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Today's Tips
Really Quick Halloween Costume
Another easy Halloween costume idea: Drape a long loop of cloth across your chest and over one shoulder (like Miss America's sash). To this sash, glue some of those free AOL CDs (shiny, non-label side out). Tie a bandana around your head, make a quick patch for one eye out of black construction paper and an elastic, and go as...
A software pirate! :-)
By Lynne from Albuquerque
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Getting Spooked! for Halloween
I have no idea who started this (kind of the point) but last night the doorbell rings and I open the door. I find a white balloon with a ghosts face markered on it. Tied to it is a tiny basket filled with candy and two papers. One is to put on my door that says, "We been Spooked!" with a picture of a ghost. The other is a paper saying that often we lose touch with our friends and neighbors and many of us don't have the time to do something nice to a stranger for no reason. So you receive a gift of candy and are asked to give your own spooked candies out to three friends, family or strangers and not let them know it was you. And hopefully by the time it's done you and the whole neighboorhood will have a spooked sign in your window, have done a little something nice and maybe, just maybe, even something to start a conversation with. Happy Halloween. I hope you get spooked!
By Suzanne S.
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Gardening tip --- We have a paper shredder (don't we all) ? I save my shredded paper, and use it through out the year, as mulch, for my tomatoes, peppers, etc. even flowers. It breaks down and makes all kind of goodies for the soil and plants. I throw in my garden beds (raised) all winter long, and when spring gets here, I am ready to garden, just turn the soil a little. And it's free!
By Rosa
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Call your utility companies and tell them you want to read your own meters. They will give you cards to write the information and you have to turn these in at a certain time of every month. If you can read your own meter, you will be certain the numbers are read correctly and you won't be overcharged.
By Kathy
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1 flat piece of beef roast
1 pkg onion soup mix
1 can of tomato soup
Cut meat into chunks or strips.
Put on top of tomato and onion soup mixed together. You may add more liquid if desired.
Roast in slow oven for 2 hours or so and you have a nice beef dish with tomato gravy (a little Tobasco sauce on top is good, if that is to your liking.)
By Sharon James
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To chop celery and onions fast, just rough chop them and put them in your blender container, covered with water and pulse. The longer you pulse, the smaller they become. Drain.
By K. Cooper
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Programming Your Mobile or Cell Phone
Always program your home phone number into your mobile phone. Name it "Home" or "If found, call." This way if you lose your cell phone, the person who finds it has a way to contact you.
By Kathy
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To kill cockroaches, take a glass jar and put some peanut butter in the bottom of the jar. Put a good smear of vegetable oil around the inside lip of the jar to make it very slippery. The roaches smell the peanut butter, go in after it and can't get out (they slip and fall back into the jar). When the jar has a few roaches in it, cap it off with the lid and put it in the sun to kill them. Then throw the whole lot in the garbage. This will effectively reduce the cockroach population in a short time. If they lay egg cases while they are dying (as they do in traps), it's all contained in the jar.
By Kathy
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Use WD40 to remove the paint, spray onto the tagged surface and then spray some onto a rag and rub it off.
By Kaye
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Another use for pantyhose. Cut foot portion of several old pantyhose about 6" from toe, put one inside the other so you have a multi-layered sack, fill with soap scraps and rubber band to close. The ends act as a scruffy! Refill over and over with more soap bits.
By Joan D.
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Removing Political Bumper Stickers
Seasonal or political stickers on your car windows after the election can easily be removed with a single edge razor blade. Just slide the blade along under the sticker and it'll peel right off. Razor blades won't scratch the glass. Work carefully!
By Linda
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Scrambled eggs can be easily made in the microwave. Spray a microwave safe bowl with oil, beat eggs and cook for 20-30 sec. per egg.
By Kara Grantland
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Paper Towel Rack in the Bathroom
Every bathroom in my house has a paper towel rack mounted in easy reach. I then hang a spray bottle of all-purpose cleaner on the rack and then I have everything I need for a quick wipe-up. Saves steps-saves time!
By Linda
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Red Delicious to Rid Your Car of Smoke Smell
If you want to remove the smell of cigarette smoke from your auto interior, use a Red Delicious apple. Cut it in half lengthwise, and place each half under the front seats. Throw them away when they're all dried out. For really heavy smoke smell, it may take a couple of applications.
By Scott J.
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Outdoor Christmas Tree Decorations
The lighted Christmas Decorations for your yard can be pretty expensive but here is a way to decorate with little money. Take your tomato cages from your garden, clean with the hose and then tie the tops together with electrical tape. Get yourself one 50 light set and run it up and down around your cone. Attach with baggie ties. Clustered together these look beautiful and simple. When Christmas is over you can disassemble and use your tomato cages over again. Or since this is the end of the gardening season you might find some on Clearance that you can set aside for just this use.
By Debra in Colorado
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Dry Erase Reminders on the Bathroom Mirror
I keep a dry-erase marker in the bathroom and write myself a note right on the mirror to remind myself of something for the morning. Wipes right off with a tissue!
By Linda
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Use for Broken Diaper Wipes Box
So our kids broke the lid off the diaper wipe box they kept their little toys in. Don't throw it away just yet. Wait until you get your first really good snowfall and give it to the kids to use as a snow mold for bricks. Hey they just might learn how to build an Igloo!
By Debra in Colorado
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I keep a glue stick in my desk drawer for sealing envelopes that have lost their stickiness, stamps that have been taken off something I decided not to send, etc. They are so cheap I can keep one everywhere I might need one.
By Linda
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Save your glass mayonnaise jars (round with metal lid.) Stuff a dollar store winter cap with old Walmart bags. Glue edge of cap to the rim of the jar lid. Next, using some "snow in a can" (the kind you use on your windows), spray almost all the way around the jar with the fake snow leaving a spot to paint a face with craft paint. Two red dots for eyes, one black dot for a nose and four or five red dots for a smile. When the paint and the snow is dry paint with clear sealer. Now fill with candy and you have a great gift for a co-worker or choco-holic.
By Debra in Colorado
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Raising the Table for Fabric Cutting
If you must use your dining room table as a cutting table when you are sewing, you probably get a back ache from leaning over the table. My mother did a lot of sewing, and she found a solution for this problem. Go to your pantry and gather up 4 cans of vegetables of the same size. Set one under each table leg. This raises the table to a more comfortable level.
By Harlean from Arkansas
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To give new life to an old quilt that has seen better days, use extra bedsheets to make a new cover. We used plain white on one side and let my sons personalize it with fabric markers. We also made patches from a favorite shirt to decorate as well. On the other side I used a fleece throw blanket that we no longer needed. It looks great and washes like a dream. Plus using the fleece blanket has made it warmer than it might have otherwise been.
By Katie in NY
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Save your kids artwork to use as frugal holiday wrapping paper. We did this last year and the kids were thrilled that everyone saw what they had made and it cut down on a lot of clutter for me!
By Katie in NY
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Take the inner liners from cereal boxes, wipe off the cereal "dust", cut them in strips and put them between cookies, meal patties or chicken pieces to freeze. That way they separate easily when you only want a few. It stays crisp in the freezer and the quality of the liner is great.
By Grannie Annie
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Use an old wooden frame with no glass. (I got mine at a garage sale for $1). Paint it to match the color of your child's room (great way to use up some old paint).
Next, staple ribbon in vertical strips to the back of the frame. Leave about 3/4 to 1 inch between the strips. When you turn it around, the front side of the ribbon should show. Hang on the wall at your child's height & she can clip on her own hairbows.
I used different widths of ribbon to accommodate different size hairbows.
By Mary in Ohio
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Here is a great way to spice up that blah hallway. I painted mine a pastel blue and then did the faux painting techinque with sponges dipped in a lavender and pale aqua. At the top the hallway I added a famous quote from Helen Keller about the essentials to a happy life. Quotes can be found lots of places on the internet and all you have to do is find one that fits you and your life.
By Debra in Colorado
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Christmas Basket for a Pasta Addict
Supplies:
1 large basket
1/4 yard of red and white gingham fabric
1 bag of straw
1 roll of red cellophane
Dollar Store Items
1 pasta measure
1 pasta scoop
1 bottle of olive oil
1 jar of spaghetti sauce
1 jar of Italian seasoning
Cut fabric into 2 pieces and fringe the ends or hem. Lay in basket at an angle and then add some of the straw. Place the rest of items in basket and cover with cellophane and a bow.
By Debra in Colorado
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Here's a basket for that favorite "reader" in your life:
Supplies:
1 wicker basket or Plastic bucket with lid
2 or 3 paperback books
1 mug
2 or 3 pakages of instant hot chocolate
1 handmade polar fleece blanket
In this basket you could use strips of newspaper for the filling. Wrap with cellophane and a bow.
By Debra in Colorado
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Here's a fun Tic Tac Toe Board you can make.
1 small piece of scrap wood
A drill and drill bit
Stain and varnish
Wood burning tool
1 bag of marbles
With the drill bit, drill holes partially through the scrap of wood in the shape of a tic tac toe grid. Use the wood burning tool to draw the lines. Stain and varnish. Use two different colors of marbles for the x's and o's.
By Debra in Colorado
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Using Those Dummy Credit Cards
Use the dummy credit cards that come in the mail for kids' ID tags. (Discover is one company that sends these, they are plastic to simulate the real thing, but have no raised numbers.) Punch a hole in the card then use a label maker or permanent marker with child's name, grade and teacher. Attach this to the inside of the backpack as a security measure. It makes a nice, sturdy identification tag.
By Kathy
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My kids use to love to play card games but by the end of the night they would always be fighting over who won the most games. Here is a solution we came up with. It can be used for any game they play over and over.
1 piece of scrap wood
2 packages of small wooden pegs
At least 2 but up to 4 different colors of craft paint
1 can sealer
Drill small holes the same size as the pegs in the scrap wood. Divide the pegs into 2-4 equal piles. Paint them with the paint, each pile a different color. Spray with sealer.
If you want, you can stain and varnish the scrap of wood.
By Debra in Colorado
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Reusing Your Page-a-day Calendar Pages
Your desktop, page-a-day calendar can serve double duty as a scratch pad. I save the pages as I tear them off, and stack them upside-down on my office desk. When I need a piece of scratch paper, I use a piece of paper off this pile instead of a clean sheet off a pad. This helps me recycle the calendar sheets and I don't waste paper.
By Scott J.
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New Requests:
I am looking for uses for flower tubes. I have a bag of plastic flower tubes (the kind that come from the florist that they put on the end of roses/flowers to retain water). Maybe there is someone out there that may know of additional uses of these tubes. Thanks.
Pam from MN
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Homemade Pumpkin Mix from Scratch?
My husband and I bought some extra pumpkins for this Halloween season. We carved one but will use the other others to eat. Of course we'll roast the seeds.
Does anybody know what is the best and easiest way of cooking a pumpkin so that I will have pumpkin puree/mix for future pumpkin pies?
I plan on packaging and freezing extras and using them for pies in the future. Methods of cooking and duration of cooking time tips would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance!
-pookster
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We now have an abundance of ladybugs covering the outside of our house and unfortunately, they come inside when we do. I think I counted 20 on our kitchen ceiling alone. I don't think lady bugs harm anything, but I do not want them in my house. Any ideas on how to get rid of them. I know they will disappear once it freezes, but who knows how long that will be?
Thanks!
Donna in Kansas
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Removing Yellow Stains From Inside Microwave
I burnt popcorn in the microwave, the smell is gone but the inside is yellow. What can i use to make it white again?
Bev
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More Reading:
Writing the Perfect Christmas Letter
By Rachel Paxton
I don't know about you, but I always look forward to receiving Christmas letters from family and friends during the holiday season. Often it is the only news you receive from some of them throughout the year.
View Article: Click Here
Christmas Cookie Decorating 101
By Mimi Cummins
Many bakers ask for tips and instructions on decorating cookies. Well that's a tall order because there are as many ways to decorate cookies as there are cookies! Here are a few guidelines for novices and experienced bakers alike to help you generate your own ideas for cooking decorating.
View Article: Click Here
15 Time-Saving Kitchen Tips!
By Cyndi Roberts
It's always nice to hear about an easier or faster way to do something--especially if that something is in the kitchen, where we spend so much of our time!
View Article: Click Here
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