Thank you for all the wonderful comments! And thanks for the tip about the spray - I WILL check the stuff that I use to catch the stray hairs, and make sure it's safe - you just can't ever assume these days.
There is a this new thing that I saw on TV recently: It's a long long hose, that attaches to any vacuum cleaner, that is kept nearly four rooms away! The long long LONG hose keeps the noise of the machine itself far away so it doesn't scare the kitty. I think I'm going to check it out unless someone else already has and found it to be bunk. Let us know!
In any event, nothing will ever entirely replace sweeping the cat. Sparky will now go pull the broom down - BAM! That's my cue to come sweep him! Smart, handsome, and loveable - what else could I ask for in a cat? A gorgeous co-owner with lots of money? Teehee!
Again, thanks for the comments (Sparky says thanks too - he is chortling to beat the band while keeping my left foot warm as he gnaws on my big right toe - yeeeeOUCH!! Varmit! I think he believes that my bones are his personal favorite treat!
Plus, he has taken to a new trick: Hit & Run. He takes a flying leap at my behind, whacks me in the small of my back, then flies off me and then tears off at 90 MPH to go hide under the bed! I swear, I can SEE the laughter in his eyes as he peeps out from the bedskirt! What a nut! I just adore this cat. The kids have had cats but this one is mine, mine, mine!
I just love Thriftyfun.com - GREAT ideas and experiences! Better than a "who dun it' novel! I have learned SO much on here! THANKS! ... View related article.
Go to OLD NAVY.com and hit their clearance bin FIRST. All orders over $75 have FREE FREIGHT!!! If they can nmake do with their winter coats just a while longer, JC Penneys will put all their winter gear on sale at 60% off around Thanksgiving. Buy things at the Salvation Army, bring it home, wash it and hang it up - often they don't know they ARE NOT new! Also find a GOOD consignment store, especially for teen girls and guys. By the time most clohtes make it to the Salv Army, especially jeans, they are shreds. At consignment stores, you are buying 'rich folks' castaways. Things like Gap shirts, at The Gap they'd be $45, at a consignment BARTER nicely, and you can get them for less than $10! For elementary kids, buy lots of packages of white and black tshirts. Decorate them yourself with iron on stuff, and liquid embroidery (there are always tons of half-used bottles at the SalvArmy), add rhinestones, etc. JAZZ it up! I always buy new shoes from Payless when its buy one, get on free, new undies and sox from Target/Walmart same way ... buy one, get one free. I dont buy used sox or undies. And I especially do NOT buy used shoes for children. Kids feet need their OWN shoes to grow inside of, not someone else's slant to the right or left! If last year's jeans are too short, cut'em off, hem them for shorts. Get a cheap grommet maker and dazzle them up some. Also ... splurge on ONE thing, it makes all the cost cutting you HAVE to do on everything else so much easier when the kid does get that ONE thing. And don't forget eBay! I've bought NEW shirts for 99 cents each, with postage of only $1.00! It's a great place for snow boots, winter coats, too. My son is pictured below in his hand-me-down jeans and tshirt but with is ONE THING - customized Sponge Bob shoes from eBay that he bid on himself, with a prearranged top dollar amount he could spend. I do his hair myself with a $15 set of barber shears from Walmart. I've gotten pretty darn good at it too - now the neighbor kids line up for their first day back to school cuts, and I charge $5 - thereby earning a little for MY kids clothing and saving their moms anywhere from $10 to $25! Ask around your neighborhood about a swap meet - older teens usually have just what the younger ones are drooling over. Be sure to include YOUR closet in those swaps, too - nothing like feeling great in a NEW dress, eh? :-) ... View related article.
