you crochet or know some one who does it only takes a few minutes to work up a little drawstring pouch to put them in. It makes it's own little washcloth basically and doesn't slip out of your hands. You can probably find them on Etsy too.
Cold can't really be conducted though. Heat can, but cold is just an absence of heat. So what's happening is the metal is taking the heat to the meat faster.
Yes, I'm nitpicking on the laws of thermodynamics. 😛
I'm cool with that.
on defrosting meat....
I like to put it in a bath of warm water if I know I am going to use it right away. But sometimes I will do this to "jump start" the defrosting process and then let it finish defrosting in the refrigerator. We have some large bags of shrimp that are frozen in water and it will take forever if I just put them in the fridge, but if I do the water bath first it cuts the time down. Kristen's meat is wrapped in paper, so I would put it in large ziplock bag first.
Animal shelters would love the old towels.
I have always defrosted meat in cold water. I often buy in bulk and separate when I freeze it so it is in a zipper storage bag already. Drop it in a bowl or sink of cool water and it will thaw very quickly without the danger of it sitting at room temperature. Just check the water once in a while.
Donating old towels to an animal shelter is a great idea! I have a few that are getting pretty ratty and was wondering what I was going to do with them.
If you have enough stuff, you may wish to have a yard sale. It's amazing what people will buy!
My wife and I recently had a bit of a "discussion" back and forth regarding our old couch. Personally I had no problem transporting it to our new house and continuing to use it but she was set on replacing it. Fine, we could afford it without destroying our budget. The major issue was getting rid of it.
My father convinced my wife to leave it on the curb with a sign that said "FREE" and posted a "Curb Alert" on Craigslist. It was gone by the end of the afternoon.
Hello, I am curious to know, what does your piano teaching schedule look like? How many students do you teach, and how does your family stay occupied/busy/quiet while you are teaching piano?
Katy, from Non-Consumer Advocate posted about some mesh bags that held bars of soap, but the crocheted bags sound great too! Or knitted may work also. It could just be super simple.
Donate old towels and sheet with heavy wear (rips, tears, big stains etc) to a local humane shelter or pound. They use the sheets and towels for dog bedding, and don't care what it looks like! Perfect for the things you think the thrift store may throw away. Every time I donate linens to the local shelter they are so thankful!!!
Soap: Old (clean) pantyhose or knee high. Makes wonderful suds. I bought my husband and son one of those bath puffs that is like a drawstring bag, and we put soap in there. It was only a buck I think, and while there were more frugal options, we are still money ahead because the soap doesn't get dropped (and forgot about) in the bath or shower floor, so it lasts MUCH longer.
Junk: someone come declutter my house. please.
Meat: I leave my steaks/chops out on the counter or fridge, roasts and hamburger go straight into the crockpot or pan. Chicken I will cube up and toss in a ziploc with marinade, then as it freezes and thaws it absorbs the marinade.
omg that is brilliant about the chicken and the marinade.
i was going to chime in that if you can, make your frozen packages in smaller or flatter pieces so they will defrost more quickly.
Wildlife rescue places alway can use old towels. Call around, maybe the Humane Society or other animal shelters will be happy to put them to use.
Also the bigger Thrift chains sell fabric items that aren't otherwise saleable to fabric recycles. It get made into stuffing, insulation, etc.
Be careful with the toys. You might be better off doing Freecycle or Craigslist. I know the Goodwill in Texas throws away all dontated toys because they don't want to be held responsible if a toy were to be recalled and thy also don't have time to research and make sure a donated toy has been recalled. We have also heard the same "speech" from an attempt to donate to a child care facility.
It must be a regional thing, my Goodwill here in Houston has a large toy department.
I wanted to respond to the posting about decluttering. I live in a suburb of a big city but that hasn't stopped our town from letting things go to the landfill that shouldn't. One of the residents of our town, Nolensville, TN began a Nolensville Freecycle page on Facebook. Residents of our town go out and post pictures and descriptions of what they are giving away and the person who responds the quickest is the lucky recipient :).
Here's what I do with soap slivers: I save an old piece of pantyhose- a knee-hi works great, or even a thin sock- and stuff it until it's about half full of slivers. Then I tie the open end to the faucet of my laundry sink. It's great for scrubbing dirty hands and laundry, and lasts for a long time.
Re: the soap slivers. Watch for produce in fine mesh bags. I generally find garlic in these at the Dollar Store. (Empty the garlic ;p) Put your soap slivers in, tie a slip knot, hang it in your shower and you're good to go.
Mmmmm garlic soap. Love the disclaimer there ;p Made me giggle!
In our area the diabetes society will come and pick up even less than perfect items to either have folks fix (as a for of therapy) or to bail for rags.
So cool to hear back from you and your family of 8. I've thought of a few times the past few months.
Cut the soap up real small, mix with water in a yogurt or margarine or similar plastic container with a lid add some playsand, mix and let stand. It is great for cleaning really dirty hands - for guys (or gals) who like to work on cars or in the workshop. Just use a little and rub in then wash off. Gets the dirtiest hands clean and soft.
i agree, freecycle is the best!!
Count me in as another that often defrosts meat at room temperature. I *know* you are technically not supposed to do it, but my mom always did it when we were growing up, so I do it too. Often times I won't let it defrost all the way, just partially and then I will stick it in the fridge to finish. Also, I have cooked ground beef in a skillet from a completely frozen stage in a pinch. Just turn the heat on low and keep flipping it over every minute or two and scraping off the brown cooked part. I will typically cook with the skillet only half way on the burner and will push the cooked meat on the part of the skillet that isn't on the heat until all the meat is broken up. Another tip I have is if its cuts of meat (like chicken breasts, pork chops, etc.) I wrap each individual cut in foil before freezing. This not only allows me to cook the exact amount of cuts I want, but it will defrost much faster than a whole package of chicken. I realize this isn't the most environmentally friendly thing to do, but it works for us.
KimN, there's a way to be environmentally friendly and have individually available meat: freeze the meat on a greased plate, then put the frozen pieces in a bag. The greasing isn't strictly necessary but it makes it easier to get the meat off the plate.
Soap Slivers: Great ideas, thank you so much.
Meat: Well, I am guilty of thawing on the counter as well. Although, if I plan ahead well enough, I thaw it in the refrigerator. AND I have been known to defrost in the microwave, but I don't care for that option.
Freecycle: Will have to look into this. Thanks for all the great ideas!
Meat can also be defrosted in hot water if needed for faster use, as long as it's smaller pieces that won't have to sit in the water for too long.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/08/dining/a-hot-water-bath-for-thawing-meats-the-curious-cook.html
worn towels, rugs and blankets are gratefully accepted by our local animal shelter.
If you have worn towels or blankets, ask your local SPCA or animal shelter if they need some. In Vancouver where I live, they use them for cleaning up spills & making a cozy spot for rescued animals. As long as the items are clean, they don't have to be pretty.
So I heard that thrift stores will often sell stuff to be recycled if they can't use it (fabrics and stuff). Then the money goes back into the thrift store or whatever charity they support (my local one supports a local children's home). Is that not true?
CRAIG'S LIST that stuff!! Seriously, people will take ANYTHING. We often get rid of our old house parts, broken electronics, etc. It's an amazing resource to keep things out of the landfill, but I also question whether or not I'm just feeding a hoarder :/
I like to go over my weekly menu (my menu starts on a Thursday since that is when I usually go grocery shopping) and then I get all of my frozen meats out put them in coldest part of my fridge. That way they are ready and waiting on me all week.
Our county dump site has different dumpsters for different things and a little building called a "swap shop". It's for stuff like you described or people who don't have enough at one time to donate. You just put your stuff in the building and people can take what they want for free. The only rule is 3 items per person per day. I guess this is to keep 1 person from taking it all and having a yard sale. It's mostly small stuff, but I saw an artificial Christmas tree in there once. You should ask if your county does this or is interesed in doing it. It keeps alot out of the landfill and saves people money!
I often take old clothes and toys to homeless shelters, women's emergency shelters, or the YWCA. They run on very tight budgets and can always use donations. Just a thought.
I have put the weirdest things up on freecycle and 99% of it has found a home very quickly. The biggest thing was a broken vacuum cleaner that I didn't have the time to try and fix (our house was on the market and I needed a working one IMMEDIATELY). I listed that it was broken and could probably be fixed and a guy came and picked it up the same day. I think he had some sort of a business fixing and reselling items because he used to reply to pretty much anything I posted saying he'd take it. It was fine with me---I applauded his ingenuity and was glad to have it gone. As long as you are very honest about the condition of the item(s), people can decide whether or not to give them a try.
Another great way to get rid of used by still good stuff -- use Facebook. Someone in my local area started a closed group on FB called Shop the House. You could keep it as small as you would like, but our group has grown to over 1000 members in a very short amount of time! If a member has items they are looking to sell, they create an album with their name and city as the title. When the photos are posted (with description and price) the first person to comment on it gets first dibs. The seller and buyer arrange pick-up through private messaging for safety purposes. It has been a wonderful way to clean out my house and get some get deals on things I've been looking for too! It's like a garage sale online -- it's great!