Heritage Hints From Mama: Uses For Waxed Paper
I’m excited to have my Mama with us today! She has a lot of wisdom to share. Be sure and click on some of her other posts at the bottom after you read this one 🙂
Gratefully,
Christy
Hello Everyone!
My name is Janice, better known as Mama. You are welcome to adopt me as your go to Mama and I’ll attempt to answer any of your questions. I will be here to pass on my years of learning by trial and error. Today I thought I would pass on some of the many uses for wax paper.
Now some of you young people may not have a roll of wax paper in your kitchen but I am from a different generation who used it to wrap sandwiches. You see we did not have all sizes of zipper bags: snack size, sandwich size and now even large sizes for storing bedspreads and the like. We used wax paper primarily to wrap sandwiches for our lunches. Over the years, I have found a few different uses for wax paper.
One of my favorite uses is to put it under batters to catch the drips. I use a batter bowl to mix up pancake batter. The bowl has a lip on it so that you can pour the batter into the pan. After you pour the batter, there is always a little that drips from the lip onto the counter. If you wait to wipe it up, it becomes similar to concrete and takes a lot of scrubbing to get it up. Just put a small piece of wax paper on the counter underneath the bowl and you don’t have to worry about the drips. Just wad it up and throw it away when you clean up.
I also slice tomatoes and potatoes over a piece of wax paper and then just gather it up with the peelings still on it and throw it away. It saves having to mess up a bowl or messing up the counter with the peelings (Those thin plastic grocery store bags are good for this as well).
If you are icing a cake, cut three small pieces and slide them underneath the edges. After you finish icing the cake, slowly pull them out and the cake plate will be clean as a whistle. (By the way, who knows how clean a whistle is? I’ve always wondered about that!)
I have another wonderful use of wax paper that saves having to get up on a stool or ladder to clean the tops of your cabinets. If your cabinets do not go all the way to the ceiling, cut a long piece of wax paper to lay on the top of the cabinets. My cabinets are a little narrower than the wax paper. I just cut the length and then fold about an inch under and lay it on top of the cabinets. If you want to display things on top of the cabinets, just set them on top of the wax paper. When you get ready to clean the top of your cabinets, just roll the wax paper up, throw it away and cut another piece to fit. It sure cuts down the time that you would usually spend cleaning the greasy cabinet tops! Ideally, you should probably change the wax paper every three months or so but I promise I will not drop in to see if you want to do it once a year. No one will know but you.
Now, in closing, I’ll leave you with a tip that most of you probably know. I just discovered it last year and it has made a real difference! Most rolls of wax paper, aluminum foil and plastic wrap have a tab on each end of the box that you can push in. It keeps the roll from falling out of the box when you are rolling the product out to cut it. I guess if I had time to read the boxes, I would have known this sooner. Oh well, at least I found out about it before I turned seventy! You see there is a bright side to everything!
Let me know if you have other uses for wax paper or if you discover a time saver for the home. We’re all here to learn together. I’m sure everyone would love a few timesavers and shortcuts.
In the meantime, I need your help. Is there anything in particular you’d like me to write about? I enjoy visiting with y’all but I want to share useful information that you’ll enjoy so your ideas are welcome! Please share them in the comments along with any other great ideas for waxed paper uses. We’d love to hear them!
Take care and remember Mama loves you!
~Mama
You can some read other Heritage Hints From Mama By visiting the links below:Â
I use wax paper with a little salt on it to “slick up” my iron in between using that faultless iron cleaner. I must confess to owning an old non-steam iron that runs rings around my newer Rowenta! Just tear off a little wax paper, sprinkle some salt on it, put in on an old towel or something to protect your ironing board, and run your hot iron over the salt on your waxed paper. My mama taught me that and it cleans starch off real well. Run your iron over your towel real good to take off any excess wax and salt. (I don’t know how this works on steam irons, though.)
I do the same thing. It really cleans the iron.
It’s the absolute best thing to pour your no bake cookies on so they can cool. They peel right off, perfect every time.
Amen! I do the same thing! 🙂
Great tips, Mama! Many of these had me saying, “Now why didn’t I think of that!?” Thank you! 🙂
Hello Christy and mama,
First, you girls look just alike. That apple didn’t fall far from your tree mama.
It was a pleasure to hear all your uses for wax paper. I’m old fashion myself and have wax paper in my kitchen also. It comes in handy with those sandwiches, hotdogs, or hamburgers. When you have bread that is a little firm (kids don’t always close bread up good at times), just put a really hot wiener or burger in the bun, wrap in wax paper and the steam makes the bread soft and yummy. Thanks for your comments today and I look forward to hearing all your good kitchen advice.
Blessings,
LaJoyce
When my cookies come out of the oven, I allow them to cool briefly on the cookie tin. Then, I transfer them over to a piece of wax paper. Easy clean up and no mess after I put them on the cookie plate!
When I make bread dough in my Cuisinart mixer, the bowl would get so tight I could hardly get it off the stand. Now I fold 1 foot square piece of wax paper in quarters and put it under the bowl in the stand. Now it is easy to remove the bowl!
great idea!!!
Love this idea because I have the same problem with my Kitchen Aid when I use it for making bread dough. I had to call my husband last time to help get the bowl off the stand. Thanks!
I put chicken between two pieces of wax paper and use my rolling pin to pound the life out it to make it cook quicker! the wax paper makes for a quick and easy clean up. I grate cheese over wax paper. Tthen I can just fold it and “funnel” the cheese into a baggie. But I have to admit, if I am going to be storing grated cheese for any length of time. I actually gather the grated chese in the middle of the wax paper and wrap it up in the paper before putting in a baggie. It seems to keep longer. My parents live in a nursing home so I am constantly ironing labels into their clothing. I put a piece of wax paper over the adhesive iron on label and then iron so the “glue” won’t get on my iron. How do people live without wax paper? Its cheap and makes clean ups a snap!