Go Go Gadget Timesavers

In honor of labor day & saving my labor, I've decided to re post an entry I did months ago on my other blog, Come On Get Happy. That and a friend just asked for the link to the peanut butter mixer, it's back to school time, it all just made sense to me!

So - here it is - Go Go Gadget Timesavers!

As you may know, I’ve written a book on home organization, 30 Days to an Organized Home. In the book I talk a lot about paring down the amount of stuff you have in your kitchen. One sharp knife can take the place of many useless gadgets. And take up less space also. But every once in a while, I’m proven wrong. (Yes, it happens, and more often than I would like!)

While making lunch today I reached into my drawer and pulled out one kitchen gadget I can’t live without. And what is it? Well, picture this – you are about to make some PB & J sandwiches and you reach for a new jar of peanut butter. We buy natural peanut butter, (click here if you want to see why)  and it separates. That means the oil rises to the top, like it should when your peanut butter isn’t full of junk like hydrogenated oils and sugar. That’s good for you and your family’s health, but bad for you at this exact moment because what was going to be an easy, quick-lunch has just become a process. And a process takes time. Which you do not want to spend on peanut butter. No matter how good it may be in the long run for your family, Right now,in the short run, it’s bad for you. So what do you do? Well, you have two choices -

1.  pull out a butter knife and start stirring that oil back into the peanut butter. This, as you may know, is a messy and long job. The oil splashes out, the peanut butter is still hard. And you keep stirring and stirring and you’re not sure if your effort is having any effect on the peanut butter.
2. or – just stick that jar back on the shelf, make ham sandwiches for lunch and next time you are at the store, buy a brand name peanut butter that is already smooth and creamy (and full of sugar and other yucky stuff).

Now you have a third choice. What if there was a gadget that was inexpensive and easy to clean that stirred oil into peanut butter with no muss or fuss? Well, there is! It’s called Grandpa Witmer’s Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Mixer – and it works great. In fact, the kids even like to crank it. (Free help for you!) Basically, it’s a lid that fits onto your peanut butter jar and has a metal crank going through it. You easily turn the crank and the peanut butter gets mixed. When done, just pull the crank out,  (the lid squeegee off the peanut butter) and wash it. Make the sandwiches, put the jar into the fridge, and it’s good to go until next time. You don’t need to restir it every time, you only need to stir the new jar. The oil stays mixed in the fridge.

Here’s the link for the peanut butter mixer. (And no, I don’t get anything if you order it, just mention you saw it here!) It comes in all different sizes, so know what size your jar is beforehand.

My other favorite gadget is my pineapple corer. This nifty device lets you remove the pineapple from the rind in one easy twisting motion. And you never have to cut off the black “eyes” that are left behind when you cut the rind off in the usual way with a knife.. And you are left with a cool pineapple shell for a pina colada for you!

That’s it for now….I’m going to go have some peanut butter on crackers.

 be organized.....evelyn