|
|
|
Hello,
We have a few Christmas tips in this issue that we either missed before the holiday or they were posted just after it. We currently are publishing tips that were submitted right around Christmas time so if you don't see your tips right away it's because we are publishing tips from about a week and a half ago.
Another big day for requests, 14 added in the last 24 hours.
This Friday's TF News will be about taxes and tax tips, if you have any advice to offer, please submit it on the contest form. We are trying to get some tax information out early so that every one is ahead of schedule.
http://www.thriftyfun.com/contest.ldml
Thanks for reading,
Susan
Enter The Tip Contest:
http://www.thriftyfun.com/contest.ldml
Enter The Photo Contest:
http://www.thriftyfun.com/photo_contest.ldml
Frugal solutions to everyday problems: Submit a request...
http://www.thriftyfun.com/add.ldml
Today's newsletter contains:
Today's Tips:
New Requests:
More Reading:
Search ThriftyFun Using Google: Click Here
Today's Sponsor
Got Opinions? Take an online survey today for a chance to win $5,000. Join Now!
Click the link below for more information...
Today's Tips
After I moved off to college, my family started a new tradition. Every year we'll all get together the week after Christmas in a city that's about equal distance for all of us. We'll stay in a nice hotel, watch as many movies as we can, do some shopping, go to a museum or two, and catch up. This is when we exchange our family gifts.
We all like it because it's a little vacation at a time of year when we could all use it, and it gives us a chance to do some things together that we probably wouldn't do on our own.
By Camilla
Post Feedback: Click Here
To keep table linens from creasing, install a rod just beneath a low shelf and hang the linens on hangers padded with paper towel tubes.
Fold and store bed or bath linens by sets, not by size. That way, you can grab a complete set when you want it instead of having to pick through several stacks.
By Joesgirl
Post Feedback: Click Here
Since lint is highly contagious, remove it before you put a garment in the closet. No clothing brush? Wrap a strip of masking or cellophane tape around your hand, adhesive side out, and move it across the garment. Or use a damp sponge. You'll find that lint is much easier to remove with a damp clothes brush than with a dry one. To remove lint from velvet, a clean sponge powder puff works well; on wool use a dry cellulose sponge.
By Joesgirl
Post Feedback: Click Here
Lemons and Limes - Substitution and Tips
You can substitute 1/2 teaspoon of vinegar (any kind) for 1 teaspoon lemon or lime juice in any recipe. To get just a few drops from a lemon or lime, prick one end with a fork and squeeze. The fruit can be refrigerated and used again.
By Joesgirl
Post Feedback: Click Here
Response to Italian Family Celebration
Our big family Christmas celebration is much like Joesgirl's Italian family celebration. We are at around 40-45 people, so haven't gone to a hall yet. Those with big enough homes take turns hosting. Everyone brings a dish to pass, we draw names on Thanksgiving for the adults, and everyone brings a wrapped gift for their own child. Two of the uncles take the kids on a hay-ride around the neighborhood; one uncle drives and the other plays the guitar while everyone sings Christmas carols. Before we had a trailer, we used a big van. When we return, the kids get a breathtaking glimpse of Santa leaving the house, and then they see their gifts under the tree. We have been doing this for over 20 years, and the children say it is their favorite part of Christmas!
By Julie
View More Christmas Family Traditions
Share Your Christmas Family Tradition
View Article: Click Here
Tired of waiting for the ketchup to come out of the bottle. Here are some tips to help. Feel free to post your ideas.
Post Feedback: Click Here
Here Are Some Tips To Prevent Hypothermia
If you're out in the cold and one of your companions begins to shiver violently and then becomes lethargic and drowsy, call for medical help immediately. In the meantime, keep the person sheltered and out of the wind. Remove wet clothing and replace it with dry, if possible. If he's fairly alert, feed him candy and, if available, hot sugary nonalcoholic liquids. Cover him with blankets or get him into a sleeping bag; if possible get into it with him and hug him - a person on each side is even better.
By Joesgirl
Post Feedback: Click Here
Wood Stove Sales After Christmas
Wood stoves come on sale after Christmas. I first purchased one that was not welded together. Big Mistake! Downdrafts would fill the house with fumes while we slept. I got rid of it for one that is sealed. I did not have any more fumes in the house.
Mine is on a pedestal that allows air to move all around it. It usually heats our entire house! It has been the best investment I have made.
By Jill
Post Feedback: Click Here
For A Healthy Snack, Buy Granola-type Cereal Bars In Bulk
Buying a box of 48 Quaker Chewy Granola Bars at the discount warehouse stores, is much cheaper than smaller packages at the grocery store. They can last a long time on the shelf. Keep several in your car for a quick snack when you may be running late.
Calories are about 120 per bar and they are very satisfying too!
By Syd
Post Feedback: Click Here
When Buying a Printer, Factor In The Cost Of Ink
Before you purchase a new printer; research and see if you can buy the ink to refill the cartridges. There are many online ink suppliers that furnish the "manufacturer's-type ink". You need to have several printers that you are considering in mind, then you can call an ink and cartridge supplier on a toll free phone line and can discuss if you could refill the cartridges. See how much they charge for the ink, etc.
Printers are cheap, the replacement cartridges are expensive!
Tip: The supplier will not steer you to a particular printer, only answer your questions, and hope they make a sale of their products.
By Syd
Post Feedback: Click Here
Find Sewing Machines At Yard Sales
Need a general purpose sewing machine for making repairs? Yard sales are an excellent source. They generally ask $20-$25.00 and can be bargained down too!
By Syd
Post Feedback: Click Here
Mailing Rebates On A Post Card
Many times you can paste your rebate information to a post card for .23 cents rather than send an envelope for .37 cents. Trim the items down and overlap. The postage sure reduces the actual rebate! This may not sound like much, but if you rebate a lot, it does.
By Syd
Post Feedback: Click Here
Make a breakfast casserole on Christmas eve that you can pop into the oven while your family opens gifts having coffee and cocoa. By the time the unwrapping is done, or as a break in the middle, breakfast will be ready. Cut up some fruit the night before, too.
By Linda
Post Feedback: Click Here
Upside down candy canes make great cocoa stirrers!
By Linda
Post Feedback: Click Here
Save Gift Bags That You Receive Presents In
Save the gift bags. They don't take up much room and are easily re-usable. I haven't bought any for years.
By Linda
Post Feedback: Click Here
Wait a week or so before making after-Christmas returns. Lines will be shorter, stores will be more re-stocked, and you will have had a chance to get an idea what you want to buy with the cash or gift-card you will get.
By Linda
Post Feedback: Click Here
Congratulate Yourself After The Holidays
Congratulate yourself for pulling off another "holiday" with a treat-massage, facial, pedicure etc.
By Linda
Post Feedback: Click Here
Storing Gift Wrap Under The Bed
Buy two under-the-bed storage boxes (Rubbermaid makes them). In one I store misc. gift wrap, bags, cards, tags, ribbons as well as hasty notes. This is my "Year Round Box". In the other, I place Christmas gift wrap, ribbons, bows, cards, tags and a few small ornaments to attach to gifts. This is my "Christmas Box".
In both boxes I also store any gift boxes that fold down to fit.
I live in a condo with limited storage space. When I shove the boxes under my bed, lower my bedskirt... Voila! Extra storage!
By Marian
Post Feedback: Click Here
The New Year's Angel To The Rescue
The month of December is a stressful month for children. It leads to squabbling. My father said they opened 1 gift on Christmas and the rest on New Year's Day. The New Year's angel came to our house starting the first of December.
One of the children would receive a gift. It was given to the one who was a peace keeper along with a note telling why that child had been given a gift.
After Christmas when there was nothing to motivate them until they went back to school, the New Year's angel came to my rescue.
She left notes or pictures or anything I could think of to keep my kids trying hard to get along. It was a big deal to get her gift.
She even told them she was watching and would tell cupid what she saw and then cupid told them he would tell who would tell the "pinch man" [candy man] who would tell the easter bunny who would tell.
It trained my kids to get along throughout the year. I cannot remember many problems.
By Jill
View Article: Click Here
Clean chrome with any of the following: club soda or seltzer, spray window cleaner, baking soda, vinegar (cider or white) or lemon peel. Or use a solution of 1 part clear ammonia to 16 parts water. To remove insects from car's bumper, rub with a soap-impregnated scouring pad moistened with cola. For rust spots, rub with crumpled aluminum foil.
By Joesgirl
Post Feedback: Click Here
The Iceman Cameth, Remembering The Icebox
The almost mythical iceman was a familiar neighborhood figure during the early part of this century. On hot summer days, as his horse drawn wagon came dripping down the street, he was trailed by children who knew him by name and were often treated to sliver of ice. Sporting a rubber apron aglisten with ice crystals, the iceman stopped at house after house, where cards or slates in the windows told him how much to deliver.
This muscular man carried ice into each home with tongs, and if someone ordered a heavy block - say, 75 or 100 lbs.- he slung it over his back. Sometimes a block was so big that its sides had to be chipped off so that it would fit inside the tin-lined icebox. The electric refrigerator, introduced in 1916, eventually put the iceman out of business. But his spirit lives on in the memory of all those who still fondly refer to their refrigerators as "the icebox".
By Joesgirl
View Article: Click Here
To keep rice from clumping, add a few drops of cooking oil or a teaspoon of butter or margarine to the cooking water. For snowy white rice, add a few drops of lemon juice or vinegar to the cooking water. If your rice turns out like wallpaper paste, use it in a casserole, in soup, or to stuff peppers. Try again, using less water. Fluff the rice gently with a fork before serving.
By Joesgirl
Post Feedback: Click Here
Uses for shortening, other than cooking. Post your ideas.
Cleanser - if your hands need heavy-duty cleaning after gardening or working on the car or in the shop, rub in shortening before using soap.
Screw driving - to penetrate surfaces easily, put shortening on screw.
By Joesgirl
Post Feedback: Click Here
Uses for leftover fat from the kitchen, other than eating it. Post your ideas.
Bird food - combine melted kitchen fat, bread crumbs, and sunflower seeds in a paper cup. When the mixture hardens, peel away the cup and hang the contents from a tree in a mesh bag.
By Joesgirl
Post Feedback: Click Here
Reusing Plastic Laundry Detergent Bottles
Uses for liquid laundry detergent bottles. Post your ideas.
Those plastic jugs with handles that laundry detergent comes in are PERFECT to apply salt to icy sidewalks in the wintertime! Just rinse them out and dry THOROUGHLY, then fill with salt and cap tightly. When the storm hits, you can hold it by the handle and sprinkle away!
By Becki in Indiana
Post Feedback: Click Here
Low Calorie And Sugar Free Banana Pudding
Ingredients:
Directions:
You can also make this in individual serving dishes if you want. Eat up and enjoy.
By Angie
View Article: Click Here
Be sure to check out our active topics page to follow the discussion.
http://www.thriftyfun.com/board.html
Tip Contest
Submit a tip and you could win:
New Contest! $30.00 Gift Card
In our newest contest we are giving away a $30.00 Gift Card at one of the following stores: Home Depot, Jo-Ann's Crafts or Amazon.com. If you are the winner, you get to choose which gift card! We figured it would be more valuable if you pick out your own prize, that's why we have decided to go the gift card route. This contest will end on January 15th.
Syndication Spotlight:
Here are some publishers that have chosen to publish our tips this week!
Dear Webby's Humor Letter
Webby publishes our tips daily! A very funny newsletter.
http://webby.com/humor
Do you publish a newsletter? Sign up for our Tip Syndication:
http://www.thriftyfun.com/syndication.html
New Requests:
I have an indoor/outdoor carpet outside on my front patio and it seems to have a few white spots on it. I'm not sure if this is mildew or what but can anyone offer any assistance as to how I can remove these white stains.
Angela from Pennsylvania
Post Feedback: Click Here
Make Your Own White Out (Liquid Paper)
I use a great deal of white out to clean up mistakes on paper. How do you make white out and how do you clean out the bottles to reuse? Thanks for your help in this situation.
Cheryl Ryle
Post Feedback: Click Here
I have 2 questions regarding Norweigan wool ski sweaters with stains. Both are very expensive sweaters with lots of colors. Both are hand washable. The first one I got cheap because it has a white background that has yellowed in one patch while sitting on the shelf in a store. (I thought sunlight faded things, but the grey pattern over the white is not effected.) There's also bright red wool on this sweater.
Any suggestions on how I can restore the wool to it's former snowy white without risking the grey or red pattern? The second sweater is an old favorite that got mustard on the sleeve. Nothing I've tried has gotten it out.; The main color on that sweater is grey. Can you get mustard out of wool?
Andrea in a Blzzard
Post Feedback: Click Here
Shirts With Stinky Underarms After Washing
This is kinda embarrassing but... My husband's shirts in the armpits are very stinky even after I wash them (he's not, just the armpits of the shirts) and I've tried numerous laundry tips to try and get them clean. I've tried spraying vinegar on them, soaking them in vinegar, shout, baking soda, etc etc. I've tried different laundry soaps, sunlight, tide, costco brand, cheer, no name etc etc etc. We've even tried many different types of deodorant. The rest of the shirt comes clean it's just the armpits in the inside it has deoderant residue and it still stinks.
Any suggestions would be gratefully welcome...
Candace
Post Feedback: Click Here
I have taken down a fluorescent light in my house and lost my wiring diagram. There are 4 wires inside 2 brown (I expect to be live), 1 blue (newtr) 1 purple (don't know) also it should be earthed. help me please - Baz
Post Feedback: Click Here
I use a lot of recyclable goods for craft projects. I want to use the white plastic from store bought frosting containers (and other items) to make some jewelry and ornaments but I can't seem to paint the plastic. Is there something I could use as a sealer or primer before I start painting? Thanks,
Angie
Post Feedback: Click Here
Removing Burnt Smell From Microwave
I was recently given a microwave oven and it has a burnt smell. The previous owner was heating up a wheat bag and it burnt and now the oven has an unpleasant smell.
How can I remove the smell?
Maggie
Post Feedback: Click Here
Removing Garlic Odor From A Room
Help! my house mate is a wimp when it comes to garlic odor. I need to remove the smell so I can continue cooking.
- Valerie Smith
Post Feedback: Click Here
Looking for Chicken Salad Recipe
A few years a go at my daughters baby shower, we served a chicken salad on mini croissants that was wonderful. My youngest daughter will be getting married soon and she is wanting to have the same food served at the reception. The problem is that I can not find the recipe anywhere.
All I can remember about it is we used boneless chicken breasts chopped, mandarin oranges, almond slivers and shallots. I do not remember if there are any additional ingredients or what the quantities are. I do know that it was a wonderful recipe and if anyone is lucky enough to have it I would appreciate your sharing!! I will continue to look for it as well and if I happen to find it I will post it.
Thanks,
Amy
Post Feedback: Click Here
Can someone please tell us your favorite kitchen cookbooks, where the focus is on fun kids food. We have triplet boys, age 3, plus an older 4 1/2 year old boys. We need to make fast & easy meals and be able to adjust quantity. Thank you very much - melaniem
Post Feedback: Click Here
What Kind Of Rice For Heated Rice Bags?
I wanted to make a heated Rice bag. Does it matter what kind of Rice I use? And can I add dried herbs in with the rice? I heard about using kitty litter instead of rice, just the regular clay litter? Thanks!
Tammy
Post Feedback: Click Here
A friend and I are starting a new business as personal shoppers. We will organise house cleaning, grocery purchase, pets to the vet, just about anything. And we would like a snappy name to register our business as. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Happy New Year to all.
Angela
Post Feedback: Click Here
Decorating A Surprise Party For My 17 Year Old Friend
Hey guys, I'm planning a surprise party for my friends 17th birthday. It's going to be at her house and I know who is coming. Do you have any ideas as to how I could decorate her house? I was thinking streamers in her room but I also wanted to do stuff to the rest of her house! Thanks a bunch!
snowyangel
Post Feedback: Click Here
I was wondering if there is a easy way to make your own bath salts. I love to relax in the bath and I get gift baskets all the time. I love the bath salts and was just wondering. It would be greatly apperciated because I have to give a gift basket in july.
Soulegal
Post Feedback: Click Here
Looking for a frugal solution to an everyday problem? Submit your request here: Click Here
Today's Sponsor
Eversave.com is your one stop source for online coupons, brand name savings, free samples and much more.
More Reading:
Inside Snow Fun
By Angela Billings
Most children love snow and playing in it.But for those times it is too cold to play out or for those that do not get snow I hope you will enjoy these activities.
View Article: Click Here
Saving Family Keepsakes for Scrapbooking
By Rachel Paxton
I'm new to scrapbooking, and I still can't believe all the possibilities there are for scrapbook layouts.
View Article: Click Here
Five Easy Tricks for Handling Problem Rooms
By Pamela Cole Harris
Do you have a room that's just too much? Too long? Too narrow? Too tall? You can camouflage that problem space with a few visual tricks!
View Article: Click Here
Let others know that you like this Ezine:
Vote For the Daily Thrifty Tips
More Stuff
Coupon Swap!
Swap coupons with other ThriftyFun.com users:
Seed Swap!
Swap seeds with other ThriftyFun.com users:
Tip Contest!
Submit a tip and enter our contest.
Submit a Request
Frugal solutions to everyday problems.
Search ThriftyFun!
Use Google technology to search ThriftyFun.
Like ThriftyFun on Facebook
