Money Saving Wednesday..Coffee Filters

I know it’s Thursday but my internet has been down for the last day and a half so I am hoping I can slip this post in before I loss it again. I purchase coffee filters at the dollar store and use them for lots and lots of things around my home. They are much cheaper than paper towels and are lint free so they work great for times when you want to avoid lint. The following are a few ideas for uses around the kitchen.

Use coffee filters as little serving dishes for cookies, popcorn, chips, no bowls to wash. Cheaper than paper towels or napkins.

Place under individual servings of desserts or fruit when serving a buffet. They make it easy to pick up a serving to eat in your hands or place on a plate.

Use to absorb grease from bacon instead of paper towel.

Wrap tacos or sandwiches to catch all those little bits and juices!

Push the stick of a Popsicle through a coffee filter to catch the drips.

Wrap around whole pickles or slices of melon or other fruits to prevent drips.

When making a soup or stew. Place herbs in the center of a filter. Tie with a string and you can easily remove the herb bag when the cooking is done.

Place mint into the center of a filter and use to flavor iced teas or lemonade.

If you use loose teas, place in center of a filter, tie and brew.

Cover bowls or dishes when cooking in the microwave.

When “baking” potatoes in the microwave, poke the potato and then wrap it in a wet filter. It will keep the skin soft and the texture will be much more like an oven baked potato.

Place a coffee filter in a cast iron skillet to absorb moisture and prevent rust.

To reuse frying oil strain through a sieve lined with a coffee filter. It removes all the little food particles.

Place on a kitchen scale when weighing foods.

There are many, many other uses but this is a start. When purchasing coffee filters at a dollar store they are only a penny a piece…pretty frugal!

2 Responses to “Money Saving Wednesday..Coffee Filters”

1. Julie says:

   September 24, 2009 at 11:16 pm

   Who knew? Thanks for the tips.
2. Diane Weatherford says:

   September 24, 2009 at 11:21 pm

   We use a perk coffee maker and the coffee we buy comes with filters, so we often use the filters for other things. I hadn’t thought about using them for the ‘bouquet garni’ in soup or stew, however.

   We mostly use them like paper plates for sandwiches and breakfast items. Our other favorite use is to fold them in half several times and cut them into snowflakes for winter decorations!