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Hello,
We made a mistake in sending out yesterday's Daily Thrifty Tips. It was accidently sent to the ThriftyFun News subscriber list. Rather than resend it to the Daily, I would like to encourage you to read it online at:
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Sorry for the inconvenience!
Tomorrow's TF News is about Cooking Vegetables, please send in your tips and recipes.
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Thanks for reading,
Susan
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Today's Photo Contest Entries
MOo-MOo is a boy cat. I'm not sure how old he is as I have tamed him from a wild alley cat. The poor fella was very sad and I think on his last legs, but not now! His activities include, lying around, lazing out, sleeping, eating, and pestering our other cat Stanlee (a girl cat). His like are sunny days, fuzzy pillows, nuzzling feet, being combed, and smelly cheese. His dislikes can be summed up with, rain, sudden movements, a lack of access to food (eats nearly anything), and the vacuum. Oh ya, where? In Vancouver Canada.
By Gordon
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This is my male Yorkshire. His name is Romeo and he is 5 years old. I have two others which are girls. I've always had girl dogs. This is the first boy dog I've had. He is 5 years old and very attached to me. He won't go out with my husband unless I give the okay and put his leash on. He is very protective of me and he is a wonderful addition to my family of pets.
By Adele
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Today's Tips
Tips for cleaning windows. Post your ideas.
When washing windows, wipe up and down on one side (inside), and back and forth on the other side (outside). That way, if there are streaks, you will be able to tell which side they are on, by what direction they go.
By Becki in Indiana
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Did you ever notice that aluminum foil is shinier on one side than it is on the other? When cooking with foil (for example, wrapping potatoes for baking), be sure to wrap or cover the item dull side out -- shiny side out will reflect the heat rather than absorb it, and it will take longer to cook.
By Becki in Indiana
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Extending the Life of Windshield Wiper Blades
Before replacing worn windshield wiper blades, try roughing up the edges of the blades with sandpaper or even an emery board. You can probably get a few more weeks of use out of them!
By Becki in Indiana
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If the blades of your scissors have gotten dull or gunked up, use the scissors to cut through sandpaper -- or even cut up an emery board! The blades will be sharpened as you cut.
By Becki in Indiana
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Tips for giving dogs their medication. Post your ideas.
If your dog hates taking pills, try hiding the pill in the middle of a chunk of cheese or slice of hot dog. Most dogs will wolf down the "treat" and never notice the pill inside!
By Becki in Indiana
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Toning Down the Kerosene Smell From a Heater
I know it might be a little late in the season for this, but my sister taught me a little trick. If you use a kerosene heater to cut down on heating bills, like we do, and you can't stand the kerosene smell, put a pan of water on top of heater, and the smell will be gone! Sometimes I put in a couple drops of essential oil, and the smell travels through the house, making it smell great!
By Tammy Marie
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Spring Cleaning Tip - Make Dinner First
When you know that you are going to be cleaning all day, start your day by making your dinner first. Find a great crockpot recipe and throw it together and let it cook while you clean. When you're done, the last thing you want to do is cook and you don't always have the money to go out for pizza.
By Stacey
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Polident As a Jewelrey Cleaner
use polident tablets for cleaning, it works great and no ammonia or other harsh chemicals.
Lisa
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Removing Odors From Down Pillows
My husband tried to help out one day, and do the laundry for me.
He ended up putting all of our down filled bed pillows in the the washing machine. Needless to say, even after they were dry, they smelled like dirty diapers! After I calmed down, I rewashed all of the pillows with white vinegar. The smell was 100% gone! Now, if I could only get him to take down the Christmas lights!
By Tammy Marie
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Baking Less than the Whole Bowl of Cookie Dough
When I make chocolate chip cookies, I always make a full batch. Since it's just my husband and me, I bake a dozen and form and freeze the rest on wax paper in the freezer. After they are frozen, I just toss them in a tightly covered bowl and leave in the freezer until we are ready to make some more! I take them out and let them sit on the cookie sheet while the oven is pre-heating. This way our cookies are always soft and fresh!
By Judy
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Get Your Carpeted Car Mats Super Clean
Wash your carpeted car mats in the washing machine with laundry detergent and hang inside or outdoors to dry.
By Tori
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Easy Method to Clean Stovetop with Gas Burners
I clean my stovetop with oven cleaner. Spray it on and let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes, then wipe off. It melts all the greasy dried on cooking messes with minimal effort. I have found that the cheaper dollar store brands (like Family Dollar brand) of oven cleaner work even better than brand name Easy-Off.
By Tori
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Cleaning recipes for removing stains from your carpet. Post your favorite recipes.
Mix equal parts of ammonia and hydrogen peroxide and rub or brush on stain. I've used this many times and never had it discolor my carpeting. However, as always, test in a hidden location first to be sure your carpet will not be discolored.
By Tori
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One way to easily thread a darning needle with a large eye is to fold a thin, rectangular sliver of paper in half the long way, sandwich the end of the thread into it as you would a hot dog in a bun, then slide paper and thread through the eye of the needle.
By Sharon
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Recipe for Repelling Bugs on Outdoor Plants
Mix 1 to 2 tablespoons of Dr. Bronner's LIQUID peppermint castile soap in 1 quart of water. Fill a spray bottle and use on your outdoor plants. Will not harm plants. Dr. Bronner's liquid peppermint castile soap can be purchased in health food stores.
By Tori
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Wallpapering Idea - Small Torn Pieces
I just finished helping a friend wallpaper a bathroom and in all my years I don't think I've ever seen a more unique type of paper anywhere. She got the idea from a Lowes store.
Insted of hanging wallpaper in strips you tear pieces out of the paper and you hang it piece by piece until you've covered the wall. No design just torn pieces. She used a tan and white design that had script writing that resembled pages from a journal. This gives a nice textured look.
At the top and around trim you use the straight edge, so there's no trimming or cutting, perfect trimmed edges. You probably wouldn't want to try this with a floral print but a stone looking design or something similar to what she used. It was beautiful.
By Sharon Shearer
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1 part dishwashing liquid (I like Dawn)
1 part ammonia
1 part water
Mix all together and fill spray bottle for all types of laundry stains.
By Tori
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Using Colored Construction Paper
Colored construction paper! This is affordable almost anywhere you get it and it usually comes in a rainbow of colors.
I match the kids' artwork (from simple scribbles to masterpieces:) with a coordinating sheet of construction paper and mount it in a variety of ways.
Sometimes, I just cut the construction paper in a square with just enough bordering the picture to make a frame. Other times I use decorative scissors to make a unique frame in one color and glue this to a square construction paper in another color.
The ideas for use here are limitless! You can also use color themes like black and white, earth tones, pastels, and so on.
Other ideas:
Mounting computer or hand printed chore charts on construction paper, laminating, and hanging on bedroom wall or in family's message center.
Using as color mats for index cards when memorizing Scripture, establishing daily habits, and/or using in journaling.
Placemats. We made these one year and they held up quite well with some laminating.
Enjoy coming up with creative ways to use this affordable paper in your home!
By Sandy
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Living in Louisiana we eat a lot of rice. Since it's just the two of us now I've learned to freeze the cooked rice. After it's cooked and cooled I put in in a large ziplock freezer bag and flatten it out. When you need just one or two servings of rice just break off the amount needed. Having it flattened makes it easy to break. Put it on your plate cover with gravy and nuke. Rice flattened and frozen will last forever.
By Verue
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Staying Prepared for Tax Season
Tax season is here. I've learned the hard way to stay prepared. Throughout the year I save ALL receipts. I use a bookkeeping program and enter the receipts into it weekly or more often as needed. Come tax time just print out the register from the program and use different color highlighters for different to highlight the different tax. Much easier than trying to gather it all up during tax time.
By Verue
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Tips and advice for organizing recipes. Post your ideas!
Saving Recipes
I use a loose leaf binder. I copy and paste the recipe on computer paper, punch holes in the paper and add to binder. I buy dividers with name tabs on top to put each recipe in a category so its easy to find.
By Doris
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Locked Your Car Keys In The Car?
Argh! Locked out of your car? Here are some tips to help you out. Post your ideas.
No Problem if your car comes with a remote car opener. Call home on your cell phone and have your spouse get the spare keys with the remote and by holding the your cell phone close to the door, and have your spouse just click the remote and the signal will pass thru the phone line and open the locked door.
By Charles P. Sipos
Editor's Note: Sadly I don't have a car with that type of lock to test whether this works. Anyone else tried this?
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Ingredients:
Directions:
Drain sauerkraut. Heat sugar and vinegar until sugar dissolves. Pour over sauerkraut. Add rest of vegetables and stir. Refrigerate in tight container. Keeps for a long time.
By Robin
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My Mother's Chocolate Cream Cookies
Ingredients:
Directions:
Mix together sugar, lard, eggs. Then add the rest. Drop by spoon on ungreased cookie sheets and bake around 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Then cool. Frost with powdered sugar frosting.
By Robin
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Ingredients:
Directions:
Put into pan and cook 3 minutes after it starts to boil. When cool stir in 1 tsp. baking soda dissolved in a little hot water. Add 2 cup flour and 1/2 cup nuts. Stir well. Bake at 375 degrees for 1/2 hour or until done in 8x8 inch greased and floured pan. Frost with a butter cream frosting.
By Robin
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Ingredients:
Directions:
Sift flour, soda, and salt. Cream together butter, sugar, and brown sugar. To creamed mixture add eggs, water, and vanilla. Mix. Blend in dry ingredients gradually and mix thoroughly. Cover; chill at least 2 hours. To shape cookie, place 1/2 mint wafer (or 1 mint wafer if larger cookie is desired) between 2 slices of cookie dough. Seal edges. Place on greased baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Top each with a walnut half. Bake in moderate oven (375 degrees) for 10-12 minutes. Makes 4 1/2 dozen.
By Robin
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Ingredients:
Directions:
Brown hamburger. Pour milk over bread crumbs and add to hamburger with remaining ingredients and mix like meat loaf. Simmer until cooked through or place in crockpot on low.
By Robin
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Tip Contest
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New Contest Prize! Now a $50.00 Gift Card
In our newest contest we are giving away a $50.00 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 April 15th.
Syndication Spotlight:
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Dear Webby's Humor Letter
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New Requests:
i have a plastered ceiling that was cracked and sagging in one spot (a square about 2x2). We cut out the old plaster and we were going to replace it with sheetrock. Our problem is that when we took the measurements for the sheetrock the thickness of the plaster was anywhere from 1/4" to 13/4". Is there a way we can replace the plaster with something other than sheetrock? Any info would be extremely helpful.
Thank you,
Susan
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Applying Grommets To Window Coverings
I am making some window coverings that have grommets. Can anyone give me good directions about how to apply them? The directions provided with the kit weren't very good and I didn't find anything better on the Internet.
Claudia
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I need help getting sharpie ink off my kitchen counter. Any advice?
Thanks,
bkasc
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I've got a 5 week old orphaned kitten. She didn't appear to have fleas at first but as I was bathing her, I noticed fleas going into her ear. They were too fast for me to catch. Would a flea remedy work even if the fleas go into her ears?
Aida, TX
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I inadvertantly placed a hot plate on my kitchen worktop (marble effect, black plastic) and now have a lovely square white burn mark on my new worktop. Any ideas how to bring it back to black again?
Annette
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I am looking for any instructions on koolaid or caprisun purse, wallet, belt, checkbook cover or any thing we can make? My daughter has been saving the pouches for a while she also gets the ones from her classmates. So any info would halp. Also, I saw some checkbook covers made out of m&m, skittles, and diff. candy bags, they were really cute also so if anyone has instructions on those would be so helpful. I can't find anything.
Thank-you,
kellie from MS
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Inexpensive 50th Birthday Gift Ideas
This weekend My family and I are traveling 10 hours via SUV to my sister in-laws 50th Birthday. I just paid ALOT in taxes (today) and gas prices are out of this world. I would be grateful for any gift idea that are inexpensive.
Thanks, Michelle from VA
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I have mildew spots on a pale pink top - I would like to know if there is an effective way of removing this without taking the colour out of the top.
Thank you,
Jenny from New Zealand
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30th Birthday Party Theme Ideas
Does anyone have any theme ideas or ideas in general for my 30th birthday party? Nothing over the hill or black. This is a celebration. :)
Michelle from GA
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I received a call from my mother today. She's had her bathroom remodeled and had a marble shower and sink installed. The contractor told her to just get some non-abrasive cleaner to clean the marble. She hasn't been able to locate anything that is able to cut through the soap scum that is building up in the sink.
Do any of you have any suggestions on what she can use that will take care of this problem? I suggested she stop using bar soap and use something like a shower gel - that maybe it wouldn't build up a scum like bar soap. Is this true?
Any help you can offer would be great! Thanks.
Kathi - from Kwajalein
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Marigolds planted around a garden will deter deer and rabbits from munching your plants. Deer like hostas.
Does anyone know of any natural insect repellent for wasps? For example: mosquitos do not like citronella, fleas are not fund of cedar.
Hyram Allouisous
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Ball Point Pen Marks on Imitation Leather (vinyl?)
I have recently started cleaning a doctors office which has ink marks on the examining tables. I have tried alcohol, simple green, Mr. Clean Magic Eraser and cannot seem to find anything to remove the marks. Can anyone give me some suggestions? Thanks!
Sheila from Michigan
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Growing Peaches With Good Flavor
Does anyone know what makes a peach taste bitter,last year the peaches on our trees had a bitter taste, what can I do to help them have better flavor?
Karen from Tx.
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Games and Prizes For a Teen Party
I want to have the best party with people leaving saying that it was a great party, not people saying it was a dump. I have the place, it is big. It's a girl/boy party but not with that many boys. I have food and there is a big screen TV and some dancing going on but I doubt that is going to hold them down from 6 pm till midnight.
I need games and prizes but I dont know what types of games. They can't be to kissy because of my parents and we cant really go outside because my parents don't want people sneaking off.
I want the party to be a blast and still obey my parents rules. Can you help me?
Thank you,
Alexandra M from Hawaii
P.S. Please post feedback quickly, I don't have much time.
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I'm just looking for bright and fun crafts I can make with a four year old without doing the whole project for him. Also I'm looking for projects that don't have small or toxic parts so the one year old can be involved. Neat outdoor themes would be great! And educational crafts that teach about wind, rain, sun and other related subjects. Any ideas? We are looking forward to a busy summer of learning and creating.
Shanny Allen
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I have an old refrigerator which still works fine, but would like to change its color. (it's an old fashioned green color). Has anyone ever tried painting a fridge and if so, could you share your experience. What type of paint should I use and does anyone have any tips for applying it?
chiclets76
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Tips for cleaning windows. Post your ideas.
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Tough Stain Removal For Clothing
I am in need of help in finding some kind of remendy that can get out tough stains. I work in a automotive place and I wear white uniform shirts. I usually get black marker stains, oil and rust stains on my shirt. I have tried oxyclean and it does not take it all out and I have tried orange clean and it does not take it out. Could you please help me?
Melissa Curry
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Recipes For A Mother's Day Brunch
I want to have a mother's day brunch. I was wondering if you guys have any good, and easy recipes? Thanks, in advance.
Danielle from Pa
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Bar Mitzvah and Graduation Gift Ideas
My niece is graduating high school and my nephew will be Bar Mitzvah this June. Both occasions call for gifts, but being on disability, my funds are very, very tight. Any suggestions?
Linda
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Die From Clothing on Leather Couch
Blue dye has transfered from pajamas to my cream colored leather couch. Anyone know how to remove the dye stains?
Thanks,
vmccrary
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Looking for a frugal solution to an everyday problem? Submit your request here: Click Here
Today's Sponsors
11 Craft Designs By House of Greathouse
Just $5.00 (including shipping) for instructions on how to make 11 unique craft designs on CD. For more information and pictures of the crafts visit:
http://www.thriftyfun.com/columnists/harlean.html
More Reading:
Planning Weddings on a Budget
By Rose Baylor
Planning as early as possible for your wedding is the key to maintaining a budget you can afford. It is a good idea for both the future Bride and Groom to do this together. You may find that you have two completely different ideas of what your wedding should cost.
View Article: Click Here
Building a Home Addition
By Mark J. Donovan
Besides providing your home with more living space, a home addition can be a terrific investment. However, before embarking on such a project the homeowner should first consider several important items. These items include: home market values in the neighborhood, financing, size and scale of project, architecture, timetable for completion, personal disruption/inconvenience threshold and the sweat equity commitment level.
View Article: Click Here
Clutter Command
By Barbara K
Clutter equals stress, plain and simple.
Messy rooms, disorganized closets, and jumbled junk drawers add unneeded hassle to our already hectic days. I can't think when things are cluttered! So I've learned a few tricks to control the clutter. I sort and toss the stuff I don't need or want, and I keep the necessities of life tucked away, out of site but easily accessible.
View Article: Click Here
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