José from Waimate is a regular contributor of oily rag tips, and has lots more to share: Use sea sponges that wash up on the beach to clean pots and pans. Being rough in texture they remove scraps but do not scratch the surface of the pots. Recycle bike chains as hinges for gates and […]
Thrifty from Christchurch writes, “To get a head start on winter, I started collecting pine cones in December from local parks and public places where there are pine trees. The best time to go collecting is after a Northwester, as hundreds of cones are blown off the trees. I have 12 large sackfuls so far […]
John has written in with his “recipe” for making a perfect oily rag fire in a freestanding wood burning heater. “It all starts with junk mail. Use the newsprint type as the glossy paper does not burn so well. Next add dead cabbage tree leaves – the one’s that wrap around your mower blades and […]
Anita says she loves winter fires. “We use our freestanding wood fire to slow-cook winter meals in our cast iron pot. The bonus is we save on electricity, and we have ash from the stove to put on the garden”. Using wood ash is a very good oily rag trick. Spreading ash onto plants gives […]
For a fire starter, I take a few leaves, fold them over and wrap them around to form a tights bundle. It’s excellent kindling. [Another reader uses the dried stalks from the flax flower as kindling. It’s light like balsa wood and very easy to burn. – Oily Rag Ed’]
Collect the dead brown cabbage tree leaves and tie them in a bundle with one of its own leaves – they make excellent kindling for your fire.
Save old dried out tea bags – put in jar and cover with methylated spirits – great fire starters. [Yes, that does work well. You don’t need a lot of meths. Enough so each bag is damp, not dripping. – Oily Eag Ed’]
When dried orange peel make excellent fire starters.
I have found that cutting the corners off the bottom of an empty one litre milk carton and packing in wet newspaper makes wonderful compressed fire bricks. As the carton fiills I make holes in the sides to allow the water to escape. Compress the wet paper into the carton. These paper bricks last about […]
A Masterton reader has a good idea for the leaves shed by cabbage trees. Use the dry leaves as fire starters or in your garden as plant ties.