Pioneer Woman at Heart

One Flourishing, Frugal and Fun Family!

One family learning to live off the land, cut back on expenses, and to live a simpler and a more self-sufficient lifestyle.

Adopted Motto

"Eat it up,
Wear it out,
Make it do,
Or go without."
~A Pioneer Sampler, by Barbara Greenwood~

Saturday, February 11, 2023

Homemade Spray Oil ~ Kitchen "events" ~ Costs of Propane vs. Electric Base Board Heat

Many years ago, I bought a bottle from either Pampered Chef or Tupperware, that allowed me to spray oil into pans etc.  However, it clogged up, and never worked even after cleaning.  It was many years ago.  I also believe with that container, you added only oil (vs. a mix of oil and water).



I decided to look into making spray oil myself.  I have been buying organic spray, as it's just the two of us.  I have noticed though, the spray cans hold very little, run out quickly and are costly.  They also create trash.


I purchased amber glass spray bottle online, and made my own. 1 part a good quality olive oil (or oil of your choice) to 5 parts water.  So simple, saves us money.  Also, no added ingredients.  Just shake it up and spray.  Oh, the bottles I bought have a sprayer with a "mist" option (bought on Amazon).

Do you have a tip to save money in the kitchen?  I will be giving an update on using this homemade spray oil, after using it for a few weeks.


Crocheting has been temporarily paused, due to a catastrophic event with my mug of hot tea.  Sigh.  I had to take out the color of yarn I was adding, fasten off, and literally wash the blanket.  I also had to change clothes, and wash my slippers.  Oye, by husband got a hoot out of that as he walked in from work.  

However, he also burned the grilled sandwiches on the stove.  Not his fault either.  We not have a problem with one burner on our stove (over heating).  The burner is fully hot red with the knob on 2.  Not what we needed right now.

If we can't a new panel that controls the knob to the burner, we'll be looking (gulp) for a new stove.  It's the burner I can with as well.  It is not the burner itself, but the controls sent from the knob, that is connected to that specific burner.  Just another "fix-it" to the list (or replace).


Update on using propane heat in the main  part of the downstairs vs. electric baseboard (or wood stove back up).  We turned the new heat source on back on Dec. 23rd, but had no heat in there for that entire month, using camper heaters to work in there (installing flooring and painting).

The last electric bill was high due to using the heaters (will invest in a specific portable heater for future winter projects).  Anyway, the electric bill arrived yesterday, and this time it was $156.00 lower than the previous month.  We are considering adding a smaller propane heater now in the other lower half of the house.  By doing this, it turns off all electric heat downstairs, and will save us even more money.  It is a drier heat (I run cool mist humidifiers), but I have to say, I do NOT miss hauling wood all winter long.

We have the highest electric in the county.  We are unable to switch that source due to location.  I think spring would be a great time to snag a good price on a smaller wall heater as well.  It's on the list now.

4 comments:

Cindy said...

K,
15 years ago we lived at a different house that had an electric stove. i can every year quite a bit. After living at that house for about 3 years, my burner the one i used to can on the most, went bad. i switched burners with my heavy canner to a different burner and it eventually went bad. We finally bit the bullet, and purchased a new gas stove and had propane installed. Much better. i love cooking on a gas burning stove.
Then we moved to our new home. It had an electric stove. Once again, after canning--within two years, my element on the electric stove i used to can on went bad.
We AGAIN changed everything out for a gas stove.
Electric stoves don't like heavy canners!
Ugh!!!!!

Leigh said...

My stove has the same problem! Well, almost. If I set the burner on high (for canning) it doesn't turn down. I have to turn it off and turn it on again to a lower temperature. Not good for canning though. I hadn't thought about the control panel. I'll stay tuned to see how it goes for you!

I love the idea of a DIY oil sprayer. You are so right about the purchased ones. It's a handy product, but they seem to put less and less in the same size can. And then it has to be thrown away. Lose-lose.

We have found those small radiator-like space heaters to be very good. They're still electric, but they only heat the area you want and are easy to adjust or unplug when not needed.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Cindy, we actually talked about switching it to gas, but we have no crawl space, and the kitchen floor was already ripped up and replaced last year. The best time to install is when the flooring was up, and now we are stuck with electric.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Leigh, I replaced this stove about 5-6 years ago I think, and I wish we could switch to gas, but the floors have already been ripped up and replaced. We ran the gas lines in the living room when the floor was out. No crawl space, so that is an issue. I dunno. We love the propane heaters we put in last December. They only turn on when needed, and much warmer and cheaper to run. We will have to pre-purchase more propane this coming fall. I'll update on the stove soon.