May 6, 2004

Spaghetti Cake TesterI use a piece of uncooked spaghetti for a cake tester. It is clean, longer than a toothpick, and you're not as likely to burn your fingers.

 

Track Credit Card UsageTo keep good track of credit card usage, I enter the amount of each charge into my checkbook and subtract it from the balance there, then when the credit card bill comes, there's enough to pay the bill in full. By Jackie

 

Pioneer SolutionismMake being frugal fun. I call it Pioneer Solutionism and now all my friends use that term when they save money by using something they already have for a new purpose.

 

Frugal Pot of Soup or StewOnce a week, make a big pot of stew or homemade soup, a pound of meat and some vegetables can be stretched into an inexpensive, filling and healthy dish.

 

Removing Apple CoresCut a raw apple in two and use a melon ball cutter to remove the core of the apple. This is very easy and does not waste any of the apple. By Bea W.

 

Fixing a Door that Won't Stay OpenRemove the top hinge pin and bend it slightly with a hammer. Repeat for each pin, until door remains open.

 

Tasty Brown HashbrownsMy kids love fresh hashbrown potatoes. I buy potatoes in 50lb bags. I chop up the potatoes the night before, then put them in the refrigerator in water. They cook up nice and brown.

 

Caterpillars are Taking Over My Trees?I am in Washington state and there are caterpillars everywhere right now. They are orange and black and about an inch long. You can see their nests all over my trees and when you look closely at the nests there are between 10 to hundreds of caterpillars in each one.

 

Decorating ideas for a High School "Spring Sport" Banquet?Help! I need some ideas on how to decorate a High School cafeteria for a spring sport banquet. The kids that will attend are golfers, baseball and softball players, tennis and track. We don't want the room to like the cafeteria, but don't want to spend a fortune either. Any ideas?

 

Hawaiian Birthday Party?Help! My five-year old has decided that she wants her sixth (going on 30) birthday party to have a hawaiian theme. She told me she wants to wear coconuts and a grass skirt. I need to find ways to inexpensively decorate and still have the house, back yard and covered patio look like a tropical paradise. Does anyone know of recipes and games with a tropical flair. I'll have about 75 adults and kids there. I have a large, close extended family. Sandy

 

What Do I have... Crabgrass?Hi, I have some sort of grass and I don't know what it is. It has leaves that are 7/16 of an inch wide and has lines in it. The stem of the grass is really stiff or hard and it grows a lot faster than my other grass. It also has a lighter color than my other grass (fescue). Can you please help me out on what it is and how I can get rid of it. Diana from Michigan

 

Cleaning the filter on a vacuum.I bought a used vacuum cleaner and love it but it has a filter on it that is really dirty. I was wondering if there is a way I can clean the filter so that I don't have to go out and buy a new one right now? The vaccum is a bagless one that has the canister that catches the dirt and the filter I'm referring to fits down inside the canister. Thanks for any ideas!

 

Looking for Budget Advice?I wanted to know if anyone could tell me some websites where we could go to make a budget. Something that would help us step by step. We are in the process of buying our own home, and have a child. We are new to this budget thing, considering we never thought about it until now, when everyone is saying we need to do it!