Daily Thrifty Tips - February 28, 2006

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Hairy is about a year and a half. Hairy found us. He kept coming around our back yard and he was such a little thing that I didn't think he would survive the neighborhood strays, so we took him in. What a wonderful thing it was. He is SO happy to be here.

We call Hairy aka Harrison, Hairy-Bird or Birdie because he flies around here like a bird. He has learned to play fetch from his big "brother" Joe.

Hairy is a big baby. He also looks a lot like prince Harry.

By Karen from Port Clinton OH

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Shiloh is our 9 month old Golden Retriever. He was a wedding gift from my husband. We got married on June 19, 2005

He loves to fetch a tennis ball and play tug of war

Shiloh is the sweetest and most loving puppy ever. Even though he already weighs 80 lbs, he still thinks he should be a lap dog! He will not leave my side for one moment when I'm home! This picture is from when we took him camping last summer.

By Dawn McGregor from Bay City, MI

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If you are able to choose, (and physically able) get an apartment higher than the main floor. This works well for me for two reasons.

1) I have barely had to turn up my heat this winter, my thermostat is set at 50 and my home is usually over 70. Even with the rising costs of electricity and gas my last bill was $22.00

2) Not only do you save money on electricity, but going up and down the stairs provides a little added exercise you don't even realize you are getting!

Not to mention, I feel safer up there as it is just my daughter and me.

By Danielle from Spokane, WA

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Every time I take a package of my own home grown, chopped and prepped onions from the freezer to use in cooking, I am very thankful the work is already done! I spend one week a year on onions when harvest time is at hand so I can get the entire process out of the way all at once for the year. I have never had very good luck with storing onions no matter what I tried until I hit on this method, and it sure works for me. (This process only works for onion used as chopped or ground, such as in meat loaf, chili, and spaghetti sauce, slow cooking roasts, etc. It does not work for sliced onions on hamburgers or onion slices for deep frying.) At harvest time, I divide the work load into manageable parts, such as pulling onions one day, cleaning off tops and dirt the next day preparatory to getting them into the kitchen; peeling the skins the next and storing overnight in zippered refrigerator bags, chopping into segments that will fit into my grinder the next day, and so on. It all depends upon how many onions we have in the harvest. Set your own schedule as to how best it works for you. There is no other ingredient you need to add to the onions for the freezing process.

I prefer to use a small electric chopper or grinder but if you prefer to hand chop, then that's what works best for you. As I grind the onion down into tiny bits, I pack the onion bits and resulting juice (there will be some) into pint-sized freezer bags, pressing out all the air I can to make them very flat. After they are at this stage, I can spread out 6 or 7 bags of onions on a large cookie sheet and freeze fully. When fully frozen, these bags stack beautifully up the side of the chest freezer inside plastic or brown paper grocery bags. I pack all individually frozen packages into the plastic bags and then put those in the brown paper bags to make doubly sure I won't have onion smells permeating anything else.

When I want onion for a recipe, I take a bag out of the freezer, estimate or "eyeball" how much I need, whack the top portion of the frozen onion bag against a countertop edge, and take what I need. It won't be an exact measurement but I can get it close enough. The bag is back into the freezer in less than 60 seconds, waiting for the next time I need onion without storing, peeling, or chopping.


By ronsan from southwest Missouri

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Money is limited for many right now. My money saving idea for holiday gifts is to make as many gifts as possible. Examples: homemade business cards, mixes in gift jars, home canned preserves and/or salsa, home baked pies, cakes, cookies.
For my sister in law I baked her favorite cake from scratch. (German chocolate)

My brother loves to cook, so I made him an apron. I made hot chocolate mixes, other beverage mixes, pancake mixes, etc. to give as gifts too. Lots of compliments. Takes a little thought but is worth the effort.

Gather the information you need by just listening to conversations. Most of the time that's how I get my information. Then when I get home I jot it down so I'll remember for later.

By Darlene from North Street, MI

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I was fortunate enough to know both of my great-grandmothers, but within the past 13 years, both of them passed on, along with my maternal grandparents. My paternal grandma is currently terminally ill and in the hospital. I was a history major in college, and had always planned on talking to my grandparents and asking them about their lives and my ancestors. I then wanted to write it down to preserve some of the family history and stories.

Unfortunately, I was always "busy" and never got to it, and now I regret how much of my personal history has passed on with my grandparents! Now that I have a small son, I feel that loss even more--I'd love to have that information to pass on to him. I'm now determined to talk to my grandpa and ask if I can "interview" him on videotape, asking about his life and his tour of duty in WWII. This would be a priceless memento for my son. I would suggest everyone talk to their parents and grandparents (if you're lucky enough to have them), and record some of your family history. It could be a lot of fun to find out what your relatives were like when they were younger, and would be a wonderful "heirloom" for your children or younger family members!

By Lisa from WI from Kenosha, WI

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A neighbor asked a small boy if his family said prayers before meals. "No," the boy replied. "We don't have to. My mother is a good cook!"

By Robin from Washington, IA

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We recently bought a house that was built in 1882. I pulled the carpet up from one of the bed rooms, and to my dismay, there is old dried paint all over the beautiful wood. Where I tried to use warm water and a srubbing sponge, (as a friend suggested), The finish was also rubbed away. Is there any CHEAP way to fix this floor? Any ideas would be very helpful.

Connie777 from Coventry, RI

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I recently washed a relatively brand new pair of 100% cotton navy blue dress pants, but the left butt section of the pants got lightly bleached in various spots--probably the residues from previous load of washing whites with bleach. Is there any way to dye it uniformly or make it look brand new again?

If it can be dyed, where would one purchase a quality, inexpensive kit so it can be done correctly and the spotty parts will not look a shade lighter than the rest of the pants? Also, is there a way to prevent this from happening again in the future--this is not the first time it happened to my clothes. Thanks.

BluesClue from D.C.

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Does anyone know how to clean chocolate off suede? My husband spilled a chocolate martini on his new suede boots.

Jackie from Granville, IL

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I have a 2 year old lab/akita male dog. He is neutered. He has major peeing problems inside my house. In the beginning of his potty training he would pee on the carpet in the dining room, and around the corners prior to being neutered. After neutering him, and hoping this would fix his problem, the peeing has continued.

He pees in my daughter room, on her toys, on the corner of her bed. He pees on laundry if left on the floor. He pees right next to the door. He also pees outside and loves to be outdoors.

There are no new changes to our household and it seems to go in spurts, he won't pee on anything, and then he does.

Any advice, should I take him to the vet and have his urine tested? Should I crate him? He's never been crated. I am afraid maybe he has too much freedom in the house.

blossm11 from WA

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We just bought our first home. The only problem is the entire house is covered with Hunter Green Carpet throughout. The stairs and everywhere. My question is, I have brown couches for my living room and a maroon recliner. The furniture is medium between dark and light. What color can I paint my walls to take away from this ugly green carpet?

I want to paint the walls a color other than white. Please help with any ideas. My kitchen is attached and open to the living room. It has purple grapes with dark green ivy for the wallpaper. These people loved green. Any ideas please to color my living room, I need help!

Toewall from Texas

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I am a guest at a wedding which will be held in March 2006. I am not sure what colors or kinds of shoes to wear that are appropriate for this occasion. Can someone please help with this request?

Mijama from Houston, TX

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The inside of my dishwasher has black stains on the bottom. How do I clean it?

Janet from San Jose

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My dog got sprayed by a skunk, then ran into the house. My whole house, upstairs and down, smell so horrible. How can I get rid of the odor?

Connie777 from Coventry, RI

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Can anyone recommend how to make top-down blinds out of natural woven (e.g. bamboo) material? My idea is to take a standard blind and convert it to a top down/bottom up or just convert it to a top down blind. Do you know of any website that gives instructions on how to assemble the hardware? Do you know of a company or website from whom I can buy the hardware? Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks!

Chad from Washington, DC

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Any suggestions on how to remove a strong odor from the armpits of recently washed cotton t-shirts?

Jeff from York

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Like many others, I have a sofa bed that is missing a bolt/rivet from the frame mechanism. Can this bolt be replaced or do I need a new frame? If I need a new frame, any idea about who I can call in the Surrey/Langley or Greater Vancouver area?

Leanned from Surrey, BC

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I know this isn't strictly a request for a tip but I really just want to know what "siding" is - is it just the outside walls of a house or something different? I see it mentioned now and then or in a book as a reference to "aluminum siding".

Sharylesley from Australia

A construction element applied to the outermost surface of an exterior wall.

U.S. Department of Energy

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My garden is wet all the year round and it is clay, so all the bulbs i planted last year, none of them sprouted. Help?
Jon-UK

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I have heavy old fashioned shower doors in my bathroom. It is getting harder and harder to open them. Anyone know how I can get them to move freely again?

PJ from WI

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I goofed when writing on a document. I would like to remove the dry ink and start over again. I don't just want to block it with white out. How do I remove the ink without ruining the document and the paper?

Alen James from Spain

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Does anyone know of a website where I can buy inexpensive candle snuffers? I need a lot of them for a craft project and would love to find them at a reasonable price. I checked on eBay, but all of them were expensive ones that collectors would be interested in.

Lynn from Calif. from Chico, CA

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My husband replaced the kitchen faucet. Ever since there has been low hot water pressure in my shower which is closer to the kitchen then then main bathroom. He turned all the water back on, etc. Nothing has changed, so why did this happen and how do we repair this without calling a plumber?

Thanks,
deee from Michigan

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I suffer from severe acne and from that acne I have several bad scars. Does anyone have any home remedies or even over the counter prodcuts that you have used to help with this?

Mandi from Erie

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My husband dropped his cellphone in a mug of coffee. Has anyone experienced this and is there any hope for it working?

Zoombit from Atlanta, GA

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Does anyone know of an easy way to clean a burnt pan? I was boiling some potaoes and the water boiled off and my pan is stained black.

Janet from San Jose, CA

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Does anyone have any ideas on how to remove a label from a hot sauce bottle? The only problem is I do not want to ruin the label. I want to scan the label to use as wedding favors.

Mia from Corona, CA

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