Kitchen Deals -> Dinnerware

There seems to be little difference between hard wood and plastic cutting boards from a safety standpoint, as long as they are properly washed and sanitized after each use. Personally, I like the feel of solid wood. One piece of advice--buy large cutting boards. Don't bother with these tiny boards that everyone seems to have in his or her kitchen. They are not user friendly. Once you get down to serious cutting or chopping, the small boards are always woefully inadequate and downright maddening!

Many still consider a whip as a "gourmet" piece of kitchen equipment. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is as essential as a kitchen stove and should be in everyone's kitchen. Nothing works better for mixing a multitude of different preparations or for making sauces or gravy. Buy a solid stainless steel whip with moderately stiff wires. Very thin wires are for mixing delicate things like egg whites or whipped cream. Very thick, solid wires are for mixing stiff dough.

About 80 percent to 85 percent of the energy used for washing clothes is for heating the water. There are two ways to reduce the amount of energy used for washing clothes - use less water and use cooler water. Unless you're dealing with oily stains, the warm or cold water setting on your machine will generally do a good job of cleaning your clothes. Switching your temperature setting from hot to warm can cut a load's energy use in half.