799

I have a bad habit of buying a magazine when I’m standing in the checkout line. I don’t know how I lived before Real Simple. Love that magazine. Well, this evening I stopped into the store to grab a rotisserie chicken and grapes so that I could make some chicken salad. Lazy? Perhaps. But I wanted chicken salad and didn’t feel like cooking chicken. Plus, $5.99 for a whole cooked chicken isn’t that bad. I would spend at least that much on a package of chicken breasts. But I digress. I ended up doing some actual shopping, so I had to go to a real checkout line. I spotted a Real Simple that I hadn’t read, so I grabbed it. I was super excited, because I love the section that gives you new uses for everyday items and it appeared that this particular issue was full of them. Some of the ones I’ve tried (or wanted to try) from the past:

· - Wire hanger as ribbon holder (unroll the hanger and put the rolls of ribbon on, then put hanger back together)

· - Big smooth stones as bookends

· - Tissue box as plastic bag dispenser

· - Wine rack as magazine storage (roll them up and put them in the spots for the wine – so cute!)

· - Ketchup bottle as pancake dispenser ( I don’t make pancakes that often, but next time I do you better believe I am trying this! I think I will also try it for frosting one of these days. Oh – and not a real ketchup bottle… one of those red ones that come in a BBQ set.)

(I seriously jot them down as I read the magazines and keep all my little notes in a place where I can go back and read them.) So anyway, this magazine I picked up was titled 799 new uses for old things. I didn’t really pay any attention to it, just threw it on top of the toilet paper and checked out. The total price seemed a bit high, but I just swiped my debit card and went on my way. After dinner, (in an attempt to avoid doing homework,) I thought I’d look through a couple of pages of the magazine. It was then that I realized that the cover was thick and not the regular magazine style. I flipped it open and realized that this is more like a book! I also looked to see how much I paid for it…. $13.99! Oops. Oh well, I figure I’ll save money on all the household items I re-purpose. Don’t mind me. I’ll just be lighting hard to reach candle wicks with spaghetti noodles and placing paper plates in between china to prevent chips.