PAGE 18 • PLAINDEALER Your furniture order: worth the wait Consumers often find they must special order the furniture that will best suit their wants and needs. The dining table and chairs may be perfect but the china cabinet on the retail floor may be too large for the only wall available in the dining room. A chair may be just what you want except for the upholstery fabric. The style of a bedroom 1 il FINAL SALE!! ALL MERCHANDISE E X C e P T m/\o SUITS AND SPORT COATS 40 /O ALL SALES FINAL WE'RE RETIRING FROM BUSINESS AFTER 62 YEARS... 1245 N. GREEN ST. AAcHENRY -WEDNESDAY. JULY 8. It81 group may be ideal, but you want additional pieces for per sonal correspondence or hob bies. In these cases, ordering is usually your only alternative. The advantage is that you get the exact furniture you want, fresh from the factory. When you order^ you'll notice a vast number of furniture catalogs on hand at your furni ture retail stores. This is still only a portion of the catalogs available overall since your re tailer probably obtains goods from only a few manufacturers. This gives you an idea of the great number of companies, large and small, involved in the manufacture of home furnish ings. While there are 10 or IS major manufacturers who pro duce a broad variety of both wood and upholstered interior fuqiishings, a tremendous amount of furniture is produced by medium-sized and. small companies--some making only occasional tables, only reclin- ers, only traditional sofas, etc. Furniture manufacturers create new product lines in tune with new consumer trends. They are introduced at interna tional markets held twice a year In High Point, North Carolina, and at regional markets in vari ous metropolitan -areas. These new products appear on the retail floor six months or so after they are first introduced because the furniture manufac turer must set up new assembly processes, retool machinery, and obtain necessary raw mate rials. The manufacturer will pro duce a quantity of that particular group or style, which is called a "cutting." Then, the manufac turer changes these processes and retools to build another style, perhaps one that has been a good seller for several years. The manufacturer's cycle of cuttings is a critical factor when you order furniture. If your order arrives just after he has completed a cutting of that par ticular wood furniture style and all merchandise was "pre-sold" to cover existing orders,, you will have to wait until the next cutting. In the case of upholstered furniture, the manufacturer may have to wait for the textile mill to produce and deliver the fabric you ordered. For these reasons, it may be weeks or months before your order can bellied. This might be annoying, but bear in mind that if manufacturers did not schedule their production, your furniture would be prohibitively expensive. Your retailer should be able to give you some idea of how long it will take after contacting the manufacturer of the furni ture you've selected. If you feel the wait will be too long to en dure, better not order. Be pre pared to compromise if you want something delivered' 'next week." You might be able to live with a compromise bookcase or end table, but a china cabinet that's too large for your dining area will become a constant source of irritation. A chair, fabric that doesn't blend well with your other furnishings may spoil your decorating plan. And, you may never have die correspondence center you've always wanted in the bedroom. In these cases, it's worth wait ing for the exact furniture you want and need. Hps for making the most of your freezer To get the most from your freezer, you have to practice good freezer management and be familiar with freezing tech niques. The makers of Arm A Hammer Baking Soda, that pure, natural product that's been around for more than 130 years, would like to share these freezer hints with you: • Frozen foods lose moisture if not adequately protected, so choose your packaging mate rials with care. They should be airtight, moisture proof and non-porous. • Aluminum foil and freezer- safe plastic wrap are especially suited for poultry and other un evenly shaped foods, as they mold easily to the food. Be sure to seal the ends of plastic wrap packages with freezer tape as the wrap may not cling to itself at freezer tempera tures. • Plastic bags are convenient for individual foods such as rolls and cookies, because you can easily remove what you want, leaving the rest frozen. • Rigid plastic containers with tight fitting lids won't leak and make efficient use of freezer space. • Label and date all pack ages. You may even want to in clude pertinent cooking infor mation. MCHENRY COUNTY WELL AND PUMP 3200 N. RICHMOND ROAD (RTE. 31 NORTH) McHENRY, IL. • (815) 385-5252 WE CARRY A COMPLETE LINE OF COLECO ABOVE GROUND SWIMMING POOLS, COVERS (Pool ond Solar). PLUS POOL FILTERS, SKIMMERS, TOYS AND BIO CHEMICALS. AND DONT OVERLOOK OUR SPAS, SPA EQUIPMENT AND OLYMPIC POOL PAINTS. 10 ̂OFF ON ALL POOL AND LAWN PRODUCTS DURING JULY 9,10 and 11 COME IN OUR COMPLETE LINE OF v- -/fay: '• AND • Make an inventory check list of the frozen food, and store the list right in the freezer. • Try to organize your freezer space into sections for meats, vegetables, leftovers, etc. This reduces the time spent searching for frozen foods and lowers operating costs. • Remember the golden rule of freezing -- "First in, is the first out!" • Freeze food in meal-size quantities whenever possible. Small size, flat packages freeze and thaw the fastest. • For convenience, try freez ing foods such as meat patties, chicken parts, chops and home frozen vegetables (peas, green beans, broccoli pieces) by the loose pack method. Spread the food out on a jelly roll pan or cookie sheet and freeze it until firm, about one to two hours. Remove the food, quickly bag or package it, and return to the freezer. Now, you can remove or pom- out just the portion you need be cause the food isn't stuck to gether. ^ • Avoid frantic meal prepara tion after work or a busy day, by making double or triple batches of casseroles, soups and stews, and freezing them for future use. Shorten the cooking time by 10 to IS minutes to allow for the additional cooking during re heating. Freezing causes some season- ings to fade or intensify in flavor, so you may want to under-season and then add to taste when heating the food. • Cooling hot foods before freezing them is an energy- saving practice. Allow food to cool at room temperature about 30 minutes, then package and freeze. • Don't put too much un- frozen food in the freezer at one time. Overloading causes slow freezing and results in poor quality. • Avoid placing unfrozen items directly on top of frozen ones. For fastest freezing, spread the unfrozen food pack ages out in a single layer wher ever it is the coldest. • After defrosting, clean the interior of a manual defrost freezer with a solution of one quart warm water to four table spoons Arm & Hammer Baking Soda. For stubborn stains sprinkle baking soda on a damp sponge and scrub. Rinse and dry thoroughly. • Wash inside of frostless freezer with baking soda and water solution in the same prop ortions as for manual freezer. For stubborn stains, sprinkle baking soda on a damp sponge and s'crub. Rinse and dry the freezer interior. • Reset the control and allow the freezer to becofae cold be fore loading. ' *••• Those who need ad vice rarely want it; those who ask it seldom follow it.