Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Works For Me Wednesday: Thermos Flask

If you have one of those amazing wall mounted heaters that heats water to boiling in an instant or a coffee maker that does the same for you, all this won’t apply to you, but I use a kettle for boiling up water for tea and coffee. I have gone through two electric kettles in less than four years (a long and frustrating story – is nothing made to last anymore?) and so we have recently invested in the kind that sits on the gas ring and shrieks at you when the water is ready. It is enamelled steel, designed to last decades, red, glossy and to my mind a thing of domestic beauty. Its one drawback is that it takes an age to boil and we mothers have to grab our coffee when we can. Added to that it has no gauge and I find it hard to boil only the water I need for the purpose, wasting time and energy. So I adopted a trick from an elderly and very frugal friend. I fill up the kettle, let it boil, use what I want at the time and pour the rest into a large Thermos flask. I do it in the morning, for that last cup of tea before Rob leaves for work and the water sees me through the day. It is instantly available should I have need for a coffee or tea and I save on the fuel bill.

For more Works For Me Wednesday tips visit Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer

2 comments:

Amy Jane (Untangling Tales) said...

My MIL does this-- she has one of those gushy-top thermoses, you know, the kind where you push the big button on the top to pump stuff out.

My FIL gets his coffee all through the day like that. I'd never thought to try it with just hot water...

ellen b. said...

That's not only frugal but a time saver, too.
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