Elegant Survival
Stylish Living on a Shoestring
Elegant Recycling
Re-use the plastic jugs that honey now comes in; remove their labels by soaking and rubbing with Goo-Gone, and fill them with Epsom or other bath salts for easy dispensing into your luxurious tub.
~M-J~
Washing Clothes without Electricity, et Cetera
Photos Copyright Elegant Survival 2009
We don't have a washer or dryer. That's by choice. I have plenty of water, two sinks and two buckets. When I say "plenty", I mean it is available, but I don't waste it. The beauty of washing and rinsing in buckets is that one can dump the "grey water" out in the garden. Plants don't mind soap or vinegar, in fact, vinegar and salt, as I like to say, are fertilizers. I have the luxury of a wash-basin and a rinse-bucket. Note that the silver one matches the sink, while a white basin would look swell in a porcelain one.
This isn't "roughing it". I once lived without running water for over a year, with just wood-stoves for cooking and heating. I took sauna (pronounced "sow-nah", not "sawna") regularly, though. Then there was the time I lived in a tee-pee for two weeks in 25* weather. If you wear tweed clothes, it's warm. I am used to building my own fires for cooking and heat, making my own bread the old-fashioned way, washing clothes by hand and hanging them on the line to dry. Those things are muscle-building, and who needs a fancy "health-club" when saving electricity and doing things yourself keep a gal in shape? I don't watch television, we cut the cable a year ago, as described in Household Hints. No problem--as a radio-nut, I have a lot of them, all operable with batteries, including a regular short-wave and a miniature one with built-in flashlight and alarm.
One of my favorite themes here and on the E.S. News blog is getting by without electricity. For now, I use a computer, and someday, when the power-grids fail because of ridiculous energy-restrictions, I am going to adapt to the new situation with my usual vigor.
Wash-Water Additives
Borax
Vinegar
Salt
Baking Soda
Hydrogen Peroxide (for white items with stubborn stains)
Sometimes I use a combination of the above additives, depending upon the stains at hand.
The Elegant, Do-It-Yourself Party
M-J's Original Party-Hosting Advice
Dessert TableAll Photos Copyright M-J de Mesterton, 2007
All Photos Copyright M-J de Mesterton 2007
For an affordable yet elegant drinks party, make all the canapés yourself and arrange on your prettiest plates and platters, spreading them around a central table. Place stacks of small plates and cocktail napkins conveniently among the offerings. The hostess (wife) can carry platters around to guests often during the party, ensuring the land-locked chatters an opportunity to eat. Wine and soft drinks are sufficient, if you'd like to keep the drink-dispensing simple (cocktails are potent and complicated to mix; the price of a DWI being exorbitant, one wants reasonably sober guests leaving one's domicile...). The husband is in-charge of filling and refilling drinks. Walking about the rooms with a wine bottle to give refills on the spot is a good idea. The wife can monitor the food table to keep it neat, as well as make the rounds talking and relieving guests of empties. This sort of drinks party provides people with enough nourishment to make dinner unnecessary. Some components of your savoury items can be prepared in the two days preceding the event. Offer a platter of brownies or cookies for those who prefer sweets. Clean-up is easy. A team effort of husband and wife is ideal, but, coordination being essential, any two people who work well in tandem will serve.
Food Quantities and Conservation
Provide an average of four canapes in each category per-person. Not every guest will partake of every offering, so this scheme usually works well. In the case of leftover items like angels-on-horseback (bacon wrapped around a water chestnut) and broiled), they are excellent re-heated the next day. Coat your appetizer shells with unsalted butter on the inside before filling them (unsalted butter has less moisture in it.) Butter will act as an insulator against moisture, ensuring that the canapes will not become soft from their contents, and will also be edible the next day. When creating platforms for your canapes, save the extra bread trimmings in a freezer-bag, and use them later for breadcrumbs or in a Swedish meatball recipe.
For Those Who Desire Household Help for the Party
Purchase a server's uniform (black vest, black bow tie, white shirt, optional white gloves) in a size large, so that it may be worn by whomever you find to help, then washed, stored and re-used on the next occasion.
Hospitality for Your Guests' Coats
Instead of having your friends throw their coats on a bed or sofa, empty your coat closets and chuck your own coats onto the bed instead. This way, your guests have the dignity of hanging their coats in an orderly fashion, and of locating them easily for a smooth exit. This is an elegant, kind way to make your company comfortable, and all it requires is a bit of elbow grease. Emptying your closet for a couple of days just might facilitate a welcome closet re-organization, which is a great mood-elevator.
February, 2009: M-J's Household Hints
Stretch your dish-washing liquid by diluting it with water, and adding bottled lemon juice. The dispenser on the left shows the result.
Photo Copyright M-J de Mesterton, 2009
M-J's Household Hints, 2006--2009
Cut Cable Costs
You can save many dollars per month by switching to basic cable television and continuing to rent the cable-box for a few bucks. One can even live without cable TV. Fox News Channel has an internet website that shows the main news stories on video, and other amusing content. Many other cable channels have the same feature. With the cable box, one can still rent on a pay-per view basis, or even choose to watch the free movies offered, including fearnet productions and classic horror flicks. If your monthly cable bill is a fright, consider living without premium service. It is possible!
Additionally, you can purchase classic movies for a few dollars apiece and create a movie library. Considering what is actually available on premium cable television, and the abundance of things you would never watch but are paying for nonetheless, it is worth cutting it from your budget.
Additionally, you can purchase classic movies for a few dollars apiece and create a movie library. Considering what is actually available on premium cable television, and the abundance of things you would never watch but are paying for nonetheless, it is worth cutting it from your budget.
Copyright M-J de Mesterton 2008/2009
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Easter Cupcakes
copyright M-J de Mesterton 2008
Cover an old, unwanted cookie sheet with beautiful wrapping paper when you bring cupcakes to someone.
I did this with my old aluminum baking pan for transporting these cakes to a friend's house.
M-J's MICROFIBER MOP INSTRUCTIONS
Because Swiffer-type cloths are expensive, and not re-usable after a certain point, I now use large microfiber cloths for dusting furniture and floors. They pick up just as much dust and hair as the aforementioned product. Large microfiber cloths are available in bulk at Sam's Club, in blue, yellow, chartreuse and orange. At our last purchase, they were 15 USD for 25 of them. They're soft and washable. Here is what I devised today for dusting floors and cars--it leaves those disposable electrostatic gadgets in the dust:
M-J's Home-Made Microfiber Dust-Mop
Take three large microfiber cloths and lay them on top of each other, at varying angles. Center your stack of cloths over the end of an old broom/mop stick, and then, a couple of inches from the end of stick, strap them on with a tightly-pulled, heavy-duty plastic cinch (available at Sam's and office-supply stores). Better still is a small bungee cord that wraps around and hooks to itself. Invert this and run it around your floor, under furniture, or over your car. Clean the mop by shaking it outdoors. You could even use a lint-brush on it. When it gets too dirty to be useful, the cinch can be cut off and the cloths released for machine-washing. Repeat mop-construction process after they are dry, using a fresh cinch (I use multipurpose ties/cinchos by Thomas Betts). Attach the Cloths to the Broomstick; Invert and Use Dust-Mop
M-J's Home-Made Microfiber Dust-Mop
Take three large microfiber cloths and lay them on top of each other, at varying angles. Center your stack of cloths over the end of an old broom/mop stick, and then, a couple of inches from the end of stick, strap them on with a tightly-pulled, heavy-duty plastic cinch (available at Sam's and office-supply stores). Better still is a small bungee cord that wraps around and hooks to itself. Invert this and run it around your floor, under furniture, or over your car. Clean the mop by shaking it outdoors. You could even use a lint-brush on it. When it gets too dirty to be useful, the cinch can be cut off and the cloths released for machine-washing. Repeat mop-construction process after they are dry, using a fresh cinch (I use multipurpose ties/cinchos by Thomas Betts). Attach the Cloths to the Broomstick; Invert and Use Dust-Mop
Microfiber Dust-Mop and Photos Copyright M-J de Mesterton 2007
Update: I have found that a microfiber rag will adhere to a sponge-mop. Tie the ends and you will be ready to clean and polish a smooth floor with very little moisture. Fill a one-litre spray bottle with water, leaving room to add a third-cup of white vinegar and one teaspoon of lavender oil. Shake it. This is my preferred cleaning fluid. Mist the floor with it, and go over it with the dry microfibre mop until it is dry and shiny. This cleaning mist can be used on sinks and fixtures, mirrors, microwave ovens, jugs, anything that needs cleaning and shining about the house. It is also a deodorant. The scent of the lavender overpowers that of the vinegar. Careful--this method of cleaning is so easy that you may be cleaning as a hobby if you don't temper your enthusiasm!
M-J's Miscellaneous Hints
Keep newly-polished silver free of tarnish by storing it with a piece of aluminum foil (one of the safer uses for aluminum).
Omit the fabric-softener when washing and drying towels. It leaves a coating which reduces their absorbency. I prefer a sun-dried white cotton towel, which is excellent for an invigorating rub. Lightweight cotton towels for the kitchen and bath can all be washed in a solution of detergent and a little bleach. They dry much faster than coloured velour ones, and lend a look of sparkling cleanliness. Lightweight, white cotton towels may be bought in bulk at wholesale stores like Sam's Club in the U.S.
To keep rarely-used garlic fresh, peel it and store it in a jar in the freezer.
Use salt in your wash-water to help remove stains.
To rid old books of odors, dust the pages with talcum powder, and let them sit for a day. Brush out the powder.
To make cake rise higher, add a half-teaspoon of white vinegar to the batter.
Use old-fashioned wooden clothespins to close bread and chip-bags. They’re cute, easier to manipulate than twist-ties, and are cheaper than chip-clips.
To remove red and burgundy wines from tablecloths after dinner parties, wash them immediately afterwards in the machine, with the laundry detergent of your choice, in hot water with the addition of a half-cup of white vinegar and perhaps some table salt. This routine has always worked for me.
Conserving Candle Wax
I have noticed a jump in candle-prices. Many candles are unusable before their wax disappears. Then, you may have a considerable amount of unused candle wax which could go to waste. I save old candle wax, scented or plain, and when I have enough of it, I melt it in an old pan and pour it into a container into which I have put a standing wick. Then I have a new candle. The wicks can be purchased at crafts stores.
Keep defunct candles in a plastic bag until you have enough to melt. A plain metal pot is best, and I recommend melting wax together from similarly colored candles. Shown are stubs from beeswax tapers and a yellow pillar candle. Old wicks and metal anchors for them are not a problem; just use a metal ladle to transfer hot wax, omitting the debris. Caution: don't melt used candles in a microwave oven--there will likely be a metal wick or anchor in it.
Bathtub Safety
After our traditional bath-mat by a famous rubber-product company let us down--or, rather, practically threw us against the shower wall in a fatal fall, we've thrown it away and done some shopping. We found a reliable, technologically advanced bath-mat at Wal-Mart. It is a thing of beauty, and holds fast to the bottom of the bath-tub. A weak bath-mat can send you flying to an early fate. This was a shocking revelation, and we consider ourselves 
lucky to be alive, having dodged a dangerous accident.
Here is the product offered on Wal-Mart.com. An analogous mat can be found inside Wal-Mart stores, called "Heavy Duty Bath Mat", Commercial Grade Vinyl
lucky to be alive, having dodged a dangerous accident.Here is the product offered on Wal-Mart.com. An analogous mat can be found inside Wal-Mart stores, called "Heavy Duty Bath Mat", Commercial Grade Vinyl
A Versatile Tool: the Baby Wipe
We keep a good stock of White Cloud Baby Wipes, both unscented and lightly scented, in our home. There are many applications for them, and we've never had children! In our opinion, the wipes offered by top national brands are
just not as good. White Cloud Baby Wipes are very soft, and extremely strong. They also have a delicate, lovely scent. The unscented ones just smell like aloe. There are uses for both.
France's Microfibre Specialist
Elegant Survival Mugs
Click on images to enlarge...
Photos Copyright M-J de Mesterton 2007
Sure, they're about five dollars US each at Amazon.com, but Wal*Mart has these Anchor Hocking 16-ounce glass coffee mugs for $2.50. I love them for coffee or tea. Anchor Hocking's "café" style coffee mugs are made of sturdy glass, and have received good reviews on Amazon.com.
In Elegant Survival's Household Management Tips (farther down this post), I wrote about the safety-measure of always using glass containers to reheat food and drinks in the microwave, and mentioned my own glass coffee mug. It was colour-coated green glass, made in Germany by Leonardo. After four years of use, I chucked it yesterday. I had originally purchased several of them, together with their expensive "swing" glasses, believing that they were truly made of coloured glass. The coating was wearing off, and had been whitened by detergent. With my new Anchor Hocking Café Style Coffee Mugs, there will be no such problem, because the glass is really green, not just coated. These mugs by Anchor Hocking are superior to the Leonardo ones, and cost only one-fourth as much. Trust them for safely re-heating your coffee or tea. I like to call them The Elegant Survival Mugs.
Postscript: if you'd like to spend more on glass mugs, I've found these elegant ones from an American company.
My favorite Elegant Survival Mugs: Brown
Click to enlarge image: photo copyright M-J de Mesterton, April 2008
Elegant Survival Bath Towels
Photo of Sun-Dried Towels and Lavender Copyright M-J 20080000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
There's nothing more luxurious in the salle de bains than a high stack of neatly folded white, line-dried bath towels. Forget about fussy velour towels in "designer" colours, those things that take hours and lots of energy to dry, sometimes even encouraging the growth of mildew. At spas, you will find the 100% cotton, white terry cloth bath towels that are allowed to dry naturally on a clothesline, and with which you can give yourself an invigorating rubdown because of their rougher texture. Using fabric-softener is anathema, as it will render your towels unabsorbent and too soft for the desired skin-exfoliation. If you have the luxury of a private, sunny courtyard, sun-dried towels are easily attainable. In the desert, a bath-towel may dry outdoors in less than an hour. One can usually find bundles of cotton terry cloth towels at discount and club stores for a very low price--as little as two dollars apiece. Another advantage of their being all-cotton and white is that these cotton terry cloth towels can be bleached--just add a half-cup of bleach to your soapy, hot wash-water for a large load; a quarter cup for a small one. Always dilute it before adding it to your wash.
These plain white towels can be embroidered--that's the purpose of the little non-terry strip toward the end of the towel--it serves as a cross-stitching or embroidery platform. And remember, that the lighter and thinner the composition of the towel, the more quickly it dries. The lighter the towel, the more energy you save.
~~Copyright M-J de Mesterton, April 2008
Elegant Survival's Household Management Tips
New Additions, November 29th, 2007:
Microwave Safety
Always cook with glass dishes when using a microwave oven. Even if your crockery was made after the lead-poisoning alert, it could still be produced by a manufacturer whose products have slipped past the inspections/standards process. I have one glass mug in which I reheat my coffee. Anchor Hocking glass mugs are microwave-safe, as are inexpensive glass dishes and cups made by Pyrex, Corningware, and Arcoroc of France.
Speaking of Coffee...
I've found that Douwe Egberts is my favourite brand of coffee in Europe, and I am also very fond of their Senseo pods which are used in the eponymous brewing system. I liked it so well that I bought them for two of my friends. However, the pods can be punitively expensive if one wants to have five or six cups a day of Senseo coffee. In my Utopian vision of a perfect world, that is what I would do. But, I'm loath to be so self-indulgent, and only use the Senseo brewer when I have guests. For daily coffee in the U.S., I recommend Yuban. You can purchase a two-and-a quarter pound can of Yuban Original Colombian Coffee for about $5.00 US. It smells heavenly--even more so than Chock-Full-O'Nuts in New York claims to do. I like to percolate it in a stainless steel coffee pot. It tastes wonderful, for those who don't like their coffee beans blackened beyond recognition Starbucks-style. Speaking of coffees available in the U.S.A., I subscribed to Gevalia Swedish coffees for twelve years until I sensed that their quality had gone down--that was just before I discovered the Senseo system. If you use powdered, non-dairy creamers, avoid Coffee-Mate. It contains aluminum (see my health section). Brands that don't are offered at Sam's and Wal*Mart; anywhere else, you only have to read the ingredients and see that your choice doesn't include aluminates (popular flow-agents) of any kind.
Cleaning Copper
Here is advice for cleaning the beautiful metal when it is uncoated.
The Elegant Survival Pantry
Ingredients for a Well-Stocked Pantry
Elegant Survival Kitchen Essentials
Elegant Survival Kitchen Essentials
- Frozen Apple Juice Concentrate or Bottled Apple Juice
- Cornstarch
- Unbleached White Flour
- Rye Flour
- Yeast
- Gelatine
- Almond Extract
- Vanilla, Imitation or Pure Extract
- Rum Extract or Flavoring
- Aluminum-Free Baking Powder
- Baking Soda
- Hershey’s Cocoa Powder
- Chocolate Chips
- Cinnamon
- Salt
- Peppercorns
- Dried Red Chiles
- Dehydrated Mixed Vegetables
- Brown Rice
- White or Basmati Rice
- Corn Meal or Grits
- Dried Pasta
- Alfalfa Seeds
- Wheat Berries
- Dried Parsley
- Dried Chives
- Dehydrated Onion
- Dehydrated Garlic or Garlic Powder
- Soy Sauce
- Powdered Ginger
- Toasted Sesame Oil
- Sesame Tahini Paste, Joyva brand of Brooklyn is best
- Almond Butter
- Popcorn, loose: Jolly Time Organic is better than Orville Redenbacher, at one-third the cost
- Peanut or Corn Oil
- Olive Oil
- Mustard Powder, Colman’s English
- Spanish or Hungarian Paprika
- Capers
- Green Peppercorns in Brine
- Rose’s Lime Juice
- Maggi or another brand of Chicken Bouillon Powder
- Canned Tomato Paste: store brand
- Canned Whole Tomatoes: store brand
- Canned Beets: store brand or generic
- Canned Small, Peeled Potatoes: store brand or generic
- Canned Green Chiles, whole or chopped
- Coconut Milk, Canned
- Whole Water Chestnuts, Canned
- Canned Ham
- Canned Vienna Sausage
- Canned Beef (usually from Argentina)
- Canned Pineapple, No Sugar Added
- Peanut Butter
- Raw Walnuts
- Almonds
- Powdered Sugar
- Brown Sugar
- White Sugar
- Molasses
- Honey
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- White Vinegar
- Boxed Red Wine, and a Cube of White Wine, both for Cooking
- Frozen Peas
- Dried Split Peas, Green or Yellow
- Freeze-Dried Coffee
- Coffee Creamer (not Coffee-Mate, which contains aluminum–check ingredients)
- Coffee Beans
- Tea Bags
- Non-Fat Dry Milk
- Powdered Buttermilk
- Powdered Eggs for Emergencies
- Bottled Lemon Juice
- Herbes de Provence (a combination of marjoram, thyme, rosemary and savory, available at Costco)
To Be Continued….
Compiled by M-J de Mesterton, 2008
