Haha, I am so not a good person to ask! We (still) don't have a funnel, and use the rolled paper method a lot.

Slow news day?

If you are using (wasting) foil and parchment, you're not being thrifty.

I wouldn't say thrifty or silly, but very clever! I can't wait to try this. And you know what, no clean up, more sanitary. Thanks for the tip.

For years I resisted owning a microwave. There wasn't a whole lot I couldn't heat up on the stove and I didn't want the darned thing taking up valuable counter space. One day it dawned on me how much coffee I was wasting by constantly making a new pot rather than reheating what was left in the French press when I needed a quick fix, so I started warming the brew in a mug, set on top of a metal cookie cutter inside of a small saucepan full of boiling water on the stove. Not only was this method terribly inefficient, it was also quite comic. A few days later someone offered me a free microwave and I accepted it gratefully.

Funny, my microwave broke about 4 years ago, and I decided to experiment to see if I really needed one, and I haven't missed it once. I'd much rather have the extra counter space!

I spent a buck to get 3 funnels. One I've marked as No Food which I use for cleaning supplies, the others for various drinks.

The one I use for cleaning supplies get the most use by far, usually for moving the last bit of liquid from one cleaning bottle to the newly purchased bottle and making my own watered-down versions of cleaning supplies.

I don't see how using some scrap paper would be a good option. I never have to worry about spilling (and wasting) cleaning supplies.

Odd, but I've never even thought to owning a funnel. I've always just held my hand steady as I've poured from one bottle/jar to the next. Now, of course, I'm going to start wanting one.

I'm like you, Tess,...I put off buying just about everything. I want a minimal kitchen. My husband is the opposite...he wants every doodad that comes along. He eventually has gotten his way on a number of kitchen tools only to not use them, and often enough *I'm* the one that takes them over, wondering why I didn't want one in the first place! That's the story behind our microwave, stand-mixer, (now gone and dearly missed) bread-machine, stick blender, ice cream maker. I've learned now to loosen up a bit and the past few years have seen me buy a pressure cooker and rice cooker, both of which are completely worth the $ and space...to me altho maybe not to others.

BTW, I have funnels but rarely use them...I go with the steady-hand method.

I have never owned a funnel and I doubt I ever will even if someone offers me one. I use paper too, but I use scrap paper so I'm not wasting.

I use a designated clean, empty wine bottle as a rolling pin. It doesn't roll out a very even crust but I keep forgetting to get a proper one.

Also done without: a real can opener, pie pans, "roasting rack" (I use peeled carrots in my pan), food processor (used to make hummus w/mortar and pestle, ouch), a full set of measuring cups...basically I've used every substitution being an avid cook on a college budget.

This is hilarious (and eerie) as this past week I said to myself (as I was transfering spices from a packet to a jar) 'I should get a funnel!' Lol. I never even thought of using paper. x

I guess you don't really need a funnel if you live in a tiny apartment. Those of us who shop at Costco need a way to pour the olive oil, soy sauce, and detergent, from big bottles into little, manageable ones. I think this is a greener option. But, if you live in a small place, you have to buy everything in small containers anyway.

I have been doing without a funnel as well. I had no idea people were so much like me, refusing to buy a funnel.

I want to find one with an excellent print on it. Not just an ugly plain one.

I don't own a funnel. But I recently broke down and bought some essentials we were living without. Ice cube trays were one of these things- i kept thinking it was wasteful to buy them but then i realized if i am careful these trays can last forever. In addition, we asked for a nice set of knives for christmas. Boy does it make a difference not to be cutting everything with dull steak knives from a thrift store!

www.oflifeslemons.blogspot.com

I agree with SarahLemon - if you pick your kitchen gadgets carefully for reasonable quality and take care of them they can last you a lifetime. I do realize that there are a lot of silly kitchen gadgets out there that most people can live without, but I do think there is a large class of time-tested kitchen utensils that are truly useful and make working in the kitchen more safe and less labor intensive. I think that is the point of almost any kind of tool - to do a specific task well, consistently, safely and without a lot of extra effort.

(In the interests of full disclosure, I'll admit that I put off purchasing a funnel for years. I did buy a set a while back and although I don't use them every day, they do come in handy when I need them so I don't regret the purchase).

I think this falls into the over-buyer/under-buyer post a while back.

It's Type A or Type B personality thing.

Creative types end up not buying these things for eons, not out of laziness, but because we come up with a solution that works well enough in that moment, and then turn our thoughts to something else and forget about it until we find ourselves in another moment of need.

Practical, achievement junky types are not really satisfied with a job that's not 100% perfect, so they make sure to have the tools they need to do the job right.

Thank goodness both types exist! I myself will do ridiculous things like tie a broken bedframe together with scraps of eyelet until the mattress unceremoniously falls through to the floor during a sexy moment. Because I do it as a "temporary" fix, then find my "solution" pretty. Thankfully, my boyfriend is a Type A, so he will give me the look...and I know it's time.

; )

You're not being thrifty, you're being cheap. You can get a 3 pack for a dollar.

I bought a funnel and I hate it. I had bought a big can of olive oil and needed to pour it in the regular size bottle. It is impossible to store and I can't seem to get it clean. I wish I had thought about using a piece of parchment paper.

I have a small kitchen so I have to be careful with what I buy as I'm fast running out of space. One of my favourite things is my stick blender. It's small and will make anything from hummus and smoothies in the tall slim bowl to soup straight in the pot - it even delumps the gravy when the flour won't play ball. When I moved out on my own I got my kitchen set up with equal parts inherited and new cheap stuff so I have all the basics which brings the resistance to spend money to replace things that aren't really broken into the picture. I have however found the funnel I would get IF I had to buy a new one. It's really cool and spacesaving because it's collapsible and can be kept in a drawer (and it also comes as a strainer) Have a look http://www.shop.normann-copenhagen.com/products-funnel-(00204).aspx I dare you not to think it's cool :)

@MAR24: seriously? A washed funnel isn't "sanitary" enough for you? A) The world is not sanitary. B) It also doesn't have unlimited resources. Jesus. Yes, let's all chuck our durable goods for disposable stuff, like the Kleenex people now making "disposable hand towels" so you don't have to dry your clean hands on something that previously dried other clean hands. I quit.

Wish I would have thought about this the other day when I needed a funnel!

Not thrifty, just wasteful and that's silly.

A little bit more $, but a collapsible funnel is the way to go. Easy to store.
I bought mine because I was tired of burning myself while canning.
Though, still no ice cube trays. We just put an inch or two of water in a glass and stick it in the freezer. Ice + a frosted glass.

Sounds like you've got a case of funnel vision.

I rarely ever need a funnel, so I make do with other things as well. (Once I cut the botton from a bottle of water -- my partner drinks the slightly flavored seltzer -- and that worked great, then it went into the recycling as usual.)

If you own one you have to store it. (If things change so I need one often, I gues I will buy one then.) Meanwhile, I'm trying to store less and use what I have more efficiently. (My fridge has an icemaker, so no trays.)

I do need a strainer, and I put a hook inside a cupboard door to hold it. (It fits into the negative space left by bowls and things in that cupboard.) Storage of gadgets is a big issue!