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Did you know…?

After another long vacation, we’re back with another edition of “Did you know…?”

Did you know…  A recent study found that drinking more than two cups of tea a day helps to decrease the risk of death following a heart attack by 44 percent.  Check out our Electric Jug Kettle and have your daily cups of tea at the ready.  Also great for coffee or even soup for those frigid winter months. 

New York Times Top Pick!

Tis’ the season for celebrating – that means cooking & baking ahead of time, and having yummy leftovers afterwards. In the food section of the New York Times last week, an article raved about Stretch-Tite. We love this product, and it’s nice to know that the “experts” agree!

Stretch-Tite is heavier & stretchier then store-bought brands, AND it’s self-sealing. This is the only plastic wrap that clings to plastic bowls. The 500 sq. ft. roll lasts more than twice as long as saran wrap, and the Stretch-Tite box is easy to handle – the cutter really works – honest! No frustration.

Like the rest of you, I’m always baking cookies & potato latkes this time of year. When I need a lot (which is always the case), I freeze them. This year I’ll be using Freeze-Tite Wrap, the close cousin to Stretch-Tite. It’s a thicker version, and it’s also clear. Freeze-Tite keeps frozen food safe for a long time without freezer burn. 

Whether you’re baking & freezing, or storing left-overs, let Stretch-Tite & Freeze-Tite make your holiday prep easier! Visit our other Cooking Helpers too, at Always Free Shipping.

Scrappy Little Bags Aren’t Just For Scraps

I love finding alternate uses for products. Take Hefty Scrap Bags for example. Sure, these bags are great for holding discarded food scraps and coffee grinds from the kitchen. But I also use them to hold popcorn. I pre-pop those 100 calorie popcorn packs and then pour the popcorn in the bags. They make a great snack when mid-afternoon munchies hit. I have to make my popcorn at home, because I have a history of burning popcorn at work. I’m sure there are other great uses I haven’t tried yet – disposing of dirty diapers, carrying shoes in to work when you wear boots and much more. What uses can you think of for these bags or other products that do double duty?
Until next time… Ann

“The laziest man I ever met put popcorn in his pancakes so they would turn over by themselves.” – W.C. Fields

Hoopla About Hagerty

This is the time of the year when the “good silver” comes out. I personally think we should use the good silver every night, not just at holiday time. I mean, don’t we deserve the best? Hagerty products are fantastic for storing and polishing silver. Just click on the Silvercare category at Always-Free-Shipping to see what they have. I recently used the polish to clean some old silver flatware I was selling on ebay. Hagerty really made it shine. Hagerty products also prevent tarnish build-up so you don’t have to polish as often. Wonderful company, wonderful products!

Until next time… Ann

“Meanness inherits a set of silverware and keeps it in the bank. Economy uses it only on important occasions, for fear of loss. Thrift sets the table with it every night for pure pleasure, but counts the butter spreaders before they are put away.”
- Poetess Phyllis McGinley

Boots Made for Walkin’

It snowed this morning…. first time this season. We know what that means – time to take out the boots.

I’m into boots… especially tall leather ones, and I wear them year after year, after year. My feet have aquired small bunions since I bought most of them years ago, and they simply don’t fit the same way. If you can relate, check out Boot Stretchers  at www.always-free-shipping.com. They really are just the ticket – I added the little bunion pop-ins, and now my oldie but goodie boots are roomier and MUCH more comfortable.

Best way to keep Boots in great shape is with these innovative Boot Trees. I use these “shapers” all year round on all my boots. They keep them legs lookin’ just like new. Try ‘em!

If you have other helpful boot care hints, please let us know. Thanks! 

Mad For Magazines (a.k.a. why my mailman hates me)

Do you love catalogs and magazines as much as I do? In my case, the love of these periodicals has gotten a bit out of control. You know how it goes. You order one catalog, it turns to two and the next thing you know you get dozens a week. It had gotten so out of control at my household that I had to start unsubscribing to them. I am up to over 200! Now I am very picky about what I choose to keep. I use these Magazine Organizers to hold the “keepers” in a tidy and organized way. I love how colorful and sturdy they are. My next task? Only getting the catalog emails I really want (like the always-free-shipping.com one of course!).

Until next time… Ann

“The question about those aromatic advertisements that perfume companies are having stitched into magazines these days is this: under the freedom guaranteed by the First Amendment, is smelling up the place a constitutionally protected form of expression?”
-Calvin Trillin, American writer

Did you know…?

Welcome to this weeks “Did you know…?”

Did you know… that with the rising prices in gasoline, wouldn’t it be cheaper to shop online?  Not to mention the convenience of skipping the waiting lines and the rude clerks.  What better way to shop than at a website that offers “FREE SHIPPING”? (shameless plug).  Visit Always-Free-Shipping and save yourself time, money and aggravation by browsing our ever expanding catalog of useful and popular items.

Second Hand Scent

Here’s a confession – I love to shop at  better “second-hand” shops. The reason I keep shopping season after season,  is because I ALWAYS find atleast 1 or 2 amazing garments I’d never find in my price-range anywhere! I usually go twice a year, and actually load up with a substantial lift to my wardrobe. It feels just like a real shopping spree too, but at 1/3 the price!

There’s just one downside… When I take the new bundle home, I always get a good wiff of that yucky 2nd hand musty scent; it just won’t do. I used to take the whole bundle directly to the dry cleaner, but that got really expensive, really fast!

I’ve recently discovered Dry Cleaner’s Secret…. when I get home, all I need to do is take my new/old clothes, place them in the dryer along with one of the Dry Cleaner’s Secret dryer sheets, and turn it on for a few minutes… Voila! These dry-cleaning sheets work wonders. All of the second hand clothes smell just like new… that’s MY little secret! 

The White Sweater

Doing laundry is not my thing. I’m sure no one loves it, but I am really bad at it. I don’t separate my white clothing from my dark clothing and my wardrobe suffers because of it. Another bad habit I have is not waiting until the washing machine fills with water to put the detergent in. Instead, I just dump it in with my clothing (bad I know). Well, I had finally found a white button down sweater that I could wear with anything. I tossed it in the wash. What I did not realize (until the cycle was done) was that I had poured laundry detergent right over it. I was now left with a blue stained sweater. It was then that I discovered the power of Yellow Out. It saved my sweater! If you want to remove rust, yellowing and overall dinginess of your white washable laundry loads, this is the product for you.

Until next time… Ann

“Now they show you how detergents take out bloodstains, a pretty violent image there. I think if you’ve got a t-shirt with a bloodstain all over it, maybe laundry isn’t your biggest problem.” -Jerry Seinfeld

Turkey time in 1/2 the time

I am so excited! Just tried out my brand new NuWave Oven, & WOW! This mini-oven is miraculous! I roasted a chicken in half the time it usually takes in my big oven…. amazingly enough, I cooked it right from the freezer too. Best part about it, the meat is really juicy & the skin is crisply brown just the way I like it. Usually I cook for myself & my daughter, so this countertop size is just right… I’ll be saving money, and not wasting energy. That feels good.

NuWave Oven has a recipe booklet included. It states that because of the new technology they developed, this convection/conduction/infrared oven  will broil, roast, steam, bake, barbeque, and actually fry…. you use much less oil for it all, making everything healthier!

Anyone have any cooking experience or tips for this?

Janet