Help me out here - which is worse - wasteful trash or wasting water?
Remember when I posted about ice pop molds? Well, I got three sets of the Tovolo Molds, and we really like them. It’s the first time we’ve had single style molds, and the first summer we’ve been completely ice pop trash free. We did used to make homemade pops, just not as often because the multiple molds (i.e. molds stuck together were problematic).
In any case, since this is water month, and I’ve been water slacking, I figured I’d bring up our one and only issue with these molds. You still have to use a decent amount of water in order to get them loose enough to pop out.
We considered some solutions:
- Fill a bowl with water and loosen all the ice pops at once - the problem here is that you can’t just leave open ice pops in the freezer. They get icky.
- Fill a cup with water when you want an ice pop, place ice pop mold in cup, and wait. Um, kids don’t do well with waiting for an ice pop when they’re hot.
- Get a blow dryer - see if that works. Well, that’s an energy drain for one. Two, mixing electricity and watery icy pops seems slightly dangerious. Three, like I really want to buy a blow dryer.
SO - right now, what we’re doing is when Cedar wants an ice pop, he grabs one and holds it under running water for a minute. One to two minutes of running water for an ice pop seems so wasteful to me. However, on the upside, we’re not tossing out all that plastic trash from store bought pops, also we use up all our produce on pops, so we waste less food.
Still, I feel a little guilty. Any solutions people? Do you think the pros of homemade ice pops outweigh the cons of this water waste?
Tags: homemade ice pops, Homemade Popsicles, ice pops, plastic molds, Popsicles, reduce trash, save on resources, save trash, save water, wasting water, water wasteRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Water
12 opinions for Help me out here - which is worse - wasteful trash or wasting water?
Peggy
Jul 20, 2008 at 2:23 am
Heat a damp cloth in the microwave and wrap it around the mold for a minute. I have no idea if it will work, but worth a try!
Jennifer
Jul 20, 2008 at 2:49 am
I don’t own a microwave. But that’s an ok idea. I wonder how to figure out energy vs. water drains. Both have cons.
Peggy
Jul 20, 2008 at 4:06 am
Microwaves are very efficient, so I’m thinking it would be better than letting water run.
But no reason to buy a microwave!
Jodi Plume
Jul 20, 2008 at 12:36 pm
Hmm I was going to suggest keeping a jar of water (with a lid) and just heating it in the microwave when you wanted one out, but that won’t work since you don’t have a microwave. :) How about popping them all out, wrapping in wax paper and store in a container. You can reuse the wax paper and container for quite awhile.
Liz
Jul 20, 2008 at 3:11 pm
You know, when I was a kid I always used my hands. Rubbing the outside of the pop with your warm hands and blowing warm breath on it works as well as water, and takes about the same amount of time.
Otherwise I would use the wet cloth (run it under hot water, you don’t need it as hot as a microwave will get it, just warm) and that should work.
DramaMama
Jul 20, 2008 at 5:12 pm
I assume you’re saving the water you run to water plants or whatever. In that sense I think that it’s worth it to save on the trash. The bit of water that is wasted would be negligible. (Is that a really word? Spell check accepted it on the third try!) Thanks for reminding me about the popsicles. I’ve been meaning to try some of your recipes this summer!
Nature Deva
Jul 21, 2008 at 1:09 am
It only takes me like 20 seconds of rinsing the pop under warmish water to get it to pop out of the mold. If it takes longer, I would put a container in the sink and just catch that water and use it to water the houseplants or dump it in the garden, etc.
No waste and efficient use of your son’s preferred method.
Rebecca
Jul 21, 2008 at 2:51 am
I feel guilty because I never felt guilty about this before now! You could loosen them all at once but then keep them in the molds. They probably wouldn’t stick again. I have also had good luck loosening the popsicles and putting them in a zip-lock bag. I did this once because I needed the molds to make more popsicles, and they kept just fine. Of course I reused the bag.
I also like Nature Deva’s suggestion to use the popsicle-water to water plants. I haven’t done that but now I will!
Jennifer
Jul 21, 2008 at 12:24 pm
Jodi - we tried the wax paper bit, but it’s so wasteful of paper, which I don’t normally have anyhow. Plus, it doesn’t stay wrapped.
Liz - I like the wet cloth idea, that seems like maybe the best plan, because you only have to run the water for a few seconds. Hmmm, we’ll give it a try and report back.
@Others the whole catching water bit is a good plan too. I really need to save water like that more often, it’s something I rarely do, but should.
Kate
Jul 22, 2008 at 9:15 am
What a good time to teach your child about being patient. If you dont want him to use his body heat to warm the pop up, which is a great idea, then a cup of water is fine. I’m sure your son can handle it. Sing a song or play a quick I spy game or something while he waits.
Also, you could try using a very light coating of Pam or your own oil spray. I would think that would make it a lot easier to pop out.
Good luck in your search.
(:
Katherine Fehl
Jul 22, 2008 at 11:16 pm
When I tell my four-year-old we have to wait for something, he sometimes pulls this one on me: “Do it now, Mama, please, or else you’ll forget!” So we set an egg-timer to remind us. When we’re waiting for cookies to cool, knowing that the timer will announce cookie-time helps my two-year-old wait with a little more dignity.
Greenbaby
Jul 23, 2008 at 12:37 am
What a great post! I was just contemplating this myself as water disappeared down the drain while I attempt to pry out my toddlers popsicle. It occurred to me that I could just remove my son’s popsicle from the freezer and let it sit out for a few minutes before trying to pull it free of the mold. I wonder if that would make it easier to remove without water. Hmm…
Have an opinion? Leave a comment: