Rules of thumb?

[Laura Corin]

The one I just used was - half a cup of dry barley is plenty to add to a soup or stew, otherwise it will turn into porridge.

What are yours? They don't have to be culinary.

[fairfarmhand]

Never never never go out to the barn to do "just 'this one minor thing" in good clothing or nice shoes. 

Guaranteed, every time you will step in crap, hang your clothing on a piece of barbed wire, or have to chase some animal through the mud. You WILL ruin your nice stuff. 

 

[Amethyst]

1 + 2 = 3  (Making rice. Uncooked rice/water/resulting cooked rice)

[Farrar]

The project will always take 2 x the amount of time the contractor says + a day for small jobs or a week for big ones.

[PeterPan]

If I'm annoyed, shut up.

[mommyoffive]

Just now, PeterPan said:

If I'm annoyed, shut up.

Ok, I am stealing that for my new rule of thumb.

[hippymamato3]

7 minutes ago, PeterPan said:

If I'm annoyed, shut up.

I need this one hung around my neck. 

 

[Tanaqui]

1. It always takes longer than you think, even if you take that into consideration.

2. It always costs more than you think, even if you take that into consideration.

3. If you're wondering if you should eat this, the answer is no. If you're wondering if you should go to the doctor/hire a professional, the answer is yes.

[JennyD]

Never pass up an opportunity to use a bathroom.  

[Bootsie]

If something is growing at 7%, it will take about 10 periods to double in size; If something is growing at 10%, it will take about 7 periods to double in size--populations, savings, home prices, virus cases...

[Condessa]

3,3,6,13—my favorite bread recipe.  It stands for 3T salt, 3T yeast, 6 cups water, 13 cups flour.  I might make anything from 1/3 of this for a single loaf with dinner up to double this as dough in a huge Tupperware in my fridge, and then I can cut off chunks, shape, let them second rise and cook to go with meals for a couple of weeks.  Tastes like an Italian bread when the dough is fresh made, but develops an increasing sourdough flavor the longer it’s in the fridge.

[Spy Car]

Deciding to take the "Old Goat Road" in the middle of nowhere during a blizzard might not be the wisest of all decisions.

Bill

 

[Resilient]

The 80/20 rule.  80% of the work is done by 20% of the people in any org.  80% of the income comes from 20% of the people.  80% of the beer is drunk by 20% of beer buyers. It's not always spot on but it is a good rule of thumb.

[Spy Car]

5 minutes ago, Resilient said:

The 80/20 rule.  80% of the work is done by 20% of the people in any org.  80% of the income comes from 20% of the people.  80% of the beer is drunk by 20% of beer buyers. It's not always spot on but it is a good rule of thumb.

Then there's the 90/10 rule.

Doing the initial 90% of the work takes 90% of the time, the remaining 10% of the work takes the other 90% of the time  

Bill 

[Laura Corin]

5 minutes ago, Dreamergal said:

The difference between having a schedule vs a routine. 

I like the new flowery you!

[Junie]

Always have a Plan B.

Always have a comfortable pair of shoes.

[fairfarmhand]

Also: when the weather gets bad and there’s a tornado watch, put everyone’s  shoes in your safe place. Ours is a windowless bathroom in the middle of the house. I have an overactive imagination anc the idea of stepping out of that bathroom barefoot into shattered windows and such if a tornado hit our home made me think of this. I know we could make it to the bathroom in time if we’re not looking for shoes.

[KungFuPanda]

5 hours ago, Laura Corin said:

The one I just used was - half a cup of dry barley is plenty to add to a soup or stew, otherwise it will turn into porridge.

What are yours? They don't have to be culinary.

In this vein . . . cook rice separately and add it to chicken soup or gumbo when serving so it doesn't gum up the soup.

Continuing with the rice theme . . . When you make rice always make 3-4 cups extra for the fridge because you're GOING to want fried rice some time this week.

Edited April 26, 2021 by KungFuPanda

[KungFuPanda]

Don't talk to me if I'm driving in "the city."  This goes for D.C. or Baltimore.

[teachermom2834]

21 minutes ago, fairfarmhand said:

Also: when the weather gets bad and there’s a tornado watch, put everyone’s  shoes in your safe place. Ours is a windowless bathroom in the middle of the house. I have an overactive imagination anc the idea of stepping out of that bathroom barefoot into shattered windows and such if a tornado hit our home made me think of this. I know we could make it to the bathroom in time if we’re not looking for shoes.

Learned this one from experience. When my youngest two were 6 and 3 they were playing in the basement when a storm popped up and a tree was dropped on our roof. I wanted to take them and get them out of the house and they had no shoes and there was debris all over the place. From then on everytime we would take cover or prep for a storm “grab your shoes” is the first instruction. The kids don’t remember the original situation but they do remember their mother being a crazy person about shoes. 

Edited April 26, 2021 by teachermom2834

[JenneinCA]

You always have time to grab a jacket and put on your shoes when the fire alarm goes off.  I learned this one in upstate New York in winter in the freshman dorms.  It took a long time for the fire department to arrive and shut off the alarm.  It was very very cold outside.

[Carol in Cal.]

Never fill in the ‘send to’ part of an angry email.

Never ever even remotely believe a schedule given to you by a contractor, a lawyer, or a husband.

Homemade fresh salad dressing is easy and fast and worth it.  Just about every time.  Except Roquefort dressing, which is great stored in the fridge for a while, and my grandmother’s cousin’s red French dressing, which keeps forever in the fridge and is strangely always good.  

Build margin into your life whenever possible.  And then share it as opportunity arises.  You’re a preparer, not a hoarder.

Edited April 26, 2021 by Carol in Cal.

[Spy Car]

Rule of thumb (also grain related)

Pour rice in pan. Level with a series of quick shakes. Push index finger through rice to bottom of pot. Mark depth of rice by fixing thumb against index finger.

Then, while keeping thumb fixed in position relative to finger, raise finger from bottom of rice to the top of the rice. Fill pot with water until it reaches thumb.

Rule of thumb

Bill

[Ausmumof3]

8 hours ago, fairfarmhand said:

Never never never go out to the barn to do "just 'this one minor thing" in good clothing or nice shoes. 

Guaranteed, every time you will step in crap, hang your clothing on a piece of barbed wire, or have to chase some animal through the mud. You WILL ruin your nice stuff. 

 

Truth

[Ausmumof3]

1:2 with a lid for rice - plus salt

1:2 with no lid for porridge

never leave the kitchen when you’re cooking stewed pear or apple

Half a packet of pasta is not enough.  A whole packet of pasta will produce enough for six meals worth of leftovers.  Universe mysteries.

 

 

[Ausmumof3]

8 hours ago, fairfarmhand said:

Never never never go out to the barn to do "just 'this one minor thing" in good clothing or nice shoes. 

Guaranteed, every time you will step in crap, hang your clothing on a piece of barbed wire, or have to chase some animal through the mud. You WILL ruin your nice stuff. 

 

Also in that vein ... if you delay locking the chicken coop even five minutes after sun down there will be a fox guaranteed.  

[Melissa in Australia]

5 hours ago, Spy Car said:

Rule of thumb (also grain related)

Pour rice in pan. Level with a series of quick shakes. Push index finger through rice to bottom of pot. Mark depth of rice by fixing thumb against index finger.

Then, while keeping thumb fixed in position relative to finger, raise finger from bottom of rice to the top of the rice. Fill pot with water until it reaches thumb.

Rule of thumb

Bill

I do something very similar. I fill water from tip of index finger to first joint of finger. A Philipino lady taught me

[Melissa in Australia]

I was taught that the original rule of thumb was   an english  rule that  you weren't to hit your wife with an object thicker than your thumb. 

So the expression rule of thumb isn't a nice thing to say, but I guess if nobody knows the meaning any more it doesn't matter

[Tanaqui]

That is a myth, Melissa. The origin is exactly what you'd think if you hadn't heard that silly story - it means measuring by the "eyeball it" method, that is, by using your thumb as a quick unit of measurement because you don't have a ruler. There was never any law regarding wife-beating and sticks and thumbs.

Here's another rule of thumb I have - whenever you hear an etymology like "rule of thumb means this!" or "woman means womb" or "Ring around the rosie is definitely the plague" - look it up. It's almost certainly false, and you can easily check the etymology by typing the word or phrase into google with the word "etymology" or "origin". (Or, if you're old school, you can look up most of these. Even phrases will often be listed in the dictionary under their key word, and may have the origin attached.)

Never, ever, ever believe it without checking it first.

I also apply this rule more liberally in the form of "When you hear people constantly repeat an unsourced assertion, look it up yourself. The more they say it, the more likely it's bs". The health department doesn't care if you go barefoot in stores, the cops don't care if you drive barefoot, there is no magic chemical that makes water turn weird colors if you pee in the pool, there is no law that says you have to sign your name in cursive, and the odds are very good that you have no idea when it is and is not legal to "jaywalk" in your area.

Edited April 27, 2021 by Tanaqui

[Spy Car]

41 minutes ago, Melissa in Australia said:

I do something very similar. I fill water from tip of index finger to first joint of finger. A Philipino lady taught me

Indonesian (Dutch) woman in my case.

Bill

[Halftime Hope]

Favorite rule of thumb: from the tip of one's fingers to one's nose, with the head turned the opposite direction from the fully extended, outstretched arm, is a good measure for approximating a yard.  (Your arm length may vary.  😉  ) 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 27, 2021 by Halftime Hope

[Laura Corin]

7 hours ago, Dreamergal said:

Cooking rice in the rice cooker is 1:2 for me.

 

As taught to us in China: rinse white rice and then put into rice cooker 1:1 with water.  An extra half cup of water at high altitude.  We've decided that 1:1.5 is perfect for brown rice.  I assume that different cultures are looking for different textures?

[Not_a_Number]

If you think there’s an issue, there probably is one, even if people try to talk you out of it. (DH, I’m looking at you.)

Mind you, it’s probably not exactly the issue you think it is. But it’s best not to ignore an inchoate sense that something’s up.

[elegantlion]

Write it down when you think of it, otherwise you'll forget. 

Never grocery shop while hungry.

[Bootsie]

7 hours ago, Laura Corin said:

As taught to us in China: rinse white rice and then put into rice cooker 1:1 with water.  An extra half cup of water at high altitude.  We've decided that 1:1.5 is perfect for brown rice.  I assume that different cultures are looking for different textures?

https://www.cooksillustrated.com/articles/1692-nailing-the-perfect-ratio-of-water-to-rice

This article talks about how 1:1 works to cook rice in the absence of evaporation, but because different types of rice cook for different lengths of time (and different types of cooking pots) there are differing amounts of evaporation

[Laura Corin]

5 minutes ago, Bootsie said:

https://www.cooksillustrated.com/articles/1692-nailing-the-perfect-ratio-of-water-to-rice

This article talks about how 1:1 works to cook rice in the absence of evaporation, but because different types of rice cook for different lengths of time (and different types of cooking pots) there are differing amounts of evaporation

The rice cooker we have (it's Japanese) has a tight-fitting lid and doesn't expel much steam.  We had a British-made one that lost a lot more steam and didn't cook as well at those proportions.  I don't drain the water off too strictly after I've rinsed it, so that probably covers the evaporation.

[Laura Corin]

6 minutes ago, Dreamergal said:

Chinese rice seems more al dente to me or very mushy as in stick together. Indian rice again depends on the version, but in most cases the grain is separated and very well boiled as in you can mash individual grains of rice. The doneness I was taught to check was that. Take a grain of rice and it mush it between the fingers, it would fall apart easily but the grains were separate still, not stick together. Like Basmati

That makes sense.  Chinese rice needs to be able to be picked up with chopsticks, so separated grains would be a problem.

[skimomma]

Never EVER take the ice scrapers out of the cars before June 1....says the person with two broken membership cards I had to use to chisel ice off my windshield yesterday.......  This applies to putting the snow boots away and swapping out the snow tires too.  I swear I control the weather by my miscalculated attempts to put away the winter gear every single year.  I will never learn but maybe I will save one of you all!

[Kareni]

On 4/26/2021 at 10:59 AM, PeterPan said:

If I'm annoyed, shut up.

You? Or everyone else? I could see each option having merit.

Regards,

Kareni

[Alicia64]

Systems are better than goals.

I'm better at knowing the difference between a system and goal, than I am at explaining it.

"If you’re a writer, your goal is to write a book. Your system is the writing schedule that you follow each week." By James Clear.

I think of these things as systems: brushing my teeth every day, never eating in the car, changing my dog's water bowl, adding ice every night before bed, I read at least an hour or more everyday. Systems are more who you are as a person.

To me goals are more concrete with a starting and an end point: I need to schedule a teeth cleaning. I want to get all trash out of my car, I plan to read xyz book.

Fun thread!

[prairiewindmomma]

22 hours ago, fairfarmhand said:

Also: when the weather gets bad and there’s a tornado watch, put everyone’s  shoes in your safe place. Ours is a windowless bathroom in the middle of the house. I have an overactive imagination anc the idea of stepping out of that bathroom barefoot into shattered windows and such if a tornado hit our home made me think of this. I know we could make it to the bathroom in time if we’re not looking for shoes.

And biking helmets. If you are in the position of needing one, odds are you need the other. When windows go, the roof generally does too.

[Resilient]

Along with "systems" mentioned upthread:

You can't live a life that is balanced.  Ever see those circus performers, what it takes to maintain balance?  You can life a life of rhythm, and there are clues in nature to give us a hand.

Daily: these are things that I do in a daily rhythm: Every day I clean myself and I get up at a certain time and go to bed around this other certain time.  I eat at least 2 good meals a do.  I read for at least 15 minutes (just getting sat down and started usually leads to more...).  

Weekly (this has the least natural clue...):  Five times a week, I will walk 4 miles.  Not daily--there's no "give" to leave some margins.  Three times a week, I call my mom.  Twice a week, I handwrite a letter to someone.  

Monthly: Every month, these things happen.  Pay my bills. Do my filing. Provide a meal for our church gathering. 

Semi/Seasonally: Plant/unplant. Check the sprinkler system. Button up the house for winter. Prepare for church activities (Christmas, for example.) Change the batteries in the smoke alarms.

Semi/Annually: Medical checks. Teeth, eyes, physical, skin.  Get the heck out of here on a vacation.

[fairfarmhand]

I’m a bit surprised nobody mentioned swb’s advice for grumpy teens and preteens—sandwich, shower, nap.

(it works for moms and dads too.) 

 

I also add moving around outdoors for my kids.

[Ottakee]

On a road trip when one person needs to make a potty stop EVERYONE in the car must go....otherwise someone will have to go 10 minutes further down the road.

[Noreen Claire]

Always double the garlic in a recipe.

 

Loud children are breathing children ... worry if it is too quiet!

[KungFuPanda]

On 4/26/2021 at 8:14 PM, Spy Car said:

Rule of thumb (also grain related)

Pour rice in pan. Level with a series of quick shakes. Push index finger through rice to bottom of pot. Mark depth of rice by fixing thumb against index finger.

Then, while keeping thumb fixed in position relative to finger, raise finger from bottom of rice to the top of the rice. Fill pot with water until it reaches thumb.

Rule of thumb

Bill

Don’t you just touch the rice and add water to the first knuckle? Doubling the depth seems like too much water. What am I missing?

[Spy Car]

1 minute ago, KungFuPanda said:

Don’t you just touch the rice and add water to the first knuckle? Doubling the depth seems like too much water. What am I missing?

I actually just add water by eye at this juncture, so many years cooking rice that I can tell which sort of rice needs what, but as a young person the method above always worked well for me.

Bill