Works-For-Me Wednesday: Food Service Film

When I worked for a catering company several years ago, I got hooked on food service film wrap. This stuff is great. Its 18-inch width easily covers almost any dish or pan I have, including half-sheet pans and hotel (steam table) pans. Its 3000-ft. length means I won’t soon run out.

(why yes, those are Halloween treats in the background;
I've been strategically holding onto this post until just the right time)

One roll this size costs about $16 at the warehouse clubs and will last, on average, for more than three years of generous use. And I do mean generous; I’m not frugal with this stuff. I have learned from catering that wrapping once over the top of the bowl is just not enough, especially if the dish will be transported or frozen. I don’t transport much food, but I do freeze a lot of food, both raw and cooked. I pull out a length of film, set my dish in the middle, then bring the film over to the top. I double-wrap everything that will be transported or frozen when I use this film, .

The food service film clings to dishes and pans (and itself) without fail. A lot of small-roll plastic wraps I’ve tried just don’t stick and end up being a waste of money.

The one drawback is finding a place to store such a big roll. Before we moved to this house, I had to keep it on top of the fridge. It wasn’t very attractive, but I was willing to pay that price to have it handy. Here, we just happen to have a cabinet that’s ideal for keeping it handy, yet out view.

A tip for using this film: Some boxes come with a slide-across cutter. If yours doesn't, pull out the length of film you need, grasp the film at both sides near the cutting blade, then pull down and toward the center with both hands. Works like a charm.

Food service film works for me.

Works For Me Wednesday: Easier Mornings

Just a quick tip for this Works-For-Me Wednesday. School's out for a snow day today and there are cookies to bake!

When I bring Kat's clothing up from the dryer, I pair tops with pants or skirts and I hang them in her closet in complete outfits. If she wants to make changes at the last minute, it's easy enough to do so, but most mornings we just grab the next outfit in line and we're good to go. It really makes things simpler on busy mornings (and face it, what mornings aren't?).

BTW, this idea works well for older kids and adults, too.

You can find other WFMW tips at Rocks In My Dryer.

Works-For-Me Wednesday: Freezer Organization

Our deep freeze has proven to be a valuable tool for us. By stocking up on meats, frozen fruits and vegetables, and other foods when they are on sale, we’re able to “shop” the freezer at a moments notice, saving both time and money.

We’ve had a chest-type freezer for the last 12 years. Chest-types are arguably more efficient than uprights, and I find the flat surface of the lid very useful as a work surface from time to time.

The one drawback to chest freezers, and perhaps the biggest complaint I hear from others, is that it’s difficult to find what you need in them. No one likes to dig around to find what they’re looking for.

My solution to that problem has been to buy inexpensive clear plastic totes to sort foods into. I buy the Sterilite totes that are sometimes called sweater boxes. They are approximately 12 inches wide by 18 inches long. I use several of these in my freezer. I store bags of veggies in one, beef cuts in another, pork cuts in a third, chicken in a forth, and so on. When I can, I keep the lids on them so they stack better, but even without lids, they stack fairly well when they are full of food.

While I still have to shift the totes around to find what I’m looking for, it beats having to pile up individual items, hoping they don’t tumble like an avalanche before I find that package of chicken in the bottom of the freezer.

In my small over-the-fridge freezer, I use smaller shoebox sized clear totes. These are great for storing open bags of veggies, small packages like hot dogs, cans of juice, etc. I just pull the box out like a drawer, get what I need, and push it back in. The freezer stays nice and neat.

I don’t know much about upright freezers. I guess they stay a little more organized by design, but I suspect a few small totes in those might be useful, too.

For more helpful WFMW tips, head on over to Rocks In My Dryer.

My First Works-For-Me-Wednesday: ScotchGard

Now, I know a few people who probably think ScotchGard is lock on the liquor cabinet. But no, I'm talking about the fabric protector used to protect against stains. We use it on all kinds of things around the house. This stuff:


My favorite use for ScotchGard is to spray it on our tennis shoes (the kind with both leather and nylon mesh) before we wear them and after each washing. It won't keep them looking brand new, but it does keep them looking nice a lot longer.

If we buy upholstered furniture (new or just new-to-us), I spray it with ScotchGard. If you have kids in the house, it's almost a must.

Shane and I even applied ScotchGard to the entire interior of our van just after we bought it. If we have spills, they bead up instead of soaking in and can be easily wiped away. The dealership "offered" to do it for us for several hundred dollars. We were able to do it ourselves for about $50. The protection has lasted 2-1/2 years so far; we'll probably Scotchgard it again in a few months just to keep it protected.

I use ScotchGard on (some) clothing items, mattresses, backpacks and just about anything that could use extra stain protection.

As usual, I don't get paid for any products I recommend on this blog. I'm just passing the word along about a product that works for me.

Want more great tips? Check out more Works-For-Me Wednesday ideas at Rocks In My Dryer.